SELF-DISCREPANCY AND NATURAL-KILLER-CELL ACTIVITY - IMMUNOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE SELF-EVALUATION

The study tested whether self-discrepancy theory could account for cha nges in natural killer(NK) cell activity after exposure to self-refere ntial stimuli. Anxious, dysphoric, and control Ss were pretested and 1 month later covertly exposed to their own self-guides as well as thos e of another S. Blood samples were drawn for analysis of NK cytotoxici ty and cortisol. The dysphoric Ss manifested the greatest actual:ideal discrepancy, whereas the anxious Ss manifested the greatest actual:ou ght discrepancy. Content analysis of written responses showed that act ivating discrepancies induced specific negative states; priming discre pancies also increased cortisol for the anxious Ss. NK activity was lo wer after self-referential priming for both distressed groups, particu larly the anxious Ss. The control Ss showed a trend toward increased N K activity after self-referential priming. The study represents the 1s t experimental demonstration that negative self-evaluation can alter i mmune responses.