Evidence for terror management theory II: The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who threaten or bolster the cultural worldview.

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis, derived from terror management theory, that reminding people of their mortality increases attraction to those who consensually validate their beliefs and decreases attraction to those who threaten their beliefs. In Study 1, subjects with a Christian religious background were asked to form impressions of Christian and Jewish target persons. Before doing so, mortality was made salient to half of the subjects. In support of predictions, mortality salience led to more positive evaluations of the in-group member (the Christian) and more negative evaluations of the out-group member (the Jew). In Study 2, mortality salience led to especially negative evaluations of an attitudinally dissimilar other, but only among subjects high in authoritarianism. In Study 3, mortality salience led to especially positive reactions to someone who directly praised subjects' cultural worldviews and especially negative reactions to someone who criticized them. The implications of these findings for understanding in-group favoritism, prejudice, and intolerance of deviance are discussed.Although there is great variability in the contents of the worldviews associated with any given culture, all such conceptions provide the universe with order, meaning, value, and the possibility of either literal or symbolic immortality.

The Influence of Self-Threats on Fairness Judgments and Affective Measures

“…That is, reminders of death should lead to strong negative evaluations of persons whose behaviors or beliefs impinge on the cultural worldview, and lead to strong positive evaluations of persons who uphold or bolster the worldview. A more elaborate introduction to terror management theory and the supporting empirical findings is beyond the scope of the current paper, (for more complete descriptions, see e.g., Arndt et al, 1999;Greenberg et al, 1990;Harmon-Jones et al, 1997;Pyszczynski et al, 1999;Rosenblatt et al 1989;Solomon et al, 1991), but it should be noted here that results are in agreement with the theory's line of reasoning.…”

Self-Ingroup Overlap in the Face of Mortality Salience

“…Additionally, studies have confirmed that when people are made aware of the inevitability of death, they express greater attraction to those who praise their cultural worldview and decreased attraction to those who criticize the cultural worldview (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, Solomon, Rosenblatt, Veeder, Kirkland, & Lyon, 1990;Dechesne, Janssen, & van Knippenberg, 2000).…”

A utilitarian argument against torture interrogation of terrorists

“…28 People tend to become more dogmatic and tenacious in their belief systems when reminded of their mortality (terror management theory). 29 And under extreme stress, as during a car crash, rape, or battlefield injury, people may dissociate, that is, experience the episode as if from a distance, temporarily protected from pain and awareness of consequences (traumatic stress theory). 30 For such reasons, the Air Force interrogator said he tried to interview terrorist suspects "before any heavy handed ex-Turkish farmer slapped them around."…”