Faith, Fantasy, and Flowers: A Content Analysis of the American Sympathy Card

Abstract

A sample of American sympathy cards is content analyzed, and symbols, colors, and message wording and form are reviewed. In addition, responses of college students to sympathy cards are evaluated. Differences in attitudes toward and knowledge of cards appear to be related to age, sex, and religious affiliation. The students indicate preferences for glossy, bright cards, and most prefer short, unrhymed verses. Many show concern for writing their own messages of sympathy and for extending expressions of sympathy beyond card sending whenever possible. Suggestions for further research include comparison of responses of different age groups and examination of the significance of death-related experiences for type of response.

Pink Or Blue

“…There is ample empirical justification for the use of the greeting card as an archival source regarding societal attitudes. In recent years, cards have been employed to examine societal attitudes toward a variety of phenomena, including aging (Demos & Jache, 1981;Dillon & Jones, 1981), death (McGee, 1980;Woods & Delisle, 1978), and drinking (Finn, 1980). Additionally, they served as a data source regarding gender-stereotypic images of adults (Brabant & Mooney, 1989).…”

“…Extensive testing done by the greeting card industry ensures that the greeting cards displayed in particular geographical locations will be positively evaluated by the potential consumers (e.g. , Finn, 1980;McGee, 1980). Thus, to obtain a sample of cards that would be appealing to an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population, this investigation selected cards from stores located in four Hartford County municipalities that differ in size, socioeconomic level, and ethnicity.…”

Consoling the Bereaved: Exploring How Sympathy Cards Influence What People Say

“… McGee (1981) analyzed 110 American sympathy cards and found similar results to Lippy’s (1977) : “sympathy,” or “sympathy” with a qualifier such as “deepest,” “heartfelt,” and “sincere” (p. 29), were common; references to God were common and considered to be helpful; euphemisms were used rather than the word “death” and “many” (p. 30) indicated the inadequacy of being able to comfort the bereaved person. A few excerpts referred to “the importance of time for healing, courage for the future, and the hope that brighter days would lie ahead” (p. 30).…”

“…Only one card was about advice-giving (a low level of person-centeredness). Like Caldwell et al (1998), Lippy (1977) andMcGee's (1981) findings, McCullough also identified cards that addressed the difficulty in knowing what to say.…”

“…One method used in Western societies to attempt to console bereaved people is to give or send sympathy cards. The little research that has been conducted on the messaging in sympathy cards has focused primarily on death-denying messaging ( Caldwell et al, 1998 ; Lippy, 1977 ; McGee, 1981 ), the role of religion ( Hallett, 2017 ), and the degree of person-centeredness in the message conveyed ( McCullough, 2019 ). Through an analysis of 226 sympathy cards received by four bereaved people, Lippy (1977) found “sympathy” to be the core theme, often expressed with qualifiers such as “deepest” sympathy, suggesting grieving the loss of someone requires greater sympathy than other life events.…”