I’d Rather Die Than Be with You: The Effects of Mortality Salience and Negative Social Identity on Identification with a Virtual Group

Frischlich, Lena; Rieger, Diana; Rutkowski, Olivia

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-07632-4_42

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In addition, our study was a first attempt to address the impact of intergroup versus interpersonal differences in online social encounters under conditions of MS. Because of the increasing usage of the Internet for interpersonal communication (Konijn et al, 2008) and initial evidence that MS affects online behavior (Chopik & Edelstein, 2014), understanding the impact of MS on mediated interaction is worth studying. Our results add to prior evidence that MS does affect mediated social encounters (Frischlich et al, 2015;Frischlich, Rieger, & Rutkowski, 2014) and extends research on the positive effects of media content (Hofer, 2013;Taylor, 2012) by pointing to the adverse effects of differences in mediated interactions. Returning to the notion by Harwood, Giles, and Palomares (2005) that intergroup and interpersonal relationships can be either salient or not in a communicative interaction, our study points to a dominant influence of intergroup differences under conditions of MS.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

The end of immortality - Death dating and defense preprint

Frischlich¹,

Rieger²,

Bente³

2019

Preprint

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Terror management theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) posits that individuals defend against death-anxieties by striving for (symbolic) immortality.Immortality is promised by a symbolic anxiety buffer, which entails one's (a) cultural worldview; (b) self-esteem; and (c) intimate relationships. Under conditions of mortality salience (MS), individuals prefer potential partners who validate their symbolic anxiety buffer (or are similar to them) over those who challenge it (or are different). Potential partners can be different on the intergroup level (i.e., out-group members) and on the interpersonal level (i.e., having different attitudes). Greenberg et al. (1986) suggested intergroup differences to pose a larger threat than interpersonal differences. So far, the relative threat resulting from differences on both levels has not been tested directly.In the current study, N = 195 women were randomly assigned to an MS (versus control) condition and shown a potential online date following a 2(group-membership) × 2(interpersonal similarity) design. Individuals' (a) need for worldview validation; (b) state self-esteem; and (c) dating interest was measured. The results showed threats to the symbolic anxiety buffer due to intergroup but not due to interpersonal differences. Findings were obtained for validation needs and self-esteem but not for dating interest. Implications are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

The end of immortality - Death dating and defense preprint

Frischlich¹,

Rieger²,

Bente³

2019

Preprint

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“…Eudaimonic entertainment experiences were for instance associated with the experience of mastery (Rieger, Reinecke, et al, 2014). Frischlich, Rieger, and Rutkowski (2014) found participants who chose an avatar to play in a simulation game to report higher identification with the virtual team after mortality salience only when their team served a self-esteem buffering function (in this case: successful team).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Appreciation in the Face of Death: Meaningful Films Buffer Against Death-Related Anxiety

et al. 2015

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“…TMT research demonstrated MS effects to occur only distally to death-reminders 28 , thus our participants worked on a series of raven matrices for a period of five minutes before the next part of the experiment started. Using so far non-analyzed data from a prior study 29 group-valence was manipulated via a "human chess-game" video of "the last encounter of the two teams". The video was manipulated so that either the White or the Black team apparently won the match.…”

Section: Procedures and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After the video, participants choose which team master they would like to play in the "next human chess game" (see Figure 1). Furthermore, subjects filled out the teamidentification subscale by van Looy et al 5 , to ensure consistency with the study by Frischlich et al 29 . After the last question, participants were checked for suspicion, debriefed and released.…”

Section: Procedures and Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So far, only one study tested the effects of MS and the valence of the participants' ingroup on avatar choice. Valence in this study was operationalized via the in-game success of the participant's in-group 22 . In that study, White participants, were either reminded on their own death or a control topic before they watched a gameplay video of a human chess game within the SIMS III world 23 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forever White? Preprint

Frischlich¹,

Rieger²,

Rutkowski³

et al. 2019

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Irrespective of the numerous possibilities for avatar selection and customization, research claimed that White avatars compared to avatars from other ethnicities are overrepresented in online environments. The present experiment investigated how existential threats, namely the awareness of one's own mortality (mortality salience, MS) affects the preference for White over Black avatars in a life-simulation game (SIMS III). In addition, the success of a White versus Black avatar as potential influence on avatar-choices was examined.White participants (N = 65) were assigned to a MS versus control condition and watched a game-play video of a human chess game that was won either by the White or by the Black team. Drawing upon terror management theory, we predicted White individuals to prefer in-group to out-group avatars under conditions of MS. We further asked whether the in-game success of the teams would attenuate this in-group bias. The results revealed an increased preference for in-group over out-group avatars under conditions of MS. Success did not affect the pattern. The results are discussed concerning the role of existential anxieties for the behavior in virtual worlds.

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I’d Rather Die Than Be with You: The Effects of Mortality Salience and Negative Social Identity on Identification with a Virtual Group

Cited by 8 publications

References 48 publications

The end of immortality - Death dating and defense preprint

The end of immortality - Death dating and defense preprint

Appreciation in the Face of Death: Meaningful Films Buffer Against Death-Related Anxiety

Forever White? Preprint

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