Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Terror Management Theory'

Research has not explicitly examined the link between key components of terror management theory (TMT) and body image without the use of mortality salience. This project explored the link between cultural worldview, self-esteem, body image, and death anxiety. Multiple measures were used to create a structural equation model examining relationships between body image and death anxiety as mediated by body image in the context of TMT. The proposed model did not fit the data. Minor modifications were made to the model keeping within the proposed theoretical perspective. In the modified model the relationships between cultural worldview and death anxiety as mediated by body image were either non-existent or weak. Hierarchical regression analyses did suggest that some aspects of body image indeed did predict some, but not all dimension of death anxiety in this sample of young adults.

Virtually every mental health problem carries stigma, but suicide appears to run so counter to our accumulative, achievement-oriented society, that it poses even greater threat of stigma. While suicide is inherently troubling in that it opposes the fundamental human instinct for self-preservation, the tendency to stigmatize and reject individuals affected by suicide appears to be counterproductive and excessive. Hence, the purpose of this three-manuscript dissertation is to gain a more nuanced understanding of suicide attitudes from an exploratory and terror management theory perspective. More specifically, this dissertation attempts to answer three general questions: (1) how do suicide attitudes differ from other stigmatized deaths – namely, unintentional opioid overdose, (2) does death anxiety and baseline self-esteem impact attitudes toward suicide, and (3) can the effects of death anxiety on suicide attitudes be reversed by temporarily boosting self-esteem? To address the first question, Study 1 compares suicide attitudes to attitudes toward opioid overdose death – another type of stigmatized death that has emerged as a major public health issue in the U.S. in recent years. Study 2 addresses the second question by examining the effect of mortality salience on attitudes toward suicide and by investigating whether participants’ baseline self-esteem will moderate this effect, in keeping with the theory’s claim that self-esteem buffers against death anxiety. Building on the theoretical assumptions of the second study, Study 3 tests whether the effects of death anxiety on suicide attitudes can be reversed by temporarily bolstering the participant’s self-esteem using experimental manipulation. In other words, can cultural worldview validation and self-esteem enhancement inhibit the awareness of personal death and promote prosocial attitudes and behavior? All three proposed studies used quantitative research strategies to examine the research questions detailed above. Study 1 used a traditional questionnaire method to explore and compare attitudes toward suicide and drug overdose death; whereas Study 2 and 3 employed an experimental design to test the MS hypothesis on suicide attitudes. Participants were recruited online using an inexpensive crowdsourcing service called Amazon MTurk. Findings from these studies could have important implications for how we understand the psychological underpinnings of suicide stigma and contribute to the growing body of evidence of the role of existential mortality concerns in hostile attitudes and discriminatory behavior. Not only are we confronted with death reminders in our everyday lives, the topic of suicide is inherently a reminder of death – making the problem of death anxiety even more relevant and unavoidable. These findings could expand our understanding of how cultural worldview and self-esteem are relevant to mitigating death anxiety, and the relationship between death anxiety and suicide.

The present study tested the mortality salience (MS) hypothesis of Terror Management Theory (TMT) on attitudes towards allowance of headscarf in the universities. Sample of the current study consisted of 208 university students. Religious, secular and liberal views were evaluated by participants. The results of 2 (Attitude: Supporters, Opponents) X 2 (Condition: Mortality salience, Control) ANOVAs showed that despite the lack of significant main effect of condition and interaction effect, MS tended to lead supporters of headscarf to evaluate both religious and secular essay more favorably but the liberal essay less favorably. On the contrary, opponents of headscarf tended to become supportive of the secular essay but critical of the religious and liberal essay following MS. Findings were discussed considering past literature and alternative theoretical perspectives.

The studies presented in this paper attempt to expand current knowledge about color and how it may affect human perception and behavior. Specifically, these studies focus on the color black and whether or not it has a connection with the idea of death. Examining this question through a Terror Management Theory perspective (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986), we ran three studies. Study 1 aimed to test whether viewing black paintings increased death-thought accessibility (DTA; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, Solomon, Simon, & Breus, 1994). Study 2 tested whether participants associated the word death with the color black or other colors. Study 3 examined whether outgroup members are perceived more negatively after MS if they are wearing black rather than a neutral color. For Study 1, there was not a significant effect of color on DTA in the three conditions [F(2,81) = 1.28, p = 0.282]. However the means trended in the predicted direction. Study 2 revealed that the word death was significantly associated with black more than any other color (2 (1) = 643.63, p < .001). Study 3 is still ongoing.

Terror management theory (TMT) seeks to understand religious worldview adherence, positing that worldview beliefs can abate existential threats such as mortality salience. Most research on TMT has employed young samples, so influences on older adults' experiences of mortality salience are unclear. Simultaneously, research on death anxiety shows that older people may view their own death more favorably than younger individuals do. Guided by the lifespan development perspective, I investigated whether the range of life experiences and interpretation of them might account for perceptions of death in old age. A multi-phase content analysis of in-depth interview transcripts from 16 adults aged 65+ focused on narratives of life events, religious worldviews, and death. The findings suggested how lifespan adversity, such as the death of a loved one, promoted growth in self and religious belief that enhanced participants' reported relationship with the sacred. In turn, participants' views of and beliefs about death were without fear, indicating the influence of highly individualized and deeply spiritual religious worldview beliefs on the abatement of death fear. These findings support extension of TMT to older people by identifying the impact of lifespan experiences with trauma and adversity as contributing to less superficial, more individualized conceptions of religious worldviews. Such worldviews, contingent upon growth from adaptation to lifespan experiences, may indeed lead to less death anxiety and reduce the effects of mortality salience in old age.<br>Master of Science

One goal in life is survival even when faced with the certainty of death. To defend against the fear of eventual death, individuals are strongly motivated to maintain faith in cultural worldviews, or beliefs about the nature of their reality. Terror Management Theory (TMT) argues that cultural worldviews act to protect individuals from the terror that is brought on by the knowledge of their own mortality. Cultural worldviews provide structure, order, and significance to an individual’s reality insulating them from the inevitability of death. Validation of these cultural worldviews by others increases their level of effectiveness as a buffer against the anxiety caused by the reality of death. However, when others disagree with an individual’s notion of reality, their faith in these concepts becomes threatened, and their ability to cope with the anxiety of impending death is weakened. This research examined one of the four responses to a threatened worldview – derogation against those who hold conflicting cultural worldviews. Specifically, this research examined how reminders of impending death (i.e., mortality salience) influenced the derogation of others in both healthcare and criminal justice domains. It was hypothesized that reminders of death would lead to greater derogation of others in both of these domains; in general, results did not support these hypotheses. Further the established effect in the literature regarding the influence of traditional mortality salience manipulations on the derogation of others was not replicated in this research. Two novel mortality salience manipulations were created and tested as alternatives to the traditional methods; only one of which showed a promising effect (i.e., AgingBooth software). This research contributes to our understanding of the mortality salience hypothesis and the need to continue to develop and test mortality salience manipulations as alternatives to traditional methods in a variety of domains.<br>Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences (Okanagan)<br>Psychology, Department of (Okanagan)<br>Graduate

Guided by the value of equal opportunities, the present thesis strives to provide indicators for psychosocial intervention that contribute to the eradication of gender stereotypes. For this purpose, a novel theory is proposed and tested. In a frrst article, possible precursors and dynamics of gender stereotypes are reviewed. As a result, one precursor of gender stereotypes is detected in the management of death anxiety. Death attitudes, especially death acceptance, are hence to be tackled for radical intervention in gender stereotypes. After a review of the gender concept's fragmentary application in current research, the dynamics of gender are examined from a queer perspective. As a consequence, gender as a generic term includes prescriptions for bodily traits (sex), psychological traits (gender as a specific term) and for relational traits (desire) in this thesis. In conclusion, queer terror management theory (Q1MT) is proposed as a novel framework for psychosocial intervention in gender stereotypes. The second article puts the theory to an initial test. The first QTMT hypothesis assumed sex, gender and desire as factors of a queer gender construct. Despite a tendency of most associations to confirm the expectation, the given sample size and measures resulted as insufficient to test the assumption. Therefore, the frrst hypothesis could not yet be corroborated. The second QTMT hypothesis assumed a reducing effect of death acceptance on gender stereotypes. Since hypothesis 1 was not confirmed, stereotypes on sex, gender and desire were considered separately. Data for death acceptance yielded ambivalent results. On an implicit level, stereotypes for gendered trait ascription slightly diminished with higher death acceptance. However, explicit death acceptance increased ambivalent sexism towards women. Both associations were weak. Covariate analysis yielded stronger associations between the death acceptance precursor of implicit death valence and implicit stereotypes on sex, gender and desire. No explicit measure for death valence was available. A third QTMT hypothesis expected the association between death acceptance and gender stereotypes to be moderated by reminders to one's own mortality (mortality salience). The well-evidenced mortality salience effects did not occur. Results support the idea of a publication bias in mortality salience research. Throughout the present research, personal well-being was considered as a possible covariate in order to ensure participants' integrity in future interventions. Findings of the second article indicate that death denial increased fear of death and lowered self-esteem. By contrast, death acceptance was associated with higher self-esteem, more positive affect and increased life satisfaction. Quantitative results of the second article raised questions about people's emotional reactions to death reminders in regards to death valence and terror management strategies. These questions were addressed by a third article with a mixed method design. Results revealed complex emotional reactions to death reminders beyond the mortality salience expectation of exclusive death denial. Death denial was associated with negative death valence. By contrast, positive death valence was associated with more conscious death fear, but with less implicit death anxiety. In an interrelation of research findings and theories, a revised ontology for terror management strategies is proposed. The review of terror management processes was necessary to explain the previous results of the present research and further studies. Death valence may be an alternative explanation for mortality salience effects. More importantly though, an in-depth understanding of terror management processes detects the starting points for psychosocial intervention in gender stereotypes. In conclusion, death valence rather than death acceptance or mortality salience resulted as a tangible indicator for radical intervention in gender stereotypes. The queer gender concept, death valence concepts and measures, as well as the test of death valence as an alternative explanation for mortality salience effects remain an open stage for future research. Finally, implications of the present research for psychosocial intervention in gender stereotypes are discussed. A palliative care perspective is adopted to intervention in gender stereotypes. Beyond conceptual questions, methods for interventions with individuals, groups and towards public policies are suggested.

Psychology<br>Ph.D.<br>The current paper was an attempt to study the defense mechanisms of terror management theory (TMT) via implicit cognition/indirect measures. In Study 1, an American and Foreign Single-Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT) and an American-Foreign Implicit Association Test (IAT) were used to assess implicit attitudes toward patriotism in an attempt to predict the worldview defense of patriotism in the TMT paradigm. It was hypothesized that these indirect measures would be predictive of the occurrence and strength of the worldview defense among participants primed with thoughts of mortality and not control participants. The cultural worldview defense commonly found in TMT did not arise, which precluded testing the efficacy of indirect measures as predictors. Explanations as to why the worldview defense did not arise and modifications to the design of the study are proffered. In Study 2, the automaticity of the self-esteem bolstering construct postulated by TMT was examined via an indirect measure of self-esteem (i.e., the self-esteem SC-IAT) and a measure of state self-esteem (i.e., the modified Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale). It was hypothesized that these measures of self-esteem would capture automatic self-esteem bolstering among participants primed with thoughts of mortality and not control participants. Both measures of self-esteem failed to capture the automaticity of the appearance of self-esteem bolstering following a mortality salience manipulation. Explanations for the lack of detection of self-esteem bolstering and suggestions for future research into the self-esteem bolstering construct within the TMT paradigm are discussed. Finally, factors central to the successful incorporation of indirect measures into the TMT paradigm are addressed.<br>Temple University--Theses

As the U.S. population ages the number of family caregivers is expected to rise. Family caregivers are a valuable source of informal healthcare services for patients and the public, in terms of reducing healthcare costs. However, research suggests family caregiving is not only financially costly for individuals, but associated with a number of medical and mental health risks, with spouses at higher risk for negative outcomes compared to other family members. Traditional evidence-based therapies for stress in family caregivers have been shown to be minimally efficacious with spouses. No therapies take into account the existential nature of spouse caregiver stress, including the potential nonconscious role of loss of life meaning/purpose and death anxiety. This study of multiple baseline design preliminarily explored the effects of a novel 8-week Terror Management Theory integrated existential psychotherapy (TIE) on stress and nonconscious mechanisms believed to function as buffers for existential anxiety, in five women with spouses receiving cancer treatment. Methods included ecological momentary assessment (EMA) of anxiety and self-esteem states via text message sent three times daily – and intermittent assessment of death anxiety, self-compassion, meaning in life, and quality of life at baseline, intervention, immediate post, and 1-month follow-up. Visual and statistical analyses indicated significant between-phase trend changes in anxiety and self-esteem within participants, although direction of changes varied across participants. Additionally, changes in death anxiety, self-compassion, meaning in life, and quality of life between phases varied across participants in directions inconsistent with intervention aims and participants’ subjective impressions of intervention-related changes. Mixed findings point to the complexity of spouse caregiver psychology and highlight the need for more effective therapies with this population. Results may also guide future research and development of existentially-informed therapies.

Global climate change will bring devastating consequences and potentially irreversible damage to natural (e.g., environmental, mass species extinction) and human systems (e.g., global security, mass population relocations, economical security). Whilst a widespread public perception is that climate change is the current greatest threat to human life, individual-level mitigation attempts remain low. This thesis applies a terror management theoretical framework to understand and predict individual responses to climate change information. Research described in the thesis investigates whether exposure to climate change information elicits unconscious concerns about death, which in turn, is a psychological factor explaining differences in climate change attitudes and perceptions of climate change threat. To my knowledge only two empirical studies have used a terror management theoretical framework to frame research questions concerning responses to climate change. However, both studies failed to test the mechanism by which terror management responses are thought to be produced (i.e., death-related thoughts). The current research further examined whether exposure to climate change information would predict two main terror management responses: increased worldview defence, and self-esteem striving reactions. Depending on one’s worldview affiliation, terror management responses ay motivate beneficial (e.g., increase climate mitigation intent) or detrimental (e.g., increased climate denial, low perceptions of climate threat) responses to climate change. The thesis describes four empirical research investigations that were carried out. A Pilot Study examined whether exposing individuals to information about climate change impacts (e.g., increased natural disasters, biodiversity loss, mass species extinction) would increase accessibility of death-related thoughts, when compared with a no-threat control condition (information about the ineffectiveness of multi-tasking). Also examined was whether different levels of death-thought-accessibility and trait death anxiety were associated with climate change attitudinal responses – climate change acceptance or denial, and perception of climate change risk as low or high. The main findings were that, compared with the control condition, after climate change information exposure, higher death-word completions in a word-fragment task was related to: 1) climate change acceptance, and 2) higher perceptions of climate change risk, even amongst climate change deniers. Appraisal of climate change risk may depend on trait death anxiety. When trait death anxiety was low, participants exposed to climate change information reported higher climate change risk perceptions, compared with control participants. Thus, participants with low-trait death anxiety may be less likely to activate cognitive distancing strategies observed after mortality-related information. Overall, participants were more likely to demonstrate a liberal shift in attitudes when exposed to climate change information. The Pilot Study demonstrated that exposure to climate change threat-related information can lead to greater perceptions of climate change risk. Climate change information in the Pilot Study was not found to elicit greater deathrelated thoughts when compared with the control condition. Two methodological limitations of the Pilot Study were deemed likely to have impacted these null results. First was that the most commonly used measure of death-though accessibility in the terror management literature, the death-word-fragment task, had low sensitivity due to word completion rates being skewed on important word dimensions (e.g., word frequency, arousal, valence) that impact word recall. Further, internal reliabilities for the DTA measure in both conditions were unacceptably low (climate change salience, α=.21, control α=.50). As a result of the interference from word dimensions on word recall, it was not possible to determine whether the climate change information failed to elicit mortality salience (MS), (i.e., the conscious awareness of one’s own death), or whether null differences resulted from the low sensitivity of the death-word-fragment task. Second, was the lack of evidence for the mediational model (i.e., that when reminded about death, death-related thoughts mediate terror management responses), observed in the Pilot Study and the terror management literature. The subsequent study was aimed at investigating these limitations. The first main study (Study 1) was designed to investigate two methodological limitations observed in the Pilot: 1) Is the death-word-fragment task a sensitive measure of death anxiety? and 2) Is there evidence of the terror management mediation model (that deathrelated thoughts are the mechanism by which MS leads to worldview defence)? Study 1 used a common way of eliciting MS, which asks participants to reflect and write about their own death. In Study 1a the death-word-fragment task did not differentiate between MS and control conditions. Further, the study found supporting evidence, as did the Pilot Study, that word completion rates on the word-fragment task were associated with word dimensions (e.g., valence, arousal) that predicted word completion rates over and above the mortality manipulation. Study 1b further examined three alternate implicit measures of capturing death anxiety: lexical decision task (measuring construct accessibility), dot probe task (measuring attentional bias), and an ambiguous p ctures interpretation task (measuring interpretation bias). The picture task included Rorschach inkblots, followed by images that could be interpreted either in a death-related or non-death-related manner. These latter images had a picture of a skull superimposed on a neutral image. All measures successfully differentiated between MS and control conditions. None of the four measures mediated the terror management response – that is, via worldview defence. Only the Rorschach inkblots, which excluded the more explicit deathrelated images in the ambiguous picture task, revealed a moderation effect. Thus, the full ambiguous picture, lexical decision, and dot probe tasks did not show moderation effects for worldview defence. For the Rorschach inkblots only, participants exposed to a MS, compared to a control condition, who demonstrated greater worldview defence, were those demonstrating higher cognitive avoidance as observed by the low number of death-related interpretations on the inkblots. This may reflect participants’ attempts to suppress death-related thoughts after being reminded about death. The study did not determine whether this overall lack of mediating or moderating effects occurred because, in testing implicit death anxiety, subsequent responding may be impacted, negating differences between conditions. Interference effects have been observed in TMT research when using measures of implicit death anxiety – for example, a word puzzle using death-related words and the death-word-fragment task. Consistent with this idea, TM outcomes (e.g., climate change author preferences) were shown to differ depending on the measure administered, possibly due to the measure itself eliciting differential intensities (and awareness) of death-related thoughts. None of the four measures mediated the terror management response – that is, via worldview defence. Only the Rorschach inkblots, which excluded the more explicit deathrelated images in the ambiguous picture task, revealed a moderation effect. Thus, the full ambiguous picture, lexical decision, and dot probe tasks did not show moderation effects for worldview defence. For the Rorschach inkblots only, participants exposed to a MS, compared to a control condition, who demonstrated greater worldview defence, were those demonstrating higher cognitive avoidance as observed by the low number of death-related interpretations on the inkblots. This may reflect participants’ attempts to suppress death-related thoughts after being reminded about death. The study did not determine whether this overall lack of mediating or moderating effects occurred because, in testing implicit death anxiety, subsequent responding may be impacted, negating differences between conditions. Interference effects have been observed in TMT research when using measures of implicit death anxiety – for example, a word puzzle using death-related words and the death-word-fragment task. Consistent with this idea, TM outcomes (e.g., climate change author preferences) were shown to differ depending on the measure administered, possibly due to the measure itself eliciting differential intensities (and awareness) of death-related thoughts. Study 2 design was informed by methodological concerns addressed in the Pilot Study and Study 1: 1) compared to the death-word-fragment task, the dot probe task is a more sensitive measure of unconscious concerns about death, and, 2) measuring the proposed intervening process (i.e., death-related thoughts), may impact subsequent responding. For this reason, it was first examined whether climate change information elicited attentional bias towards deathrelated stimuli (manipulation check), followed by whether climate change information elicited terror management responses, such as increased material strivings and greediness tendencies in a resource dilemma task, both of which have been found under MS conditions. Increased material strivings (e.g., desire for expensive houses, cars) is posited as a way of managing terror because material possessions can signify a successful existence. This is likely to be an important terror management outcome to study as the continual production and consumption of consumer purchases is antithetical to curbing greenhouse gas emitting behaviour. Study 2 differentiated between two climate change information frames as not all climate change communications may elicit mortality concerns, or at least, not to the same extent. One emphasised the losses of unmitigated climate change (loss-frame), and the other emphasised the gains of mitigated climate change (gain-frame). It was posited that the loss-frame would be more likely to elicit concerns about death and subsequent terror management responses. Lossframed climate change information was posited to be more likely than a gain-frame to elicit MS because of the emphasis on threatening and mortality-related consequences of climate change. Also included was a third no climate change threat (control) information condition. Results revealed that climate change loss-framed information resulted in greater death avoidance (manipulation check) and increased desire for future wealth, when compared with both information frames. Gain-frame climate change communication revealed no differences in death-thought accessibility or desire for future wealth when compared with the control information. Although there was evidence of material desires post threatening climate change information, there was no framing differences on greediness tendencies on a resource dilemma task. It may be that whilst climate change threat bolsters the desire to acquire status seeking symbols, it may not induce desires of wanting more (greed) when “more” does not fulfil motives of wealth and status display. Exploratory analyses in Study 2 revealed two unexpected findings. It was observed that participants exposed to the loss-frame (compared with other frames) and who responded with the highest greed and fear responses in the resource dilemma task, were also those who showed the highest climate change concern and mitigation intent, respectively. Although preliminary, these findings point towards the exposure to loss-framed climate change information motivating individuals to reduce feelings of psychological threat in ways that are both threat-focused (e.g., higher climate change concern), and symbolic (e.g., pursuit of status showing symbols, greed). Interestingly, there were no differences between information frame exposure and climate Exploratory analyses in Study 2 revealed two unexpected findings. It was observed that participants exposed to the loss-frame (compared with other frames) and who responded with the highest greed and fear responses in the resource dilemma task, were also those who showed the highest climate change concern and mitigation intent, respectively. Although preliminary, these findings point towards the exposure to loss-framed climate change information motivating individuals to reduce feelings of psychological threat in ways that are both threat-focused (e.g., higher climate change concern), and symbolic (e.g., pursuit of status showing symbols, greed). Interestingly, there were no differences between information frame exposure and climate change attitudes and mitigation intent. Overall, Study 2 findings suggested that societal risk announcements, such as those referring to climate change, may elicit mortality concerns and impact various life domains (e.g., managing impressions of success) as a result of managing psychological threat. One reason that climate change information is posited to elicit terror management responses is because evidence of climate change and its impacts serve to remind individuals that death, decay, and destruction are inevitable, and that we have little control over our own death. By emphasising its worst consequences, loss-framed climate change information may invite feelings of climate change helplessness – the belief that climate change impacts are beyond personal control as the threat is so enormous. It was reasoned that manipulating climate change response efficacy in ways that individuals are led to believe that their individual actions (e.g., turning up the thermostat in summer) will have an impact on climate change, may increase feelings of control over the outcomes of the perceived threat and thereby reduce feelings of helplessness and concerns about death. Communicating high climate change response efficacy (vs. low climate change response efficacy) may therefore prevent the activation of terror management reduction responses – such as worldview defence and material strivings. In conjunction with TMT, the extended parallel processing model (EPPM) was adopted to understand Study 3 findings. The EPPM provides an explanation to why, after exposure to fear appeals, threat-reduction vs. threat-avoidance responses are observed. It is posited that fear appeals, combined with a high response-efficacy message, elicits threat control responses (e.g., mitigation) whereas fear appeals, combined with a low response-efficacy message, elicit fear control responses (e.g., minimising risks, avoidance, denial). Study 3 examined high and low threat by manipulating the outcome frame (loss as high threat vs. gain as low threat) followed by a response efficacy (high vs. low) message. The same loss- and gain-frame information from Study 2 was used for this study. Outcomes measured post-information (Time 1; T1) were mitigation intent worldview defence and material strivings. Also examined was whether differences in reported behavioural engagement remained at either 3 to 5 days (Time 2; T2), or 5 to 7 days post information (Time 3; T3). It was posited that high-response efficacy would buffer concerns about death for individuals exposed to the loss-framed climate change information, thereby negating possible terror management responses. Results at T1 showed that high-response efficacy frames (vs. low-response efficacy frames) had moderate to large increases in mitigation intent. However, outcome frames (loss vs. gain) made no difference to mitigation intent. At T2 and T3, there were no differences between information frame and reported behavioural engagement, suggesting that either intentions did not translate into behaviour, or that increased mitigation intent does not endure. Terror management responses, worldview defence, and material strivings, were not observed in this study. It was posited that all climate change communication frames may have elicited similar levels of existential threat. Without a control condition it was not possible to detect between condition differences in terror management strategies. This thesis offers novel original and innovative contributions to the climate change risk communication and terror management literature. This work empirically investigated responses towards exposure to climate change information using a terror management theoretical and methodological framework. Study findings provided evidence that a terror management framework is useful in understanding and predicting societal responses to climate change. Responses to climate change has been under-researched within the terror management literature. This study was the first to examine whether climate change information elicited concerns about death. Second, the research described in this thesis aimed to report a number of responses to climate change information as a result of death anxiety, such as climate change attitudes, perceptions of climate change risk, climate change mitigation intentions, and consumer behaviour. Measuring responses to climate change information in domains other than attitudes towards climate change is also largely absent from the climate change literature. As the risks of climate change increase and the need for widespread behavioural engagement accelerates, it is necessary to understand how best to communicate climate change information taking account of individual differences. Together, the studies demonstrate potential positive trajectories (e.g., greater perception of climate change threat), as well as possible backfire consequences (e.g., increased wealth enhancement) that exposure to climate change threat-related information can have in motivating sustainable attitudes. Results from the studies described in the thesis may be useful for environmental advocates, risk communication researchers, media, and policymakers seeking to communicate the need for effective and urgent climate action. For instance, although more negatively focused climate change information may elicit threat-dismissal/minimisation/denial as a death-attenuating response, communicating high individual climate change response-efficacy can elicit increased behavioural intentions to take climate mitigating actions. Furthermore, it may be important that climate change appeals that elicit psychological threat are directly followed by opportunities that attenuate the perceived threat in ways that help rather than hinder environmental sustainability efforts. Future research could take into account a terror management perspective when seeking to further understand climate change attitudes and measure the function of death anxiety. More research is needed to fully understand the role that death anxiety plays. Additionally, terror management research could investigate boundary conditions to better predict when exposure to climate change information will elicit terror management responses. It will be valuable to identify which framing and individual factors increase the likelihood of climate change communication eliciting positive terror management responses – attitudes and intentions that Future research could take into account a terror management perspective when seeking to further understand climate change attitudes and measure the function of death anxiety. More research is needed to fully understand the role that death anxiety plays. Additionally, terror management research could investigate boundary conditions to better predict when exposure to climate change information will elicit terror management responses. It will be valuable to identify which framing and individual factors increase the likelihood of climate change communication eliciting positive terror management responses – attitudes and intentions that<br>Thesis (PhD Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>School of Applied Psychology<br>Griffith Health<br>Full Text

The current research presents a series of papers which have been designed to test the TMT contention that mortality concerns precipitate intergroup bias and prejudice. In addition the research also examined whether terrorism salience produces similar effects. The paper presented in Chapter 2 (Study 1) first illustrated that terrorism salience manipulations .constructed' from media coverage of the events of September 11th 2001 induced mortality salience. Furthennore this paper (Study' 2) demons~tes that mortality salience, but not terrorism salience, precipitated less favourable attitudes towards a racially proud Black outgroup member. However neither mort~lity salience nor terrorism salience was found to influence ratings of a racially proud Arabic out-group member or a racially proud White ingroup member. It is proposed that the null fmdings with regard to the Arabic author might be attributable to the fact that. exposure to this target evoked mortality salience, and empirical evidence in support of this view is presented (Study 3). The paper presented in Chapter' 3 explores whether mortality salience and / or terrorism salience influence contemporary measures of prejudiced attitudes. Study 1 found no evidence that mortality salience or terrorism salience impact upon prejudiced attitudes towards 'foreigners' as measured by th,e subtle and blatant prejudice scales (pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). Study 2 however, revealed that mortality salience lead those participants who value tolerance to express'more favo.urable attitudes towards 'asylum seekers' as measured by the mod~m racism scale (McConahay, 1986). No such effects were found for terrorism salience and it is proposed that this may be attributable to the terrorism sali~nce manipulation used. The paper presented in Chapter 4 therefore used media based coverage of the July 7tD. 2005 London bombings to manipulate terrorism salience. Accordingly, Study 1 illustrated that exposure to this manipulation served to induce mortality salience. Study 2 employed an, implicit measure of attitude and demonstrated that terrorism salience led to less positive attitudes towards Arabic out-group members. This effect however was onlYfound among participants who did not place a high value on tolerance and no such effects were found in conditions of mortality salience. The limitations of these fmdings, and the implications of them for TMT, terrorism salience and intergroup relations are discussed in the final chapter.

Following the 9/11 terror attacks, many Americans experienced some form of habit or mood-altering stress though, most had received their impressions of the violence via distributed media reporting rather than firsthand exposure. Researchers have found that the propagating effects of media broadcasting can exasperate the effects of terror. However, little is known of how reports of terror violence affect group dynamics in geographically distant nations. The purpose of this study, following terror management theory, was to understand if terrorist violence influences cognitive and implicit racial evaluations in a culturally similar, but geographically distant, population. The study's design was a quantitative natural experiment. Time of completing the assessment, either before or after the 2015 Paris Bataclan terror attack, comprised the 2-level independent variable; the dependent variables were the Race Implicit Association Test (IAT) and a cognitive evaluation of racial anxiety. Age and religiosity served as covariates. The target population included White citizen residents of the United States over the age of 18; 263 participants were derived from archival data. Comparisons of raw IAT scores showed an 8% increase in negative implicit racial evaluations following the attack; however, the MANCOVA failed to achieve multivariate significance (p > .05). Despite the lack of statistical significance, important details on implicit racial attitudes were uncovered. Results of this study have the potential to foster positive social change by informing individuals on how their implicit associations might be affected following exposure to reports of terrorist violence. Additionally, these findings may guide national security and intelligence professional's development of post-attack response measures and task forces.

The aim of the current thesis was to explore the possible link between System Justification Theory (SJT) and Terror Management Theory (TMT) in gender context and from the perspective of intergroup relations in a sample of Turkish university students. Having recently attracted research attention, the relation between the two theories is based on the effect of mortality salience (MS) on the tendency to justify the existing system. Accordingly, three research questions were investigated to see whether (1) ambivalent sexism toward women (hostile and benevolent sexism<br>HS and BS, respectively) and gender-group favoritism (on both explicit and implicit measures<br>expGF and impGF, respectively) were related to gender-specific system justification (GSJ), and whether (2) gender and (3) MS moderated the relation of GSJ to ambivalent sexism and gender-group favoritism. Based on the literature, it was hypothesized that (1) GSJ would predict HS, BS, expGF, and impGF, and that these predictions would be stronger (2) among women than among men and (3) when mortality is made salient as compared to when it is not. The hypotheses were tested with 185 participants (86 men, 99 women) who completed a questionnaire package including the demographic information form, GSJ Scale, MS manipulation, Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and a scale measuring expGF along with a computer-administered task for impGF. The results revealed that higher levels of GSJ predicted higher levels of benevolent and hostile attitudes toward women as well as higher levels of explicit ingroup favoritism and lower levels of favoritism toward women. Only GSJ &ndash<br>HS and GSJ &ndash<br>expGF relationships were moderated by gender. The moderating role of MS was not observed in any of the four relationships. However, GSJ scores were found to be unevenly distributed across MS conditions, thereby, casting doubt on the reliability of the results concerning the moderating role of MS. The findings, as well as the contributions and limitations of the study, were discussed.

Terror management theory research suggests that self-esteem acts as an anxiety buffer and high self-esteem can reduce implicit death thoughts and worldview defense. Self-compassion, it is argued, enhances wellbeing by making people feel safe and secure, while self-esteem makes people feel superior and sometimes unrealistically self-confident. Through a series of studies, this dissertation investigated buffering of death anxiety by self-compassion. Studies 1 and 2 investigated the role of trait (Study 1) and induced (Study 2) self-compassion in buffering existential anxiety by reducing implicit death thoughts. Studies 3 and 4 investigated the role of trait (Study 3) and induced (Study 4) self-compassion in buffering existential anxiety by reducing worldview defense. The series of studies did not support the proposed hypotheses, as they failed to replicate the expected mortality salience effects. Because of this, the effects of self-compassion on implicit death anxiety were also not evident. Possible reasons for failure to reject the null hypotheses are discussed and recommendation for future studies is given.

Past research has shown that mortality salience increases desire for offspring. Additionally, past studies have illustrated that women in a high fertility phase within a menstrual cycle show greater preference for masculine faces while performing facial judgment tasks than do women in a low fertility phase or women using hormonal contraception. However, mortality salience has been shown to influence mate selection. The current study explored whether or not a cue related to fertility salience may produce similar outcomes to cues of mortality salience observed in past studies. In partial replication of a study conducted by Vaughn, Bradley, Byrd-Craven, and Kennison (2010), the current study included 151 heterosexual female participants who self-identified as falling within cyclical high fertility or low fertility categories, or who reported using hormonal contraception. These participants were randomly assigned to either a control condition, a mortality salience condition, or a fertility salience condition and then instructed to judge images of male faces provided by Re, DeBruine, Jones, and Perrett (2013). Participants rated faces in categories of attractiveness, dominance, and health. The study predicted significant interaction effects of salience condition and fertility status on opposite sex facial perceptions. Additionally, participants were asked about procreation preferences. No effects of mortality salience or fertility salience were observed in regard to opposite sex facial perceptions, number of children desired, or preferred age for having a first child. Thus, the current research does not provide support that the fertility salience cue used in the study influences opposite sex perceptions or procreation preferences.<br>Master of Arts

Surprisingly little experimental research has explored the psychological function of soul belief given its prevalence. As some have noted (e.g., Rank, 1930/1998), soul belief may have evolved to help individuals cope with existential concerns through promises of literal immortality. The research that has been conducted on the function of literal immortality shows that belief in an afterlife minimizes death-related concerns (Dechesne et al., 2003). I propose two separate hypotheses testing the psychological function of soul belief. Hypothesis 1 states that soul belief should minimize the threat of a death reminder (or mortality salience; MS); this hypothesis was supported in Study 1 where soul believers did not show an increase in death-thought accessibility (DTA) following MS, but low soul believers did show an increase. Hypothesis 2 states that soul belief should also offer protection from threats to symbolic immortality related to the prospect of the end-of-world. Studies 2, 3, 4, and 6 support the reasoning behind this hypothesis. However, Study 5 did not support Hypothesis 2. Considering the data that did support Hypothesis 2, soul believers showed less resistance to end-of-world arguments and also did not show an increase in DTA following such arguments; whereas, low soul believers respond to end-of-world arguments with more resistance and heightened DTA. The discussion focuses on interpretations of these findings and remaining questions.

In this research four models derived from Terror Management Theory (TMT) were tested by using structural equation modeling.. These models were developed for testing different theoretical alternatives in relation to psychological mechanisms explaining the subjective well-being as an outcome of fear of death. The first two models were based on the original Terror Management Theory. The first supposed that death anxiety as a catalyst motivates individuals in two defenses: developing culturally committed personalities by validation of cultural worldview and thus enhancing self-esteem. The second indicated that every individual had two options in the face of death: enhancing their self-esteem or committing to cultural worldview, in turn, improves the well-being of the individual. The last two models were identified by taking attachment as an alternative variable. In the third model, attachment styles of the individuals were presented as a third defense mechanism in addition to self-esteem and cultural worldview in TMT. They were assumed as mediator variables in the model between fear of death and subjective well-being. The last model treated attachment as a mediator between fear of death and distal defenses of self-esteem and cultural worldview. The results indicated that only the last model was entirely supported.. The lack of support for the first two models might be an indicator of the invalidity of the model in cultures that are not individualistic. For the last two models, the results suggested that attachment was crucial in understanding the relationship between fear of death and subjective well-being from a TMT perspective.

Past research has examined the many ways individuals behave in response to unconscious primes. For instance, unconsciously activating stereotypes leads people to exhibit behavior that parallels the target stereotype (e.g., Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996; Dijksterhuis & van Knippenberg, 1998). Priming methodology has also been extended to inducing mortality salience, such that specific behaviors emerge in response to thinking about one’s own death. Two theories, socioemotional selectivity theory and terror management theory, hypothesize how individuals cope with thoughts about the end of life. The present study attempted to extend past research by comparing older and younger adults’ responses to unconscious mortality salience. Fifty-nine younger adults and 52 older adults were randomly assigned to one of two prime conditions: death prime or negative prime. The unconscious primes were administered through word searches, which contained 20 target words related to each prime. Defenses to the primes were assessed via suitability ratings and reaction times to a picture-caption task, which contained both neutral and emotional (positive and negative) captions paired with neutral pictures. A defense was operationalized as higher suitability ratings and faster reaction times to the positive captions, as well as lower suitability ratings and slower reaction times to the negative captions. Based on terror management theory, it was expected that individuals who were primed with death would display specific defensive behavioral responses as compared to those who were primed with negativity, regardless of age. Socioemotional selectivity theory, however, predicts that these defenses may also emerge when older adults are primed with negativity due to the increased tendency for older adults, relative to younger adults, to automatically implement default emotion regulatory goals. Analyses revealed that both younger and older adults embraced the neutral and positive captions after being primed with death. Participants primed with negativity were also more likely to embrace positivity. Age differences emerged such that younger adults were faster when reacting to emotional captions in the death condition than in the negative condition. Conversely, older adults primed with negativity reacted faster to emotional captions than those primed with death. Implications for terror management theory and socioemotional selectivity theory are discussed. Overall, both young and older adults displayed defenses to prime-activated threats of death and negativity. The implementation of death-related defenses was stronger for younger adults than the implementation of negativity-related defenses, but the opposite was true for older adults.

Terror management research has shown that mortality salience leads to especially positive reactions towards similar others and to especially negative reactions towards different others. The present research consists of six studies that investigate the influence of salient group norms, salient identities and in-group identification on the effects of mortality salience. In-group norms of collectivism and individualism were manipulated in Study I, whereas in-group norms of fairness and discrimination were manipulated in Study 2. Study 3 manipulated out-group norms of fairness and discrimination. The results of these studies provided evidence thai the content of salient in-group and out-group norms moderates the effects of mortality salience on bias. A mortality salience induction led to greater inter-group bias when salient norms prescribed collectivism and discrimination, as opposed to individualism and fairness respectively. Support to the view that death reminders can increase adherence to group norms was also provided. Studies 4- 6 focused on the role of salient identities and group identification on the effects of mortality salience. Study 4 primed English and student identities in a cross-categorization setting, whereas Study 5 primed English and European identities in a re-categorization in setting. In Study 6, in-group identification was measured. It was demonstrated that salient social identities moderate the effects of mortality salience on bias, whereas in-group identification does not. In Study 4, English students for whom mortality was salient displayed more bias toward Scottish students when the active identity was English as opposed to students. Study 5 showed that English that were reminded of their mortality displayed more bias toward French people when the salient identity was English than when it was Europeans. In Study 6, mortality salience led to increased inter-group bias irrespectively of participants' level of in-group identification. Discussion focuses on potential explanations, implications and future directions.

This study investigated the tenets of "terror management theory," a theory based primarily upon the writings of Ernest Becker. According to Becker, cultural belief systems are designed to lessen the existential fear and anxiety which result from human beings' conscious awareness of their physical vulnerability and eventual death. If people obey the rules of their culture, they are promised protection from harm and immortality; they are therefore highly motivated to promote and affirm their particular world view. An opposing world view, on the other hand, is perceived as a threat and must be defended against, particularly when physical vulnerability and mortality are made salient. It was therefore hypothesized that a reminder of mortality would cause American subjects to be more attracted to a member of their own culture and less attracted to a person from the middle-east. Additionally, it was expected that bolstering the subjects' world view following a reminder of death would alleviate the aforementioned tendencies, while a direct cultural threat following mortality salience would exacerbate them. Eighty-three American college students served as the subjects for this study. Prior to evaluating two target individuals (one U.S. citizen and one Lebanese citizen), one-half filled out a mortality attitudes survey; the other half did not. Following the mortality salience manipulation, one-third read an interview which highly praised the U.S. political system, one-third read an interview which harshly criticized it, and one-third read a neutral interview which was unrelated to politics. The targets were then evaluated through the Interpersonal Judgment Scale (IJS), a series of trait endorsements, and a social distance scale. Although none of the hypothesized effects emerged and there was no direct support for terror management theory, there were several subtle indicators of prejudice toward the Lebanese target. It was concluded that the validity of the findings was significantly affected by a high degree of suspicion on the part of the subjects, coupled with a general unwillingness to openly express prejudice; this made it difficult to accurately evaluate the plausibility of the theory.

Social identity theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) is one of the most influential social psychological theories of group behavior and intergroup relations. Early social identity research focused on many different group processes; however, the motivation behind group identification was not fully explored. Researchers have proposed a variety of accounts for why people join and identify with groups. This dissertation unravels the relationship between, on the one hand, mortality salience, self-related uncertainty and self-esteem, and on the other group identification and ingroup defense. The general hypothesis derived from uncertainty-identity theory (Hogg, 2010) is that uncertainty and not fear of death or pursuit of self-esteem motivate people to identify with and defend their groups, and that identification mediates the relationship between uncertainty and defense of the group. Experiment 1 (N = 112) tested the relationship between uncertainty and self-esteem on defense of the ingroup, with the additional test of the mediating effects of identification with the group between uncertainty and ingroup defense. Results showed that uncertainty and not self-esteem motivate people to identify with a group, to defend their group, and that group defense is mediated by identification. Experiment 2 (N = 112) provided a replication of the typical TMT study, which suggests that self-esteem will buffer the effects of mortality salience on ingroup defense, with the additional test of the mediating effects of identification between mortality salience and defense of one's group. As predicted, mortality salience only increased identification and defense of the group when self-esteem was not enhanced, as well, the interactive effects of mortality salience and self-esteem on defense was mediated by identification. Experiment 3 (N = 294) was a combination of both Experiments 1 and 2 and tested the hypothesis that uncertainty would moderate the relationship between self-esteem and mortality salience on group identification and ingroup defense. Exactly as predicted, only under high uncertainty the typical TMT results are demonstrated. Results across these three experiments demonstrate that self-uncertainty plays a significant role in reactions to mortality salience, and support uncertainty-identity theory's analysis of the role of self-uncertainty in ideological conviction and group behavior.

This pre-test, post- test experiment examined the effects of mortality salience, frames of the military and military personnel, and regulatory focus on viewer attitudes toward the military, support for the military, and their perceptions of military personnelâ s criminal behavior. Participants viewed a short video clip from an episode of NCIS which contained either a sympathetic or non-sympathetic frame of the military and, in the treatment condition, a mortality salience reminder. Frame (sympathetic or non-sympathetic) had a significant effect on participant attitudes toward the military in the control condition when there was no mortality salience reminder present in the video clip. However, when participantsâ mortality was made salient, attitudes and support for the military did not change. Theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.<br>Master of Arts

Terror management theory suggests that the fear of death is ubiquitous. Only recently has death been examined as something potentially interesting from this framework, and specifically, to individuals high in trait openness (Boyd, Morris, & Goldenberg, 2017). This research, however, did not clearly delineate if participants were actually becoming interested in death. My studies address this ambiguity by examining what high openness individuals are becoming interested in and if the way death is construed impacts interest. Study 1 tested if in addition to becoming more generally interested, high openness individuals become interested in death per se following mortality salience (relative to a control), as Boyd et al. (2017) speculated. Analyses revealed that individuals high in experiential openness only became more interested in death if the death interest measure came after a scale of general interest (i.e., after a longer delay). In contrast to predictions, individuals high in general openness did not exhibit these effects. In Study 2, I hypothesized that high openness individuals would become more interested in art and philosophy following mortality salience (relative to a control) because of the relevance of these domains to openness. This hypothesis was not supported. In Study 3, I tested if highlighting death’s experiential or intellectual qualities would increase general interest and subsequently decrease death anxiety, depending on if one’s unique brand of openness valued such qualities. Only when death was construed of in an experiential manner (relative to a control) did individuals high in experiential openness become more generally interested, and unexpectedly, more anxious about death. Together these studies demonstrate that the aspect of openness related to valuing experience can actually increase one’s interest in death, and when death is construed in a way that corresponds with this type of openness, general interest also increases.

According to Terror Management Theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) a key function of cultural worldviews is facilitating people's belief that they are different from animals and therefore more than physical creatures fated to obliteration upon death. We sought to investigate the relationship between peoples’ perceived similarity to animals (PSA) and their investment in their ingroup cultural-worldviews, creativity and personal achievement, as ways of managing their awareness of death. We focused on four central hypotheses: (1) high faith in cultural worldviews should reduce PSA; (2) people who view themselves less similar to animals (low-PSA) should be more invested in their cultural worldview, especially after death primes; (3) people who view themselves as more similar to animals (high-PSA), should invest more in personal achievement and creativity as a terror management strategy and (4) be more prone to experience anxiety, particularly after a threat to their creativity. Supporting Hypotheses 1 and 2 we found that: validation of cultural worldviews reduces PSA (Study 1); low-PSA individuals cared more about their ingroup identity and worldviews and perceived other cultures as more different (Studies 2a-2b); after death primes low-PSA individuals defended their groups' cultural worldview more (Studies 3-4), and liked people from other cultures less (Studies 5-6). Hypothesis 3 was partially supported: PSA was positively correlated to importance of creativity, openness and performance on a creativity task (Studies 7, 9 and 10), but it was not correlated with self-reported or projected need for achievement (Studies 7 and 8), or with creative story writing (Studies 8). Hypothesis 4 was also partially supported: PSA was positively related to trait-anxiety (Study 9), and to levels of death thought accessibility (Study 10), and high-PSA individuals experienced more anxiety after receiving negative feedback about their creativity (Study 10). The implications these findings to the field of social psychology are discussed.

The nature of capital punishment cases makes mortality a highly salient factor during trial proceedings. Previous research has explored the effect of mortality salience on human’s decision making in a legal context. This study extends this vein of research by examining the role death plays in jurors’ psychological processes when sentencing a defendant who is severely mentally ill in a capital trial. The current experiment measured mock jurors’ (n=169) and college students’, n=116) Mental Illness Worldview (MIWV), and then experimentally manipulated type of mortality salience (dual-focused: mock jurors who were specifically asked to contemplate their own mortality and were exposed to trial-related death references vs. trial focused: only exposed to death references) and the type of defendant (severely mentally ill vs. neutral) accused of a capital offense. We found that mock jurors perceived mental illness to be a mitigating factor when dual (i.e., self) focused mortality salience was induced, whereas participants only exposed to trial-related death references considered mental illness to be an important aggravating factor in sentencing.

Research on existential mortality fears has indicated that death reminders impact individuals at the cognitive and behavioral levels. One way people cope with this threat is through cherishing cultural values that provide life with meaning. However, little research has explored how death reminders impact cultural standards regarding gender. These cultural values often manifest through various means by male and female groups. Guided by terror management theory, which posits that people address threats to their existence by engaging in culturally-sanctioned behaviors to enhance their self-esteem, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of mortality salience (MS) on male participants' propensity for sexism and attitudes towards those with atypical gender stereotypes. Participants (n = 136) were recruited from courses at a local university and were selected based on the assumption that they had been exposed to media depicting death-related events. A quantitative research design was used to examine differences between the experimental MS and control pain salience conditions, and to assess effect sizes. Results from a MANOVA indicated that MS was associated with significantly higher sexism scores (F = 15.322, p < .001) as measured by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, and with less favorable ratings of peers (as measured by a common opinion rating scale used in previous research in this area) who violated traditional gender stereotypes (F = 13.459, p < .001). The findings imply existential threats may contribute to negative stereotyping based on gender and enhance conservative views of gender stereotypes. Implications for social change are discussed involving the reduction of intolerance and prejudice directed at those who hold opposing worldviews.

En psychologie sociale de la santé, l’analyse des dimensions psychologiques et sociales en jeu dans la construction des risques sanitaires constitue un enjeu à la fois théorique et pragmatique. En articulant le cadre théorique des représentations sociales (Apostolidis, 2006) et celui de la Terror Management Theory (TMT, Solomon, Greenberg, &amp; Pyszczynski, 1991), la recherche proposée vise à étudier les liens entre l’induction d’un état d’anxiété et la mobilisation de raisonnements symboliques face au risque du sida. Quatre expériences ont été réalisées (N = 520, 221 hommes et 299 femmes, mâge = 21,1). Elles consistaient à rendre saillante l'idée de mortalité (versus un thème neutre) chez les sujets, puis à leur faire lire un scénario de relation sexuelle socialement normé (avec ou sans délai), et enfin, à leur demander d'évaluer la valence sentimentale de la relation décrite et le risque du sida lui étant associé. Les résultats montrent que le risque perçu varie en fonction de la valence sentimentale attribuée, qui elle-même varie en fonction du facteur délai. Ce fonctionnement sociocognitif est par ailleurs modulé par le sexe des participants, et par l'induction expérimentale : d'une manière générale, le délai est davantage valorisé par les femmes et par les sujets de la condition « mortalité », sauf en cas de convictions religieuses ou spirituelles. Les principaux résultats corroborent ainsi ceux de la littérature consacrée à la TMT. Nous les discuterons dans la perspective théorique des représentations sociales et nous poserons leur implication par rapport à la prévention du risque du sida<br>In social psychology of health, the analysis of psychological and social dimensions involved in health risks construction represents a major both theoretical and pragmatic issue. The current research proposes to articulate the social representations approach (Apostolidis, 2006) and the Terror Management Theory (Solomon, Greenberg, &amp; Pyszczynski, 1991) in order to study the links between an induced state anxiety and the mobilization of symbolic reasoning concerning HIV risk perception. In our four experiments (N = 520, 221 men and 299 women, age mean = 21.1), after death thoughts (versus a neutral theme) were made salient, participants were asked to read a socially normed sexual relationship script (with or without “delay”), and then were asked to evaluate the sentimental valence of the relationship described and the HIV risks associated with it. Results showed that perceived risks depend on the sentimental valence attributed, which itself depends on the “delay” factor. This sociocognitive functioning is also modulated by gender, and by experimental inductions : in general, waiting before having sexual intercourse is more valued by women and by mortality salience condition participants, except when they have religious or spiritual beliefs. Our main results thus support those derived from TMT. These findings are discussed in a social representations perspective, and their practical implications are examined in relation to HIV risk preventive actions

The aim of the present research was to investigate the issue of loss anxiety within the framework of disability and terror management theory. A questionnaire package was administered to 217 participants twice to examine the effects of mortality salience and disability salience. Besides mortality salience, paralysis salience was found to be effective. Highly conservative participants were becoming more conservative in the paralysis salience and mortality salience conditions. Content analysis was also conducted relating the participants&rsquo<br>accounts. It was concluded that death and disability were both inducing sadness for the participants. However, this sadness experience could have two different formats. The relation between experimental manipulations and global sadness accounts was not significant. However, the relationship between experimental manipulations and individual sadness accounts was significant. Participants in the mortality salience condition were experiencing less individual sadness than expected. In contrast, participants in the paralysis salience condition were experiencing more individual sadness than expected. It is concluded that death may not be the one and only fundamental fear as terror management theory suggests. Disability might be as fearful as death. A theoretical model is proposed for the alternative experimental manipulation in terror management theory studies. According to this conceptualization, an experimental manipulation could be successful if it satisfies the following three conditions: moderately fearful, highly imaginable/easily available and highly self-relevant. Any kind of loss which satisfies these conditions might result in cultural worldview defense. The threatening nature of disability might provide one more reason relating the importance of a disability-friendly environment.

This doctoral thesis is composed by three research papers. The first chapter, titled "Terroir and Perceived Quality of Wine: Evidence from Tasting Experiments", is co-authored with Luca Nunziata. In this study we use experimental data in order to verify whether information about the terroir of a wine has a causal effect on the perceived wine quality and whether these pieces of information are more effective than the quality signal used for terroir products in the wine market: appellation (label) of origin. In order to address these issues we have carried out two wine-tasting experiments in three different shopping malls in Italy, using a random sample of 790 individuals. We used a Palizzi IGT red wine as it was awarded for its terroir expressiveness and it is an appellation not well known to consumers. Wine consumers in our samples are found to be able to use technical and detailed information about terroir to infer the quality of the wine and they exhibit a higher appreciation when receiving information about terroir rather than about the appellation of origin Palizzi IGT. The second chapter is titled "Criminal Firms: Exploring Negative Externalities on Non-Criminal Competitors" and it is co-authored with Antonio Parbonetti and Michele Fabrizi. The aim of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the economic consequences due to the presence of firms connected with mafia-type criminal organizations located in developed areas. In particular, we verify for the first time how these criminal firms affect non-criminal competitors’ performance and we investigate the negative externalities that they inflict by using firm-level data. Our empirical analysis exploits exogenous shocks imposed by operations against Mafia (from 2008 to 2011) at municipality level to implement a difference-in-difference strategy that compares the change in performance of non-criminal firms with the change in performance of a control group of (non-criminal) firms that operate in either an industry or a municipality that have not been affected by these police operations. . The underlying idea is that these operations‘clean’ the industries and the municipalities where the targeted criminal firms operate, with a consequent beneficial effect on non-criminal competitors located in the geographical proximity. Results suggest that treated competitors experience a statistically significant and sizeable increase in EBITDA/Total Assets and ROA after the operation, with respect to comparison groups that have not been exposed to this shock. Further explorations permit us to verify that this positive effect is not merely due to a decrease in the industry size after the operations. Organized crime and criminal firms bring inefficiencies in the institutional and business environment that cause many distortions, such as in the access to procurement markets, especially for smaller firms. The third chapter, "Does Thinking About Death Make Us More Generous? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Cooperation with UNICEF", is a solo paper. In this study I draw on Social Identity Theory (SIT) and Terror Management Theory (TMT) to expand our understanding of the phenomenon of ingroup bias in charitable giving. I aim at investigating the effect of the use of death priming in emotive charity advertisement on potential donors’ decisions and ingroup bias. In particular I compare implicit and explicit priming of death thoughts against priming of thoughts related to disease and I explore the role of various dimensions of subjects' self-esteem in moderating their responses to implicit stimuli. To this purpose I conduct a field experiment in cooperation with UNICEF, which has involved 547 subjects. Main findings of this study show that in the control group we observe that on average ingroup bias is in favor of ingroup (white-skinned - Caucasian) recipients, rather than outgroup (black-skinned - African) ones. When thoughts of death are activated, both implicitly and explicitly, discriminatory behavior emerges at the expense of donors' ingroup and favorable towards the outgroup. Furthermore, implicit death effects arise independently from the level of general self-esteem and self-esteem’s relevant domains. This study produces interesting findings not only for the direct field of application. The integration of SIT and TMT offers valuable sparks for forthcoming economic analyses of ingroup bias in different settings.<br>Questa tesi di dottorato e' composta da tre saggi. Il primo capitolo, intitolato "Terroir and Perceived Quality of Wine: Evidence from Tasting Experiments", è coautorato con Luca Nunziata. In questo studio utilizziamo dati sperimentali per verificare se le informazioni sul terroir di un vino hanno un effetto causale sulla qualità percepita e se queste informazioni sono più efficaci del segnale di qualità utilizzato per i prodotti da terroir nel mercato vinicolo: la denominazione (marchio) di origine. Al fine di affrontare queste questioni abbiamo condotto due esperimenti di degustazione in tre diversi centri commerciali in Italia, coinvolgendo un campione casuale di 790 individui. Abbiamo utilizzato un vino rosso Palizzi IGT in quanto è stato premiato per l’espressività del terroir di provenienza ed è una denominazione non molto conosciuta dai consumatori. I consumatori di vino nei nostri campioni sono stati in grado di utilizzare informazioni tecniche e dettagliate sul terroir per inferire la qualità del vino e hanno mostrato un maggiore apprezzamento quando hanno ricevuto le informazioni sul terroir piuttosto che sulla denominazione di origine Palizzi IGT. Il secondo capitolo è intitolato "Criminal Firms: Exploring Negative Externalities on Non- Criminal Competitors" ed è coautorato con Antonio Parbonetti e Michele Fabrizi. L’obiettivo di questo articolo è di fornire evidenza empirica delle conseguenze economiche dovute alla presenza di aziende connesse con organizzazioni criminali di tipo mafioso localizzate in aree sviluppate. In particolare, verifichiamo per la prima volte come le imprese criminali influenzano la performance dei concorrenti non criminali ed investighiamo le esternalità negative che infliggono ai concorrenti utilizzando dati a livello di impresa. La nostra analisi empirica sfrutta gli shock esogeni imposti da operazioni contro la Mafia (dal 2008 al 2011) a livello comunale per implementare una strategia difference-in-difference che compara il cambiamento nella performance delle aziende non criminali con quello di un gruppo di controllo composto da aziende (non criminali) che operano in settori o aree che non sono stati interessati dalle operazioni di polizia considerate. L’ idea sottostante è che queste operazioni ‘puliscano’ i settori e i comuni dove le aziende criminali colpite operano, con un conseguente effetto benefico sui concorrenti non criminali localizzati in prossimità geografica. I risultati suggeriscono che i concorrenti trattati presentano un considerevole e statisticamente significativo aumento dell’EBITDA/Totale Attivo e del ROA dopo l’operazione rispetto ai gruppi di controllo che non sono stati esposti a tale shock. Ulteriori esplorazioni ci permettono di verificare che questo effetto positivo non è semplicemente dovuto ad una diminuzione della dimensione dei settori dopo le operazioni. Il crimine organizzato e le imprese criminali portano inefficienze nell’ ambiente istituzionale in cui operano le imprese che causano numerose distorsioni, come nell’accesso al mercato degli approvvigionamenti, soprattutto per le aziende più piccole. Il terzo capitolo, "Does Thinking About Death Make Us More Generous? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Cooperation with UNICEF", è a firma unica. In questo studio mi baso sulla Social Identity Theory e Terror Management Theory per espandere la conoscenza del fenomeno dell’ingroup bias nel comportamento altruistico. Il mio obiettivo è investigare l’effetto dell’induzione di pensieri di morte (death priming) nelle campagne caritatevoli ‘emotive’ sulle decisioni dei donatori e l’ingroup bias. In particolare, esploro l’effetto di priming di pensieri di morte relativi ai beneficiari di una campagna per le vaccinazioni contro l’attivazione di pensieri legati alla malattia ed esploro il ruolo di diverse dimensioni dell’autostima dei soggetti nel moderare le loro risposte agli stimoli impliciti. A tal fine, ho condotto un esperimento field in cooperazione con UNICEF che ha coinvolto 547 soggetti. I principali risultati di questo studio mostrano che in media nel gruppo di controllo osserviamo la presenza di ingroup bias a favore di beneficiari appartenenti all’ ingroup (di pelle bianca - caucasici), piuttosto che all’outgroup (pelle nera - africani). Quando vengono indotti pensieri di morte osserviamo un comportamento discriminatorio nei confronti dell’ingroup e favorevole nei confronti dell’outgroup. Inoltre, gli effetti del priming implicito emergono indipendentemente dal livello e dai domini rilevanti dell’autostima dei soggetti. Questo studioproduce interessanti risultati non solamente per i diretti ambiti di applicazione. L’integrazione della SIT con la TMT offre degli spunti per future analisi di interesse economico dell’ingroup bias in diversi contesti.

This dissertation contributes to post-war public opinion research by examining the perceptions of migrants – the gastarbeiter, the refugee, the family reunited after war – and the local population in comparative perspective. Existing surveys of post-war populations are typically conducted in a single country affected by war. However, particularly following forced expulsion and campaigns of ethnic cleansing substantial portions of national communities affected by conflict no longer live within the boundaries of the state. Current research may therefore overlook important populations as well as contextual factors that shape post-war attitudes. I help to address this problem by examining three widely held assumptions in the literature: that migrants hold more conflictive attitudes than the local population after war; that assimilation in settlement countries leads migrants to hold more peaceful attitudes; and that traumatic experiences lead migrants to hold more conflictive attitudes. These claims are largely based on theoretical accounts, case studies that suffer from selection bias and quantitative results that have proven unstable. By contrast, I examine new micro-level data: two large-scale surveys conducted simultaneously in post-war Bosnia and Sweden as a settlement country. Sweden’s choice to grant permanent residency in toto to refugees from the Bosnian War in 1993 resulted in the vast majority remaining settled in Sweden. As a result, the population of ex-Yugoslavs in Sweden is arguably more representative than in other comparable settlement country contexts. To explain differences among ex-Yugoslavs in Sweden and between these migrants and the local population in Bosnia, I connect social-psychological processes that help meet individuals’ basic psychological needs. These include: belief formation in the context of war; acculturation strategies in settlement countries; the development of nostalgic memories; and coping with traumatic experiences. The findings shed light on largely misunderstood processes. Under certain conditions, migration may provide an exit from detrimental wartime and post-war settings that produce and sustain conflictive societal beliefs after war. At the same time, the migration context may provide a richer set of socioeconomic and psychological resources for coping, offsetting the need to rely on conflictive beliefs as a way of dealing with the conflict crisis.

Cette recherche s’intéresse à l’efficacité des registres communicationnels actuels dans une perspective de mobilisation des consommateurs dans la sobriété carbone. Afin d’examiner l’efficacité de ces registres, quatre études ont été menées, i.e. une « méthode-Q » et trois expérimentations. Les deux premières études visent à explorer le rôle des représentations visuelles (i.e. images) et linguistiques (i.e. contenus sémantiques) utilisées pour désigner le changement climatique dans la transmission des préoccupations, des perceptions et des intentions envers la décarbonisation. La troisième étude cherche à expliquer l’effet de l’exploitation de la saillance de mortalité dans ces registres (i.e., anxiogènes vs. informatives) sur les choix de consommation pro-environnementaux (vs. pro-matérialistes). La dernière étude cherche à confirmer qu’une saillance de mortalité, quel que soit son origine (e.g. le changement climatique ou les attaques terroristes) est générateur en majorité des choix de consommation pro-matérialistes (vs. pro-environnementaux). En s’appuyant sur les résultats des ces études, nous mettons en lumière, tout d’abord, la nécessité de modifier ces registres afin de réduire leurs effets négatifs et/ou contreproductifs. Ensuite, la nécessité d’adopter une stratégie de segmentation de la communication selon la vision culturelle du monde dominante des individus pour les engager dans une lutte effective contre le changement climatique<br>This research focuses on the effectiveness of climate change communications in order to engage the consumer behaviour in carbon sobriety. To examine this effectiveness, four studies were carried out, i.e., a “Q-method” research and three experiments. The first two studies aim to explore the role of visual representation of climate change and semantic expressions, used to describe this phenomenon in conveying perceptions and attitudes towards decarbonisation. The third study aims to explain the impact of the type of communication (anxiety induced vs. informative) on consumption choices (pro-materialistic vs. pro-environmental). The last study seeks to confirm that mortality salience, whatever its origin is (e.g., climate change or terrorist attacks), generates mostly pro-materialistic consumption choices (vs. pro-environmental). Based on the results of these studies, we highlight, firstly, the necessity to modify these registers in order to reduce their negative and/or counterproductive effects. Secondly, the necessity to adopt a segmentation strategy of communication according to the cultural worldviews of individuals to engage them in an effective fight against the climate changes

Over the last 40 years, since Moody’s (1975) seminal work, Near Death experiences (NDEs) have been being at the centre of several academic investigations in in psychology, philosophy and medicine, and the debate on its nature is still in progress (Agrillo, 2011). This topic widely extends the scientists’ and philosophers’ reflections on the relationship between mind and brain, life and death, as well as the entire ontological question (Moody, 1975; Rousseau, 2011; Fenwick 2012). Until now, a number of authors tried to investigate and propose an interpretation of NDE. In existing literature, we observe a predominance of opinion articles, review articles, and papers, which describe NDE’s features. A recent work, that offers a review of the literature, highlights a lack of empirical studies that test explanatory hypotheses by using original data (Sleutjes et al., 2014). Direct studies of the phenomenon in lab, or at least in a controlled condition, are not possible, given the subjective and extraordinary nature of this experience (see paragraph 1.1 for an extensive description). Thus, the investigation of what NDE produces in people (e.g., memories of the experience or the so-called NDE aftereffects) could represent a more suitable way to explore NDE nature, since if we can assess objectively differences between people who had a NDE and people who had not, we could be able to derive indirectly information about NDE. In this study, we focus on a widely reported aftereffect, which is not still understood: NDErs’ loss or reduction of fear of death (Tassel-Matamua & Lindsay, 2016). In order to explore the processes underlining the loss of fear of death in people who had a NDE, we apply a mixed methodology, in which explicit and implicit measures are included. The general aim of this study is to investigate conscious and unconscious death anxiety and death representations in people who had a NDE, and to provide insights on the nature of this fascinating phenomenon. In the first chapter, the theoretical framework of the study is provided. NDE has been described as an intense phenomenon that leads to a variety of psychological and interpersonal aftereffects. In this section, a number of theoretical models are extensively described in order to provide a useful framework to interpret this phenomenon. Moreover, a review on the death anxiety concept and the measures of fear of death is provided, highlighting differences between conscious fear of death, usually assessed with self-report instruments, and unconscious reaction toward death, assessed using implicit measures. Finally, Terror Management Theory (TMT) is introduced, as one of the most relevant models that describe human reactions toward death. In this piece of research, NDE is studied for the first time within a TMT framework, producing interesting implications that are discussed in last chapter. In the second chapter, the method is presented. In order to test our hypotheses and to integrate different perspectives and methodologies, participants’ death attitude is assessed using self-report scales, open ended questions, and an implicit measure of what is called “Death Thought Accessibility”, that it is an indirect measure of psychologically defensive reactions toward death. In the third chapter, results are reported, showing differences between people who had a NDE and those who do not. Specifically, people who had a near death experience reported less fear of death, more death acceptance, and a different representation of death with respect to individuals who had not have a NDE. In the fourth chapter, discussion of results and suggestions for future research are provided.<br>Negli ultimi 40 anni le esperienze di pre-morte (Near Death Experiences - NDE) sono state oggetto di studio in psicologia, filosofia e medicina, e un dibattito sulla loro natura è ancora in corso. Questo tema, infatti, ha notevoli implicazioni rispetto la relazione tra mente e corpo, vita e morte, nonché sulla questione ontologica. Finora, diversi autori hanno proposto un'interpretazione delle esperienze di pre-morte. Nella letteratura accademica esistente, si può osservare una predominanza di opinion article, review article e articoli che descrivono le caratteristiche di questa esperienza. Una recente rassegna segnala una mancanza di studi empirici che mirino a testare delle ipotesi usando dati originali. Esperimenti in laboratorio che mirino a osservare direttamente il fenomeno non sono possibili a causa delle caratteristiche delle esperienze di pre-morte (vedi paragrafo 1.1.1), quindi lo studio dei prodotti di queste esperienza (come i ricordi dell'esperienza o i gli effetti della stessa) può rappresentare un via più indicata per comprendere la natura delle NDE, dato che se fosse possibile stabilire oggettivamente delle differenze tra chi vive una NDE e chi no, potremmo dunque inferire indirettamente delle informazioni sulla natura di questo fenomeno. In questo studio ci siamo focalizzati sul processo di perdita della paura di morire da parte di chi vive una NDE. Con l’obiettivo di comprendere questo processo abbiamo utilizzato una metodologia mista in cui sono comprese misure esplicite e implicite. L’obiettivo generale di questo studio è quello di investigare l’ansia di morte conscia e inconscia e le rappresentazioni di morte di chi ha vissuto una esperienza di pre-morte, e fornire nuovi insight sulla natura di questo fenomeno. Nel primo capitolo vengono introdotti i riferimenti teorici su cui si fonda questo studio. Le NDE sono state descritte come un’intensa esperienza che porta ad una varietà di conseguenze psicologiche ed interpersonali. In questo capitolo sono descritti i diversi modelli utilizzati per interpretare questo fenomeno. Inoltre viene riportata anche una rassegna sul costrutto “ansia di morte” e sui modi di misurarlo, evidenziando le differenze tra la paura di morte conscia, valutata con i self-report, e le reazioni inconsce verso la morte, valutate attraverso l’utilizzo di misurazioni implicite. Il modello teorico denominato “terror management theory” è stato introdotto come modello di spicco nella letteratura nella valutazione dei processi inconsci legati alla gestione di contenuti di morte. In questa ricerca, per la prima volta le esperienze di pre-morte vengono studiate sotto la lente della terror management theory, generando interessanti implicazioni che sono discusse nell’ultimo capitolo. Nel secondo capitolo viene presentato il metodo della ricerca. Con l’obiettivo di testare diverse ipotesi e integrare diverse prospettive teoriche e metodologie, sono stati studiati gli atteggiamenti verso la morte utilizzando strumenti self-report, domande aperte e una misura implicita chiamata “accessibilità ai pensieri di morte”, che è una misura indiretta delle reazioni difensive verso i contenuti di morte. Nel terzo capitolo vengono riportati i risultati e si evidenziano differenze tra chi ha vissuto una NDE e chi no. Nel dettaglio, le persone che hanno avuto un’esperienza di pre-morte mostrano meno paura di morire, più accettazione della morte e una differente rappresentazione della morte rispetto a chi non ha vissuto tale esperienza. Nel quarto capitolo è inserita la discussione dei risultati e le indicazioni per la ricerca futura.