Terror management theory and self-esteem: evidence that increased self-esteem reduces mortality salience effects.
On the basis of the terror management theory proposition that self-esteem provides protection against concerns about mortality, it was hypothesized that self-esteem would reduce the worldview defense produced by mortality salience (MS). The results of Experiments 1 and 2 confirmed this hypothesis by showing that individuals with high self-esteem (manipulated in Experiment 1; dispositional in Experiment 2) did not respond to MS with increased worldview defense, whereas individuals with moderate self-esteem did. The results of Experiment 3 suggested that the effects of the first 2 experiments may have occurred because high self-esteem facilitates the suppression of death constructs following MS.
Harmon-Jones
E
E
Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, USA. eddiehj@utarlg
Simon
L
L
Greenberg
J
J
Pyszczynski
T
T
Solomon
S
S
McGregor
H
H
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003469:Culture; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D012925:Social Conformity