title: Terror management theory and self-esteem: evidence that increased self-esteem reduces mortality salience effects.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, USA. eddiehj@utarlg
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Harmon-Jones
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pyszczynski
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McGregor
mesh_terms: 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