Terror management and stereotyping: why do people stereotype when mortality is salient?
Three studies examine two routes by which mortality threats may lead to stereotyping. Mortality salience may activate both a comprehension goal and an enhancement goal. Enhancement goals are likely to be more active in situations where intergroup competition or conflict is salient. If this is not the case, then a comprehension goal will predominate. In line with a why-determines-how logic, when mortality salience activates a comprehension goal, both positive and negative stereotyping occur. In contrast, the activation of an enhancement goal only increases negative stereotyping.
Renkema
Lennart J
LJ
Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. l.j.renkema@rug.nl
Stapel
Diederik A
DA
Maringer
Marcus
M
van Yperen
Nico W
NW
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D032882:Comprehension; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005239:Fear; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D011287:Prejudice; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception; D013240:Stereotyping; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology