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The widespread mortality caused by the second wave of COVID created a sense of death salience world over. Past literature suggests that reminder of one's own mortality produces death anxiety in a person. The present study intends to see the effect of mindfulness meditation as a moderating variable on death anxiety. For this, the participants (n = 42; 25 male, 17 female) were randomly assigned to the control and the experimental groups. The experimental group practiced 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation while the control group received no such intervention. It has been found that there was a significant impact of mindfulness meditation on the experimental group in reducing death anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with serious illnesses often do not engage in discussions about end-of-life care decision-making, or do so reluctantly. These discussions can be useful in facilitating advance care planning and connecting patients to services such as palliative care that improve quality of life. Terror Management Theory, a social psychology theory stating that humans are motivated to resolve the discomfort surrounding their inevitable death, has been discussed in the psychology literature as an underlying basis of human decision-making and behavior. This paper explores how Terror Management Theory could be extended to seriously ill populations and applied to their healthcare decision-making processes and quality of care received. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking about our own death and its salience in relation to decision making has become a fruitful area of multidisciplinary research across the breadth of psychological science. By bringing together experts from philosophy, cognitive and affective neuroscience, clinical and computational psychiatry we have attempted to set out the current state of the art and point to areas of further enquiry. One stimulus for doing this is the need to engage with policy makers who are now having to consider guidelines on suicide and assisted suicide so that they may be aware of their own as well as the wider populations' cognitive processes when confronted with the ultimate truth of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the mental health crisis present on college campuses, we investigate the psychological processes associated with suicidal ideation among undergraduate students. Specifically, we used Terror Management Theory to investigate how individuals who have a history of suicidal ideation handle traditional death anxiety in coordination with Benjamin's theory underlying Interpersonal Reconstructive Therapy to explore specific attachment-based mechanisms that may allow for exceptions to the perceived meaning of death. Results show it was the fantasy of suicide itself, including its relevance in the lives of others, that was used to alleviate fear of death among the suicidal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical incidents (CI) trigger acute stress reactions and psychological trauma because of direct or vicarious exposure. These events include natural disasters, wars, terrorist attacks and pandemics, and usually result in deaths and serious physical injuries. Their life-threatening nature makes them reasonable candidates to induce mortality salience (MS). The current review aims to consolidate Terror Management Theory (TMT) research using CIs as MS. A systematic literature review was conducted. Overall, 74 articles with 113 studies were included. Through this review, strong support for MS effects of CI has been found. Consistent with TMT, CIs tend to trigger worldview defence, self-esteem enhancement and relationship seeking. CIs have also been found to impact negatively on individual well-being and organisational health. Recommendations specific to crisis interventions and well-being will be discussed. The review concludes with potential future research directions to strengthen and expand empirical knowledge in CI salience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary society, many individuals shift away from childhood religious belief to atheism or agnosticism. Whether apostasy, which is accompanied by a loss of afterlife beliefs, the loss of social support offered by organised religion and the acceptance of death’s finality, is associated with death anxiety has not been examined. The current study examined whether a religious residue effect existed for death anxiety, in a Christian and non-religious sample. Controlling for covariates, 2-way ANCOVA analysis found no main effects of, or interaction effect between, current and childhood Christianity/non-religiosity, in terms of death anxiety. T-test analysis revealed no difference between religious remainers' and disaffiliates' death anxiety. Extrinsic religiosity was the only variable to mediate the association between religious affiliation and death anxiety and reduced religious disaffiliates' death anxiety. though terror management theory commonlyproposes religious affiliation as a means to reduce death anxiehese findings do not support this. Some evidence to support the religious residue hypothesis is presented, by means of the mediating role of extrinsic religiosity. The study's limitations include its predominantly Irish Catholic sample and failure to consider participants' recent experiences of death and bereavement. Future qualitative research will add valuable insight to these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe prompts “What emotions does the thought of your own death arouse in you?” and “What will happen to you when your body dies?” have been used to induce anxiety in Terror Management Theory. The current study investigated how the responses to these prompts may reveal cross-national differences by using a text-mining approach. Undergraduates in the US (n = 298) and Japan (n = 212) participated in the study. Across both groups, anxiety was the most common emotion. Cross-national differences also emerged, such that students in the US were more likely to mention sadness, funeral, and religiosity for the first prompt, and acceptance, spiritual change, and religiosity for the second prompt. Students in Japan were more likely to mention regret for the first, and sadness, emptiness, and funeral for the second prompt. Results revealed differences and similarities in thoughts and emotions people associate with when thinking about own death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectivesMethodologyFindings and conclusionsTo delve into the phenomenon of memorial tattoos in Israel following the October 7, 2023, massacre, and the ensuing Iron Swords War utilizing Terror Management Theory.A qualitative approach employing digital ethnography and visual content analysis was adopted to scrutinize 250 war tattoo images sourced from Israeli tattoo artists’ Instagram pages and Facebook groups. Data collection spanned the initial four months of the war, from October 2023 to January 2024.The analysis highlights existential anxieties stemming from the massacre and ongoing conflict, which are both reflected and addressed through the tattoos’ content and meaning. Memorial tattoos serve as responses to mortality salience, depicting themes that adhere to the three anxiety-buffer mechanisms proposed by the theory: reinforcement of collective worldviews; enhancement of self-esteem; and seeking continued attachment relationships. Through these mechanisms, tattoo recipients invest efforts in giving meaning to the inconceivable events and their ongoing grief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the significant global repercussions of terrorism, including loss of lives and economic resources, research on its relationship with crime has been limited to group-level analyses. This study examines the individual criminal activities of Australian Neo-Jihadists, via social network analysis from an individual perspective. Judicial documents and newspaper articles are analysed to determine the criminal activities and operational roles of network actors. Findings suggest a prominence of criminal activities, and a significant relationship between market criminal activities and facilitation of terrorist operations. The study concludes with suggestions for future research, emphasising the potential for disrupting terrorist networks by focusing on the new crime-terror nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adverse life occurrences (e.g., severe accidents, violence/abuse, organic disorders such as COVID-19) can elicit traumatic responses that heighten fear, anxiety, and depression. However, scientific research has shown that certain variables, such as self-esteem, based on theories like terror management theory (TMT) and the anxiety-buffering hypothesis (ABH), can mitigate the negative effects of trauma. This study aimed to test the ABH by assessing the buffering role of self-esteem in the relationships among the impact of traumatic experiences, fear, anxiety, and depression. Method: An observational research design was used. This study involved 321 participants who experienced COVID-19 as a traumatic experience. A sequential multiple-mediation model with observed variables (path analysis) was used to test the impact of the traumatic experience on fear, anxiety, and depression, examining the protective role of self-esteem. Results: A path analysis revealed that fear and anxiety mediated the relationship between the impact of the traumatic experience of COVID-19 and depression. Additionally, in line with the ABH, self-esteem was found to mediate the relationship between the predictors and their adverse psychological consequences. This suggests that self-esteem played a buffering role, mitigating the negative impact of traumatic experiences on mental health outcomes. Conclusions: These findings underscore the central mediating role of self-esteem, as well as fear and anxiety, in the pathway from trauma-related factors to depression. These insights advocate for evidence-based interventions aimed at alleviating the psychological suffering associated with traumatic experiences, fostering adaptation, and supporting psychological health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the experience of parenting following the death of a child in a terror attack or war in Israel, from a socio-cultural perspective. The study was conducted according to the Three-sphere Context Model in qualitative narrative research. In-depth, semi-structured life story interviews with 18 Israeli parents who were bereaved in national circumstances and were raising at least one minor surviving child were analyzed according to a narrative-contextual method. The analysis focuses on the multi-dimensional socio-cultural context as expressed in the interviews and as referenced in extra-textual sources as an explanatory framework. The following cultural themes were salient in the interview texts: child-centeredness, the of Jewish survival, the unraveling of the Hegemonic Bereavement Model following the Yom Kippur War, the Holocaust as a template of the construction of loss, the appropriation of the deceased child as a national martyr, and the motif of Jewish heroism and the hierarchy of grief. Following a discussion of the findings using Jung's notion of the collective unconscious, a new concept of "hyper-enfranchised" loss and grief is presented. For some parents this hyper-enfranchisement helped them to carry on as parents, while for others it constituted a burden. Finally, Terror Management Theory is employed to help explain the grief and parenting processes presented in the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study concentrates on the Anglophonic literature produced in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. It explores its narratives through the lens of trauma theory, pertaining to the region’s history of forced conflict. After the Second World War, the relevance of trauma in literary studies has increased and texts have been characterized by an archeology of traumatic consciousness. Also, the narratives act as vehicles for transmitting stories of suppressed and wounded consciousness. This research focuses upon Mirza Waheed’s (2011) novel The Collaborator and Basharat Peer’s (2010) memoir Curfewed Night as the primary texts and investigates the art of writing trauma by exploring the narrative structures deployed by the authors. The objective is to find out as to how the very act of writing trauma is shaped by traumatic memories of a past rooted in the partition conflict, war, and prolonged violence. Furthermore, the study probes into how the fictional characters embody and express pain and anguish as part of their memories. The key focus remains on how both the works portray the (un)speakability of grief and the (in)comprehensibility of trauma drawing on some of the seminal contemporary theories of cultural trauma and memory studies. Using qualitative methodology and trauma theory as the theoretical framework, it is concluded that apart from presenting reality as horrific, gloomy, and glim, Kashmiri texts discuss how causalities create memories riddled with unspoken fears by bringing forth the intricacies of speechless terror and trauma. Thus, the study captures the narration’s struggle to represent evasive and suppressed memories and the challenges of trauma writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organ donation is an ambivalent prosocial behavior. It triggers altruistic values and reminds people of death related thoughts at the same time. Due to the characteristics of organ donation, prior studies examined the impact of different types of mortality salience (conventional manipulation: ask participants to write down their thoughts once they are physically dead vs. narrative manipulation: ask participants to read a narrative of a cancer patient) on organ donation. However, without acknowledging the unique feature of organ donation, different types of mortality salience generated opposing results in organ donation. Hence, in this article, the purpose of Study 1 is to investigate if an organ donation campaign can remind people of their own mortality. Furthermore, although previous studies discovered that non-cognitive factors, such as mortality salience and medical mistrust, affect organ donation, few studies investigated how to resolve those non-cognitive factors to promote organ donation rate. Therefore, the purpose of Study 2 is to study how to help people address the fear of death caused by organ donation. Two online experiments were executed on Amazon Turk Prime to bridge the knowledge gaps. Study 1 found that an organ donation campaign can increase people's death related thoughts. Study 2 discovered that an enhanced altruistic worldview value can help people diminish organ donation triggered fear by decreasing medical mistrust. In addition, this study also revealed that medical mistrust as a causal factor mediated the effect between worldview value and perceptions of organ donation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the effect of pathogen and mortality salience on moral values and political orientation, testing competing hypotheses derived from three relevant perspectives. While Terror Management Theory (TMT) predicts a delayed shift toward preexisting moral values and political orientation, Pathogen Prevalence Hypothesis (PPH) anticipates a shift toward binding moral foundations, and Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition (PCMSC) posits a shift toward political Principlism. This was an experimental study with salience type (mortality, pathogen, control) and delay (immediate, delayed) as independent variables. The effect of pathogen salience on moral foundations and political orientation was consistent with TMT. Also, there was a delayed PPH-directed effect of pathogen salience on moral foundations, and a PCMSC-consistent effect of pathogen salience on political orientation. Findings are discussed in light of possible differences in the timeline of effects and provided insight to reconcile contradictory predictions of the three perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractOn April 29, 2021, during an Ultra-Orthodox annual communal event in Meron, a crowd rush resulted in the deaths of 45 individuals. Experiencing such events may intensify death proximity (subjective nearness to death, SNtD) and death anxiety, and increase distress. Furthermore, the experience of grief following the trauma may disrupt defense mechanisms that reduce death-related anxieties. Thus, we examined the mediating role of death anxiety on the association between SNtD and distress, and the possible moderating role of grief experiences on this model. Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews who experienced the Meron disaster (N = 168) responded to scales assessing demographics, SNtD, death anxiety, and psychological distress. Death anxiety mediated the SNtD-distress link and grief was a significant moderator. Specifically, for individuals low in grief, the association between high death anxiety and increased distress was nullified. Findings are discussed from the perspective of Terror Management Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decade witnessed a dramatic surge in state terror and non-state terrorism in Egypt. Against this backdrop, this article investigates how the al-Sisi regime engages in a particular form of terrorism racketeering aimed at generating continued external resources as well as political and military support required for the (re)building of a highly authoritarian order. This analysis thus broadens the concept of terrorism racketeering to include the construction of an existential terrorist threat as a tool of legitimising state terror. By failing to address the conditions, which foster non-state violence, the regime can continue to utilise for purposes of diplomacy and external revenue generation the dichotomy of state terror driven "authoritarian stability" and "terrorist chaos." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although death is a primary motivator of behavior, it is not widely studied in marketing. Focus of the Article: Through case analysis, integration of literature, and in-depth interviews of terminally ill patients, we explore the factors that change the consumption of medical treatment and the social issues that arise between themselves and other key stakeholders. Research Question: What variables impact the decision-making process of terminally ill patients who choose to use an illegal treatment option? Program Design/Approach: We explore the factors influencing consumption practices at the end of life through case analysis, literature integration, and in-depth interviews of terminally ill patients. Importance to Social Marketing Field: This research gives social marketers a rare glimpse into the mind of the consumer at a pivotal moment of consumption end-of-life. Our exploration shows that when the conventional medical system fails, medical consumers engage in creative consumption patterns. Understanding these patterns allows social marketers to better understand and engage with terminally or chronically ill consumers. Methods: This is a qualitative study using in-depth interviews. Results: This study found that having an intimate relationship with mortality eliminates or weakens the constraints of cultural institutions and social groups as a part of the decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acknowledging the increasing worry over climate change and its psychological effects, the aim of this research is to clarify the dynamics between religiosity, climate anxiety and death anxiety, seeking to figure out the way religiosity mitigates the psychological effects of existential anxieties and climate related anxiety. Methods: Using Google Forms, a questionnaire was developed and disseminated through a variety of messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. Through a snowball sampling technique, 763 participants were recruited in this cross-sectional during September 2023. Results: The subsequent variables were adjusted in the moderation analysis: age, gender, and place of living. The results suggested that religiosity levels moderated the association between climate anxiety and death anxiety (Beta = 0.02, t = 1.97, p =.05, 95% CI 0.001, 0.035). At low, moderate, and high levels of religiosity, higher climate anxiety was significantly associated with more death anxiety. In addition, at low levels of climate anxiety, individuals with higher levels of religiosity (22.66) had more decreased levels of death anxiety compared to those with lower levels of religiosity (11.99). As climate anxiety levels increase, inverted patterns can be observed, with highly religious individuals showing higher levels of death anxiety than those with lower levels of religiosity. Overall, the relationship between climate anxiety and death anxiety was found to be weakest at low levels of religiosity and strongest at high levels of religiosity. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a possible beneficial effect of high religiosity at low levels of climate anxiety. This effect is reversed as climate anxiety starts to increase. Therefore, clinicians and policy-makers should bear in mind these complex interactions when designing strategies to mitigate mental health problems in the context of climate crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to address the limitations of the terror management theory literature by using big data analysis to examine the theory's predictions in the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, Google Trends were examined before and after the first COVID-19 case was identified in Singapore. The results showed that there was a significant increase in mortality salience, intergroup conflict, and prosocial behavior, and a significant decrease in materialism after the first COVID-19 case was identified. However, no significant differences were found for anxiety. Limitations include the assumption that search terms reflect intentions that would eventually lead to a relevant behavior and the lack of data from other sources to corroborate with the results from Google Trends. Future research could use data from other sources to examine the effects of COVID-19 on theoretically relevant behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in Terror Management Theory finds that close interpersonal relationships (e.g., parents, romantic partners) mitigate threat reactions to reminders of mortality. Parasocial relationships (imagined relationships with media personalities) afford many of the same benefits as interpersonal relationships. Do these benefits extend to mortality concerns? We investigated whether those with strong parasocial attachments were differentially influenced by reminders of death. Results showed that those with strong parasocial relationships had more defensive reactions to a mortality prime, suggesting that such attachments may not afford the same existential benefits given by close human others and may instead indicate a heightened vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A sense of meaning in life (MIL) is thought to help protect people against experiencing explicit anxiety about death. However, the experience of meaning is complex and subjective and may relate to death anxiety in nuanced ways. We examine how self‐alienation—a feeling of not knowing/being disconnected from one's self—might moderate the relationship between MIL and death anxiety. Method: Across five studies, we tested the hypothesis that MIL would negatively predict death anxiety more strongly for people relatively low in self‐alienation. These studies were similar in design and included exploratory, confirmatory, and pre‐registered tests. Results: A meta‐regression across our five studies (N = 2001) provided clear evidence that MIL was most strongly associated with lower death anxiety at low self‐alienation. We also observed that MIL was positively associated with death anxiety at high self‐alienation. These effects were consistent in direction but inconsistent in strength. Conclusions: We interpreted these results as evidence that MIL is existentially protective when experienced in combination with a relatively strong, clear, and connected sense of self. In contrast, MIL may be existentially problematic when people feel relatively unaware and disconnected from themselves. These findings align with aspects of terror management theory and highlight the potentially complex ways that MIL might relate to death anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In building sustainable post-pandemic destinations, it is critical to understand the typologies of tourists' prosocial behaviours. Consequently, this study innovatively applied a latent class cluster analysis to segment the prosocial behaviours of 403 Macau tourists. Three ordered discrete segments were derived based on consistent tourists' probabilities of performing prosocial behaviours on the trip namely: the Self-centred, the Intermediate, and the Philanthropist. The associated ordered logistic regression predicting the segments revealed that relative to the Self-centred, the Intermediate and the Philanthropist are more likely to face death terror, are sociable – seek vacation friends – and believe in cultural and heritage conservation. Not only does this research expand the theoretical application of Terror Management Theory, the Scrooge effect, and the self-esteem concept, it contributes to prosocial alternative tourism with novel destination management implications for marketing and promoting prosocial tourism performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractOn 7 October 2023, 3,000 Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip infiltrated Israel. Over 1,300 people were killed on that day, and over 240 were abducted to Gaza. On October 8, Israel declared war on Hamas. The current study delves into the prevailing phenomenon of spontaneous war weddings held in military settings during the war. Drawing from Terror Management Theory (TMT) and utilizing an ethnographic approach, we analyze published media reports of these weddings. We suggest that this phenomenon is a sign of three terror management anxiety buffer mechanisms activated in view of current national and personal mortality salience: the validation of cultural worldviews; the enhancement of self-esteem; and the pursuit of proximity, in the form of a sense of closeness to attachment figures. All three anxiety-buffer mechanisms contribute to the fortification of psychological defenses, the denial of death, and the maintenance of psychological equanimity in view of this incomprehensible threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stereotypes and stigma associated with unsheltered people negatively impact their access to support (Omerov et al., Health & Social Care in the Community 28:1–11, 2020), yet there is very minimal research on prejudice towards the unsheltered. Given the state of the economy at the time this research was conducted and the lack of updated research on the topic, the present study had two aims: (1) to develop a revised measure of prejudice towards unsheltered people, and (2) to explore the link between economic anxiety and prejudice towards unsheltered people through the lens of terror-management theory (Greenberg et al., The causes and consequences of a need for self-esteem: A terror management theory. Springer, 1986). Because of this, we hypothesized that greater anxiety about the state of the economy is correlated with greater prejudice towards the unsheltered, and that conservative fiscal beliefs are correlated with more negative attitudes towards the unsheltered. The results support the hypotheses, with more conservative fiscal politics being a significant predictor of this prejudice, as measured by our newly developed updated scale with stronger psychometric properties than the existing measure of this prejudice. Future research in this area should focus on reducing prejudice towards the unsheltered in an effort to increase much-needed economic aid and social support for this social group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased existential concerns, as well as with significant changes in the work force. The current study examined the availability of meaning in work and belonging to a work group as personal resources which may mitigate psychological distress associated with feeling close to death. Data were collected from 450 working Israelis, and results indicated that the connection between feeling close to death and distress was not significant for individuals reporting high levels of belonging and meaning. Implications are discussed from the perspective of Terror Management Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of visitors to the Fuxi Taihao Mausoleum and provides two sets of results derived from mixed methods research. The first is a description of motives and behaviours derived from observation and interviews with visitors. The second set reports statistical data derived from questionnaires completed by 553 informants pertaining to motives for visiting the site and perceived cultural importance. The paper covers practices relating to the belief systems associated with Fuxi and Nuwa, constructed, objective and existential authenticity, the strength of traditional Chinese cultural practices, but also the role of good site management. The study identifies the types of visitors and their understanding of authenticity. In addition, it notes that observation of faith-based activities and management care reinforce a sense of site 'authenticity'. Finally, it is suggested that longitudinal study is required to assess the impacts of long-term demographic and social change on faith-based tourist attractions and uses a directed acyclic graph to suggest future research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Climate change denial (CCD) has been found to be more pronounced among individuals with a conservative political orientation. Terror Management Theory posits that an individual’s worldview serves as a primary defense mechanism in coping with existential threats, such as the reality of climate change. Drawing on these premises, we conducted preliminary research investigating the impact of death priming on CCD from the Terror management theory perspective. Methods and results We administered a death priming task and measured CCD in its immediate wake or following a delay task. We confirmed among 219 Amazon’s MTurk participants that immediately following death priming, CCD was reduced among all participants. In the delayed death priming condition, we acquired preliminary evidence that CCD was heightened among Republican participants. Conclusions These findings demonstrate the relevance of death priming to CCD tendencies and potentially spawn future research regarding CCD as a particular form of coping with existential threats.

Death anxiety is presumed to be positively associated with group identification; however, recent evidence of a null correlation between the two constructs raises questions regarding this assumption. In contrast to the traditional linear perspective, we proposed and tested a J-shaped curvilinear association that only death anxiety beyond a certain threshold predicts group identification. Using two-wave longitudinal data from the UK, study 1 (N = 1,402) revealed that only after reaching a moderate-to-high level could death anxiety measured during the COVID-19 pandemic positively predict later identification with the community, one's country, and all humanity. Furthermore, using World Values Survey data, study 2 (N = 56,871) found that death-related anxiety (i.e., worry about a terrorist attack) was only positively associated with perceived closeness to one's village, county, and country after reaching a moderate-to-high level. Our findings provide a novel insight into the process of managing terror and the replication failure of the mortality salience effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the basic tenets of separation theory, including the fantasy bond and the voice process. The fantasy bond is a unifying concept explaining how human beings seek security in fantasies of fusion in an attempt to heal the fracture related to interpersonal trauma compounded by death anxiety. Painful elements in parent–child interactions are incorporated in the form of a negative thought process or "voice," creating a division in the personality between the self and the anti-self. My colleagues and I developed a methodology called "voice therapy" to expose and contend with people's destructive attitudes and attacks on themselves. The article also describes the evolution of a group of more than 100 associates and friends who have lived in close proximity and shared their innermost feelings in an ongoing group experience for more than 40 years. These people contributed significantly to the evolution of separation theory. Together, we developed an implicit set of values based on understanding factors that hurt people in their psychological development. The article specifies the concepts learned from observing the reference population and delineates findings from research in the neurosciences, attachment theory, and terror management theory that validate the key concepts of separation theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Near-death experiences (NDE) are intense events that can have profound psychological consequences. Although decreased fear of death after an NDE is a well-documented phenomenon, it is unclear what psychological factors are associated with reduced death anxiety. In this study, grounded in terror management theory, we compared 102 people who had an NDE with 104 individuals who did not. Participants completed measures of death anxiety, self-esteem, mindfulness, and death representation. Results indicated that people who had an NDE had lower fear of death, higher self-esteem, greater mindfulness, and viewed death more as a transition rather than as absolute annihilation. Subsequent analyses found that NDE had a direct effect on death anxiety, and that the effect of NDE on death anxiety was also mediated by indirect effects on self-esteem and death representation. Implications of these findings are considered, limitations of the present study are acknowledged, and suggestions for future theory and research are proffered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Hashtag Jurisprudence: Terror and legality on Twitter" by Cassandra Sharp is a book that explores the use of social media, specifically Twitter, to analyze public beliefs and assumptions about law, the legal system, and justice. The author demonstrates the value of qualitative analysis of topical hashtags and examines responses on Twitter to terrorist events. The book highlights the power of social media as a mechanism through which the public contributes to the understanding and construction of legality. It also delves into the emotional responses and expectations of justice in the aftermath of terrorist events, using Aristotle's concept of peripeteia to analyze fear and hope. The book concludes by discussing the belief in a just world and the ways in which social media can both amplify negative emotions and foster discussions about important issues such as immigration and hate speech. Although the book was published before Twitter's rebranding, it still provides valuable insights into public conceptions of legality. [Extracted from the article]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between individual personality traits such as locus control and materialism in financial decision making under mortality salience conditions. Mortality saliance is the condition in which an individual realizes that life is full of vulnarability. The study was conducted by Quasi Experiment and data anaylized by using Analysis Univariate (ANOVA) for a total of 329 samples. Experiment procedure involved in three steps, first begin to assess the level of materialism, risk attitude and locus control of each participant, (2) divided the participant to High and Low group and Control group, (3). Done the manipulation check, (4). Tested their preference by choices of the financial product. The participants were females working in government and private banks and microfinance institutions. Participants are divided into two groups, 2X2 and categorized by the level of mortality salience conditions, risk attitude and materialism. The result found that participants in high saliance mortality conditions in internal locus control and high materialism levels preferably invest in long-term financial products that give a high return compared to group participants with low levels of external locus control and in low mortality saliance conditions and low level of materialism. It is explained that individuals in high mortality saliance become more materialistic and more likely to invest in long-term financial products. Internal locus control means an individual is confident within themselves to take probability loss over big return. Mortality salience is positively correlated with strengthening the level of materialism and individual risk-taking behavior within a participant as wealth produces happiness and confidence that relieves the feeling of vulnerability in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic had significant effects on the health and wellbeing of people worldwide. However, in the post‐epidemic era, we still know very little about how disease threat shapes consumer psychology and behavior. To fill this gap in knowledge, the present study explores the effect of disease threat on a particular sensory preference of consumers, that is, a preference for colorfulness. Based on compensatory consumption theory, we propose the following: (1) consumers prefer colorful products and brand logos to compensate for both disease threat and chronically perceived disease threat; (2) the underlying mechanism for this effect is death‐related thoughts, in that disease threat leads to more death‐related thoughts, which in turn enhance colorfulness seeking; (3) the impact of disease threat on consumers' colorfulness seeking diminishes among high sensation seekers. A set of four studies, adopting both lab and survey methods, using various manipulations and measures, and testing diverse samples, provide convergent evidence for these hypotheses. Moreover, six alternative explanations were ruled out to further elucidate the psychological process under examination in this study. This paper contributes to the literature on consumer behavior, sensory marketing, terror management theory, and compensatory consumption. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although reminders of mortality can induce social identity motivations, such as social status or hierarchy preference. However, the influence of Mortality Salience (MS) on consumption choices motivated by personal identity remains unclear. Using multinational datasets and experimental designs, we demonstrate that MS leads to a heightened desire for meaning in life, subsequently resulting in a stronger preference for products relevant to personal identity. Furthermore, we found that this effect can be mitigated when consumers' important values are affirmed. The current research contributes to the literature on coping with mortality salience and offering important theoretical insights into the relationship between MS and personal identity-based consumption. Furthermore, our findings hold practical implications for marketers seeking to develop more effective targeting strategies and promoting consumer well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper aims to investigate the effects of pandemics and self-construal primes (i.e., collectivist/individualist) on two pandemic behaviours, namely compliance to social distancing measures (SDM) and prosociality while controlling for health anxiety. Study 1 (n = 207; M age = 39.8 years, SD age = 12.3) examined the effect of pandemic salience (PS) and self-construal on Compliance to Social Distancing Measure. Results found a significant effect of PS on compliance to SDM. Study 2 (n = 203; M age = 38.9, SD age = 11.6) examined the effects of pandemic salience (PS) and self-construal on prosociality, as measured by the Prosocial Behavioural Intentions Scale and Prosociality Scale. Results from Study 2 found a two-way interaction effect of PS and delay for helping actions, and a three-way interaction effect of PS, delay, and self-construal for caring actions and empathy. Individuals were more inclined to help others immediately after PS regardless of self-construal. They also endorsed more caring actions and empathy immediately after PS, only if they had been primed with collectivism self-construal. Findings from these studies offer important considerations in the conceptualization of community interventions during crises such as a pandemic or other community disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death Anxiety (DA) and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) are two psychological phenomena that have distinct implications for individuals and their overall quality of life. The Terror Management Theory (TMT) is utilized to bridge the gap between these constructs and extends its understanding to everyday behaviors and psychopathology. The present 2-part study examined the effects of DA and Mortality Salience (MS) on FOMO, respectively. Study 1 included (N = 220; 53% females) participants aged 18 to 38 years (M = 21.48, SD = 3.80) and Study 2 included (N = 175; 53% females) participants aged 20 to 63 years (M = 32.23, SD = 9.43). Results supported the hypotheses, where (1) a strong and positive correlation exists between FOMO and DA; the strength of the correlation weakens, after self-esteem was partially out, and (2) participants in the MS condition who reported higher self-esteem, reported significantly lower levels of FOMO. Practical implications include broadening the TMT literature to advance clinical psychological practice, where new interventions that addresses the effects of FOMO and future translational research are needed to mitigate DA and its detrimental effects. Overall, this novel discovery which involves FOMO serves as a precedent for future TMT studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although different social crises may eventually favor undemocratic and authoritarian forms of governance, at some point, such antidemocratic practices require the support of a significant part of the population to be implemented. The present research investigates how and whether the COVID‐19 pandemic might have favoured greater support for antidemocratic governmental practices, on the premise of regaining control and security. Using data from 17 countries (N = 4364) and national‐level indicators (i.e., real number of contagions and deaths, and sociopolitical indicators), we test how the risk of contagion and death from COVID‐19, along with personal orientations (i.e., social dominance orientation [SDO], right‐wing authoritarianism [RWA], and perceived anomie) motivate authoritarian and antidemocratic practices. Results from multilevel models indicate that risk perception and perceptions of political instability predict a wish for stronger leadership, agreement with martial law, and support for a controlling government especially when SDO and RWA are high, while more egalitarian and less conservative people agree less with these authoritarian measures in spite of the levels of risk perception. We discuss the implications for these findings for future research on similar but also dissimilar external events (natural disasters, war, or terror incidents) and the consequences for societies with higher authoritarian tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Anxiety buffer disruption theory (ABDT) suggests that traumatic events lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by dismantling the anxiety-buffering system outlined in terror management theory (TMT). We attempted to test ABDT using data collected from emerging adults related to their experiences in a severe tornado that struck their general geographic area. Methods: The study employed a longitudinal design. Using data collected both before and after the tornado, we tested whether (a) pre-tornado self-esteem or past trauma moderated the effect of tornado exposure on later PTSD symptoms, and (b) whether the relation between level of tornado exposure and subsequent PTSD symptoms was mediated by decreased self-esteem. Results: Consistent with ABDT, in our final analysis we found that exposure interacted with both pre-tornado self-esteem and past trauma to predict PTSD symptoms, though the moderating effect of past trauma was only marginally significant. However, none of the predicted effects was mediated through pre- to post-tornado changes in self-esteem. Discussion: This study provides partial support for ABDT by demonstrating that pre-tornado self-esteem and trauma history were risk factors for greater PTSD symptom severity among individuals who were more exposed to the tornado. However, the failed mediation effects challenge core aspects of ABDT. Despite several limitations of the study related to the timing and nature of our measurements, as well as the composition of our sample, our use of prospective data to test ABDT offers unique insight into the social-cognitive elements of PTSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clothing behaviour remains an understudied research area within social psychology. Through the present research, we aim to anchor attire as an empirical research subject by investigating the psychological properties of one of its functionalities, namely, to provide protection. We argue that attire's undisputed role in shielding humans from environmental hazards may extend to the psychological level and protect them from the incorporeal consequences of existential threats symbolically. In this Registered Report, a mixed‐methods approach links an ecologically valid field study of self‐presentation in social media posts during Russia's war on Ukraine (Study 1; N = 248) with supraliminal priming of mortality salience in an online experiment (Study 2; N = 248). Across both studies, we expect that mortality concerns let people accentuate the physically protective attributes of clothing (e.g. more layers of clothing) and resort to more in‐group prototypical dress styles (i.e. more gender‐stereotypical). Findings show that people adjust their clothing preferences in response to existential threats, favouring in‐group prototypical clothing (more gender‐typical for both women and men in Study 1) and physically protective attire (higher in women and lower in men in Study 2) during high (vs. low) levels of existential threat. By positioning clothing as a research area within social psychology, our goal is to stimulate a wave of research on its profound role for humankind. Furthermore, we provide a dynamic and robust methodological approach to researching terror management theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper aims to reveal the role of different types of religiosity based on research addressing religiosity in terms of in-group and out-group distinction within the scope of Terror Management Theory (TMT). Studies point out two important results of the phenomenon: the first is the fact that general religiosity focusing on only one aspect of religiosity (religious belongingness, afterlife belief, etc.) to measure religiosity increases worldview defense, supporting the hypothesis of mortality salience. The second is the fact that different religious orientations (intrinsic, fundamentalist, etc.) cause various reactions, depending on their unique characteristics when mortality is salient. In the current study, possible reasons for the differences between research findings are discussed. In order to clarify the roles that different types of religiosity play in terror management, a classification based on the strong-flexible and exclusive-inclusive poles of the "belief" and "belonging" dimensions suggested by Sarouglu has been proposed. It has been argued that religiosity types would function in terror management in different ways, depending on the classification in which they are placed. For example, when the religious worldview is threatened, the strong-exclusive pattern (e.g., religious fundamentalism) can lead to more negative reactions, while the strong-inclusive pattern (e.g., intrinsic religiosity) can be associated with positive processes in inter-group relationships. Future research on this classification and types of religiosity can provide unique contributions to developing TMT. On the other hand, knowing the roles of different forms of religiosity in managing existential concerns may be of therapeutic benefit in coping with death, bereavement, grief and related processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the movie The Bucket List was released in 2007, the practice of compiling a list of things that people wish to achieve during their lifetime – a bucket list – has become increasingly popular amongst not only those who have received a terminal diagnosis (as in the movie) but also the wider population. Moreover, predominant in such lists are tourism-related goals. Surprisingly, however, little academic attention has been paid to the role and significance of the bucket list. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap in the literature. Drawing on the outcomes of an exploratory survey framed within terror management theory (TMT), it considers the relationship between the bucket list and existential anxieties and, in particular, the extent to which a fear of death motivates the compilation of such a list. The research reveals that the compiling a bucket list has become a contemporary cultural practice which, though evidently a means of managing existential anxieties, is also an explicit manifestation of consumption directed towards the creation of identity and self-esteem. The paper concludes by identifying future areas of research in the context of the bucket list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is debate over whether following state laws helps young people, especially those at risk for social exclusion, find meaning in their lives. The help rests on existentialist and terror management theories, which hold that maintaining security, especially when it is under risk, is meaningful to life. However, alternative views that state law is authoritarian, illiberal, oppressive, and therefore useless cast doubt on this help. Instead, the views hold that social risk is tolerable and thus meaningful. To clarify the debate, this study examined data from a random-sample survey of 2,175 Chinese youths in Hong Kong. Findings show that agreement to the law contributes to life meaningfulness, particularly by reducing the adverse effects of social risk awareness. Moreover, a quadratic effect emerged in that the contribution rose with the agreement. These findings suggest the value of encouraging law abidance and preventing social risk based on existentialist and terror management theories to increase youth's life meaningfulness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the terror management theory (TMT) and evolutionary perspectives of Life-History Strategy, a between-subject online experiment examined the interaction effects of pre-existing death anxiety, fear-inducing media content (coronavirus threat vs. gun violence threat vs. low threat mental disorder), and intrasexual competition for mates on online dating intentions and social distancing intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate the interaction effects of participants' pre-experimental death anxiety and different types of fear-inducing media content on perceived fear and intention to use online dating websites/apps as well as the interaction effects of pre-experimental intrasexual competitiveness and fear-inducing media content on social distancing intention in the context of online dating. Theoretical contributions to the terror management literature and practical implications for the online dating industry are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adverse life events such as life-threatening accidents, domestic and/or sexual violence, organic diseases (i.e., cancer), or COVID-19 can have a strong traumatic impact – generating reactions as intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, and avoidance. Indeed, the traumatic impact of COVID-19 seems to lead individuals to experience anxiety and depression. However, the Anxiety-Buffer Hypothesis suggests that self-esteem could be considered a shield (buffer) against traumatic experiences and their outcomes (i.e., anxiety and depression). The present study has two objectives. First, to develop a measure of the impact of the traumatic event considering the aforementioned reactions. Second, to test the process – triggered by COVID19-related traumatic experience – in which self-esteem buffers the path that leads to anxiety and depression. Method: In Study 1 (N = 353), the Post-Traumatic Symptom Questionnaire (PTSQ) was developed and a deep investigation of its psychometric properties was conducted. In Study 2 (N = 445), a structural equation model with latent variables was performed to assess the buffering effect of self-esteem. Results: The PTSQ has excellent fit indices and psychometric properties. According to the ABH, results confirm the buffering effect of self-esteem in the relationships between traumatic symptoms and both anxiety and depression. Conclusion: On the one hand, the PTSQ is a solid and reliable instrument. On the other hand, that self-esteem is a protective factor against anxiety and depression related to a traumatic experience – such as COVID-19. Targeted psychological interventions should be implemented to minimize the psychological burden of the illness while promoting adaptation and positive aspects of oneself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we seek to illuminate the public sector relevance of the weighty subject of death, and to identify the stakes in avoiding the subject. Our purpose is to unlearn silence about Public Administration's (PA's) potential role in understanding, communicating, and addressing the avoidable and unavoidable in human death and suffering. At this time, death seems to be all around, and at the same time, nowhere. Contending that the academic field of PA understates the degree to which death features in actual PA practice, this article establishes death's relative absence in the journals of the field before examining obstacles to its presence. We identify and critically examine potential barriers to death's inclusion in PA, suggesting ways forward and intimating that COVID-born openness to recognition and discussion of death is not likely to last without conscious efforts. In illuminating objections and stakes we propose that PA theory and praxis and the public sector itself would benefit by confronting death avoidance, anxiety, and dread with greater and more intentional reflection, deliberation, and literacy on these subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four experiments were administered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: April/May 2020 (n = 587), September/October 2020 (n = 279), March/April 2021 (n = 590), and September 2021 (n = 353) with a national sample of Americans. Using Terror Management Theory (TMT), these set of studies evaluated whether mortality salience impacted speaker credibility and behavioral intentions to follow government recommendations to stay safe from COVID-19, testing TMT. Results show that repeated reminders of mortality over time may have negated the desire for information from a trusted source. Implications for TMT and long-term awareness of death are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the active shooting incident in Columbine, Colorado, the police response to these events changed. Rather than have the first responding officers secure the perimeter and wait for a special weapons and tactics team, police officers have been trained to move quickly to engage and neutralize a shooter. The expectation is that an officer will prioritize the lives of victims over their own. This approach is contrary to the police culture of surviving dangerous encounters. This article presents a discussion of terror management theory as a possible explanation for why some officers may fail to perform according to contemporary expectations, and why some officers may willingly place themselves in positions in which their lives are threatened. This examination is followed by a discussion of policy and research implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]