Mortality Salience Hypothesis
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Mortality salience is the
awareness In philosophy and psychology, awareness is the perception or knowledge of something. The concept is often synonymous with consciousness. However, one can be aware of something without being explicitly conscious of it, such as in the case of bli ...
that one's
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
is inevitable and that all attempts to defer it indefinitely are ultimately futile. The term derives from
terror management theory Terror management theory (TMT) is both a social psychology, social and evolutionary psychology theory originally proposed by Jeff Greenberg (professor), Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski and codified in their book ''The Worm at ...
, which proposes the so-called mortality salience hypothesis: mortality salience causes existential
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
that may be buffered by one's cultural
worldview A worldview (also world-view) or is said to be the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and Perspective (cognitive), point of view. However, whe ...
and/or a sense of
self-esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Macki ...
.


Terror management theory

Mortality salience engages the conflict humans have to face both their instinct to avoid death completely, and their intellectual knowledge that avoiding death is ultimately futile. According to terror management theory, when human beings begin to contemplate their mortality and their vulnerability to death, feelings of terror emerge because of the simple fact that humans want to avoid their inevitable death. Mortality salience comes into effect because humans contribute all of their actions to either avoiding death or distracting themselves from contemplating it. Thus, terror management theory asserts that almost all human activity is driven by the
fear of death Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also known as thanatophobia (fear of death). This anxiety can significantly impact various aspects of a person's life. Death anxiety is different from necrophobia, which r ...
. Most research done on terror management theory revolves around the mortality salience paradigm. It has been found that religious people as well as religious
fundamentalists Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...
are less vulnerable to mortality salience manipulations, and so religious believers engage in cultural worldview defense to a lesser extent than nonreligious people.


Self-esteem

Mortality salience is highly manipulated by one's self-esteem. People with low self-esteem are more apt to experience the effects of mortality salience, whereas people with high self-esteem are better able to cope with the idea that their death is uncontrollable. As an article states, "according to terror management theory, increased self-esteem should enhance the functioning of the cultural anxiety buffer and thereby provide protection against death concerns".


Potential to cause worldview defense

Mortality salience has the potential to cause worldview defense, a psychological mechanism that strengthens people's connection with their
in-group In social psychology and sociology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify. People may for example ...
as a
defense mechanism In psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological processes that protect the self from anxiety-producing thoughts and feelings related to internal conflicts and external stressors. According to this theory, healthy ...
. Studies also show that mortality salience can lead people to feel more inclined to punish what they believe to be minor moral transgressions. One such study divided a group of judges into two groups—one that was asked to reflect upon their mortality, and one group that was not. The judges were then asked to set a bond for an alleged prostitute. The group that had reflected on mortality set an average bond of $455, while the control group's average bond was $50. What prompted the increase is unclear, only the correlation was demonstrated. Possible interpretations include cultural beliefs about maintaining moral codes leading to a successful
afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
as promised in
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
s incentivizing the punishment of moral transgressions, or that the increased punishments could simply represent a desire to be more impactful on the world before death, some other cause, or multiple. Another study found that mortality salience could cause an increase in support for martyrdom and military intervention. It found that students who reflected on their mortality preferred people who supported martyrdom, and indicated they might consider martyrdom themselves. They also found that, especially among politically conservative students, mortality salience increased support for military intervention, but not among students who were politically liberal.


Gender, emotion and sex

A study tested "the hypothesis that mortality salience intensifies gender differences in reactions to sexual and emotional infidelity". In the study, participants were asked to work through packets containing mortality salience manipulation questions. In the results, they found that "sex is more relevant to the self-esteem of men than women and being in a committed relationship is relatively more important to women than for men". Therefore, when linking mortality salience to
gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
,
emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...
, and
sex Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism produces male or female gametes. During sexual reproduction, a male and a female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inheri ...
, men are more likely to suffer from sexual infidelity, and women are more likely to suffer from emotional infidelity. The results of this study showed that there is a logistic regression revealing a significant three-way interaction between gender, sex value, and mortality salience for the item pitting "passionate sex" against "emotional attachment".


See also

* ''
Awareness of Dying ''Awareness of Dying'' is a 1965 book () by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss. In his 2007 article, sociologist Stefan Timmermans called the book "landmark". History and content When Strauss came to the medical school of the University of Cali ...
'' *
Being-toward-death Martin Heidegger, the 20th-century German philosopher, produced a large body of work that intended a profound change of direction for philosophy. Such was the depth of change that he found it necessary to introduce many neologisms, often connecte ...
*
Birthday effect The birthday effect (sometimes called the birthday blues, especially when referring specifically to suicide) is a statistical phenomenon where an individual's likelihood of death appears to increase on or close to their birthday. The birthday e ...
*
Cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is described as a mental phenomenon in which people unknowingly hold fundamentally conflicting cognitions. Being confronted by situations that challenge this dissonance may ultimately result in some ...
*
Death anxiety Death anxiety is anxiety caused by thoughts of one's own death, and is also known as thanatophobia (fear of death). This anxiety can significantly impact various aspects of a person's life. Death anxiety is different from necrophobia, which r ...
*
Existential psychology Existential therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on the model of human nature and experience developed by the existential tradition of European philosophy. It focuses on the psychological experience revolving around universal human truths of ...
*
Melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...
* ''
Memento mori (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")
'', the medieval Latin Christian theory and practice of reflection on mortality *
Chamber of Reflection Within the context of Freemasonry, the Chamber of Reflection, often abbreviated as C.O.R., and alternatively known as the Room of Reflection, Reflection Cabinet, or Meditation Cabinet, plays a pivotal role in the initiation process (in some c ...
, Initiation ritual in freemasonry *
Social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...
*
Suicidal ideation Suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas or ruminations about the possibility of dying by suicide.World Health Organization, ''ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics'', ver. 09/2020MB26.A Suicidal i ...


References

{{Authority control Motivational theories Attitude change Conceptions of self Death