The effect of mortality salience and belief in afterlife on the manifestation of homonegativity

If derogation of out-groups serves the function of bolstering self-esteem, it is possible that this effect can be counteracted by means of existential relief. Two variables were presented in a 2 × 2 factorial to a population of primarily college students: a mortality salience (MS) variable and an af...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mental health, religion & culture
Authors: Piwowarski, Troy (Author) ; Christopher, Andrew (Author) ; Walter, Mark (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis 2011
In: Mental health, religion & culture
Further subjects:B Afterlife
B Terror Management Theory
B mortality salience
B Prejudice
B homonegativity
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:If derogation of out-groups serves the function of bolstering self-esteem, it is possible that this effect can be counteracted by means of existential relief. Two variables were presented in a 2 × 2 factorial to a population of primarily college students: a mortality salience (MS) variable and an afterlife variable, in which participants read "scientific" accounts that either supported or denied the existence of a literal afterlife. Homonegativity was utilised as a dependent measure of out-group derogation. In the predicted manner, mortality salience and afterlife variables interacted to predict significantly different levels of homonegativity. When participants were subconsciously primed with MS, their psychological need to derogate dissimilar others was significantly lowered if they were assured of an afterlife. These results demonstrate that the effects of MS can be attenuated by presenting existential relief through assurance of literal afterlife.
ISSN:1469-9737
Contains:Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13674670903487393