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Consuming Death: An analysis of Terror Management Theory, Materialism, and Spirituality

Brown, Alex LU (2015) PSYP01 20151
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Terror Management Theory (TMT) presupposes that dealing with the fact of death promotes varying types of psychological behaviors and thoughts (Kasser & Sheldon, 2000). These thoughts then influence a persons' perception of existence. Mortality salience (MS) research, which involves being reminded of death, has succeeded in highlighting tendencies of individuals responding to death reminders (Greenberg, 1990). Some research has suggested that the desire to be materialistic increases following MS (Kasser & Sheldon, 2000; Arndt, Solomon, Kasser, & Sheldon, 2004). This study attempted to measure Self-transcendence and Religiosity, and then compare these scores with Materialism scores in a broad international population after MS conditions, in... (More)
Terror Management Theory (TMT) presupposes that dealing with the fact of death promotes varying types of psychological behaviors and thoughts (Kasser & Sheldon, 2000). These thoughts then influence a persons' perception of existence. Mortality salience (MS) research, which involves being reminded of death, has succeeded in highlighting tendencies of individuals responding to death reminders (Greenberg, 1990). Some research has suggested that the desire to be materialistic increases following MS (Kasser & Sheldon, 2000; Arndt, Solomon, Kasser, & Sheldon, 2004). This study attempted to measure Self-transcendence and Religiosity, and then compare these scores with Materialism scores in a broad international population after MS conditions, in comparison to scores not involving MS. It was determined that there was no significant difference in response to the MS writing condition versus a control condition writing about pain. However, Self-transcendence measures proved to be a negative predictor (β = -.236, p < .001) of Materialism scores in the combined population of participants (N = 426). This suggests that those inclined towards a Self-transcendent perspective are more likely to be less Materialistic. (Less)
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author
Brown, Alex LU
supervisor
organization
course
PSYP01 20151
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Self-transcendence, Mortality Salience, Terror Management Theory, Materialism, Death
language
English
id
7851913
date added to LUP
2015-09-02 09:18:45
date last changed
2015-09-02 09:18:45
@misc{7851913,
  abstract     = {{Terror Management Theory (TMT) presupposes that dealing with the fact of death promotes varying types of psychological behaviors and thoughts (Kasser & Sheldon, 2000). These thoughts then influence a persons' perception of existence. Mortality salience (MS) research, which involves being reminded of death, has succeeded in highlighting tendencies of individuals responding to death reminders (Greenberg, 1990). Some research has suggested that the desire to be materialistic increases following MS (Kasser & Sheldon, 2000; Arndt, Solomon, Kasser, & Sheldon, 2004). This study attempted to measure Self-transcendence and Religiosity, and then compare these scores with Materialism scores in a broad international population after MS conditions, in comparison to scores not involving MS. It was determined that there was no significant difference in response to the MS writing condition versus a control condition writing about pain. However, Self-transcendence measures proved to be a negative predictor (β = -.236, p < .001) of Materialism scores in the combined population of participants (N = 426). This suggests that those inclined towards a Self-transcendent perspective are more likely to be less Materialistic.}},
  author       = {{Brown, Alex}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Consuming Death: An analysis of Terror Management Theory, Materialism, and Spirituality}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}