Ebola salience, death-thought accessibility, and worldview defense: A terror management theory perspective. Issue 9 (21st October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Arrowood, Robert B.; Cox, Cathy R.; Kersten, Michael; Routledge, Clay; Shelton, Jill Talley; Hood, Ralph W.
• Is Part Of: Death studies. Volume 41:Issue 9(2017)
• Page Start: 585
• Page End: 591
• Publication Date: 2017-10-21
• Subjects: Death -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; Terminal care -- Periodicals; Death -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Periodicals; 306.9
• DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2017.1322644
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0748-1187

Abstract

ABSTRACT: According to terror management theory, individuals defend their cultural beliefs following mortality salience. The current research examined whether naturally occurring instances of death (i.e., Ebola) correspond to results found in laboratory studies. The results of two experiments demonstrated that participants experienced a greater accessibility of death-related thoughts in response to an Ebola prime during a regional outbreak. Study 2 also showed that increased mortality awareness following an Ebola manipulation was associated with greater worldview defense (i.e., religious fundamentalism). Together, these results suggest that reminders of death in the form of a disease threat operate similarly to a mortality salience manipulation.