Aspects of Love: The Effect of Mortality Salience and Attachment Style on Romantic Beliefs

Smith, Rebecca; Massey, E. Wayne

doi:10.2190/om.66.2.c

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Smith and Massey (2013, Study 1) found that MS led to increased support of romantic ideology (e.g., love at first sight); however, this effect was unexpectedly found only among the avoidant and insecurely attached participants (merged into one “insecure” category). Their second study used an almost identical methodology, except, due to the low reports of anxious attachment, only avoidant insecurity was compared with secure attachment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Smith and Massey’s (2013) studies yielded disparate and theoretically incongruous results. However, some important methodological limitations merit brief comment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Romantic beliefs and ideology. Eight studies from two articles (Arndt, Greenberg, & Cook, 2002;Smith & Massey, 2013) found that MS increased pro-romance beliefs as measured by both explicit and implicit measures. However, these associations were moderated by attachment and gender in some of the studies.…”

Section: Table 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the securely attached concomitantly displayed less relationship preoccupation after MS, whereas preoccupation surprisingly rose among the avoidantly attached. Smith and Massey's (2013) studies yielded disparate and theoretically incongruous results. However, some important methodological limitations merit brief comment.…”

Section: Table 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our view, the observed empirical contingencies involving the tripartite security model corroborate with the notion that what close relationships can provide to quell existential concerns are inherently cultural and symbolic in nature. For example, love is a culturally defined concept that varies depending on where one was raised (Hiew et al, 2015;Smith & Massey, 2013). Even if the experiential feeling of "being fully alive" when in love is fundamentally universal, worldview is still implicated.…”

Section: Theoretical and Conceptual Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The Role of Close Relationships in Terror Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Plusnin

Pepping

Kashima

2018

Pers Soc Psychol Rev

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Terror management theory outlines how humans seek self-esteem and worldview validation to manage death-related anxiety. Accumulating evidence reveals that close relationships serve a similar role. However, to date, there has been no synthesis of the literature that delineates when close relationships buffer mortality concerns, under what conditions, on which specific outcomes, and for whom. This systematic review presents over two decades of research to address these questions. Findings from 73 reviewed studies revealed that close relationships serve an important role in buffering death-related anxiety. A range of dispositional and situational moderating factors influence either the activation or inhibition of relational strivings to manage heightened death awareness, the most influential being attachment, gender, and relationship-contingent self-esteem. These findings were integrated into an overarching model that highlights some of the conditions under which mortality salience (MS) influences relational outcomes. We conclude by highlighting a range of theoretical and methodological concerns to be addressed by future research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Smith and Massey’s (2013) studies yielded disparate and theoretically incongruous results. However, some important methodological limitations merit brief comment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Table 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Table 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical and Conceptual Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Role of Close Relationships in Terror Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Plusnin

Pepping

Kashima

2018

Pers Soc Psychol Rev

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Love in the Time of Corona: Predicting Willingness to Engage in Sexting During the First COVID-19-Related Lockdown

2022

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When the COVID-19 pandemic began, in early 2020, lockdowns limited the options for physical intimacy and many resorted to technology-mediated forms of intimacy such as sexting. However, it is unclear what predicted willingness to engage in sexting during the lockdown. The present study filled this gap by investigating COVID-19-related social isolation, privacy concerns, age, and gender as predictors of willingness to engage in sexting. We further examined an interaction of COVID-19-related social isolation and privacy concerns on willingness to engage in sexting. We conducted online surveys with 494 young adults (Study 1) and with a quota-based sample of 437 adults (Study 2) in Austria. In both studies, negative binomial regressions revealed a positive effect of COVID-19-related social isolation on willingness to engage in sexting. Privacy concerns hindered young adults in Study 1 from engaging in sexting but not relatively older adults in Study 2. However, in neither study did privacy concerns moderate the effect of COVID-19-related social isolation on willingness to engage in sexting: Even individuals with high privacy concerns were more willing to sext under conditions of social isolation, suggesting that the need for intimacy outweighed the need for privacy protection. Gender had no effect in either study, indicating that men and women used sexting to cope with the unprecedented COVID-19-related situation.

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Examining the effect of mortality salience on preference for anthropomorphic products

2023

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Research has shown that anthropomorphic products can compensate for the lack of belongingness and control. These findings suggest that anthropomorphic products may also protect against mortality salience, which has been shown in numerous research studies to be closely related to both belongingness and control motives. In two high-powered experiments, the present research aimed to investigate the effect of mortality salience on preference for anthropomorphic products and test the moderating role of three relevant factors, namely, belongingness, self-esteem, and attachment style. In the first study, we conducted a 2 (mortality salience: yes vs. no) x 2 (anthropomorphism: yes vs. no) between-subjects factorial design experiment. In the second study, we conducted a 2 (mortality salience: yes, no) x 2 (anthropomorphism: yes, no) mixed design experiment, in which we manipulated mortality salience between subjects and anthropomorphism within subjects. We found no evidence for the effect of mortality salience on preference for anthropomorphic products, nor for the moderating roles of belongingness, attachment style, or self-esteem. However, we found that anthropomorphism had a large, positive main effect on attitudes toward the product only when a non-anthropomorphic comparison was available. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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Aspects of Love: The Effect of Mortality Salience and Attachment Style on Romantic Beliefs

Cited by 9 publications

References 32 publications

The Role of Close Relationships in Terror Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

The Role of Close Relationships in Terror Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

Love in the Time of Corona: Predicting Willingness to Engage in Sexting During the First COVID-19-Related Lockdown

Examining the effect of mortality salience on preference for anthropomorphic products

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