The mortality muzzle: The effect of death thoughts on attitudes toward national security and a watchdog press

Abstract

This study, based on terror management theory, employs an experiment to examine how the thought of death affects people’s attitudes toward a watchdog press. Findings suggest that people who most value national security demonstrate less support for a watchdog press when primed to think of death than security-minded participants in a control group. The results provide one potential explanation for rally-around-the-flag effects and for why some people more strongly oppose journalists criticizing the government during times of mortal strife, such as war or terrorist attacks. Implications discussed include suggestions, based on theory, for preventing these attitudinal shifts, and the application of terror management theory to other areas of political communication research.

Public opinion and the end of apartheid

“…Also very important were feelings of threat, consistent with the “mortality salience” literature that argues that individuals who exhibit high perceptions of threat are more ethnocentric and aggressive (Greenberg et al, 1990; Pyszczynski et al, 1997; Cuillier et al, 2010). White South Africans with higher threat perceptions fairly consistently opposed political change.…”

“…Studies of the “terror management effect” have shown that stimulating people to think about their mortality has powerful effects at the individual level. When primed to think about their own mortality, participants become more ethnocentric and aggressive; more favorable to those who praise group values; more unfavorable, punitive and aggressive toward members of outgroups; and less concerned with incidental harm to innocent members of outgroups (Greenberg et al, 1990; Pyszczynski et al, 1997; Cuillier et al, 2010). One study found a similar effect of mortality salience on support for George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. presidential election (Cohen et al, 2005).…”

Journalistic Denial of Death During the Very First Traumatic Period of the Italian SARS-CoV2 Pandemic

“…In period A, the most prominent allusions were to 'China' (frequency n=204), in particular 'Wuhan' (104) and 'Beijing' (74), with emphasis on the number of 'cases' (50) and 'people' (41) involved ('millions' [37]) and how 'cities' (41) reacted to 'quarantine' (27). Comparisons were made between the present situation ('now' [41]) and the previous 'SARS' epidemic (32). Rome (26) appeared as an Italian city because its hospital admitted two sick Chinese 'tourists' (18).…”

“…At present, finding the balance is entrusted to the empathic capacity of journalists. It is very important to include specific reflections on fear of death and psychological defensive strategies in communication science training courses [41]. Particular attention should be paid to cultural thanatology-that is, studies related to the cultural ways in which deathrelated issues are handled-in the field of health work and in the spaces of policy construction.…”

Subconscious Gatekeeping: The Effect of Death Thoughts on Bias Toward Outgroups in News Writing

“…Some studies have examined the effects of mortality salience in journalism, such as the effect of death thoughts on student journalists' views toward ethics (Cuillier, 2009b), professional journalists' increased approval of President Bush (Cuillier, 2009a), and views toward a watchdog press (Cuillier, Duell, & Joireman, 2010). No research to date, however, has examined the effects of death thoughts on journalistic behavior, nor have many studies examined psychological effects on the gatekeeping process.…”