The role of mortality awareness in heroic enactment

McCabe, Simon; Carpenter, Ryan W.; Arndt, Jamie

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2015.08.001

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…While the present studies suggest mortality reminders can result in greater inclusion of the hero in the self, and prior research (McCabe et al, 2015) found death reminders can spur heroic enactment, little is known about whether existential concerns play a role in the potential shift from hero identification to heroic enactment. However, previous research, from beyond the purview of TMT, indicates there may be a link.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

“…As such, heroes may be identified with to a greater degree after MS as they may wield greater 'cultural power' compared to non-heroic cultural worldview supporters. Indeed, irrespective of whether MS can motivate a general tendency to identify with others or not, when considered alongside extant literature such as Sullivan and Ventor (2005), finding quicker response rates on an IOS self-description test for hero (vs. non-hero others) traits, McCabe et al (2015) finding lower reported pain in the hero (vs. positive personality) condition, and Kut et al (2007) finding that hero identification via roleplaying a hero (vs. control) led to greater pain tolerance, it is plausible to suggest that hero identification (vs. identification broadly) has some distinct psychological properties.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…McCabe, Carpenter, and Arndt (2015) theorized that if heroes are culturally valued and death reminders enhance striving for cultural values, then death reminders should enhance effort on an ostensibly heroic task. They further reasoned that feedback about whether or not one completed the heroic task successfully should predict the extent to which the topic of death continues to be cognitively active.…”

Section: Terror Management Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of mortality awareness in hero identification

2016

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Three studies examine hypotheses derived from terror management theory to investigate the relationship between mortality concerns and hero identification. Study 1 found reminders of death, followed by a distraction task and a self-prime, led to greater inclusion of heroes in the self. Study 2 found that writing about a personal hero, but not other's heroes or acquaintances, led to lower death-thought accessibility after being reminded of mortality. Finally, Study 3 found that after death reminders, participants led to identify with a hero exemplifying traits of legacy and/or sacrifice showed lower death thought accessibility. Findings are discussed as generative for heroism research, informing a previously overlooked motivation underlying hero identification and the existential function of such identification.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Terror Management Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of mortality awareness in hero identification

2016

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“…The mortality salience manipulation was administered as in Study 1. Consistent with the methodology in prior research, the affect was measured using the positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS) (Arndt, Greenberg, & Cook, ; Das, Duiven, Arendsen, & Vermeulen, ; McCabe, Carpenter, & Arndt, ; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, ). Participants completed the 20‐item positive (α = 0.89) and negative (α = 0.87) affect the scale.…”

Section: Study 2: Measuring Numbing With Self‐reported Perceptions Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

The numbing effect of mortality salience in consumer settings

Goode

Iwasa‐Madge²

2019

Psychology and Marketing

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Nationwide Insurance and Johnnie Walker Scotch aired advertisements that encouraged people to contemplate death. What are the immediate emotional and perceptual outcomes of such advertisements? With five studies, thinking about death was found to attenuate emotional reactions and perceptions, a novel finding in the literature. This attenuation was observed with neural and self-report measures along with retrospective and prospective assessments of emotion and is an outcome not yet investigated in mortality salience research. Contemplating death dampened people's expectations of emotion in a future consumption experience and diminished the attractiveness of the experience. Similarly, contemplating death affected backward-looking assessments of emotion, for example, when nostalgic memories are brought to mind. Importantly, this dampening effect of mortality salience was replicated with advertisements that portrayed death-related concepts and attenuated emotional reactions to subsequent advertisements.

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“…Although TMT theoretically addressed heroes from the very beginning, we are only aware of three additional empirical works that directly dealt with the role of heroes. In one study McCabe, Carpenter, and Arndt (2015) showed that when linking pain tolerance to heroism, participants under MS reported less pain on a cold pressor task. A further study showed that when participants received feedback that they succeeded in being heroic, death-thought accessibility was lower.…”

Section: Research On Heroes In Terror Management Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Heroes aren’t always so great!’ – Heroic perceptions under mortality salience

et al. 2019

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According to terror management theory, in a first study (N = 80), we tested the hypothesis that heroic perceptions of historic heroes would become more positive under mortality salience. Results, however, showed the opposite effectheroic perceptions were less positive. To explain this unexpected finding, we referred to a social comparison perspective, assuming comparisons with a hero are likely to be unfavorable for one's self-esteem. Two further (pre-registered) studies were conducted to test this idea. Mortality salience effects in Study 2 (N = 615) were not significant. However, using an improved experimental procedure in Study 3 (N = 600), heroic perceptions were indeed significantly less positive under MS, especially for participants with low trait self-esteem and low social comparison orientation.

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The role of mortality awareness in heroic enactment

Cited by 17 publications

References 37 publications

The role of mortality awareness in hero identification

The role of mortality awareness in hero identification

The numbing effect of mortality salience in consumer settings

‘Heroes aren’t always so great!’ – Heroic perceptions under mortality salience

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