Subjective Nearness-to-Death and COVID-19 Worries Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel: The Moderating Role of Israeli Identity and Sense of Community

The Ultra-Orthodox community in Israel is characterized by close everyday contact and a strong sense of community. While the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in global uncertainty, fear, and fatalities, this group was particularly affected by the pandemic. Accordingly, the current study examines whether subjective nearness-to-death was associated with increased COVID-19 concerns, and whether Israeli identity and sense of community moderate this association. Data were gathered from 255 Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jews, and results yielded a significant link between subjective nearness-to-death and COVID-19 worries, moderated by both moderators. Results are discussed in line with terror management theory, and theoretical/practical implications are suggested.

Not so terrifying after all? A set of failed replications of the mortality salience effects of Terror Management Theory

Terror Management Theory (TMT) postulates that humans, in response to awareness of their death, developed complex defenses to remove the salience and discomfort stemming from those thoughts. In a standard paradigm to test this theory, an individual is presented with a death-related prime (Mortality Salience; MS), such as writing the details of their own death, or something neutral, such as watching television. After a distractor task (for delay), participants complete the dependent variable, such as rating how much they like or agree with a pro- or anti-national essay and its author. Individuals in the MS condition typically exhibit greater worldview defense than control conditions by rating the pro-national essay more positively and the anti-national essay more negatively. We completed five separate studies across five unique samples with the goal of replicating and extending this well-established pattern to provide further understanding of the phenomena that underlie the effects of MS. However, despite using standard procedures, we were unable to replicate basic patterns of the dependent variable in the MS conditions. We also pooled all responses into two meta-analyses, one examining all dependent variables and one focusing on the anti-national essay; yet the effect sizes in these analyses did not significantly differ from zero. We discuss the methodological and theoretical implications of these (unintended) failures to replicate. It is not clear if these null findings were due to methodological limitations, restraints of online/crowd-sourced recruitment, or ever-evolving sociocultural factors.

You gotta fight! - Why norm-violations and outgroup criticism lead to confrontational reactions

Group members frequently face group-related discrepancies, such as other group members violating group norms or outgroup members criticising the ingroup. In response, they often engage in confrontational reactions like expressing disapproval or excluding the person causing the discrepancy. The present work tests the often voiced but rarely studied idea that group-related discrepancies are met with such confrontational responses because discrepancies elicit feelings of threat. Our approach is inspired by research on threat-regulation, which links certain negative emotions to the activation of specific threat-regulatory systems. Three experiments (N_total = 680) provide evidence suggesting that group-related discrepancies foster emotions consistent with an activation of the Fight-Flight-Freeze-System (especially anger-related emotions tied to fight-tendencies), emotions consistent with an activation of the Behavioural Inhibition System (i.e. anxiety-related emotions), and confrontational intentions. The effect of discrepancies on confrontational intentions was mediated by heightened anger-related emotions. This supports the idea that confrontational reactions are driven by experienced threat and that these reactions are rightfully called confrontational. We discuss our results in relation to research on ingroup norm-violations, outgroup criticism, and threat perception.

The quiet migration of adopted adolescents in Italy: Ethnic identity, reflected minority categorization, and ethnic discrimination

Internationally adopted adolescents face the crucial developmental task of shaping their ethnic identity by balancing their dual belongingness to the current cultural background and the birth country's ethnic background. This process does not depend exclusively on individual variables, but it is embedded within the social context. The present study was aimed at exploring the role of ethnic discrimination in moderating the association between reflected minority categorization, on the one hand, and ethnic identity, on the other. A self-report questionnaire was administrated to 180 internationally adopted adolescents. Results showed that at high levels of ethnic discrimination the relation between reflected minority categorization and ethnic identity in terms of commitment was negative and stronger. When considering instead ethnic identity in terms of exploration, it is possible to note that higher levels of reflected minority categorization were associated with higher levels of exploration. Findings are discussed in light of post-adoption intervention for adoptees.

Discrimination, Skin Color Satisfaction, and Adjustment among Latinx American Youth

Race-related biases and discrimination and easily observable race-related characteristics, such as skin color, appear to go hand and hand, but it remains unclear how these factors work together to shape youth development. The current study addresses this gap by investigating skin color satisfaction as a mediator between perceptions of discrimination and adjustment. Data are from a cross-sectional sample of Latinx youth (N = 175; M_age = 12.86; 51.4% female; 86.9% US-born) who completed measures of foreigner-based objectification, peer discrimination, adult discrimination, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and the importance or value attributed to academic success. Evidence of significant indirect effects of skin color satisfaction in the links between foreigner-based objectification and self-esteem as well as academic importance was found. Skin color satisfaction did not mediate links between either peer or adult discrimination and self-esteem, depression, and academic importance. The results provide support that being perceived as a foreigner has negative implications for Latinx youth adjustment through skin color satisfaction. The present study expands understanding of how different forms of differential treatment may affect minoritized youth. Implications and future research ideas are discussed.

A Doctor's Foreign Accent Affects Perceptions of Competence

Many doctors work or train in foreign countries and speak with a foreign accent. People sometimes assume that a person who speaks with a foreign accent possesses negative traits and personality characteristics. The purpose of this study is to test if doctors who speak with a foreign accent are perceived as less competent than doctors who speak with a standard accent. Both Caucasian Canadian and Chinese Canadian undergraduates rated the competence of a doctor speaking English with either a standard Canadian accent or a Chinese accent. The doctor was delivering either good or bad news about the patient's cholesterol levels or cancer. Previous research has shown that when reminded of death, participants favor in-group members. We found that the Chinese-accented doctor's competence was judged more negatively than the standard Canadian accented doctor by all participants. Both doctors were deemed less competent when delivering bad news than good news. These results suggest that foreign-accented doctors face biases about their competence from their patients.

To the Victors Go the Existential Spoils: The Mental-Health Benefits of Cultural Worldview Defense for People WHO Successfully Meet Cultural Standards and Valued Goals

Introduction: Research in support of terror management theory suggests that mortality concerns will activate symbolic defenses associated with cultural worldviews, and when these defenses are activated, mental health will benefit. However, no study to date has examined this process in full. We filled this gap, while testing the moderating effect of feeling successful vis-à-vis cultural value-standards.

Method: In two studies, we hypothesized that participants who feel successful at meeting cultural standards would engage cultural worldview defense (WVD) following mortality salience (MS), and as a consequence of their defensiveness, would experience greater mental health.

Results: In Study 1, MS increased pro-American WVD only among relatively wealthy participants, which in turn reduced death-thought accessibility. In Study 2, MS increased pro-American WVD only among participants primed with felt success (vs. failure), which in turn reduced anxiety and depression.

Conclusions: Culture can relieve death-related distress and promote mental health to the extent that it provides feelings of success.

Know Your Heritage: Exploring the Effects of Fit in Cultural Knowledge on Chinese Canadians' Heritage Identification

In the present research, we introduce the notion of fit in cultural knowledge (FICK) – which we define as a match between the self and others in representing a cultural tradition. For ethnic minorities, FICK can be manifested in different degrees of matching their personal beliefs about their heritage culture with outgroup as well as ingroup beliefs about their heritage culture. We conducted two studies with the objective of exploring the potentially negative effects of FICK on Chinese Canadians’ heritage identification. In both studies, Chinese Canadian university students (N = 102; N = 156) indicated their personal beliefs about what values are normative in Chinese culture. Ingroup beliefs were assessed by beliefs about Chinese values that Chinese Canadians ascribed to their parents (Study 2), whereas outgroup beliefs were assessed by beliefs about Chinese values that were held by Euro-Canadians (Study 1) or that Chinese Canadians ascribed to Euro-Canadians (Study 2). The main findings based on a series of path models are as follows: (1) a stronger FICK generally predicted lower Chinese identification (centrality, ingroup ties, and affect), yet those negative effects were largely manifested in the openness to change versus conservation rather than in the self-transcendence versus self-enhancement value dimension. (2) The negative effects could be explained by Chinese Canadians’ experience of bicultural conflict (Study 1) and the frustration of continuity, meaning, and belonging identity motives (Study 2), suggesting that it matters which specific views of Chinese culture are matched in FICK. 3) Individuals who agreed with the perceived outgroup beliefs, and parental beliefs to a lesser extent, were more likely to apply the model minority stereotype to other Chinese Canadians (Study 2). Taken together, those findings demonstrate the challenges FICK presents to heritage identity maintenance among Chinese Canadian young adults. Implications for enculturation and cultural fit are discussed.

Theories for Race and Gender Differences in Management of Social Identity-Related Stressors: a Systematic Review

Sociodemographic group-specific strategies for stress management may contribute to racial and gender disparities in health outcomes in the USA. We aimed to systematically review theoretical and empirical investigations of factors influencing variation in response to and management of identity-related stress among black and white Americans. OvidPsychInfo and PubMed databases were searched to identify eligible studies. Criteria were participant age of ≥ 18 years, conducted in the US sampling black or white participants, and published in English in a peer-reviewed journal. The final sample included 167 articles. Theories suggesting social status inequities as the primary contributor to disparate strategies employed by black and white women and men to manage social identity-related stress were most frequently tested and supported. Studies disproportionally focused on how women and black persons cope as targets of prejudice and discrimination rather than on how management strategies of men or white persons are affected as perpetrators. Finally, there was theoretical support for an interactive effect of race and gender on stress management, but empirical evidence was lacking, particularly among black men, white women, and white men. The literature could be strengthened through the use of prospective cohorts and nationally representative samples, as well as study designs accounting for potential within-race and within-gender variation in the effects of social identity-related stressors on coping. With greater consistency in methodology, future empirical studies may yield additional information regarding group differences in stress management pertinent to clarifying mechanisms for the health consequences of exposure to social inequity among black and white women and men.

Terror Management in a Multicultural Society: Effects of Mortality Salience on Attitudes to Multiculturalism Are Moderated by National Identification and Self-Esteem Among Native Dutch People

Terror Management Theory (TMT; Greenberg et al., 1997) proposes that mortality concerns may lead people to reject other cultures than their own. Although highly relevant to multiculturalism, TMT has been rarely tested in a European multicultural society. To fill this void, two studies examined the effects of mortality salience (MS) among native Dutch people with varying levels of national identification and self-esteem. Consistent with TMT, MS led to less favorable attitudes about Muslims and multiculturalism among participants with high (rather than low) national identification and low (rather than high) self-esteem (Study 1). Likewise, MS led participants with high national identification and low self-esteem to increase their support of Sinterklaas, a traditional Dutch festivity with purported racist elements (Study 2). Together, these findings indicate that existential concerns may fuel resistance against multiculturalism, especially among people with low self-esteem who strongly identify with their nationality.

When You Become a Superman: Subliminal Exposure to Death-Related Stimuli Enhances Men's Physical Force

Research based on terror management theory (TMT) has consistently found that reminders to individuals about their mortality engender responses aimed at shoring up faith in their cultural belief system. Previous studies have focused on the critical role that the accessibility of death-related thought plays in these effects. Moreover, it has been shown that these effects occur even when death-related stimuli are presented without awareness, suggesting the unconscious effects of mortality salience. Because one pervasive cultural ideal for men is to be strong, we hypothesized that priming death-related stimuli would lead to increasing physical force for men, but not for women. Building on self-escape mechanisms from TMT, we propose that the mechanism that turns priming of death-related stimuli into physical exertion relies on the co-activation of the self with death-related concepts. To test this hypothesis, we subjected 123 participants to a priming task that enabled us to combine the subliminal priming of death-related words with briefly presented self-related words. Accordingly, three different conditions were created: a (control) condition in which only self-related stimuli were presented, a (priming) condition in which death-related words were subliminally primed but not directly paired with self-related stimuli, and a (priming-plus-self) condition in which death-related words were subliminally primed and immediately linked to self-related stimuli. We recorded handgrip force before and after the manipulations. Results showed that male participants in the priming-plus-self condition had a higher peak force output than the priming and control conditions, while this effect was absent among female participants. These results support the hypothesis that unconscious mortality salience, which is accompanied with self-related stimuli, increases physical force for men but not for women. The gender difference may reflect the cultural belief system, in which individuals are taught that men should be strong. Thus, the unconscious mortality salience produced by exposure to the death-related stimuli motivates need to conform to this internalized cultural standard.

Deliver us from Evil: The Effects of Mortality Salience and Reminders of 9/11 on Support for President George W. Bush

According to terror management theory, heightened concerns about mortality should intensify the appeal of charismatic leaders. To assess this idea, we investigated how thoughts about death and the 9/11 terrorist attacks influence Americans’ attitudes toward current U.S. President George W. Bush. Study 1 found that reminding people of their own mortality (mortality salience) increased support for Bush and his counterterrorism policies. Study 2 demonstrated that subliminal exposure to 9/11-related stimuli brought death-related thoughts closer to consciousness. Study 3 showed that reminders of both mortality and 9/11 increased support for Bush. In Study 4, mortality salience led participants to become more favorable toward Bush and voting for him in the upcoming election but less favorable toward Presidential candidate John Kerry and voting for him. Discussion focused on the role of terror management processes in allegiance to charismatic leaders and political decision making.

The “Frozen in Time” Effect in Evaluations of the Dead

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that evaluations of the dead are more resistant to change than are evaluations of the living. In Experiment 1, perceivers formed an impression of a target person who performed either a moral or an immoral action and then either died or remained alive. Perceivers were later given new inconsistent information about the target's morality. The results revealed that perceivers’ original impressions of the target were significantly less likely to change in response to the inconsistent information when the target was believed to be dead than when she was believed to be alive. Experiment 2 replicated the effect in impressions of real-world targets. The implications of these findings for research on posthumous impression processes are discussed.

The Scrooge Effect: Evidence that Mortality Salience Increases Prosocial Attitudes and Behavior

From the perspective of terror management theory, reminders of mortality should intensify the desire to express culturally prescribed prosocial attitudes and engage in culturally prescribed prosocial behaviors. Two studies supported these hypotheses. In Study 1, people were interviewed in close proximity to a funeral home or several blocks away and were asked to indicate their attitudes toward two charities they deemed important. Those who were interviewed in front of the funeral home reported more favorability toward these charities than those who were interviewed several blocks away. In Study 2, the authors found that following mortality salience, people gave more money to a charity supporting an American cause than people who had been exposed to an aversive control topic. However, mortality salience had no effect on the amount of money given to a foreign cause. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Play It Safe or Go for the Gold? A Terror Management Perspective on Self-Enhancement and Self-Protective Motives in Risky Decision Making

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that bolstering self-esteem buffers mortality concerns; accordingly, in past research, heightening mortality salience (MS) increases self-enhancement. However, risky self-esteem-relevant decisions often present a choice between enhancing self-esteem by striving for excellence and protecting self-esteem by avoiding potential failure. Which strategy is preferred under MS? Combining TMT with insights from Steele, Spencer, and Lynch's (1993) resource model, the authors hypothesized and found that MS leads high, but not low, self-esteem participants faced with a risky decision to pursue opportunities for excellence despite substantial risk of failure (Studies 1 and 2); in Study 3, using a more impactful decision, this effect was replicated and it was furthermore found that mortality-salient low-self-esteem participants become more risk-averse. Furthermore, in Study 2, a self-affirmation prime, previously shown to reduce MS-induced defenses, eliminated the self-enhancement effect among high-self-esteem participants. Implications for understanding self-esteem, TMT, and risky decision making are briefly discussed.

Mother Teresa Versus Ebenezer Scrooge: Mortality Salience Leads Proselfs to Endorse Self-Transcendent Values (Unless Proselfs Are Reassured)

Recently, Jonas, Schimel, Greenberg, and Pyszczynski demonstrated that mortality salience (MS) increased contributions to (an ingroup) charity (i.e., the Scrooge effect). The authors examined whether individual differences in social value orientations would moderate the Scrooge effect. In line with an Ebenezer shift hypothesis, proselfs were less likely than prosocials to endorse self-transcendent values in a dental pain control condition but were indistinguishable from prosocials in an MS condition as proselfs increased endorsement of self-transcendent values under MS (Experiments 1 and 2a). However, when participants gave their impressions of an unfavorable prosocial or a favorable proself prior to the MS manipulation, proselfs were again less likely than prosocials to endorse self-transcendent values (Experiments 2a and 2b), suggesting that proselfs are unlikely to transform into prosocials under conditions of MS when given reasons to disidentify with prosocial values or identify with proself values.

Defenders of a Lost Cause: Terror Management and Violent Resistance to the Disengagement Plan

Two studies, conducted 3 months before the Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and the Northern West Bank, examined whether reminders of death would lead right-wing Israelis to endorse violent resistance against the disengagement plan. More specifically, we hypothesized that this reaction would be particularly strong among participants high in denial—those who were unable to come to terms with the Israeli withdrawal. In Study 1 (N = 63), right-wing Israeli undergraduates were primed with death and asked to indicate whether they view violent resistance as legitimate and whether they would be willing to partake in such violence. In Study 2 (N = 42), Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip completed a similar procedure as in Study 1. In both studies, primes of death led to greater support of violent resistance, but only among participants high in denial. The discussion examines the applicability of terror management theory to understanding real-life political crises.

Opposing Standards Within the Cultural Worldview: Terror Management and American Women's Desire for Uniqueness Versus Inclusiveness

Two different standards within American women's overall cultural worldview were examined in two studies: standing out and fitting in. American culture prescribes and values uniqueness, yet gender norms for women prescribe and value inclusiveness. Thus, unlike American men, American women encounter incongruent cultural norms that make it unclear which she will uphold when faced with thoughts of death. We hypothesized that, for women (and not men), gender salience would moderate worldview adherence. Using standard terror management manipulations, American women were subjected to a self or gender prime (Study 1) as well as a non-gender-group prime and compared to men (Study 2). Results showed that under mortality salience, women primed with gender identified more with their gender group, were more likely to behave inclusively, and were more likely to desire affiliation. In contrast, those primed with the self, a non-gender-group prime, as well as men, were more likely to desire uniqueness. These findings suggest that, for an American woman, both inclusiveness and uniqueness are responses to mortality salience, depending on her momentary reference point.

Life-after-death beliefs and self motivations

An experimental study was designed to ascertain whether three self-motives (death-thoughts avoidance, self-uncertainty reduction, and need-for-control) are irreducible motives or examples of a more basic primary motive with regard to their relationship to life-after-death (LAD) beliefs. The study explored the impact of the three self-motives on adherence to LAD beliefs through three mediators: self-esteem, feelings of disquiet, and thoughts-accessibility (thoughts of death, need-for-control, and uncertainty). Participants were randomly assigned to write about their own death, a time they felt uncertain, a time they felt powerless, or about a toothache episode. The mediators (accessibility of disturbing thoughts, feelings of disquiet-uncertainty, and self-esteem) were measured next. The dependent variable selected was endorsement of LAD beliefs. Results showed that the cognitive and emotional responses produced by the activation of the three motives were similar. The three motives increased the accessibility of uncertain-related thoughts that, in turn, increased the adherence to LAD.

Activism as a heroic quest for symbolic immortality: An existential perspective on collective action

Excellent research exists on the conditions that generate political and social activism. Yet a central issue has remained perplexing: how does the personal need to stand out as unique and heroic interact with the concern for the positive image of the group, and the desire to protect and bolster its status, goals and shared values, in propelling collective action? Inspired by existential theory and research, this paper proposes an existential perspective on activism that identifies the human desire for a sense of meaning and significance as an important motivation underlying individuals' choice to engage in collective action. This study outlines an integrative model of collective action, combining insights from existential psychology with insights from the social identity perspective, to bridge together needs and concerns associated with both personal identity and group identity into a single model of collective action through the concept of death-anxiety buffering mechanisms. This model suggests that collective action is an effective means to satisfy existential needs through bolstering and protecting group interests and values on the one hand, and realizing the activist's heroism project on the other. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

To be or not to be: How ethnic/racial stereotypes influence ethnic/racial disidentification and psychological mood

OBJECTIVES

The current study explores disidentification. Ethnic/racial disidentification is defined as psychological distancing from a threatened social identity to preserve a positive sense of self. The first study goal was to explore how daily ethnic/racial stereotype appraisal is related to ethnic/racial disidentification. The second goal was explore the association between disidentification and psychological mood. In both cases, centrality and private regard were considered individual differences that might moderate daily associations.

METHOD

Ethnic/racial minority young adults (Mage = 20.63 years, SD = 1.49; N = 129) completed a 21-day daily diary, including ethnic/racial stereotype appraisal, ethnic/racial disidentification, and mood. At the end of the study, participants completed measures of ethnic/racial centrality and private regard.

RESULTS

The effect of daily stereotype appraisal on disidentification depended on feelings of centrality and private regard. Young adults reporting high centrality and high private regard reported higher disidentification on days on which they reported more stereotype appraisal. These same young adults also reported higher negative mood on days on which they reported disidentification. Young adults reporting high private regard reported less positive mood on days on which they reported disidentification, whereas those reporting low private regard reported more positive mood.

CONCLUSION

This article discusses the role of ethnic/racial disidentification as a normative negotiation of threats to ethnic/racial identity development. For young adults who report high levels of centrality and private regard, daily encounters with ethnic/racial stereotypes are associated with more disidentification, but that disidentification comes at a cost in the form of more negative daily mood.

Resisting Connection Following Social Exclusion

Social psychologists theorize that individuals seek connection following rejection. However, accepting connection from a low status other may imply that one is of similarly low status, which may call into question one’s prospects for future acceptance. Thus, we hypothesized that rejection would lead individuals to distance themselves from a low status other even when the low status other is accepting. In two studies, single, heterosexual, female participants received simultaneous acceptance/rejection feedback from one physically attractive man and one less attractive man. As predicted, rejected individuals derogated their rejecters as indicated by a decreased desire for affiliation and more negative evaluations. Moreover, participants rejected by the attractive man also derogated the unattractive man even when the unattractive man offered acceptance. These data may shed light on specific circumstances under which rejection leads to antisocial behavior.

Understanding the Vital Human Quest for Self-Esteem

Authors have long noted the human penchant for self-esteem. Experimental research has revealed that this desire for self-esteem has wide-ranging effects on cognition, emotion, and behavior. Terror management theory explains that this desire for self-esteem results from a fundamental need for psychological security, which is engendered by humans' awareness of their own vulnerability and mortality. A large body of evidence has supported this explanation. Specifically, substantial lines of research have shown that self-esteem buffers anxiety and reduces defenses against death and that reminders of mortality increase efforts to defend and bolster self-esteem. Complementary findings have helped clarify the role of culture in self-esteem striving and the ways in which people can vary in their level, stability, and sources of self-esteem. I conclude by briefly considering how this contemporary knowledge regarding the quest for self-esteem informs current events and daily life.

Public perceptions and reactions to H7N9 in Mainland China

OBJECTIVES

H7N9 poses major challenges for Chinese society. Early examination of public reactions to threat is critical for framing appropriate public health responses. We investigate initial beliefs about the disease, knowledge, media use, anxiety, and behavioural responses to H7N9 METHODS: Randomly selected participants (N = 637) from Mainland China completed an online questionnaire 3 weeks after the first case (response rate 92%). Items assessed risk representations and communications, personal values, mortality and health anxiety, understanding of symptomology, health seeking and preventive and avoidant behaviours.

RESULTS

Despite moderately high anxiety, participants largely trusted official messages, particularly from Chinese officials. Respondents correctly identified symptoms of H7N9; 96% reported 1+ recommended behaviour change; other changes included avoiding poultry, crowds, and migrants, and cancelling travel. Worry was positively related to viewing some groups at enhanced risk, including the sexually active and migrants. 41% had already bought medicines due to the threat, although few (7%) were willing to self-quarantine if infected.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate some understanding of the virus and compliance with recommended behaviours. However they also suggest potential discrimination against some groups, and potential high burden on medical resources, particularly amongst the anxious.

Changing Minds: A Psychodynamic Interpretation of Kuhnian Paradigm Change

Thomas Kuhn's model of the structure of scientific revolutions is, to this day, one of the most influential attempts to understand central processes in the history of science. While Kuhn coached his theory in historical and sociological terms, this article argues that modern existential psychology can be used to add a psychodynamic dimension to Kuhn's model. Specifically, while Kuhn famously claimed that scientific paradigms are worldviews held by scientists and described their pattern of change, terror management theory (TMT) emphasizes the existential importance of worldviews and specifies the conditions under which individuals will either radicalize or abandon their worldviews when they are faced with threat or negative evidence. This article shows that the stages Kuhn describes in the history of science can fruitfully be elucidated by central TMT concepts, and exemplifies their applicability through two examples in the history of psychology. The resulting psychological interpretation of scientists' existential attachment to their worldview might prove fruitful in understanding crucial dynamics in the history of science.

Ethnicity, gender socialization, and children's attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women

The aim of the present study was to assess whether children's attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women differ in relation to their ethnic backgrounds, and whether ethnic differences are a result of perceived differential gender socialization practices. Data were collected from children in eight Dutch elementary schools by means of a paper-and-pencil questionnaire administered in the classroom. All children (mean age 11.47; N = 229) lived in the Netherlands; 50.2% had non-Western and 49.8% Western ethnic backgrounds. Children with non-Western ethnic backgrounds reported more negative attitudes towards gays and lesbians. These children perceived more parental pressure to behave in accordance with their gender and showed more negative attitudes towards gender-nonconforming behaviour by peers. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that cultural differences in attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women are partly mediated by differentially perceived parental pressure to behave in accordance with their gender.

Who Uses Groups to Transcend the Limits of the Individual Self? Exploring the Effects of Interdependent Self-Construal and Mortality Salience on Investment in Social Groups

Terror management theory posits that people identify with and invest in culturally derived social groups, in part, to attach the self to something more permanent than one’s physical existence. Accordingly, research demonstrates that reminders of mortality (mortality salience) increase investment in culturally derived in-groups. The current research extends this analysis by examining whether amplified in-group investment following mortality salience is primarily characteristic of people who define the self in terms of social groups (interdependent self-construal). Three studies provided support for this assertion. Mortality salience increased: identification with one’s nation among Chinese (high interdependence culture) but not American (low interdependence culture) participants (Study 1); positivity toward one’s university for students with high, but not low, interdependent self-construal (Study 2); and willingness to self-sacrifice for one’s religious group among participants induced to adopt an interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal (Study 3).

When death is good for life: considering the positive trajectories of terror management

Research derived from terror management theory (TMT) has shown that people's efforts to manage the awareness of death often have deleterious consequences for the individual and society. The present article takes a closer look at the conceptual foundations of TMT and considers some of the more beneficial trajectories of the terror management process. The awareness of mortality can motivate people to enhance their physical health and prioritize growth-oriented goals; live up to positive standards and beliefs; build supportive relationships and encourage the development of peaceful, charitable communities; and foster open-minded and growth-oriented behaviors. The article also tentatively explores the potential enriching impact of direct encounters with death. Overall, the present analysis suggests that although death awareness can, at times, generate negative outcomes, it can also function to move people along more positive trajectories and contribute to the good life.

The Two Faces of Age Identity 1Action editor of this article was Dieter Ferring

As people grow older they develop a sense of a dual age identity, referring to their age group and generation ( Weiss & Lang, 2009 ). Two studies (N1 = 37, 60–85 years and N2 = 104, 65–88 years of age) compared and contrasted older adults’ cognitive representations of two types of age cohort groups (age group vs. generation). Analyses reveal that age-group identity was more frequently associated with loss and decline, whereas generation identity was more frequently associated with positive characteristics and increased levels of agency. Findings also show that generation identity may – especially in later adulthood – serve as a means to compensate for loss. The self-protective function of the dual age identity and the dynamic and flexible nature of identification are further discussed.

The Anxiety-Buffering Properties of Cultural and Subcultural Worldviews: Terror Management Processes among Juvenile Delinquents

Terror management research indicates that people reminded of mortality strongly affirm values and standards consistent with their cultural worldview and distance themselves from values and standards inconsistent with it. However, limited research has addressed how individuals holding beliefs inconsistent with the dominant worldview cope with death-related anxiety. The present article aims to determine which worldview subcultural groups rely on when reminded of mortality: mainstream or subcultural? Juvenile delinquents living in residential reformatories in Poland were invited to participate in a terror management study examining the anxiety-buffering strategies of individuals belonging to a group largely outside mainstream culture. Following reminders of mortality, juvenile delinquents increased support for values consistent with the mainstream cultural worldview and decreased support for values consistent with the subcultural worldview, as compared to control conditions. The present results suggest that when faced with existential threat, the subcultural worldview does not provide an adequate anxiety buffer, leading members of this subcultural group to display increased identification with mainstream cultural values. Additionally, participants' state anxiety following death reminders was mediated by mainstream cultural worldview defense.

Terror Management and Biculturalism

Terror management theory posits that cultural worldviews provide protection against death-related anxiety. To the extent that worldviews often encompass competing beliefs, the present research investigated the effect of the salience of an incompatibility between worldview elements. French nationals of second- or third-immigrant generation (N = 193) were exposed to compatible or incompatible aspects of their cultural identities and then induced to contemplate their own death or a neutral topic. Participants reminded of their mortality renounced their ethnic identity more in the cultural incompatibility condition, and this effect was confined to those who initially presented an integrated (or bicultural) identity. Mortality salience led to monoculturalism striving when bicultural participants considered incompatible aspects of both their cultures, hence verifying the importance of upholding a strong and unwavering cultural worldview to cope with death awareness. The role of death-thoughts accessibility and religious attitudes following participants’ efforts to shore up their cultural worldview is discussed.

Representations of swine flu: perspectives from a Malaysian pig farm

Novel influenza viruses are seen, internationally, as posing considerable health challenges, but public responses to such viruses are often rooted in cultural representations of disease and risk. However, little research has been conducted in locations associated with the origin of a pandemic. We examined representations and risk perceptions associated with swine flu amongst 120 Malaysian pig farmers. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents felt at particular risk of infection, two-thirds were somewhat or very concerned about being infected. Those respondents who were the most anxious believed particular societal "out-groups" (homosexuals, the homeless and prostitutes) to be at higher infection risk. Although few (4%) reported direct discrimination, 46% claimed friends had avoided them since the swine flu outbreak. Findings are discussed in the context of evolutionary, social representations and terror management theories of response to pandemic threat.

Gender conflict and worldview defence

Applying social identity and terror management theory assumptions to gender conflict we predicted that mortality salience (MS) would lead to an increase in pro-women attitudes in women and a decrease in these attitudes in men. After a MS versus control manipulation, 32 female and 24 male university students evaluated (fictitious) courses in psychology dealing with and supporting the promotion of women. In accordance with our prediction the results showed a significant interaction between sex and MS, indicating that men and women differed in their judgment only under MS but not in the control condition. Whereas men reacted with an increased negative evaluation of the pro-women courses following MS, women on the other hand showed an increased positive evaluation of the courses. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Humans rule! The effects of creatureliness reminders, mortality salience and self-esteem on attitudes towards animals

This research paper presents findings from an experimental investigation of the attitudes that people hold towards animals when they are reminded of the fact that humans and animals are creatures alike. We tested the hypothesis that mortality salience (MS) would lead participants reminded of human creatureliness to evaluate animals more negatively, especially when they reported lower self-esteem. Student participants were randomly assigned to conditions in which MS was made salient and thoughts about human creatureliness were manipulated. Participants then reported their attitudes towards animals. Lending support to the hypothesis of this study, MS led participants with lower self-esteem to rate animals more negatively, when they were reminded of human-animal similarity. The implications of these results for understanding people's attitudes towards animals were discussed.