The art of self-deception: individual differences in death-thought accessibility following standard manipulations of mortality salience and delay

Tupper, R. (2021). The art of self-deception: individual differences in death-thought accessibility following standard manipulations of mortality salience and delay. https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3612

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Details:

Title

The art of self-deception: individual differences in death-thought accessibility following standard manipulations of mortality salience and delay

Author
Tupper, Robb
Call Number

LE3 .A278 2021

Date

2021

Supervisor

Hayes, Joseph

Degree Grantor

Acadia University

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Degree Level

Honours

Discipline

Psychology

Affiliation

Psychology

Abstract

According to Terror-Management Theory (TMT), all people are afraid of death, whether they realize it or not. Despite this, people report varying degrees of fear of death. Are people who say they are not afraid of death in denial? The current study sought to test this hypothesis using TMT methodology. Accordingly, I assessed the extent to which people dismiss thoughts of death from focal attention following a death reminder (i.e., mortality salience; MS) using an implicit measure of death-thought accessibility (DTA). Participants (N=758) completed a pre-screening questionnaire assessing self-reported fear of death (FOD) and were randomly assigned to a 2 (MS v. control) × 2 (delay v. no delay) between-subjects factorial design. Results showed only an MS × Delay interaction such that DTA was heightened immediately after MS, but not after a delay. FOD did not moderate the results.

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Permanent Link

https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3612

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