TESTING ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR MORTALITY SALIENCE EFFECTS - TERROR MANAGEMENT, VALUE ACCESSIBILITY, OR WORRISOME THOUGHTS

Previous research has shown that reminding subjects of their mortality encourages negative reactions to others whose behaviour or attitudes deviate from the cultural worldview (e.g. Greenberg, Pyszczynski, Solo mon, Rosenblatt, Veeder, Kirkland and Lyon 1990; Greenberg, Simon, Pys zczynski, Solomon and Chatel 1992; Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Solomon, Pys zczynski and Lyon 1989). According to terror management theory, these findings result from a heightened need for faith in the cultural world view that is activated by reminders of one's mortality. Study I assess ed the plausibility of an alternative explanation which posits that mo rtality salience simply primes individuals' values. Whereas mortality salience led to harsher bond recommendations for a prostitute, a proce dure that directly focused subjects on their values did not. Studios 2 and 3 assessed the possibility that reminding subjects of any worriso me future concern would produce the same effect as a reminder of morta lity. In both studies, mortality salience led to negative reactions to a deviant and had no effect on self-reported affect, whereas other wo rrisome thoughts had no effect on reactions to a deviant but did creat e negative affect. Thus, consistent with terror management theory, mor tality salience effects seem to result exclusively from thoughts of de ath.