TERROR MANAGEMENT AND COGNITIVE-EXPERIENTIAL SELF-THEORY - EVIDENCE THAT TERROR MANAGEMENT OCCURS IN THE EXPERIENTIAL SYSTEM

The authors hypothesized, on the basis of terror management theory and cognitive-experiential self-theory, that participants in an experient ial mode of thinking would respond to mortality salience with increase d worldview defense and increased accessibility of death-related thoug hts, whereas participants in a rational mode would not. Results from 3 studies provided convergent evidence that when participants were in a n experiential mode, mortality salience produced the typical worldview defense effect, but when participants were in a rational mode it did not. Study 4 revealed that mortality salience also led to a delayed in crease in the accessibility of death-related thoughts only when partic ipants were in an experiential mode. These results supported the notio n that worldview defense is intensified only if individuals are in an experiential mode when considering their mortality. Discussion focuses on implications for understanding terror management processes.