Mortality salience: Testing the predictions of Terror Management Theory

One prediction made by Terror Management Theory (TMT) is that when mortality is made salient the need for cultural worldview defenses should increase. The current project was an attempt to test this prediction through four separate studies. Participants in each study were asked to reflect upon one of two thoughts: their mortality or dental pain. Following this manipulation, each study measured a specific self-reported outcome. In the first study, 158 participants filled out a state body-image assessment, revealing no difference between conditions. In the second study, 106 participants filled out a questionnaire on meaning in life and culturally-relevant beliefs, revealing no differences between groups. The third study examined 144 participants to determine if mortality salience could exaggerate the halo effect and cause participants to judge attractive people even more favorably; the results did not support such a relationship. The fourth study tested 205 participants to see if mortality reminders would alter how participants perceived an ambiguous video; again, a causal relationship was not evidenced.