Citation

Orehek E, Sasota JA, Kruglanski AW, Dechesne M, Ridgeway L. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 2014; 107(2): 265-275.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0036675

PMID

24819868

Abstract

Humans are motivated by a quest for significance that is threatened by the inevitability of death. However, individuals with interdependent self-construals, self-representations that reflect embeddedness with and connection to others, are able to extend themselves through time and space through their linkage to a larger social group. The present set of 5 experiments tested the hypotheses that individuals primed with an interdependent self-construal would fear death less and would be more willing to face harm for the sake of the group than individuals with an independent self-construal, that is, self-representations that reflect autonomy and independence from others ("I have self-control"). The results show that interdependent self-construals, compared to independent self-construals, attenuate death anxiety, reduce the avoidance of death, increase the approach to death-related stimuli, induce a greater willingness to become a martyr, and induce a greater willingness to sacrifice the self for other members of important groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Language: en