Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/4893

Title

Terror management, support for shared values, and social identity : the accentuating effects of mortality salience on cultural values in an Aboriginal-and Anglo-Australian context

Author(s)

Halloran, Michael;  Kashima, Emiko S.

Abstract

Terror management theory predicts that thoughts of own mortality lead to accentuated support for one's cultural worldview, i.e., a set of values and beliefs about the nature of reality shared by groups of individuals. Research so far provided substantial support for this hypothesis, but effects of mortality salience on prominent cultural values are yet to be examined systematically. Literature also implies that mortality salience may accentuate each of contradictory views upheld by different sub-groups within a culture (e.g., conservative vs. liberal). The present research examined the effects of mortality salience on endorsement of values that are associated with distinct identities, within Australian context. First, we found Aboriginal-Australian participants support collectivist values more when Aboriginal-identity was primed, but individualist values more when Australian-identity was primed. As expected, each tendency was stronger when mortality was salient. This result was replicated using multiple social identities relevant for Anglo-Australians. Anglo participants were found to emphasise relationism when family-identity, rather than Australian-identity, was activated, the tendency being accentuated when mortality was salient. Further, egalitarianism and straight-forwardness were stressed under Australian-identity condition, whereas academic achievement was stressed under student-identity condition; these tendencies were all accentuated when personal mortality was salient. The data are interpreted as suggesting thoughts of death may instigate support for shared values that are important within the immediate social context. We will discuss a link between identities and different worldviews that exist within a culture, and the role of mortality thoughts in perpetuating these worldviews.

Publication type

Conference paper

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Source

26th Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Poland, 2000

Publication year

2000

Peer reviewed