Article Version of Record

The effect of mortality salience and type of life on personality evaluation

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Gordillo, Fernando
Mestas, Lilia
Arana, José M.
Pérez, Miguel Ángel
Escotto, Eduardo Alejandro

Abstract / Description

Mortality salience, or awareness of the inevitability of one’s own death, generates a state of anxiety that triggers a defense mechanism for the control of thinking that affects different human activities and psychological processes. This study aims to analyze the effect of mortality salience on the formation of impressions. The sample comprised 135 women who made inferences about a woman’s personality from information about her life (type of life, LT: positive, negative), provided through five words, all positive or negative, that appeared surrounding a photograph, together with a sixth word that indicated whether she was “dead” or “alive” at the time (mortality manipulation, MM: dead, alive). The results pointed to a more negative assessment of life (Dead M - Alive M = -1.16, SE = .236, p < .001), emotional stability (Dead M - Alive M = -1.13, SE = .431, p = .010), and responsibility (Dead M - Alive M = -1.14, SE = .423, p = .008) only when the participants had access to negative information about the person assessed, and she was known to be dead. We discuss the results within the framework of Terror Management Theory, and analyze the different effects that the manipulation of mortality has on the formation of impressions depending on the type of information available.

Keyword(s)

emotion formation of impressions Terror Management Theory personality prominence of death

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2017-05-31

Journal title

Europe's Journal of Psychology

Volume

13

Issue

2

Page numbers

286–299

Publisher

PsychOpen GOLD

Publication status

publishedVersion

Review status

peerReviewed

Is version of

Citation

Gordillo, F., Mestas, L., Arana, J. M., Pérez, M., & Escotto, E. A. (2017). The effect of mortality salience and type of life on personality evaluation. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 13(2), 286–299. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v13i2.1149
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Gordillo, Fernando
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Mestas, Lilia
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Arana, José M.
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Pérez, Miguel Ángel
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Escotto, Eduardo Alejandro
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-21T09:59:57Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-21T09:59:57Z
  • Date of first publication
    2017-05-31
  • Abstract / Description
    Mortality salience, or awareness of the inevitability of one’s own death, generates a state of anxiety that triggers a defense mechanism for the control of thinking that affects different human activities and psychological processes. This study aims to analyze the effect of mortality salience on the formation of impressions. The sample comprised 135 women who made inferences about a woman’s personality from information about her life (type of life, LT: positive, negative), provided through five words, all positive or negative, that appeared surrounding a photograph, together with a sixth word that indicated whether she was “dead” or “alive” at the time (mortality manipulation, MM: dead, alive). The results pointed to a more negative assessment of life (Dead M - Alive M = -1.16, SE = .236, p < .001), emotional stability (Dead M - Alive M = -1.13, SE = .431, p = .010), and responsibility (Dead M - Alive M = -1.14, SE = .423, p = .008) only when the participants had access to negative information about the person assessed, and she was known to be dead. We discuss the results within the framework of Terror Management Theory, and analyze the different effects that the manipulation of mortality has on the formation of impressions depending on the type of information available.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • Citation
    Gordillo, F., Mestas, L., Arana, J. M., Pérez, M., & Escotto, E. A. (2017). The effect of mortality salience and type of life on personality evaluation. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 13(2), 286–299. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v13i2.1149
  • ISSN
    1841-0413
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1044
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1236
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v13i2.1149
  • Keyword(s)
    emotion
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    formation of impressions
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    Terror Management Theory
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    personality
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    prominence of death
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    The effect of mortality salience and type of life on personality evaluation
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    2
  • Journal title
    Europe's Journal of Psychology
  • Page numbers
    286–299
  • Volume
    13
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record