TY - JOUR
T1 - More than words
T2 - Contemplating death enhances positive emotional word use
AU - Kashdan, Todd B.
AU - Nathan DeWall, C.
AU - Schurtz, David R.
AU - Deckman, Timothy
AU - Lykins, Emily L.B.
AU - Evans, Daniel R.
AU - McKenzie, Jessica
AU - Segerstrom, Suzanne C.
AU - Gailliot, Matthew T.
AU - Brown, Kirk Warren
PY - 2014/12
Y1 - 2014/12
N2 - Four experiments, three cross-sectional and one longitudinal, tested the hypothesis that contemplating one's own death produces a shift toward the use of positive emotion words. Participants who wrote about their own death, compared with those who wrote about dental pain, uncertainty, and meaningless, used more positive emotions words in their narratives (Experiments 1a and 1b). Experiment 2 found that contemplating one's own death enhanced positive emotional word use across different mortality salience manipulations and remained consistent over the course of a 6-day study. Experiment 3 showed that the more positive emotion words participants used when contemplating their mortality, the greater worldview defense they showed. These results suggest that word use offers insight into how the mind responds to the salience of mortality.
AB - Four experiments, three cross-sectional and one longitudinal, tested the hypothesis that contemplating one's own death produces a shift toward the use of positive emotion words. Participants who wrote about their own death, compared with those who wrote about dental pain, uncertainty, and meaningless, used more positive emotions words in their narratives (Experiments 1a and 1b). Experiment 2 found that contemplating one's own death enhanced positive emotional word use across different mortality salience manipulations and remained consistent over the course of a 6-day study. Experiment 3 showed that the more positive emotion words participants used when contemplating their mortality, the greater worldview defense they showed. These results suggest that word use offers insight into how the mind responds to the salience of mortality.
KW - Death
KW - Defensiveness
KW - Positive emotion
KW - Terror management
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84906724188&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84906724188&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2014.07.035
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2014.07.035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84906724188
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 71
SP - 171
EP - 175
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
ER -