Abstract
Terror management theory research has shown that reminders of mortality tend to decrease liking for people who threaten one's worldview. In research, these worldview threats typically come from outgroup members, but they may also come from ingroup members who are negatively characterized. Presumably the negative characteristics of ingroup members threaten to diminish or undermine the worldview by their association with it. In this research we examine anxious individuals as potentially threatening ingroup members. We hypothesized that a brief contemplation of mortality would lead people to decrease their liking for anxious individuals associated with their ingroup. Study 1 showed that a mortality reminder led people to react more negatively to an anxious police liaison from their community, but not to a calm police liaison. Study 2 showed that a mortality reminder led people who strongly identified with university students to react more negatively to a fellow university student who was anxious, but not to a student who did not display anxiety.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1172-1183 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | European Journal of Social Psychology |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2010 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
Cite this
Disdain for anxious individuals as a function of mortality salience. / Martens, Andy; Greenberg, Jeff L; Schimel, Jeff; Kosloff, Spee; Weise, David R.
In: European Journal of Social Psychology, Vol. 40, No. 7, 12.2010, p. 1172-1183.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Disdain for anxious individuals as a function of mortality salience
AU - Martens, Andy
AU - Greenberg, Jeff L
AU - Schimel, Jeff
AU - Kosloff, Spee
AU - Weise, David R.
PY - 2010/12
Y1 - 2010/12
N2 - Terror management theory research has shown that reminders of mortality tend to decrease liking for people who threaten one's worldview. In research, these worldview threats typically come from outgroup members, but they may also come from ingroup members who are negatively characterized. Presumably the negative characteristics of ingroup members threaten to diminish or undermine the worldview by their association with it. In this research we examine anxious individuals as potentially threatening ingroup members. We hypothesized that a brief contemplation of mortality would lead people to decrease their liking for anxious individuals associated with their ingroup. Study 1 showed that a mortality reminder led people to react more negatively to an anxious police liaison from their community, but not to a calm police liaison. Study 2 showed that a mortality reminder led people who strongly identified with university students to react more negatively to a fellow university student who was anxious, but not to a student who did not display anxiety.
AB - Terror management theory research has shown that reminders of mortality tend to decrease liking for people who threaten one's worldview. In research, these worldview threats typically come from outgroup members, but they may also come from ingroup members who are negatively characterized. Presumably the negative characteristics of ingroup members threaten to diminish or undermine the worldview by their association with it. In this research we examine anxious individuals as potentially threatening ingroup members. We hypothesized that a brief contemplation of mortality would lead people to decrease their liking for anxious individuals associated with their ingroup. Study 1 showed that a mortality reminder led people to react more negatively to an anxious police liaison from their community, but not to a calm police liaison. Study 2 showed that a mortality reminder led people who strongly identified with university students to react more negatively to a fellow university student who was anxious, but not to a student who did not display anxiety.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78649613265&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ejsp.707
DO - 10.1002/ejsp.707
M3 - Article
VL - 40
SP - 1172
EP - 1183
JO - European Journal of Social Psychology
JF - European Journal of Social Psychology
SN - 0046-2772
IS - 7
ER -