Cited by 275Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionSocial and Intergroup PsychologyDeath, Funerary Practices, and Mourning

A Function of Form: Terror Management and Structuring the Social World.

Landau, Mark J., Johns, Michael, Greenberg, Jeff, Pyszczynski, Tom, Martens, Andy, Goldenberg, Jamie L., Solomon, Sheldon·2004·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Abstract

Drawing on lay epistemology theory, the authors assessed a terror management analysis of the psychological function of structuring social information. Seven studies tested variations of the hypothesis that simple, benign interpretations of social information function, in part, to manage death-related anxiety. In Studies 1-4, mortality salience (MS) exaggerated primacy effects and reliance on representative information, decreased preference for a behaviorally inconsistent target among those high in personal need for structure (PNS), and increased high-PNS participants' preference for interpersonal balance. In Studies 5-7, MS increased high-PNS participants' preference for interpretations that suggest a just world and a benevolent causal order of events in the social world.

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Crossref · 10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.190

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129 of 129 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • After mortality salience, participants low in personal need for structure tended to be more open-minded regarding violations of the just-world assumption, preferred a more flexible self-concept, and became more interested in exploring novel social, intellectual, and environmental stimuli.

    “After MS, participants low in PNS tended to be more open-minded regarding violations of the just-world assumption ([111], Study 5), preferred a more flexible self-concept ([112], Study 1), and became more interested in exploring novel social, intellectual, and environmental stimuli [113].”

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Authors
Landau, M. J., Johns, M., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Martens, A., Goldenberg, J. L., & Solomon, S.
Affiliations
  • University of Arizona (US)
  • University of Colorado Colorado Springs (US)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
  • Skidmore College (US)
Venue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Published
2004
Volume
87
Issue
2
Pages
190-210
ISSN
  • 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1315
OpenAlex
W2029862076
Cited by
275
References
126
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 24
FWCI
17.11
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
Keywords
terror management theory, fear of death, mortality salience, need for structure, social information processing, primacy effect, belief in a just world, causal order
MeSH terms
Adult, Affect, Cognition, Fear, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Personality Inventory, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Behavior

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