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Cited by 45Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionMedia Influence and HealthConsumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification

Viewing Death on Television Increases the Appeal of Advertised Products

Open access
Dar-Nimrod, Ilan·2012·The Journal of Social Psychology
DOI 10.1080/00224545.2011.588273PMC PMC3392964
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Abstract

References to death abound in many television programs accessible to most people. Terror Management Theory postulates that existential anxiety, which death reminders activate, may reinforce materialistic tendencies. The current article explores the effect of a death reminder in television shows on the desirability of advertised products. Consistent with Terror Management Theory's predictions, in two studies participants show greater desire for products, which were advertised immediately following clips from programs that featured a death scene, compared with programs that did not. Cognitive accessibility of death predicted the appeal difference while changes in affect or interest in the show did not. The findings are discussed in light on affective and existential theories which make opposite predictions. Implications and future directions are considered.

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Crossref · 10.1080/00224545.2011.588273

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  • MS participants reported increased product liking, but no distinction was made between high and low-status products.

    “MS participants reported increased product liking, but no distinction was made between high and low- status products”

    From Terror Management Theory in the Consumer Domain: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis on Mortality Salience Driven Consumer Responses (2025) · cites this paper as Dar-Nimrod (2012, Study 1)

    Study 1 Results report higher aggregate product appeal after the death-containing clip, without a separate high- versus low-status analysis. However, Study 1 Method explicitly distinguishes high- and low-status products when selecting the advertisements, so saying that no distinction was made is too broad. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Advertisements containing a mortality reminder increased product purchase intentions.

    “researchers have found that advertisements containing a mortality reminder increased product purchase intentions (Das et al., 2014; see also Dar-Nimrod, 2012).”

    From An Integrative Terror Management Theory Perspective on Media Effects: A Model and 12 Hypotheses for Research (2016) · cites this paper as Dar-Nimrod, 2012

    The Abstract and Study 1 Results report greater desire for advertised products after participants watched clips featuring death, and the Study 1 Method includes a purchase-likelihood question among the product ratings. The mortality reminder was in the preceding program clip, not in the advertisement itself; the reported increase was in a composite measure of product appeal, not purchase intentions alone. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • When mortality was salient, participants evaluated the advertised products as more appealing compared to the control condition.

    “when mortality was salient, participants evaluated the advertised products as more appealing compared to the control condition.”

    From Terror Management Theory in the Consumer Domain: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis on Mortality Salience Driven Consumer Responses (2025) · cites this paper as Dar-Nimrod (2012, Study 2)

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Authors
Dar-Nimrod, I.
Affiliations
University of Rochester
Venue
The Journal of Social Psychology
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2012-01-24
Volume
152
Issue
2
Pages
199-211
ISSN
  • 0022-4545 (ISSN-L)
  • 1940-1183
DOI
10.1080/00224545.2011.588273
PMC
PMC3392964
OpenAlex
W1979310186
Cited by
45
References
42
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1
FWCI
2.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (T32MH018911)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Keywords
death reminders, television, terror management theory, existential anxiety, materialism, product desirability, advertising, affect, consumer behavior
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Advertising, Affect, Attitude to Death, Awareness, Consumer Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Self Concept, Social Values, Students, Television, Intention

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