The nature of death and the death of nature: The impact of mortality salience on environmental concern Academic Article

abstract

• According to terror management theory, individuals are motivated to distinguish themselves from the rest of nature because doing so facilitates the denial of human mortality. However, based on an integration of terror management and contingencies of self-worth perspectives, the present research hypothesized that existential insecurities about death may differentially influence environmental concern depending on whether or not an individual derives self-esteem from environmental action. Results demonstrated that heightened mortality awareness led to less concern for the environment among those not deriving self-esteem from an environmental domain, but fostered environmental concern among those who do acquire self-esteem from environmental action. The implications of these findings are discussed. 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

authors

• Vess, Matthew

published proceedings

• JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY

altmetric score

• 32

author list (cited authors)

• Vess, M., & Arndt, J.

citation count

• 65

complete list of authors

• Vess, Matthew||Arndt, Jamie

publication date

• January 2008

publisher

• Elsevier  Publisher

published in

• Journal of Research in Personality  Journal

keywords

• Conservation Psychology
• Contingencies Of Self-worth
• Environmentalism
• Terror Management Theory

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1016/j.jrp.2008.04.007

start page

• 1376

end page

• 1380

volume

• 42

issue

• 5

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.04.007

user-defined tag

• 3 Good Health and Well-Being