Evidence that thinking about death relates to time-estimation behavior. Academic Article

abstract

• Time and death are linked--the passing of time brings us closer to death. Terror management theory proposes that awareness of death represents a potent problem that motivates a variety of psychological defenses (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1997). We tested the hypothesis that thinking about death motivates elongated perceptions of brief intervals of time. Studies 7 and 2 found that college students who reported thinking more frequently about death overestimated brief durations. Study 3 found evidence of the predicted causal relationship. Students assigned to think about death provided longer time estimates than those assigned to think about a control topic.

authors

• Schmeichel, Brandon

published proceedings

• Death Stud

author list (cited authors)

• Martens, A., & Schmeichel, B. J.

citation count

• 7

complete list of authors

• Martens, Andy||Schmeichel, Brandon J

publication date

• January 2011

publisher

• Taylor & Francis  Publisher

published in

• Death Studies  Journal

keywords

• Adolescent
• Attitude To Death
• Awareness
• Defense Mechanisms
• Fear
• Female
• Humans
• Individuality
• Male
• Perceptual Distortion
• Reality Testing
• Students
• Thinking
• Time Perception
• Young Adult

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1080/07481187.2011.573174

start page

• 504

end page

• 524

volume

• 35

issue

• 6

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2011.573174