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Work, love, and death‐thought accessibility: A terror management investigation
Author(s) -
McCabe Simon,
Daly Michael
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/bjso.12258
Subject(s) - unemployment , cognition , terror management theory , psychology , value (mathematics) , social psychology , function (biology) , mortality salience , psychiatry , economics , machine learning , evolutionary biology , computer science , biology , economic growth
Terror management theory suggests that following culturally derived scripts for valued behaviour protects people from death concerns, and conversely, not meeting standards for cultural value can weaken this protection, heightening mortality concerns. Using this conceptual framework, we examine (1) how considerations of loss of employment, a source of cultural value for many, relates to the accessibility of death‐related cognition, and (2) the moderating role of job market health, and (3) involvement in close relationships. Study 1 found that writing about being unemployed (vs. a control topic) led to greater mortality‐related cognition. Study 2 found that considering unemployment heightened death cognition, but only when participants were led to perceive the job market as unhealthy. Finally, Study 3 found that considering unemployment led to greater death cognition, but not for those involved in a close relationship. Findings offer insight into a previously overlooked consequence of unemployment, and factors that may serve a protective function.