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Do children transcend death? An examination of the terror management function of offspring
Author(s) -
ZHOU XINYUE,
LIU JING,
CHEN CHENGCHAO,
YU ZONGHUO
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2008.00665.x
Subject(s) - offspring , psychology , death anxiety , anxiety , preference , mortality salience , function (biology) , developmental psychology , china , existentialism , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , pregnancy , genetics , evolutionary biology , political science , law , economics , biology , microeconomics , philosophy , epistemology
The concept of offspring provides a symbolic shield against the fear of death. The existential function of offspring was examined in two studies conducted in China employing real‐life dependent measures. In Study 1, reminders of death through a word‐completion task increased the disapproval of a birth‐control policy in China. In Study 2, hospitalized patients generally preferred young family members more than other family members. Cancer patients showed this preference to a greater extent than non‐cancer patients. Taken together, the findings showed that the death‐anxiety‐buffering function of offspring affects people's judgments and desires in real‐life settings.