Molly Maxfield

Fatal Attraction The Effects of Mortality Salience on Evaluations of Charismatic, Task-Oriented, and Relationship-Oriented Leaders

A study was conducted to assess the effects of mortality salience on evaluations of political candidates as a function of leadership style. On the basis of terror management theory and previous research, we hypothesized that people would show increased preference for a charismatic political candidate and decreased preference for a relationship-oriented political candidate in response to subtle reminders of death. Following a mortality-salience or control induction, 190 participants read campaign statements by charismatic, task-oriented, and relationship-oriented gubernatorial candidates; evaluated their preferences for each candidate; and voted for one of them. Results were in accord with predictions. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered.

A Terror Management Perspective on the Role of Death-Related Anxiety in Psychological Dysfunction

Building on previous existential theorizing, terror management theory provides a unique approach to conceptualizing the development, maintenance, and impact of psychological disorders. The theory suggests that awareness of mortality creates the potential for anxiety, which is managed by an anxiety-buffering system consisting of ones cultural worldview, self-esteem, and interpersonal attachments. The pursuit of meaning, personal value, and interpersonal connections that motivates much human behavior is driven, in part, by the need to control this potential for death-related anxiety. This article provides an overview of terror management theory and a discussion of its implications for understanding clinical conditions, along with a review of research exploring the roles of death-related anxiety and the anxiety-buffering system in anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression.

The moderating role of executive functioning in older adults' responses to a reminder of mortality.

In previous research, older adults responded to mortality salience (MS) with increased tolerance, whereas younger persons responded with increased punitiveness. One possible explanation for this is that many older adults adapt to challenges of later life, such as the prospect of mortality, by becoming more flexible. Recent studies suggest that positively oriented adaptation is more likely for older adults with high levels of executive functioning. Thus, we hypothesized that the better an older adults executive functioning, the more likely MS would result in increased tolerance. Older and younger adults were randomly assigned to MS or control conditions, and then evaluated moral transgressors. As in previous research, younger adults were more punitive after reminders of mortality; executive functioning did not affect their responses. Among older adults, high functioning individuals responded to MS with increased tolerance rather than intolerance, whereas those low in functioning became more punitive.

Psychotherapy in Nontraditional Settings A Case of In-Home Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy With a Depressed Older Adult

The underuse of psychological services among older adults is quite common. A variety of barriers contribute to this problem, one of which involves the difficulties associated with getting to appointments. The inability to attend appointments is frequently attributable to the occurrence of age-related physical limitations leaving the individual homebound. This case study offers an illustration of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy in the treatment of a depressed homebound older adult with limited social and financial resources. Special consideration is given to difficulties often experienced by older adults and the unconventional circumstances associated with providing in-home psychotherapy.

The effects of age and death awareness on intentions for healthy behaviours

Terror management theory (TMT) suggests that people are motivated to distance themselves from death. One way of doing this is to report greater intentions to engage in health-promoting behaviours following increased awareness of mortality, also referred to as a proximal defense. Older adults’ comparatively fewer remaining years and greater likelihood of having significant health problems may result in greater intentions to promote health following mortality reminders, but little is known about their proximal defenses and existing results are inconsistent. The current study examined how older (60–89 years) and younger (18–30 years) adults’ intentions for future healthy behaviours were influenced by a death reminder (immediately and after a delay) compared to a control condition. Older adults (60–89 years) indicated greater overall intention to engage in healthy behaviours than younger adults (18–30 years). A two-way interaction revealed that regardless of age, participants engaged in proximal defenses immediately following a death reminder by distancing themselves from death via greater healthy intentions. After a period of delay, participants exhibited a reversal of this pattern, indicating lower intention to engage in healthy behaviours in the mortality condition compared to control. Results are discussed from the perspectives of TMT and terror management health model.

Age Differences in the Effects of Mortality Salience on the Correspondence Bias

According to terror management theory, awareness of death affects diverse aspects of human thought and behavior. Studies have shown that older and younger adults differ in how they respond to reminders of their mortality. The present study investigated one hypothesized explanation for these findings: Age-related differences in the tendency to make correspondent inferences. The correspondence bias was assessed in younger and older samples after death-related, negative, or neutral primes. Younger adults displayed increased correspondent inferences following mortality primes, whereas older adults’ inferences were not affected by the reminder of death. As in prior research, age differences were evident in control conditions; however, age differences were eliminated in the death condition. Results support the existence of age-related differences in responses to mortality, with only younger adults displaying increased reliance on simplistic information structuring after a death reminder.