The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Death and design: the terror management function of teleological beliefs

Death and design: the terror management function of teleological beliefs
Death and design: the terror management function of teleological beliefs
Humans have a tendency to endorse teleological beliefs about the world. According to terror management theory, teleological or purposeful beliefs about the world help people cope with the awareness of mortality. Though research is generally consistent with this assertion, it has not been directly tested. Three studies tested and supported the notion that teleological beliefs about the world serve a terror management function. In “Study 1”, experimentally elevated teleological beliefs reduced death-thought accessibility. In “Studies 2 and 3”, mortality salience increased teleological beliefs, even if this resulted in judgment errors. Alternative explanations were tested and did not account for the findings.
terror management, teleology, purpose, mortality salience
0146-7239
98-104
Davis, William E.
5c3c8816-b751-4a51-983a-0ed591b75b34
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
Davis, William E.
5c3c8816-b751-4a51-983a-0ed591b75b34
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8

Davis, William E., Juhl, Jacob and Routledge, Clay (2011) Death and design: the terror management function of teleological beliefs. Motivation and Emotion, 35 (1), 98-104. (doi:10.1007/s11031-010-9193-6).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Humans have a tendency to endorse teleological beliefs about the world. According to terror management theory, teleological or purposeful beliefs about the world help people cope with the awareness of mortality. Though research is generally consistent with this assertion, it has not been directly tested. Three studies tested and supported the notion that teleological beliefs about the world serve a terror management function. In “Study 1”, experimentally elevated teleological beliefs reduced death-thought accessibility. In “Studies 2 and 3”, mortality salience increased teleological beliefs, even if this resulted in judgment errors. Alternative explanations were tested and did not account for the findings.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 1 March 2011
Keywords: terror management, teleology, purpose, mortality salience
Organisations: Psychology

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 348131
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/348131
ISSN: 0146-7239
PURE UUID: 253a1704-3cd5-4ba3-9979-385ded81a9ae

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 06 Feb 2013 13:37
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 12:55

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: William E. Davis
Author: Jacob Juhl
Author: Clay Routledge

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×