The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

A time to tan: proximal and distal effects of mortality salience on sun exposure Intentions

A time to tan: proximal and distal effects of mortality salience on sun exposure Intentions
A time to tan: proximal and distal effects of mortality salience on sun exposure Intentions
According to the dual defense model of terror management, proximal defenses are engaged to reduce the conscious impact of mortality salience, whereas thoughts of death outside of conscious awareness motivate distal defenses aimed at maintaining self-esteem.
Two experiments examined these ideas by assessing women’s intentions to engage in tanning-related behavior. In Study 1, when concerns about death (relative to dental pain) were in focal attention, participants increased intentions to protect themselves from dangerous sun exposure. In contrast, when thoughts about death were outside of focal attention, participants decreased interest in sun protection.
In Study 2, participants primed to associate tanned skin with an attractive appearance responded to mortality concerns outside of focal attention with increased interest in tanning products and services. These findings are discussed in relation to the dual-defense model of terror management, societal determinants of self-esteem, and implications for health risk and promotion.
tanning, self-esteem, mortality salience, proximal defenses, distal defenses
0146-1672
1347-1358
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
Arndt, Jamie
9f74041c-58f9-43b5-96f1-19dda49b7d87
Goldenberg, Jamie L.
0a9ae29b-37be-441a-b401-b95baaac3880
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
Arndt, Jamie
9f74041c-58f9-43b5-96f1-19dda49b7d87
Goldenberg, Jamie L.
0a9ae29b-37be-441a-b401-b95baaac3880

Routledge, Clay, Arndt, Jamie and Goldenberg, Jamie L. (2004) A time to tan: proximal and distal effects of mortality salience on sun exposure Intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30 (10), 1347-1358. (doi:10.1177/0146167204264056).

Record type: Article

Abstract

According to the dual defense model of terror management, proximal defenses are engaged to reduce the conscious impact of mortality salience, whereas thoughts of death outside of conscious awareness motivate distal defenses aimed at maintaining self-esteem.
Two experiments examined these ideas by assessing women’s intentions to engage in tanning-related behavior. In Study 1, when concerns about death (relative to dental pain) were in focal attention, participants increased intentions to protect themselves from dangerous sun exposure. In contrast, when thoughts about death were outside of focal attention, participants decreased interest in sun protection.
In Study 2, participants primed to associate tanned skin with an attractive appearance responded to mortality concerns outside of focal attention with increased interest in tanning products and services. These findings are discussed in relation to the dual-defense model of terror management, societal determinants of self-esteem, and implications for health risk and promotion.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2004
Keywords: tanning, self-esteem, mortality salience, proximal defenses, distal defenses

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 39989
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/39989
ISSN: 0146-1672
PURE UUID: 5f3c18c2-75bc-4894-ad3d-2fca57307762

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 05 Jul 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:17

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Clay Routledge
Author: Jamie Arndt
Author: Jamie L. Goldenberg

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.

×