Task engagement after mortality salience: The effects of creativity, conformity, and connectedness on worldview defense
Task engagement after mortality salience: The effects of creativity, conformity, and connectedness on worldview defense
Terror management research has shown that activating thoughts about mortality (mortality salience) increases defence of one's worldview. This study investigated how worldview defence is affected by engaging in a task that fosters creativity, conformity, or sharing values after being reminded of death. After writing about death or a control topic, participants were randomly assigned to design a t-shirt with the goal of being as creative as possible, trying to please others but not oneself, or trying to connect with others via shared values. After mortality salience, conforming to others led to increased worldview defence whereas sharing values did not. Further, engaging in a creative task decreased worldview defence after mortality salience. Implications for understanding the interface between different forms of social connectedness, creativity and the management of existential fears are discussed.
477-487
Routledge, C.
7d806180-c14c-4deb-867d-f7637581b719
Arndt, J.
8ecb9d98-fa02-4e67-b743-a3167eccb8fe
Sheldon, K.M.
ed368a78-152b-432d-aa8f-5dacf1e044f4
2004
Routledge, C.
7d806180-c14c-4deb-867d-f7637581b719
Arndt, J.
8ecb9d98-fa02-4e67-b743-a3167eccb8fe
Sheldon, K.M.
ed368a78-152b-432d-aa8f-5dacf1e044f4
Routledge, C., Arndt, J. and Sheldon, K.M.
(2004)
Task engagement after mortality salience: The effects of creativity, conformity, and connectedness on worldview defense.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 34 (4), .
(doi:10.1002/ejsp.209).
Abstract
Terror management research has shown that activating thoughts about mortality (mortality salience) increases defence of one's worldview. This study investigated how worldview defence is affected by engaging in a task that fosters creativity, conformity, or sharing values after being reminded of death. After writing about death or a control topic, participants were randomly assigned to design a t-shirt with the goal of being as creative as possible, trying to please others but not oneself, or trying to connect with others via shared values. After mortality salience, conforming to others led to increased worldview defence whereas sharing values did not. Further, engaging in a creative task decreased worldview defence after mortality salience. Implications for understanding the interface between different forms of social connectedness, creativity and the management of existential fears are discussed.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 2004
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 40157
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/40157
ISSN: 0046-2772
PURE UUID: c9862853-4f0a-4d55-bb9b-dd256aeda3aa
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 05 Jul 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 08:17
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
C. Routledge
Author:
J. Arndt
Author:
K.M. Sheldon
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