The death positivity bias: robustness and explanations

Abstract

The death positivity bias (DPB) refers to the tendency to evaluate deceased individuals more favourably than otherwise identical living ones. Although the DPB is established in the case of public figures (e.g., celebrities, politicians), it is not clear it emerges in the case of lay persons. In addition, its robustness, domain specificity, and underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In this thesis, I tested the DPB across seven experiments in reference to lay, unfamiliar targets described in neutral or ambiguous terms. I assessed the DPB in terms of trait impressions. Further, I analysed these trait impressions within a domain-based framework of person perception: Sociability (warmth, liking), Morality (morality, respect), and Competence (competence). In Experiment 1, I found no evidence for the DPB when the target vignette was descriptively neutral. In Experiment 2, I introduced evaluative ambiguity and obtained evidence for the DPB: deceased targets were rated higher on liking and respect. In Experiments 3 and 4, I examined whether the DPB is moderated by group membership. The DPB emerged on morality and respect, but was unmoderated by ingroup–outgroup status, that is, it emerged even when the target was a member of a politically disfavoured and socially distant outgroup. In Experiments 5 to 7, I addressed mechanisms underlying the DPB. It was unmoderated by measured norm endorsement (i.e., individual agreement with the idea that the dead should be treated respectfully; Experiment 5) and by manipulated norm framing (i.e., whether respectful treatment was socially enforced or criticised; Experiment 6), although I obtained a main effect on competence in Experiment 6, suggesting possible evaluative spillover when normative cues are made salient. In Experiment 7, the DPB was strongest when participants conveyed their evaluations of the target for a favourable (than unfavourable) audience. Finally, in a mini meta-analysis, the DPB was most reliable in the Morality domain, followed by Sociability, and then Competence. Taken together, the DPB is observed among lay persons. However, it is selective and context-sensitive, shaped by ambiguity, social motives, and communicative relevance.

Keywords: death positivity bias, person perception, sociability, morality, competence, communication goals

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Identifiers

ORCID for Luke Edward Spencer Chandaman: orcid.org/0009-0007-4024-1502

ORCID for Constantine Sedikides: orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

ORCID for Tim Wildschut: orcid.org/0000-0002-6499-5487

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