Stressors and mortality salience share considerable conceptual overlap. Thus, we examined the impact of a standard mortality salience and a standard stress manipulation on the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis via endocrine measures of stress; a neutral control condition completed the design. The results revealed that stress elicits increased salivary α-amylase and salivary cortisol reactions; however, no endocrine reactions were found in the mortality salience and the control conditions. To the contrary, we did not find any differences regarding positive and negative affect between any conditions. Implications for social and health psychology are being discussed.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1740829DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

mortality salience
12
mind gap
4
gap feeling
4
feeling bad
4
bad feeling
4
feeling dead
4
stress
4
dead stress
4
stress death
4
death reminders
4

Similar Publications

Terror Management Theory (TMT) holds that mortal threats bolster people's desire to support their worldviews, which may contribute to increased outgroup bias. In 2020, two events likely increased mortality salience and death anxiety: COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that followed George Floyd's murder. We used Project Implicit data to investigate their impact on implicit anti-Black bias, controlling for demographic variables.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background/objective: : Patients with somatic symptoms are considered to have a deficiency in body-oriented mentalization; that is, the ability to perceive and interpret bodily sensations in relation to psychological states. We introduce the novel concept of psychosomatic congruence-the alignment of physical sensations with cognition and emotional states, which leads to behaviors that synchronize physical manifestations with emotional experiences and internal reflections. Despite its clinical relevance, this concept has not been empirically examined.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adverse early-life experiences alter the regulation of major stress systems such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Low early-life maternal care (MC) has repeatedly been related to blunted cortisol stress responses. Likewise, an acutely increased awareness of mortality (mortality salience [MS]) also has been shown to blunt cortisol responses.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Fairness-related decision-making often involves a conflict between egoistic and prosocial motives. Previous research based on Terror Management Theory (TMT) indicates that mortality salience can promote both selfish and prosocial behaviors, leaving its effect on fairness-related decision-making uncertain. This study integrates TMT with the strength model of self-control to investigate the effects of mortality salience on fairness-related decision-making and to examine the moderating role of dispositional self-control.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!