Said Too Much, or Haven’t Said Enough: A Test of a New Manipulation
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Psychology
Minor
History
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Jana Hackathorn
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Terror Management Theory (TMT) poses that mortality salience (MS), the awareness that one's death is inevitable, leads individuals to engage in behaviors that defend self-esteem, enhance one's worldview, and reduce death anxiety (see Pyszczynski et al., 2021). Traditionally, the methodology to study this randomly assigns participants to write an essay about what happens to them in death (MS condition) or to write about something else that is aversive but not death-related (Control). However, studies over the past 8 years have failed to replicate even the basic findings. It is believed that the traditional methodology paradigm is ineffective in explaining why expected outcomes have been difficult to ascertain. Specifically, participants' writings were not about what happens after death, but instead contained explanations of spiritual joy. Thus, the current study attempted a new manipulation to engage MS effects, guiding participants to adhere to paradigm protocols.
Spring Scholars Week 2026
Psychology: Completed Projects
Said Too Much, or Haven’t Said Enough: A Test of a New Manipulation
Terror Management Theory (TMT) poses that mortality salience (MS), the awareness that one's death is inevitable, leads individuals to engage in behaviors that defend self-esteem, enhance one's worldview, and reduce death anxiety (see Pyszczynski et al., 2021). Traditionally, the methodology to study this randomly assigns participants to write an essay about what happens to them in death (MS condition) or to write about something else that is aversive but not death-related (Control). However, studies over the past 8 years have failed to replicate even the basic findings. It is believed that the traditional methodology paradigm is ineffective in explaining why expected outcomes have been difficult to ascertain. Specifically, participants' writings were not about what happens after death, but instead contained explanations of spiritual joy. Thus, the current study attempted a new manipulation to engage MS effects, guiding participants to adhere to paradigm protocols.