Mortality Salience, Extrinsic Contingency Focus and the Desire for Social Connectivity

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

Psychology

Mentor Information

Todd Williams, willitod@gvsu.edu

Department

Psychology

Location

Kirkhof Center KC64

Start Date

13-4-2011 4:00 PM

End Date

13-4-2011 5:00 PM

Keywords

Death and Dying, Social Science

Abstract

Terror Management Theory states that humans are plagued with anxiety surrounding the inevitability of their own death and have developed self-esteem to allay this anxiety. The Extrinsic Contingency Focus Scale (ECFS) was developed to measure how much one's self esteem is dependent on social sources. The present study sought to analyze the relationship between Extrinsic Contingency Focus (ECF), awareness of one's own death, and social connectivity. Given that those high in ECF derive self-esteem from meeting social standards, we hypothesized that their desire for social connectivity would increase during mortality salience. Study 1 shows that when mortality is salient, high ECF individuals choose to allocate more resources to social activities. Study 2 shows that high ECF individuals choose to sit closer to a potential conversation partner when mortality is salient. Furthermore both studies show that those lower in ECF seek less social affiliation when mortality is salient.

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Apr 13th, 4:00 PM Apr 13th, 5:00 PM

Mortality Salience, Extrinsic Contingency Focus and the Desire for Social Connectivity

Kirkhof Center KC64

Terror Management Theory states that humans are plagued with anxiety surrounding the inevitability of their own death and have developed self-esteem to allay this anxiety. The Extrinsic Contingency Focus Scale (ECFS) was developed to measure how much one's self esteem is dependent on social sources. The present study sought to analyze the relationship between Extrinsic Contingency Focus (ECF), awareness of one's own death, and social connectivity. Given that those high in ECF derive self-esteem from meeting social standards, we hypothesized that their desire for social connectivity would increase during mortality salience. Study 1 shows that when mortality is salient, high ECF individuals choose to allocate more resources to social activities. Study 2 shows that high ECF individuals choose to sit closer to a potential conversation partner when mortality is salient. Furthermore both studies show that those lower in ECF seek less social affiliation when mortality is salient.