COVID-19’s Effects on Mortality Salience, Death Anxiety, and Worldview Defense

Author

Sahvannah K. Shavers, Stephen F Austin State UniversityFollow

Date of Award

5-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts - Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Lauren Brewer

Abstract

Since late-2019, the world has been trying to overcome an invisible killer: COVID-19. With near constant reminders of the virus the knowledge that a tiny viral particle has potential to harm or even kill has become overwhelming for many. Terror Management Theory (TMT) suggests that when individuals are reminded of their own death people take part in culturally appropriate activities and defend their own culture as ways to alleviate this increased death anxiety. The current study aims to identify whether 1) reminders of COVID-19 prime death thoughts, 2) reminders of COVID-19 increase death anxiety, and 3) increased death anxiety from COVID-19 reminders also increase worldview defense. The results have provided evidence that thinking about COVID-19 does not prime death anxiety reducing behaviors.

Repository Citation

Shavers, Sahvannah K., "COVID-19’s Effects on Mortality Salience, Death Anxiety, and Worldview Defense" (2022). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 452.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/452

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.