Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Death and motivation

Death and motivation:
How does awareness of mortality influence motivation?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Case Study Elijah is a tech startup founder with a Type A personality , Elijah has been recently diagnosed with a chronic illness with a potentially shortened lifespan. Prior to his diagnosis, the entrepreneur was driven by extrinsic goals like career success and financial gain. However, the awareness of his mortality led to a reevaluation of his priorities. This included prioritizing relationships, pursuing personal passions, and making a positive impact on the world.

Becker (1986) suggested that humans are unique because they have both physical bodies and symbolic minds. The ability to think about the universe in complex ways, while still being limited by their physical bodies, creates an existential paradox.

The totality of death is what creates its significance in human motivation. At a cultural level, death makes its universal presence felt on an array of social functions, from familial relationships, and religion to the entertainment industry to the medical industry (Wong & Tommer, 2011).

Focus questions: What is the awareness of death? How does the awareness of death motivate our actions? To what extent does mortality salience effect us?

The Awareness of Mortality

Figure 1. Death represented as skeletal entities

Being aware of your mortality, also known as mortality salience, according to Terror Management Theory (TMT), humans have an instinct to survive, but unlike other animals, they are aware of their own mortality. This awareness can lead to fear and anxiety (Becker, 1986) .

Mortality salience can manifest in different ways for different people. Regardless of how hard humans may try to suppress and repress death awareness, anxiety about the inevitability of death can manifest a variety of symptoms such as worries, depression, stresses and conflict, however, it also has to the ability to motivate positive consequences (Wong & Tomer, 2011). |}

Death anxiety

Death anxiety is closely related to the fear of one’s complete annihilation (Greenberg 1994).

Adaptive consequences

Adaptive consequences of death revolve around creating buffers again death anxiety. DA can motivate consumerism and materialistic traits as a means of providing social connection, power and meaning, motivating the need for self-worth and status in the community. It can further motivate companion buffers that increase the need for a committed relationship. Hirschberger et al (2005) examined that the emotional responses to death anxiety was different between men and women, where men were found to withdraw from emotion and compassion, and women increased their compassionate responses. This was said to be a reflection of stereotypical expectations for gender roles. Positive consequences of DA also included new learning, growth, acceptance, and enhanced meaning of life.

Maladaptive consequences

Despite having some positive consequences, death anxiety has been linked to several negative outcomes. Studies have indicated that DA can motivate negative attitudes towards the elderly.

An experiment conducted on ageism and effects of mortality salience found that college students who saw photos of elderly people were more likely to think about death than those who saw photos of younger people (Maxfield et al., 2007). Further, reminding participants of their own mortality increased their distance from the average elderly person and perceived them less favourably. Those who had similar personality traits to the elderly were more likely to distance themselves from and belittle the elderly after being reminded of their own mortality (Martens et al., 2004).

Awareness of mortality can also lead to psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, eating and self-mutilation disorders and generalised anxiety (Mikulincer et al., 2004).

Motivations of DA are not limited to just perception, a 2009 study found that death anxiety can be unfavourable towards medical practitioners, who may be disinclined to speak to patients and families on the topic of death. Medical practitioners who undergo training in death-related communication are better equipped to discuss death concerns, emphasising the significance of incorporating death awareness education on all platforms (Lehto & Stein, 2009).

The role of death in human motivation

Terror Management Theory

Terror Management Theory (TMT) suggests that our psychological well-being depends on coping with the fear of death. This fear arises from the conflict between our desire to live and reality of our mortality (Greenberg et al., 2014).

TMT proposes that we manage this fear by believing in a cultural worldview that provides meaning and purpose, and by feeling like we are living according to its values. When we have these beliefs in place, we feel valued and protected. (Greenberg et al., 2014). Pyszczynski, Greenberg, and Solomon (1999) identified two types of defences against this fear: proximal and distal. Proximal defence directly addresses thoughts of death, while distal defence

Proximal and Distal Modes of Defences
Proximal Defence Deals with conscious thoughts of death at the level at which the threat is constructed. Removes death-related thoughts from consciousness and/or pushes death to the distant future. Rational Occurs immediately after mortality salience. Does not occur in response to death stimuli	Distal Defence Deals with implicit knowledge of the inevitability of death at a level distal from that at which the threat is constructed. Embeds an individual as a valuable member of an eternal death-transcending reality. Experimental Occurs after distraction from mortality salience Occurs immediately in response to death stimuli

While most psychologists agree that people are often unaware of the underlying motivations for their behaviour, the idea that many behaviours are rooted in deep-seated needs is more controversial (Greenberg et al., 2014) .

TMT proposes that people are motivated to maintain positive self-images and cultural beliefs to cope with the anxiety of death. The proposed dual-process theory explains how people defend against conscious and unconscious thoughts of death. Conscious thoughts may be suppressed or distorted, while unconscious thoughts are defended against by create a sense of meaning and value (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).

Negative emotions

Praising the dead

Research have found evidence for the motivational tendencies to praise and idealise the deceased, which further works to mitigate death-related distress. Eulogies are a common way to honour the deceased and express these positive sentiments. TMT suggests that praising the dead is a way to cope with the anxiety and distress that arises from death. By idealizing the deceased, one can mitigate fears about mortality providing comfort and meaning, helping people cope with the loss of a loved one (Pyszczynski et al., 1999). While the tendency to praise the dead is widespread, there may be individual variations (Hayes, 2016). Eulogizing the deceased can also help to resist the feeling that death makes life pointless and absurd. Research suggests that thoughts of death can sometimes lead to hopelessness and pessimism (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).

Risk-taking behaviour

There are significant sex differences in many areas relevant to TMT, including mortality rates, risk-taking behaviour, social motivation, anxiety, and self-esteem. Evolutionary psychology offers explanations for these differences (Wegner & Smart, 1997). Men typically die earlier than women due to factors like lower parental investment, higher reproductive potential, and greater competition. This risk-taking strategy may have been advantageous for ancestral men in terms of reproduction, but it comes with the cost of higher mortality (Buss, 1997). As a result, individuals may engage in risk-taking behaviours to escape mortality salience and “feel more alive”, these behaviours are often short-term and provide immediate rushes of adrenaline, causing little to no thought of long-term consequences (Taubman-Ben-Ari & Findler, 2005).

Figure 3 risk-taking consequeces

There is a complex relationship between healthy behaviours and death anxiety. While it seems logical that healthy people have a lower risk of death, research has shown that people with high levels of death anxiety may invest less in their healthcare (Buss, 1995). This raises the question of how death anxiety influences health-seeking behaviours, which has not been extensively studied.

Positive motivations

The preliminary heuristic model (Figure 2) offers a comprehensive overview of existing research on positive coping strategies for dealing with death anxiety (Vail et al., 2012).

The model suggests that morality salience can have both positive and negative effects on health behaviour. While they can lead to avoiding health risks, they can also motivate healthy actions when individuals see opportunities for improvement.

Figure 2 Preliminary heuristic model

Mortality awareness can motivate goal setting. People may downplay goals that seem irrelevant to their mortality and focus on goals that they find meaningful and helpful in coping with death. People who are reminded of death may be more likely to exercise, quit smoking, or use sunscreen, especially if they believe these actions can reduce their health risks. (Arndt & Goldenberg, 2004).

Confronting mortality can help individuals reevaluate life goals. It can serve as a wake-up call, motivating them to question the importance of status-oriented goals and focus on goals that are more personally meaningful. Research has distinguished between extrinsic goals, which are focused on meeting societal standards such as wealth or fame, and intrinsic goals, focused on personal growth, community well-being, and relationships (Martin et al., 2004). In Western culture, extrinsic goals are often emphasized as the most important (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).

Terror management theory vs separation theory

The separation theory explains defense formations as a response to both interpersonal and existential trauma. This theory highlights the impact of mortality on human existence and explores defences against death anxiety (Bowlby, 1973). Bassett aims to integrate Terror Management Theory and R.W. Firestones Separation theory (Bassett, 2007). TMT and separation theory focuses on how humans cope with the fear of death.

TMT emphasises self-esteem and cultural belief, while firestone’s separation theory adds factors like gene survival and relationship dynamics. Both theories are rooted in psychodynamic thinking and highlight the importance of early experiences (Firestone, 2019). TMT argues that humans are aware of their mortality and use cultural beliefs and self-esteem to cope with the fear. Separation theory differs from TMT in its view of social relationships. While TMT see social connections as a positive way to cope with death anxiety, separation theory views them as a defence mechanism that can hinder personal growth (Pyszczynski et al., 1999). Regarding close relationships, TMT predicts that they can reduce death anxiety, while Separation Theory suggests that people may seek closeness out of emotional need rather than genuine affection. Firestone suggests that close relationships can even be a source of death anxiety.

Terror management theory vs meaning management theory

While TMT acknowledges the importance of personal growth, it views the search for meaning as a defense against death anxiety. Meaning Management Theory (MMT), on the other hand, sees the quest for meaning as a fundamental human motivation. As a result of mortality salience, humans are naturally driven to seek and create meaning. Negative life orientation focuses on anxiety, terror, and unconscious defences, while positive life orientation emphasizes growth, authenticity, and meaning. Both TMT and MMT predict that when people are reminded of death, they will engage in pro-culture and pro-esteem activities. However, TMT sees this to reduce fear, while MMT sees it to increase meaning and fulfillment. To fully understand the psychology of death, researchers need to integrate defense-oriented theories like TMT with MMT to further understand both the defensive and motivational aspects of human responses to mortality (Pyszczynski et al., 2003).

Optimistic nihilism

Optimistic nihilism is a belief system that suggests life lacks objective meaning. It involves actively questioning societal beliefs, focusing on the present moment, appreciating life's experiences, and accepting its uncertainty (Pratt, 2024).

A scale was developed to measure optimistic nihilism, and it was found to consist of two factors: "No objective meanings and creating owns" and "Life appreciation and relief." Studies have shown that optimistic nihilism is negatively motivated by religiosity and positively associated with utopian thinking, pro-environmental behaviours, well-being, ego dissolution, and self-compassion (Clarr, 1992).

Existential nihilism

Existential nihilism is a more common understanding of nihilism. It is the belief that life has no inherent meaning or value, and that the world is meaningless and purposeless. Existential nihilists believe that nothing can change this lack of meaning. Existential psychologists have long recognized that the awareness of mortality can lead to anxiety and personal growth. the study focuses on how confronting mortality can influence a more authentic way of living through autonomous motivation for life goals.

The study compared a group of funeral and cemetery workers with a control group . It examined whether chronic exposure to death was associated with greater autonomous motivation for those with specific personal characteristics. While TMT research often focuses on the negative effects of death awareness, studies on posttraumatic growth and near-death experiences have shown that it can also lead to positive outcomes such as reassessing values and beliefs, leading to positive change. However, growth is not always guaranteed and can be influenced by factors like distress levels and time for processing (Arena et al., 2022).

The role of death in human motivation: a cross-cultural perspective

Cozzolino's dual-existential systems model explains how both defensive and growth-oriented responses can arise from death awareness. When people are subtly reminded of mortality, they may rely on abstract concepts like group identity and cultural beliefs to respond. (Cozzolino, 2006).

Constructions of death and motivation in religion

Buffering theory proposes that religions have developed beliefs and practices to help people cope with the fear of death. Many religions, especially those originating in the Middle East, teach that there is an afterlife. This belief can alleviate the fear of death by assuring believers that death is not the end of their conscious experiences (Jong et al., 2012). These religions often describe the afterlife as a joyful experience for those who follow their teachings. However, provided one follows religious rules, is central to this coping mechanism, and those who violate these teachings may face eternal suffering unless they seek forgiveness before death (Ducasse 1961).

Everyone fears death to some extent. Extremely religious people believe in an afterlife and are motivated to follow their religion's teachings. Nonreligious people generally don't believe in an afterlife and therefore have less reason to fear death. Moderately religious people may be unsure about the afterlife and may not have fully prepared for it. That uncertainty can lead to greater fear of death (Neimeyer et al., 2004).

Constructions of death and motivation in age

Research suggests that older adults may be less affected by mortality salience (MS) than younger adults (Maxfield et al., 2007). Older adults generally have a better acceptance of death as a natural part of life. Older adults often have resources like social support, autonomy, and a sense of mastery that help them cope with aging and death. As people age, they tend to focus on positive emotions and avoid negative ones. These factors may lead older adults to use less aggressive and defensive coping strategies when faced with reminders of death (Desmichel et al., 2020).

A 2010 study found that older adults may have a higher preference for status products, which can motivate a defense mechanism against MS. This is likely due to the desire to maintain self-esteem and feel important in society (Locke, 2003). However, the effect of MS on status consumption may be moderated by chronological age. As people get older, their preference for status products may decrease. This may be related to a shift from a materialistic worldview to a more cosmic and transcendent perspective (Sivanathan & Pettit, 2010).

Erikson theory

Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood): As people approach the end of life, they become increasingly aware of death. This can lead to a crisis where they either find meaning and acceptance or despair and fear death.

Generativity vs. Stagnation during middle adulthood, people grapple with their mortality and the desire to contribute to the next generation. Those who succeed in this stage become generative, while those who fail become stagnant. The core theme of generativity research is that death awareness strengthens prosocial motivation. This means that being aware of one's own mortality can motivate people to give, contribute, help, and make a difference in the world (Grant & Wade-Benzoni, 2009).

Key points

• Death is surrounded by fear and anxiety, this motivates positive and negative traits.
• the anxiety around death stems from various external factors such as terror management, attachment, religion, age, upbringing and much more.
• the awareness of death defines how you perceive life. whether it is a motivator for a reward after following death, or a motivator to do all necessary to avoid death.

Quiz

1 Long death awareness can only have detrimental effects:

	True
	False

2 Which of the following theories was mentioned concerning religious motivations:

	Terror management theory
	Substitution theory
	Buffering theory
	attachment theory

Conclusion

Death anxiety is a fundamental aspect of human experience, arising from the conflict between our desire to live and the inevitability of death. Our awareness of mortality shapes our thoughts, behaviors, and relationships.

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External links

• Mortality salience and eating disorders
• University students perspective on death and dying course
• Motivation for military service
• The Role of Death in Life.
• Sexual Motivations
• Dark Tourism: Motivation at site of death