TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond Death’s (and Conception’s) Door
T2 - The Unsettling Limitations of Incarnate Existence
AU - Burris, Christopher T.
AU - Sani, Fabio
PY - 2016/4/2
Y1 - 2016/4/2
N2 - The psychological effects of contemplating one’s death have received much empirical attention, but the impact of thinking about one’s conception—the other temporal endpoint of physical existence—has not. Across three experiments, reflecting on conception or death (vs. a neutral topic) led to increased framing of sexual reproduction as miraculous and sacred, intensified belief in discarnate immortality, and a greater desire to experience a discarnate state that offered no direct assurance of literal immortality. Thinking about death uniquely evoked greater anxiety as well as greater desire for an experience that offered assurance of literal immortality, congruent with the tenets of terror management theory. Nevertheless, the parallel effects evoked by reflecting on conception and death also suggest that both amplify the aversive salience of the limitations inherent to physical existence, such that people respond by seeking experiences and adjusting attitudes/beliefs to divert attention from the physical body.
AB - The psychological effects of contemplating one’s death have received much empirical attention, but the impact of thinking about one’s conception—the other temporal endpoint of physical existence—has not. Across three experiments, reflecting on conception or death (vs. a neutral topic) led to increased framing of sexual reproduction as miraculous and sacred, intensified belief in discarnate immortality, and a greater desire to experience a discarnate state that offered no direct assurance of literal immortality. Thinking about death uniquely evoked greater anxiety as well as greater desire for an experience that offered assurance of literal immortality, congruent with the tenets of terror management theory. Nevertheless, the parallel effects evoked by reflecting on conception and death also suggest that both amplify the aversive salience of the limitations inherent to physical existence, such that people respond by seeking experiences and adjusting attitudes/beliefs to divert attention from the physical body.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84954206110&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10508619.2015.1025658
DO - 10.1080/10508619.2015.1025658
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84954206110
VL - 26
SP - 113
EP - 123
JO - International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
JF - International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
SN - 1050-8619
IS - 2
ER -