Finding security in the face of death : does implicit activation of attachment schemas moderate mortality salience effects?

Abstract

Research has shown that presenting incidental reminders of death, a manipulation referred to as mortality salience, increases unconscious accessibility of death thoughts and, in turn, increases the use of various defense mechanisms to reduce such thoughts. Death-thought accessibility and use of such defense mechanisms vary based on self-reported attachment style. Because self-reports do not verify causality, the current study aimed to establish a causal relationship between attachment and terror management. It was posited that experimentally activating a secure attachment schema after mortality salience should decrease unconscious accessibility of death thoughts, whereas activating an insecure attachment schema should increase accessibility of death thoughts (i.e., there should be a Mortality Salience x Attachment Priming interaction). Lastly, these effects should not be mediated by mood. A 2 Mortality Salience vs. Control) x 3 (Priming: secure. insecure, or neutral) x 2 (Sex) ANOVA on death-thought accessibility did not show the predicted interaction. The discussion section focuses on the obstacles in accurately rneasuring death-thought accessibility and future directions for research.