Existential isolation and death thought accessibility

• Published in: Journal of research in personality 2019-10, Vol.82, p.103845, Article 103845
• Main Authors: Helm, Peter J., Lifshin, Uri, Chau, Ronald, Greenberg, Jeff
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Death-thought accessibility; Existential isolation; Terror management theory
• ISSN: 0092-6566; 1095-7251
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2019.103845

•Trait existential isolation is associated with baseline death-thought accessibility.•Study 2 found an existential isolation prime to increase death-thought accessibility.•Study 3 failed to replicate the finding of Study 2.•We consider possible reasons why the failed replication might have occurred.•Whether existential isolation causes death-thought accessibility remains open. Three studies examined how existential isolation (EI) relates to death-thought accessibility (DTA). Drawing upon the state-trait EI model and terror management theory, we posited EI would be associated with greater DTA. Studies 1a and 1b found trait EI to be correlated with baseline DTA. Evidence for mediation by ingroup identity was mixed. Studies 2 and 3 (a preregistered replication of Study 2) assessed whether priming EI would increase DTA relative to control primes. Study 2 found support for our hypothesis, but Study 3 failed to replicate, leaving open the question about whether EI plays a causal role in higher DTA. We discuss the potential value of EI for understanding how people manage concerns about death and relate to ingroups.