The Death-Anxiety Buffering Function of Close Relationships: Exploring the Effects of Separation Reminders on Death-Thought Accessibility

Three studies examined the effects of separation reminders on death-thought accessibility. In Study 1, participants imagined a separation from a relationship partner, the death of such a partner, or a TV program. In Study 2, participants imagined a separation from a relationship partner, a separatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality & social psychology bulletin 2002-03, Vol.28 (3), p.287-299
Main Authors: Mikulincer, Mario, Florian, Victor, Birnbaum, Gurit, Malishkevich, Shira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Attachment style
Death & dying
Death anxiety
Interpersonal relationships
Personal relationships
Separation anxiety
Social psychology
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Summary:Three studies examined the effects of separation reminders on death-thought accessibility. In Study 1, participants imagined a separation from a relationship partner, the death of such a partner, or a TV program. In Study 2, participants imagined a separation from a relationship partner, a separation from an acquaintance, or an academic failure. In Study 3, participants imagined a short-term, long-term, or final separation from a relationship partner. In the three studies, death-thought accessibility and attachment style were assessed. Thoughts of separation from a relationship partner led to heightened death-thought accessibility mainly when thoughts were focused on long-term or final separations and among persons scoring high on attachment anxiety. The discussion focused on the death-anxiety buffering function of close relationships.
ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167202286001