Title
Who Uses Groups to Transcend the Limits of the Individual Self? Exploring the Effects of Interdependent Self-Construal and Mortality Salience on Investment in Social Groups
Abstract
Terror management theory posits that people identify with and invest in culturally derived social groups, in part, to attach the self to something more permanent than one's physical existence. Accordingly, research demonstrates that reminders of mortality (mortality salience) increase investment in culturally derived in-groups. The current research extends this analysis by examining whether amplified in-group investment following mortality salience is primarily characteristic of people who define the self in terms of social groups (interdependent self-construal). Three studies provided support for this assertion. Mortality salience increased: identification with one's nation among Chinese (high interdependence culture) but not American (low interdependence culture) participants (Study 1); positivity toward one's university for students with high, but not low, interdependent self-construal (Study 2); and willingness to self-sacrifice for one's religious group among participants induced to adopt an interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal (Study 3). © The Author(s) 2012.
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550612459770
Keywords
attitudes, culture and self, interdependence, mortality salience, terror management
Publication Date
7-1-2013
Recommended Citation
Routledge, Clay, Jacob Juhl, Matthew Vess, Christie Cathey, and Jiangqun Liao. "Who uses groups to transcend the limits of the individual self? Exploring the effects of interdependent self-construal and mortality salience on investment in social groups." Social Psychological and Personality Science 4, no. 4 (2013): 483-491.
Journal Title
Social Psychological and Personality Science
