人之将尽,消费国货？死亡信息的暴露增加国货选择的现象、中介和边界条件解析

死亡信息无处无时不在。恐惧管理理论认为,死亡暴露会促使个体采取两种防御机制：支持文化世界观和提升自尊。来自西方发达国家消费者的数据显示,死亡暴露会促使这些消费者偏爱国货、支持文化世界观,内在机制是爱国主义情绪的唤醒。但对将购买外国货视为追求高自尊和高身份的发展中国家消费者而言,尚没有学者检验死亡暴露会促使他们继续购买外国货以提升自尊,还是转而购买国货以支持文化世界观。本文用实验检验了这两种竞争预测,发现死亡暴露会增加发展中国家消费者的国货选择,但机制是补偿个人控制感的缺失。同时,已有探讨死亡暴露与国货偏好的研究并没有检验何时死亡暴露将不再增加国货偏好,本文发现启动亲密的人际归属感是边界条件。     

关系性联结:死亡焦虑纾解之道

死亡的必然性与不确定性使得人们对死亡有一种本能的恐惧和焦虑,人类一生都在发展各种各样的防御机制来应对死亡焦虑,以建构起有限生命存在的意义与价值。作为一种关系性存在,人始终受到关系的影响和塑造,死亡焦虑也具有关系属性,它并非产生于死亡本身,而是产生于关系的割裂、来自于对立本身。随着传统社会关系联结的不断削弱,死亡焦虑正在成为一个日益突显的社会心理问题。一方面,死亡焦虑促使我们积极地建立关系性联结,寻求亲密关系;另一方面,丰富深刻的关系性联结也有助于人们纾解对死亡的焦虑和恐惧。     

恐惧管理研究:新热点、质疑与争论

恐惧管理理论(Terror Management Theory,简称TMT)认为,死亡恐惧为人类发展提出了新的适应性问题,多重机制因此进化而来以维护心理平衡。大量的实证研究验证了TMT的基本假设,但在解释死亡突显效应背后的动机上还存在争议。该文首先介绍了由文化世界观、自尊及亲密关系组成的三重防御系统,之后重点评述了批评者从认知闭合、意义维持、联结动机以及控制等视角对死亡突显效应背后真实动机做出的新的阐释,最后指出未来研究应当尝试将死亡觉知的必然性与不确定性所引发的不同效应分离开来。     

自尊能缓冲死亡焦虑吗?--自尊对死亡提醒条件下大学生死亡焦虑的影响

采用2×4两因素组间设计,以168名大学生为被试,考察了自尊对死亡提醒条件下死亡焦虑的影响.结果发现(1)死亡提醒操作确实唤醒了大学生的死亡焦虑,焦虑平均值为2.28±0.49;(2)支持了西方文化背景下提出的自尊缓冲死亡焦虑的假设,即死亡提醒条件下,自尊越高,死亡焦虑越低,说明自尊对死亡焦虑的缓冲作用是一种普遍心理现象.     

死亡提醒效应的心理机制及影响因素

死亡提醒效应是指个体在死亡提醒后会产生世界观防御或自尊寻求的一种普遍现象。其心理机制是以死亡想法通达性为指标的潜在死亡焦虑,影响因素则包括年龄、宗教信仰、结构需求、自我控制、依恋类型等个体差异和不同的情境启动。未来研究应解释与死亡无直接关联的刺激可引发类似效应的原因,进一步阐释与证实潜在的死亡焦虑,并明确自尊对死亡提醒效应的影响。     

一种自上而下加工的注意选择新机制:视觉标记

视觉标记是国外新近提出的有关注意选择机制的一种假设。该假设认为,在任务目标预先设定的条件下视觉系统是通过抑制旧刺激所处的位置来实现对新刺激的优先选择。本文主要介绍了视觉标记研究的经典实验范式、视觉标记理论的行为实验依据和脑成像实验依据,还概述了三种质疑视觉标记理论的观点。最后对视觉标记的未来研究做了展望。     

自尊的恐惧管理理论研究述评

恐惧管理理论（TerrorManagementTheory,TMT）从人们对自己生命的意义感和价值感的需求角度对自尊进行了阐释。大量实证研究对该理论的基本假设进行了验证。该文对TMT的理论起源和基本观点进行了介绍,分析了TMT关于自尊的“焦虑缓解器假设”和“死亡突显性假设”以及“防御的双重加工模型”,并对TMT及其相关研究进行了评价和展望     

幸灾乐祸：人性“底部”的邪恶快感

幸灾乐祸, 指因他人的厄运而快乐。幸灾乐祸的本质属性是一种阴暗的情感, 作为一种基于社会竞争和社会比较的社会情感, 它是情境化的、由多因素决定, 具有积极的情感效价, 且不利于人际和谐, 具有反社会性。幸灾乐祸的前因可由目标定向、关系定向和综合定向三种分类体系进行解释; 功能研究方面, 自我提升是当下主流观点; 在前因和功能之间, 还应存在机制研究, 表现为工作机制的反照效应假设和流动补偿假设。     

罗尔斯论基本自由的优先性

基本自由的优先性是罗尔斯政治哲学中的一个重要论题。在《正义论》中,罗尔斯为基本自由的优先性提供了三个论证,也即良心的平等自由论证、自尊论证和最高级利益论证。经过考察可以发现:良心的平等自由论证的问题在于,良心自由保护的利益无法确保赋予其词典式优先性,针对良心自由的推理也不适用于其他基本自由;自尊论证面临的挑战是,如何证实自尊是最为重要的基本善,如何论证基本自由构成自尊的唯一社会基础,如何以自尊为根据去支持基本自由的词典式优先性;最高级利益论证的麻烦是,罗尔斯既未说明最高级利益的本质及划分利益等级的依据,也未具体解释最高级利益与各种基本善的关系。泰勒以康德式自律观念为基础,重构了最高级利益论证。重构后的最高级利益论证解决了原有论证的麻烦,在《正义论》的框架内为基本自由的优先性提供了有力的辩护。     

精神分析学派焦虑情绪的研究

在精神分析学派焦虑情绪的研究中,关于焦虑产生方面:弗洛伊德晚年认为产生于本我与自我的冲突,兰克认为产生于分离与否的冲突,霍妮认为产生于敌意与恐惧的冲突,沙利文认为产生于自我与重要他人的冲突,克莱因认为产生于施虐与受虐的冲突。关于类型方面:弗洛伊德把焦虑分为客观性焦虑、神经症性焦虑和道德性焦虑,霍妮把焦虑分为原始焦虑、惊时焦虑和期待焦虑,克莱因提出了被害焦虑和抑郁性焦虑,科胡特把焦虑分为内聚焦虑和解体焦虑。关于焦虑后果方面:看到了焦虑会带来负面的效果,同时也看到焦虑有正性的信号作用。关于解决方面:精神分析提出了诸多防御机制。     

The effects of personal and collective mortality salience on individualism: Comparing Australians and Japanese with higher and lower self-esteem

The cross-cultural generality of terror management theory was examined in Australia and Japan. Based on previous research suggesting that individualism is stronger in Australia than in Japan, mortality salience was predicted to enhance individualism in Australia, but to reduce it in Japan. The results supported this prediction. Consistent with the theory, the cultural pattern of worldview defense was found only among Australians and Japanese with low self-esteem. We also found preliminary evidence that collective mortality (death of one’s in-group) has a greater impact than personal mortality (personal death) in Japan. Although the cultural worldview and self-esteem may serve terror management functions in both cultures, there may be differences between cultures in the type of mortality that produces the greatest levels of anxiety and the manner in which a given worldview is used to cope with anxiety about mortality.     

Cultural influences on terror management: Independent and interdependent self-esteem as anxiety buffers

Terror management theory (TMT) proposes that self-esteem serves as a defense against the fear of death. Previous research has suggested that independent self-esteem is more salient in individualist cultures, whereas interdependent self-esteem is more salient in collectivist cultures. Thus, we hypothesized that in collectivist cultures, independent self-esteem would play a lesser role and interdependent self-esteem a greater role in terror management, compared to individualist cultures. The results support this prediction. In Study 1, personal self-esteem was negatively associated with death anxiety in samples from a Western (Austria) and Eastern (China) culture. However, both self-liking and self-competence were negatively associated with death anxiety among Austrian participants, but only self-liking (and not self-competence) was so among Chinese participants. Surprisingly, collective self-esteem was not significantly correlated with death anxiety. Yet, Study 2 showed that among Chinese participants, relational self-esteem was negatively associated with death anxiety. Study 3 examined the roles of relational versus personal self-esteem in moderating the effects of mortality salience on worldview defense. Among Chinese participants, relational rather than personal self-esteem increased the defense of worldviews centered on collectivist-Chinese values following mortality salience (Study 3a). In contrast, among Austrian participants, personal rather than relational self-esteem attenuated the effect of mortality salience on the defense of individualist-Austrian worldviews (Study 3b). Self-esteem serves a terror management function in both collectivist and individualist cultures; however, the differences between cultural worldviews determine the type of self-esteem that is more relevant to terror management processes.     

Religious Fundamentalism and Terror Management

The study reported herein tested the following hypothesis: Religious fundamentalism can serve a protective function against existential anxiety, such that the need to engage in secular worldview defense when mortality is made salient is reduced for high fundamentalists. The results showed that high fundamentalists engaged in less worldview defense after thinking about their own death versus a control topic. Low fundamentalists, however, engaged in more worldview defense after thinking about their deaths versus a control topic. Exploratory analyses revealed that high fundamentalists' writings about death had a more positive emotional tone and that reactions to the death salience manipulation moderated the impact of fundamentalism on worldview defense. Fundamentalists who saw their deaths in terms of peace and acceptance appeared most protected against terror management concerns.     

Structured Terror: Further Exploring the Effects of Mortality Salience and Personal Need for Structure on Worldview Defense

ABSTRACT Previous research indicates that people respond to heightened death‐related cognition with increased defense of predominant cultural beliefs (cultural worldview defense). However, recent research indicates that individual differences in personal need for structure (PNS) impact responses to threatening thoughts of death such that those high, but not low, in PNS respond to death thoughts by seeking a highly structured, clear, and coherent view of the world. Research has yet to fully consider the extent to which PNS affects the cultural worldview defenses typically exhibited after death is rendered salient. The current 3 studies examine the potential for PNS to determine the extent to which people respond to mortality salience with increased worldview defense. In all three studies PNS was measured and mortality salience induced. Subsequently, university‐related (Study 1) or religious (Studies 2 and 3) worldview defense was assessed. Only individuals high in PNS responded to mortality salience with increased worldview defense.     

Unconscious vigilance: worldview defense without adaptations for terror, coalition, or uncertainty management

Individuals subtly reminded of death, coalitional challenges, or feelings of uncertainty display exaggerated preferences for affirmations and against criticisms of their cultural in-groups. Terror management, coalitional psychology, and uncertainty management theories postulate this "worldview defense" effect as the output of mechanisms evolved either to allay the fear of death, foster social support, or reduce anxiety by increasing adherence to cultural values. In 4 studies, we report evidence for an alternative perspective. We argue that worldview defense owes to unconscious vigilance, a state of accentuated reactivity to affective targets (which need not relate to cultural worldviews) that follows detection of subtle alarm cues (which need not pertain to death, coalitional challenges, or uncertainty). In Studies 1 and 2, death-primed participants produced exaggerated ratings of worldview-neutral affective targets. In Studies 3 and 4, subliminal threat manipulations unrelated to death, coalitional challenges, or uncertainty evoked worldview defense. These results are discussed as they inform evolutionary interpretations of worldview defense and future investigations of the influence of unconscious alarm on judgment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).     

Psychological defense in anticipation of anxiety: eliminating the potential for anxiety eliminates the effect of mortality salience on worldview defense

A large body of research has shown that when people are reminded of their mortality, their defense of their cultural worldview intensifies. Although some psychological defenses seem to be instigated by negative affective responses to threat, mortality salience does not appear to arouse such affect. Terror management theory posits that the potential to experience anxiety, rather than the actual experience of anxiety, underlies these effects of mortality salience. If this is correct, then mortality-salience effects should be reduced when participants believe they are not capable of reacting to the reminder of mortality with anxiety. In a test of this hypothesis, participants consumed a placebo purported to either block anxiety or enhance memory. Then we manipulated mortality salience, and participants evaluated pro- and anti-American essays as a measure of worldview defense. Although mortality salience intensified worldview defense in the memory-enhancer condition, this effect was completely eliminated in the anxiety-blocker condition. The results suggest that some psychological defenses serve to avert the experience of anxiety rather than to ameliorate actually experienced anxiety.     

Self-esteem,belongingness, and worldview validation: Does belongingness exert a unique influence upon self-esteem?

The current work examined whether belongingness influences self-esteem independently from worldview validation (the extent to which one lives to beliefs that are shared by others). Questionnaire measures demonstrated that people with stronger social ties had higher self-esteem, and that worldview validation did not account for this relationship. Further, belongingness and worldview validation were manipulated such that they pulled self-esteem in opposing directions, yet belongingness still influenced self-esteem. Participants had higher self-esteem after writing about social acceptance than rejection even though acceptance was accompanied by either failing to live up to an important value or having one’s worldviews rejected. This latter effect was most pronounced among participants with high social anxiety. Results indicate that belongingness makes a unique contribution to self-esteem.     

死亡提醒效应：概念、测量及来自多领域的证据

死亡提醒效应是指由于死亡提醒而引起的世界观防御或自尊寻求。对死亡提醒效应的测量主要考察死亡提醒后,被试在世界观防御或自尊寻求上的反应。死亡提醒效应在健康、消费、司法、政治及和平领域均有所体现,并对现实生活富有启示作用。未来研究应细化世界观的概念,并借鉴本土文化中的生死观。     

Perceived discrimination as worldview threat or worldview confirmation: implications for self-esteem

In 3 studies, the authors tested the hypothesis that discrimination targets' worldview moderates the impact of perceived discrimination on self-esteem among devalued groups. In Study 1, perceiving discrimination against the ingroup was negatively associated with self-esteem among Latino Americans who endorsed a meritocracy worldview (e.g., believed that individuals of any group can get ahead in America and that success stems from hard work) but was positively associated with self-esteem among those who rejected this worldview. Study 2 showed that exposure to discrimination against their ingroup (vs. a non-self-relevant group) led to lower self-esteem, greater feelings of personal vulnerability, and ingroup blame among Latino Americans who endorsed a meritocracy worldview but to higher self-esteem and decreased ingroup blame among Latino Americans who rejected it. Study 3 showed that compared with women informed that prejudice against their ingroup is pervasive, women informed that prejudice against their ingroup is rare had higher self-esteem if they endorsed a meritocracy worldview but lower self-esteem if they rejected this worldview. Findings support the idea that perceiving discrimination against one's ingroup threatens the worldview of individuals who believe that status in society is earned but confirms the worldview of individuals who do not.