Mortality Salience

Mortality salience is a term which describes awareness of one's eventual death.

Mortality salience has the potential to cause worldview defense, a psychological mechanism which strengthens people's connection with their in-group as a defense mechanism. This can lead to feelings of nationalism and racial bigotry being intensified. Studies also show that mortality salience can also lead people to feel more inclined to punish minor moral transgressions. One such study divided a group of judges into two groups — one which was asked to reflect upon their own mortality, and one group which was not. The judges were then asked to set a bond for an alleged prostitute. The group who had reflected on mortality set an average bond of $455, while the control group's average bond was $50.[1]

Another study found that mortality salience could cause an increase in support for martyrdom and military intervention. Tom Pyszczynski et al. found that students who had reflected on their mortality showed preference towards people who supported martyrdom, and indicated they might consider martyrdom themselves. They also found that especially among students who were politically conservative, mortality salience increased support for military intervention but not among students who were politically liberal.


A recent study however decided to expand on terror management theory and focus on an aspect known as postself rather than afterlife beliefs. According to the study "postself" is more indicative of oneself "I" and how "I" will be remembered after death. Comparatively this idea of postself does not involve an essence bigger than oneself but simply an individual self and their continuum after physical death. This study found that like the original literature on terror management theory perceiving one's postself also provides protection against mortality concerns just like the hedge provided by religious beliefs .

Self-esteem may in fact reduce the effects of mortality salience.

^ a b Harmon-jones, E., Simon, L., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & McGregor, H. (1997). Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduces mortailty salience effects. Journal of personality and social psychology, 72(1), 24-36.