Matthew Ve
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 770648 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Matthew Ve |
| NOMBRES | Matthew |
| APELLIDO | Ve |
| FIRMA | VE M |
| AFILIACIONES | Texas A&M University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1759-4864 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 35 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 46 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 35 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2008 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 4 |
Beliefs About the World’s Goodness, Extraversion, and the Experience of Authenticity
Authenticity reflects the degree to which people feel like they are expressing who they truly are (i.e., their "true" self). It is a robust correlate of psychological health and well-being. In the current research, we examined how beliefs about the world relate to authenticity as a function of individual differences in extraversion. Across four studies ( N = 1449 participants), we found consistent evidence that trait beliefs that the world is fun…
When meaning in life protects against fear of death
OBJECTIVE: A sense of meaning in life (MIL) is thought to help protect people against experiencing explicit anxiety about death. However, the experience of meaning is complex and subjective and may relate to death anxiety in nuanced ways. We examine how self-alienation-a feeling of not knowing/being disconnected from one's self-might moderate the relationship between MIL and death anxiety. METHOD: Across five studies, we tested the hypothesis tha…
Virtue and authenticity in civic life
A robust literature indicates that when people feel that they are expressing and aware of their true selves, they show enhanced psychological health and well-being. This feeling, commonly referred to as authenticity, is therefore a consequential experience. In this paper, we review a program of research focused on the relevance of authenticity for civic engagement. We describe how a virtuous orientation to civic engagement might make civic action…
Civic Hope and the Perceived Authenticity of Democratic Participation
In two studies, we tested how the expression of civic hope in narratives and the perceived authenticity of civic/political actions relate to civic/political engagement. In a cross-sectional study of undergraduates ( N = 230), the expression of civic hope predicted the perceived authenticity of civic actions (e.g., voting), which in turn predicted the motivation to engage in them. In a longitudinal on-line study that began 8 weeks prior to the 202…
Dark triad traits are associated with a weaker morally-good true self bias in self-perceptions
We examined whether Dark Triad (DT) traits moderate people’s tendency to associate moral traits with their true self. We hypothesized that people high in DT traits would show a weaker tendency to view moral (vs. immoral) characteristics as central to their identity. Undergraduate participants (N = 345) rated the perceived identity centrality of positive/negative traits in domains of morality/competence, and completed measures of psychopathy, narc…
Envisioning motherhood
Nancy Suchman's work highlighted the fundamental role of maternal mentalization in maternal addiction, mental health, and caregiving challenges. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of mental‐state language (MSL) as a measure of mentalization in prenatal and postnatal narratives and their sentiment in a sample of 91 primarily White mothers from the western United States, followed from the second trimester of pregnancy, through the third tr…
The Effect of True Self-Attributions on the Endorsement of Retributive and Restorative Justice
We examined how the attribution of criminal behavior to an individual’s “true” self influences justice preferences. In Study 1 ( N = 521), the extent to which undergraduates attributed a crime to a target’s true self positively predicted their endorsement of a retributive form of punishment and negatively predicted their endorsement of a restorative form of punishment. Study 2 ( N = 404) was preregistered and replicated these associations, even w…
Parenting Practices and Authenticity in Mothers and Fathers
Genetic causal beliefs and developmental context
We examined the association of parents' genetic causal beliefs and parenting behaviors, hypothesizing a positive association between parents' genetic causal beliefs and their use of psychological control. Study 1 ( N = 394) was a cross-sectional survey and revealed that parents' genetic essentialism beliefs were positively associated with their self-reported use of harsh psychological control, but only for parents who reported relatively high lev…
Meaning-Making, Psychological Distress, and the Experience of Meaning in Life Following a Natural Disaster
The purpose of this study was to examine the role of meaning-making in response to collective trauma. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, we recruited participants ( N = 570) to test the hypothesis that searching for meaning (vs. finding meaning) in the event would be associated with greater (vs. lower) levels of acute and post-traumatic stress symptoms. We further hypothesized that searching for (and finding) meaning in the event would predict…
The Role of Perceived Authenticity in Psychological Recovery from Collective Trauma
Introduction: Previous research demonstrates that perceived authenticity is positively associated with psychological health and security in the face of threats. The current research extends this work by testing whether perceived authenticity promotes recovery from the negative mental health consequences of collective trauma (e.g., a natural disaster). Methods: We recruited a sample of undergraduates (N = 570), many of whom reported direct or indi…
Exploring Relations between Beliefs about the Genetic Etiology of Virtue and the Endorsement of Parenting Practices
SYNOPSISObjective. We investigated associations between adults’ beliefs about the heritability of virtue and endorsements of the efficacy of specific parenting styles. Design. In Studies 1 (N = 405) and 2 (N = 400), beliefs about both the genetic etiology of virtuous characteristics and parenting were assessed in samples of parents and non-parents. In Study 3 (N = 775), participants were induced to view virtue as determined by genes or as determi…
Assimilation Undercuts Authenticity
We tested whether women’s sense of authenticity can be compromised by the expression of masculine characteristics and whether feelings of authenticity directly or indirectly connect masculine expression to a diminished sense of interest in a science position. In Study 1 ( N = 105), we randomly assigned female undergraduates to present themselves as possessing traditionally high masculine characteristics or possessing non-masculine characteristics…
Awe and meaning
Research on the experience of awe suggests that awe has positive impacts on outcomes like life satisfaction and belongingness. No published work, however, has reported effects of awe on the experience of meaning in life. We reasoned that awe might have complicated effects on meaning. On the one hand, many awe experiences likely contain a positive flavor that contributes to both awe and general positive affectivity (happiness). Positive affectivit…
Understanding the Relationship Between Perceived Authenticity and Well-Being
A central tenet of many prominent philosophical and psychological traditions is that personal authenticity facilitates psychological well-being. This idea, however, is at odds with numerous perspectives arguing that it is difficult, if not impossible, to really know one's self, or the true self may not even exist. Moreover, empirical findings suggest that reports of authenticity are often contaminated by positively valenced behavior, further pote…
A broader look at terror management, death, and belief in the supernatural
Daily mental lapses and the subjective experience of true self-alienation
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Perceptions of Moral Goodness and Knowledge of Others’ True Selves
The idea of true selves is widespread in folk psychology. Most research on this topic has focused on the precursors to and consequences of feeling that one knows or is expressing one’s own true self. As such, little is known about the conditions under which people feel like they know the true selves of others. In five studies (total N = 815), we tested and found support for the hypothesis that moral information is inherently tied to perceived kno…
The true self and existential structure? Unexpected effects of mortality salience and personal need for structure on belief in a true self
Two studies examined (what seemed to be) a relatively straightforward prediction that mortality salience would increase belief in a true self. This hypothesis was based on existing evidence that the idea of a true self helps people organize the world as well as evidence suggesting that people are particularly likely to rely on such organizing structures when death is salient. We further hypothesized that this effect would be pronounced for indivi…
When being far away is good
Research indicates that death‐relevant thoughts (mortality salience) have a nuanced effect on judgments of life's meaningfulness. Thoughts of death diminish meaning in life only among people who lack or do not readily engage psychological structures that confer meaning. Building on this past research, the current research examined how an important source of meaning, long‐term goal progress, affects the ways that death‐relevant cognitions impact j…
True self-alienation positively predicts reports of mindwandering
Mortality Salience Decreases Social Exploration When People Experience Metacognitive Ease Generating Examples of Cultural Value Adherence
In the present research, we integrated terror management theory with work on metacognitive fluency to examine how mortality concerns affect social exploration motives. We hypothesized that mortality salience would decrease desire to explore novel social interactions only when the feeling of being valued by culturally relevant others was secure. Participants (N = 328) reflected on death or physical pain, then generated 3 (metacognitive-ease) or 12…
Construal Level Shapes Associations Between Political Conservatism and Reactions to Male Same-Sex Intimacy
This research examined how construal level and the salience of moral values affect relationships between political ideology and moral reactions to same-sex issues. In Study 1 (N = 170), political conservatism was a stronger predictor of moral reactions to physical intimacy between a male same-sex couple (vs. an opposite-sex couple). However, this was only true among participants induced to adopt an abstract (vs. concrete) construal level. Study 2…
Guilty, But Not Ashamed
The current research examined how true self‐conceptions (who a person believes he or she truly is) influence negative self‐relevant emotions in response to shortcomings. In S tudy 1 ( N = 83), an I nternet sample of adults completed a measure of authenticity, reflected on a shortcoming or positive life event, and completed state shame and guilt measures. In S tudy 2 ( N = 49), undergraduates focused on true versus other determined self‐attributes…
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
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 salien…
The dynamics of death and meaning
Do reminders of mortality increase or decrease perceptions of life's meaning? The authors propose that death-relevant thought has divergent effects on meaning perceptions depending on individuals' personal need for structure (PNS) or dispositional desire for structured knowledge. In prior research, high-PNS individuals primed with mortality-related stimuli were found to employ clearly structured conceptions of reality. Consequently, these individ…
The nature of death and the death of nature
Awe and meaning
Research on the experience of awe suggests that awe has positive impacts on outcomes like life satisfaction and belongingness. No published work, however, has reported effects of awe on the experience of meaning in life. We reasoned that awe might have complicated effects on meaning. On the one hand, many awe experiences likely contain a positive flavor that contributes to both awe and general positive affectivity (happiness). Positive affectivit…
Exploring the existential function of religion
Decisions to rely on religious faith over medical treatment for health conditions represent an important but understudied phenomenon. In an effort to understand some of the psychological underpinnings of such decisions, the present research builds from terror management theory to examine whether reminders of death motivate individuals strongly invested in a religious worldview (i.e., fundamentalists) to rely on religious beliefs when making medic…
Embodied metaphor and the “true” self
Blowing in the (social) wind
In 4 studies, the role of extrinsic esteem contingencies in adjusting to shifting health-relevant standards when managing existential fears was examined. Study 1 demonstrated that after reminders of death, higher dispositional focus on extrinsic self-esteem contingencies predicted greater interest in tanning. Using a more domain-specific approach, Study 2 showed that, after being reminded of death, the more individuals smoke for social esteem rea…
Assimilation Undercuts Authenticity
We tested whether women’s sense of authenticity can be compromised by the expression of masculine characteristics and whether feelings of authenticity directly or indirectly connect masculine expression to a diminished sense of interest in a science position. In Study 1 ( N = 105), we randomly assigned female undergraduates to present themselves as possessing traditionally high masculine characteristics or possessing non-masculine characteristics…
Envisioning motherhood
Nancy Suchman's work highlighted the fundamental role of maternal mentalization in maternal addiction, mental health, and caregiving challenges. In this study, we aimed to examine the role of mental‐state language (MSL) as a measure of mentalization in prenatal and postnatal narratives and their sentiment in a sample of 91 primarily White mothers from the western United States, followed from the second trimester of pregnancy, through the third tr…
Exploring Relations between Beliefs about the Genetic Etiology of Virtue and the Endorsement of Parenting Practices
SYNOPSISObjective. We investigated associations between adults’ beliefs about the heritability of virtue and endorsements of the efficacy of specific parenting styles. Design. In Studies 1 (N = 405) and 2 (N = 400), beliefs about both the genetic etiology of virtuous characteristics and parenting were assessed in samples of parents and non-parents. In Study 3 (N = 775), participants were induced to view virtue as determined by genes or as determi…
Abstract construal levels attenuate state self-esteem reactivity
Genetic causal beliefs and developmental context
We examined the association of parents' genetic causal beliefs and parenting behaviors, hypothesizing a positive association between parents' genetic causal beliefs and their use of psychological control. Study 1 ( N = 394) was a cross-sectional survey and revealed that parents' genetic essentialism beliefs were positively associated with their self-reported use of harsh psychological control, but only for parents who reported relatively high lev…
The nature of death and the death of nature
Blowing in the (social) wind
In 4 studies, the role of extrinsic esteem contingencies in adjusting to shifting health-relevant standards when managing existential fears was examined. Study 1 demonstrated that after reminders of death, higher dispositional focus on extrinsic self-esteem contingencies predicted greater interest in tanning. Using a more domain-specific approach, Study 2 showed that, after being reminded of death, the more individuals smoke for social esteem rea…
Exploring the existential function of religion
Decisions to rely on religious faith over medical treatment for health conditions represent an important but understudied phenomenon. In an effort to understand some of the psychological underpinnings of such decisions, the present research builds from terror management theory to examine whether reminders of death motivate individuals strongly invested in a religious worldview (i.e., fundamentalists) to rely on religious beliefs when making medic…
The dynamics of death and meaning
Do reminders of mortality increase or decrease perceptions of life's meaning? The authors propose that death-relevant thought has divergent effects on meaning perceptions depending on individuals' personal need for structure (PNS) or dispositional desire for structured knowledge. In prior research, high-PNS individuals primed with mortality-related stimuli were found to employ clearly structured conceptions of reality. Consequently, these individ…
Nostalgia as a Resource for the Self
This research tested whether nostalgia serves as a positive resource for the self. In Experiment 1, nostalgia was induced and the accessibility of positive self-attributes was assessed. Participants who thought about a nostalgic experience, relative to those who thought about a positive future experience, evidenced heightened accessibility of positive self-attributes. In Experiment 2, participants received negative or positive performance feedbac…
Embodied metaphor and the “true” self
Abstract construal levels attenuate state self-esteem reactivity
When Death is Good for Life
Research derived from terror management theory (TMT) has shown that people’s efforts to manage the awareness of death often have deleterious consequences for the individual and society. The present article takes a closer look at the conceptual foundations of TMT and considers some of the more beneficial trajectories of the terror management process. The awareness of mortality can motivate people to enhance their physical health and prioritize gro…
Faith and Nature
A common theme among many religions, particularly those with Abrahamic roots, is that humans are separate from the rest of nature. Though empirical support is lacking, such themes do suggest that religiosity may play a role in shaping the ways that people relate to the natural world. The present research used terror management theory to address this issue. It was hypothesized that death-relevant concerns would moderate the relationship between re…
To Discover or to Create
Three studies examined how endorsement of self‐discovery and self‐creation metaphors influences belief in the true self and its use as meaning source. It was hypothesized that discovery metaphors contribute to belief in the true self and bolster the relationship between true self‐knowledge and meaning. Study 1 supported the hypothesis that discovery is positively associated with belief in the true self among a sample of college students ( N = 311…
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
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 salien…
Guilty, But Not Ashamed
The current research examined how true self‐conceptions (who a person believes he or she truly is) influence negative self‐relevant emotions in response to shortcomings. In S tudy 1 ( N = 83), an I nternet sample of adults completed a measure of authenticity, reflected on a shortcoming or positive life event, and completed state shame and guilt measures. In S tudy 2 ( N = 49), undergraduates focused on true versus other determined self‐attributes…
Mortality Salience Decreases Social Exploration When People Experience Metacognitive Ease Generating Examples of Cultural Value Adherence
In the present research, we integrated terror management theory with work on metacognitive fluency to examine how mortality concerns affect social exploration motives. We hypothesized that mortality salience would decrease desire to explore novel social interactions only when the feeling of being valued by culturally relevant others was secure. Participants (N = 328) reflected on death or physical pain, then generated 3 (metacognitive-ease) or 12…
Construal Level Shapes Associations Between Political Conservatism and Reactions to Male Same-Sex Intimacy
This research examined how construal level and the salience of moral values affect relationships between political ideology and moral reactions to same-sex issues. In Study 1 (N = 170), political conservatism was a stronger predictor of moral reactions to physical intimacy between a male same-sex couple (vs. an opposite-sex couple). However, this was only true among participants induced to adopt an abstract (vs. concrete) construal level. Study 2…
True self-alienation positively predicts reports of mindwandering
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Perceptions of Moral Goodness and Knowledge of Others’ True Selves
The idea of true selves is widespread in folk psychology. Most research on this topic has focused on the precursors to and consequences of feeling that one knows or is expressing one’s own true self. As such, little is known about the conditions under which people feel like they know the true selves of others. In five studies (total N = 815), we tested and found support for the hypothesis that moral information is inherently tied to perceived kno…
The true self and existential structure? Unexpected effects of mortality salience and personal need for structure on belief in a true self
Two studies examined (what seemed to be) a relatively straightforward prediction that mortality salience would increase belief in a true self. This hypothesis was based on existing evidence that the idea of a true self helps people organize the world as well as evidence suggesting that people are particularly likely to rely on such organizing structures when death is salient. We further hypothesized that this effect would be pronounced for indivi…
When being far away is good
Research indicates that death‐relevant thoughts (mortality salience) have a nuanced effect on judgments of life's meaningfulness. Thoughts of death diminish meaning in life only among people who lack or do not readily engage psychological structures that confer meaning. Building on this past research, the current research examined how an important source of meaning, long‐term goal progress, affects the ways that death‐relevant cognitions impact j…
Understanding the Relationship Between Perceived Authenticity and Well-Being
A central tenet of many prominent philosophical and psychological traditions is that personal authenticity facilitates psychological well-being. This idea, however, is at odds with numerous perspectives arguing that it is difficult, if not impossible, to really know one's self, or the true self may not even exist. Moreover, empirical findings suggest that reports of authenticity are often contaminated by positively valenced behavior, further pote…
A broader look at terror management, death, and belief in the supernatural
Daily mental lapses and the subjective experience of true self-alienation
The Role of Perceived Authenticity in Psychological Recovery from Collective Trauma
Introduction: Previous research demonstrates that perceived authenticity is positively associated with psychological health and security in the face of threats. The current research extends this work by testing whether perceived authenticity promotes recovery from the negative mental health consequences of collective trauma (e.g., a natural disaster). Methods: We recruited a sample of undergraduates (N = 570), many of whom reported direct or indi…
Exploring Relations between Beliefs about the Genetic Etiology of Virtue and the Endorsement of Parenting Practices
SYNOPSISObjective. We investigated associations between adults’ beliefs about the heritability of virtue and endorsements of the efficacy of specific parenting styles. Design. In Studies 1 (N = 405) and 2 (N = 400), beliefs about both the genetic etiology of virtuous characteristics and parenting were assessed in samples of parents and non-parents. In Study 3 (N = 775), participants were induced to view virtue as determined by genes or as determi…
Assimilation Undercuts Authenticity
We tested whether women’s sense of authenticity can be compromised by the expression of masculine characteristics and whether feelings of authenticity directly or indirectly connect masculine expression to a diminished sense of interest in a science position. In Study 1 ( N = 105), we randomly assigned female undergraduates to present themselves as possessing traditionally high masculine characteristics or possessing non-masculine characteristics…
Awe and meaning
Research on the experience of awe suggests that awe has positive impacts on outcomes like life satisfaction and belongingness. No published work, however, has reported effects of awe on the experience of meaning in life. We reasoned that awe might have complicated effects on meaning. On the one hand, many awe experiences likely contain a positive flavor that contributes to both awe and general positive affectivity (happiness). Positive affectivit…
Psychology (35 obras) · Social Psychology (32 obras) · Developmental psychology (14 obras) · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion (12 obras) · Social and Intergroup Psychology (12 obras) · Social Psychology (12 obras) · Feeling (9 obras) · Psychotherapist (9 obras) · Terror management theory (9 obras) · Cognitive psychology (8 obras)