Self-regulatory processes defend against the threat of death
Effects of self-control depletion and trait self-control on thoughts and fears of dying
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6204344 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Matthew T Gailliot (Florida State University), Brandon J Schmeichel (0000-0003-3527-5365, Texas A&M University), Roy F Baumeister (0000-0003-1413-3296, Florida State University) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 49-62 |
| Publication date | 2006-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.49 |
| PMID | 16834479 |
| OpenAlex | W1997337411 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 108 |
| References cited | 52 |
Nine studies (N = 979) demonstrated that managing the threat of death requires self-regulation. Both trait and state self-control ability moderated the degree to which people experienced death-related thought and anxiety. Participants high (vs. low) in self-control generated fewer death-related thoughts after being primed with death, reported less death anxiety, were less likely to perceive death-related themes in ambiguous scenes, and reacted with less worldview defense when mortality was made salient. Further, coping with thoughts of death led to self-regulatory fatigue. After writing about death versus a control topic, participants performed worse on several measures of self-regulation that were irrelevant to death. These results suggest that self-regulation is a key intrapsychic mechanism for alleviating troublesome thoughts and feelings about mortality
Anxiety · Coping (psychology) · Death anxiety · Developmental psychology · Ego Depletion · Feeling · Mechanism (biology) · Mortality salience · Psychiatry · Self · Self-control · Terror management theory · Trait · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Clinical Psychology · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 108 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5,4 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2026 (21) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 98 |