Imbuing Everyday Actions with Meaning in Response to Existential Threat

Author： Landau Mark Kosloff Spee Schmeichel Brandon

ISSN： 1529-8868

Source： Self and Identity, Vol.10, Iss.1, 2011-01, pp. : 64-76

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Abstract

Drawing on terror management theory and related perspectives on existential motivation, we hypothesized that people manage concerns with personal mortality by imbuing their everyday actions with abstract, self-relevant meaning. Accordingly, we found that subtle reminders of mortality led participants to view hypothetical actions at higher levels of action identification (Study 1), draw more connections between their current actions and personally significant long-term goals (Study 2), and perceive past actions as particularly influential in shaping their current self-concept (Study 3). These findings complement prior research, which has focused on the motivated defense of cultural worldviews, by showing how existential motivation shapes perceptions of even mundane personal actions.