The Impact of the Threat of Death on Self-Gifting: The Moderated Mediation of Conspiracist Ideation

Abstract

The global crisis has changed consumption behaviors. Drawing upon the compensatory consumption theory and the terror management theory (TMT), this study investigated whether, why, and when the threat of death affects the intention to engage in self-gifting. To this end, we enacted four studies. Study 1 (n = 95) revealed that individuals tend to resort to self-gifting in order to cope with the threats of death, and this effect is positively mediated by perceived stress. Study 2 (n = 120) found that conspiracist ideation positevely moderates the link between the threat of death and self-gifting. Study 3 (n = 129) further showed the moderating role of perceived social support. Specifically, perceived social support weakened the effects of (a) the threat of death on self-gifting and (b) perceived stress on self-gifting. Finally, Study 4 (n = 123) confirmed the moderating effect of loneliness. Specifically, loneliness strengthened the effects of (a) perceived stress on self-gifting and (b) the threat of death on self-gifting. These findings propose a need for further work on the origins and sources of self-gifting, particularly examining the roles of perceived stress, conspiracist ideation, perceived social support, and loneliness in the onset and maintenance of self-gifting behaviors.