Although terror management theory has been widely studied, little research has empirically examined whether travel functions as a terror management mechanism. Thus, the present research investigated the influence of mortality anxiety on heritage tourism preference and heritage protection intention through two studies. Study 1 shows that as individuals’ general mortality anxiety increases, their tendency to search for meaning in life increases, which fosters their heritage travel preference and heritage protection intention. Study 2, using an experimental method, reveals a causal relationship where incidentally increasing mortality anxiety increases heritage travel preference and heritage protection intention. In addition, this causal relationship is prominent for people with higher legacy beliefs. These findings shed light on the critical roles of the search for meaning in life and legacy belief in the links between mortality anxiety and heritage-related behavior.
AlexanderM.BryceD.MurdyS.2017. “Delivering the Past: Providing Personalized Ancestral Tourism Experiences.” Journal of Travel Research56 (4): 543–55.
2.
ArndtJ.GreenbergJ.SimonL.PyszczynskiT.SolomonS.1998. “Terror Management and Self-Awareness: Evidence That Mortality Salience Provokes Avoidance of the Self-Focused State.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin24 (11): 1216–27.
3.
ArndtJ.GreenbergJ.CookA. (2002). Mortality salience and the spreading activation of worldview-relevant constructs: Exploring the cognitive architecture of terror management. Journal of Experimental Psychology131: 307–324.
4.
ArndtJ.SolomonS.KasserT.SheldonK. M.2004. “The Urge to Splurge: A Terror Management Account of Materialism and Consumer Behavior.” Journal of Consumer Psychology14 (3): 198–212.
5.
AshworthG.HartmannR.2005. “Introduction: Managing Atrocity for Tourism.” In Horror and Human Tragedy Revisited: The Management of Sites of Atrocities for Tourism, edited by AshworthG.HartmannR., 1–14. New York, NY: Cognizant Communication Corporation.
6.
AtwaterL. E.1988. “The Relative Importance of Situational and Individual Variables in Predicting Leader Behavior: The Surprising Impact of Subordinate Trust.” Group & Organization Studies13 (3): 290–310.
7.
BaumanZ.1992. Mortality, Immortality and Other Life Strategies. Redwood City: Stanford University Press.
8.
BaumeisterR. F.1991. Meanings of Life. New York: Guilford Press.
9.
BeckerE.1973. The Denial of Death. New York: Free Press.
10.
BevanA. L.MaxfieldM.BultmannM. N.2014. “The Effects of Age and Death Awareness on Intentions for Healthy Behaviours.” Health Psychology29 (4): 405–21.
11.
BhattacharjeeA.MogilnerC.2014. “Happiness From Ordinary and Extraordinary Experiences.” Journal of Consumer Research41 (1): 1–17.
12.
BiragliaA.GerrathM. H. E.2021. “Corporate Sponsorship for Museums in Times of Crisis.” Annals of Tourism Research88: 103056.
13.
BiranA.BudaD. M.2018. “Unravelling Fear of Death Motives in Dark Tourism.” In P. R. Stone, R. Hartmann, T. Seaton, R. Sharpley, & L. White (Eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies, 515–32. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
14.
BurkeB. L.MartensA.FaucherE. H.2010. “Two Decades of Terror Management Theory: A Meta-Analysis of Mortality Salience Research.” Personality and Social Psychology Review14 (2): 155–95.
15.
CaiF.WyerR. S.2015. “The Impact of Mortality Salience on the Relative Effectiveness of Donation Appeals.” Journal of Consumer Psychology25 (1): 101–12.
16.
CatonK.SantosC. A.2007. “Heritage Tourism on Route 66: Deconstructing Nostalgia.” Journal of Travel Research45 (4): 371–86.
17.
ChangB.ChengJ.FangJ.DangJ.2021. “The Indirect Effect of Death Anxiety on Experienced Meaning in Life via Search for Meaning and Prosocial Behavior.” Frontiers in Psychology12:673460.
18.
ChenS.WeiH.MengL.RanY.2019. “Believing in Karma: The Effect of Mortality Salience on Excessive Consumption.” Frontiers in Psychology10:1519.
19.
ChuiC. T. B.Abd RahimF. H.KhanN. R. M.ChengC. S.HassanF. H.2011, December. “Assessing Tourists’ Attitude Towards Responsible Cultural Heritage Tourism in Melaka: Development and Validation of Responsible Heritage Tourism Scale.” Paper presented at the 2011 IEEE Colloquium on Humanities, Science and Engineering, December, 497–502. IEEE.
20.
CiaramelliE.GiannettiC.OrsiniR.2019. “Does Death Make Us All Equal? Materialism and Status-Seeking Under Mortality Salience.” International Review of Economics66 (1): 57–78.
21.
ColemanN. V.WilliamsP.MoralesA. C.WhiteA. E.2017. “Retracted: Attention, Attitudes, and Action: When and Why Incidental Fear Increases Consumer Choice.” Journal of Consumer Research44:283–312.
22.
CrumbaughJ. C.MaholickL. T.1964. “An Experimental Study in Existentialism: The Psychometric Approach to Frankl’s Concept Ofnoogenic Neurosis.” Journal of Clinical Psychology20 (2): 200–7.
23.
DakinB. C.LahamS. M.TanN. P.BastianB.2021. “Searching for Meaning is Associated With Costly Prosociality.” PLoS One16 (10): e0258769.
24.
DruckmanJ. N.KamC. D.2011. “Students as Experimental Participants.” In J. Druckman, D. Greene, J. Kuklinski, & A. Lupia (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science, vol. 41–57. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
25.
DunneS.GallagherP.MatthewsA.2015. “Existential Threat or Dissociative Response? Examining Defensive Avoidance of Point-of-Care Testing Devices Through a Terror Management Theory Framework.” Death Studies39 (1-5): 30–8.
26.
DunnL.WhiteK.DahlD. W.2020. “A Little Piece of Me: When Mortality Reminders Lead to Giving to Others.” Journal of Consumer Research47 (3): 431–53.
27.
FernandezS.CastanoE.SinghI.2010. “Managing Death in the Burning Grounds of Varanasi, India: A Terror Management Investigation.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology41 (2): 182–94.
28.
FerraroR.ShivB.BettmanJ.2005. “Let Us Eat and Drink, for Tomorrow We Shall Die: Effects of Mortality Salience and Self-Esteem on Self-regulation in Consumer Choice.” Journal of Consumer Research32 (1): 65–75.
29.
FoleyM.LennonJ. J.1996. “JFK and Dark Tourism: A Fascination With Assassination.” International Journal of Heritage Studies2 (4): 198–211.
30.
FrieseM.HofmannW.2008. “What Would You Have as a Last Supper? Thoughts About Death Influence Evaluation and Consumption of Food Products.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology44 (5): 1388–94.
31.
FritscheI.HäfnerK.2012. “The Malicious Effects of Existential Threat on Motivation to Protect the Natural Environment and the Role of Environmental Identity as a Moderator.” Environment and Behavior44 (4): 570–90.
32.
GalvaniA.LewA. A.PerezM. S.2020. “COVID-19 is Expanding Global Consciousness and the Sustainability of Travel and Tourism.” Tourism Geographies22 (3): 567–76.
33.
GouthroM. B.2008. “Consuming Heritage, Experiencing Identity: Finding Meaning Through Interpretations of Industrial Heritage tourism.” Doctoral diss., University of Brighton, England.
34.
GreenbergJ.PyszczynskiT.SolomonS.1986. “The Causes and Consequences of a Need for Self-Esteem: A Terror Management Theory.” In R. F. Baumeister (Ed.), Public Self and Private Self, 189–212. New York, NY: Springer.
35.
GreenbergJ.PyszczynskiT.SolomonS.RosenblattA.VeederM.KirklandS.LyonD.1990. “Evidence for Terror Management Theory II: The Effects of Mortality Salience on Reactions to Those Who Threaten or Bolster the Cultural Worldview.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology58 (2): 308–18.
36.
GursoyD.ZhangC.ChiO. H.2019. “Determinants of Locals’ Heritage Resource Protection and Conservation Responsibility Behaviors.” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management31 (6): 2339–57.
37.
GuttmannT.GilboaS.S. and Partouche-SebbanJ. and J.. 2021. ““I Live With Terror Inside Me”: Exploring Customers’ Instinctive Reactions to Terror.” International Journal of Hospitality Management92:102734.
38.
HairJ. F.BlackW. C.BabinB. J.AndersonR. E.2010. Multivariate Data Analysis. 7th ed.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
39.
HayesA. F.2017. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach. New York: Guilford Publications.
40.
HendersonJ.2001. “Heritage, Identity and Tourism in Hong Kong.” International Journal of Heritage Studies7 (3): 219–35.
41.
HoggM. A.2007. “Uncertainty-Identity Theory.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology39:69–126.
42.
HuangZ.WyerR. S.2015. “Diverging Effects of Mortality Salience on Variety Seeking: The Different Roles of Death Anxiety and Semantic Concept Activation.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology58:112–23.
43.
HunterE. G.RowlesG. D.2005. “Leaving a Legacy: Toward a Typology.” Journal of Aging Studies19 (3): 327–47.
44.
IlievD.2021. “Consumption, Motivation and Experience in Dark Tourism: A Conceptual and Critical Analysis.” Tourism Geographies23:963–84.
45.
JonasE.MartensA.KayserD. N.FritscheI.SullivanD.GreenbergJ.2008. “Focus Theory of Normative Conduct and Terror-Management Theory: The Interactive Impact of Mortality Salience and Norm Salience on Social Judgment.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology95 (6): 1239–51.
46.
JonasE.SchimelJ.GreenbergJ.PyszczynskiT.2002. “The Scrooge Effect: Evidence That Mortality Salience Increases Prosocial Attitudes and Behavior.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin28 (10): 1342–53.
47.
KangS. K.LeeC. K.LeeD. E.2016. “Examining Cultural Worldview and Experience by International Tourists: A Case of Traditional House Stay.” Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research21 (5): 477–99.
48.
KimS.WhitfordM.ArcodiaC.2019. “Development of Intangible Cultural Heritage as a Sustainable Tourism Resource: The Intangible Cultural Heritage Practitioners’ Perspectives.” Journal of Heritage Tourism14 (5-6): 422–35.
49.
KotreJ.1999. Make It Count: How to Generate a Legacy That Gives Meaning to Your Life. New York: Free Press.
50.
LaingJ.WheelerF.ReevesK.FrostW.2014. “Assessing the Experiential Value of Heritage Assets: A Case Study of a Chinese Heritage Precinct, Bendigo, Australia.” Tourism Management40 (5–6): 180–92.
51.
LandauM. J.GreenbergJ.SolomonS.PyszczynskiT.MartensA.2006. “Windows Into Nothingness: Terror Management, Meaninglessness, and Negative Reactions to Modern Art.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology90 (6): 879–92.
52.
LeeC. K.AhmadM. S.PetrickJ. F.ParkY. N.ParkE.KangC. W.2020. “The Roles of Cultural Worldview and Authenticity in Tourists’ Decision-Making Process in a Heritage Tourism Destination Using a Model of Goal-Directed Behavior.” Journal of Destination Marketing & Management18:100500.
53.
LeeT. H.JanF. H.YangC. C.2013. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Environmentally Responsible Behaviors From the Perspective of Community-Based Tourists.” Tourism Management36:454–68.
54.
LittleC.BecA.MoyleB. D.PattersonD.2020. “Innovative Methods for Heritage Tourism Experiences: Creating Windows Into the Past.” Journal of Heritage Tourism15 (1): 1–13.
55.
LiX.LiuY.LuoS.WuB.WuX.HanS.2015. “Mortality Salience Enhances Racial in-group Bias in Empathic Neural Responses to Others’ Suffering.” NeuroImage118:376–85.
56.
LoganW.ReevesK.2009. Places of Pain and Shame. Dealing With ‘Difficult Heritage’. Nueva York: Routledge.
57.
MandelN.SmeestersD.2008. “The Sweet Escape: Effects of Mortality Salience on Consumption Quantities for High- and Low-Self-Esteem Consumers.” Journal of Consumer Research35 (2): 309–23.
58.
MartelaF.StegerM. F.2016. “The Three Meanings of Meaning in Life: Distinguishing Coherence, Purpose, and Significance.” The Journal of Positive Psychology11 (5): 531–45.
59.
MartiniA.BudaD. M.2020. “Dark Tourism and Affect: Framing Places of Death and Disaster.” Current Issues in Tourism23 (6): 679–92.
60.
MasonC. H.PerreaultW. D.Jr.1991. “Collinearity, Power and Interpretation of Multiple Regression Analysis.” Journal of Marketing Research28 (3): 268–80.
61.
MaxfieldM.PyszczynskiT.KluckB.CoxC. R.GreenbergJ.SolomonS.WeiseD.2007. “Age-Related Differences in Responses to Thoughts of One’s Own Death, Mortality Salience and Judgments of Moral Transgressions.” Psychology and Aging22 (2): 341–53.
62.
McAdamsD. P.de St AubinE.1992. “A Theory of Generativity and Its Assessment Through Self-Report, Behavioral Acts, and Narrative Themes in Autobiography.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology62 (6): 1003–15.
63.
McCainG.RayN. M.2003. “Legacy Tourism: The Search for Personal Meaning in Heritage Travel.” Tourism Management24 (6): 713–7.
64.
MengX.LiQ.ZhouY.WangJ.2021. “Controversies in Terror Management Theory Research and Its Implications for Research on the Psychology of Death.” Advances in Psychological Science29 (3): 492–504.
65.
MenziesR. E.NeimeyerR. A.MenziesR. G.2020. “Death Anxiety, Loss, and Grief in the Time of COVID-19.” Behaviour Change37 (3): 111–5.
66.
MiaoL.ImJ.FuX.KimH.ZhangY. E.2021. “Proximal and Distal Post-COVID Travel Behavior.” Annals of Tourism Research88:103159.
67.
MunasingheH.2005. “The Politics of the Past, Constructing a National Identity Through Heritage Conservation.” International Journal of Heritage Studies11 (3): 251–60.
68.
NavarreteC. D.FesslerD. M. T.2005. “Normative Bias and Adaptive Challenges: A Relational Approach to Coalitional Psychology and a Critique of Terror Management Theory.” Evolutionary Psychology3 (1): 297–326.
69.
NelsonL. J.MooreD. L.OlivettiJ.ScottT.1997. “General and Personal Mortality Salience and Nationalistic Bias.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin23:884–92.
70.
OrenG.ShaniA.PoriaY.2019. “Mortality Salience – Shedding Light on the Dark Experience.” Journal of Heritage Tourism14 (5-6): 574–8.
71.
PaolacciG.ChandlerJ.IpeirotisP. G.2010. “Running Experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk.” Judgment and Decision Making5 (5): 411–9.
72.
PeriyakoilV. S.NeriE.KraemerH.2018. “Common Items on a Bucket List.” Journal of Palliative Medicine21 (5): 652–8.
73.
PodoshenJ. S.VenkateshV.WallinJ.AndrzejewskiS. A.JinZ.2015. “Dystopian Dark Tourism: An Exploratory Examination.” Tourism Management51:316–28.
74.
PoriaY.ButlerR.AireyD.2003. “The Core of Heritage Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research30 (1): 238–54.
75.
PrayagG.BudaD. M.JordanE. J.2021. “Mortality Salience and Meaning in Life for Residents Visiting Dark Tourism Sites.” Journal of Sustainable Tourism29 (9): 1508–28.
76.
PyszczynskiT.GreenbergJ.SolomonS.MaxfieldM.2006. “On the Unique Psychological Import of the Human Awareness of Mortality: Theme and Variations.” Psychological Inquiry17 (4): 328–56.
77.
PyszczynskiT.SolomonS.GreenbergJ.2003. In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror. Washington: American Psychological Association.
78.
RahimahA.KhalilS.DangH. P.Ming-Sung ChengJ.2020. “The Terror of Death and Consumers’ Sustainability Attitudes.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services57:102196.
79.
RekerG. T.PeacockE. J.1981. “The Life Attitude Profile (LAP): A Multidimensional Instrument for Assessing Attitudes Toward Life.” Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement13 (3): 264–73.
80.
RekerG. T.WongP. T.1988. “Aging as an Individual Process: Toward a Theory of Personal Meaning. In J. E. Birren & V. L. Bengtson (Eds.), Emergent theories of aging (pp. 214–246). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
81.
RindfleischA.BurroughsJ. E.WongN.2009. “The Safety of Objects: Materialism, Existential Insecurity, and Brand Connection.” Journal of Consumer Research36 (1): 1–16.
82.
Sarial-AbiG.VohsK. D.HamiltonR.UlqinakuA.2017. “Stitching Time: Vintage Consumption Connects the Past, Present, and Future.” Journal of Consumer Psychology27 (2): 182–94.
83.
SligteD. J.NijstadB. A.De DreuC. K.2013. “Leaving a Legacy Neutralizes Negative Effects of Death Anxiety on Creativity.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin39 (9): 1152–63.
84.
SmithL.2006. Uses of Heritage. London: Routledge.
85.
SmithL.WatertonE.WatsonS.2012. The Cultural Moment in Tourism. London: Routledge.
86.
SpencerS. J.ZannaM. P.FongG. T.2005. “Establishing a Causal Chain: Why Experiments Are Often More Effective Than Mediational Analyses in Examining Psychological Processes.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology89 (6): 845–51.
87.
StebbinsR. A.1997. “Identity and Cultural Tourism.” Annals of Tourism Research24 (2): 450–2.
88.
StegerM. F.OishiS.KesebirS.2011. “Is a Life Without Meaning Satisfying? The Moderating Role of the Search for Meaning in Satisfaction With Life Judgments.” The Journal of Positive Psychology6 (3): 173–80.
89.
StoneP.SharpleyR.2008. “Consuming Dark Tourism: A Thanatological Perspective.” Annals of Tourism Research35 (2): 574–95.
90.
TedeschiR. G.ParkC. L.CalhounL. G., eds. 1998. Posttraumatic Growth: Positive Changes in the Aftermath of Crisis. Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum.
91.
TimothyD. J.2017. The Heritage Tourist Experience: Critical Essays. London: Routledge.
92.
TimothyD. J.2018. “Making Sense of Heritage Tourism: Research Trends in a Maturing Field of Study.” Tourism Management Perspectives25:177–80.
93.
TimothyD. J.NyaupaneG. P.2009. Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the Developing World: A Regional Perspective. London: Routledge.
94.
UrienB.KilbourneW.2011. “Generativity and Self-Enhancement Values in Eco-friendly Behavioral Intentions and Environmentally Responsible Consumption Behavior.” Psychology and Marketing28 (1): 69–90.
95.
VaskeJ. J.KobrinK. C.2001. “Place Attachment and Environmentally Responsible Behavior.” The Journal of Environmental Education32:16–21.
96.
Wade-BenzoniK. A.2006. “Legacies, Immortality, and the Future: The Psychology of Intergenerational Altruism.” In Tenbrunsel, A.E. (Ed.) Ethics in Groups, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 247–270.
97.
Wade-BenzoniK. A.TostL. P.2009. “The Egoism and Altruism of Intergenerational Behavior.” Personality and Social Psychology Review13 (3): 165–93.
98.
Wade-BenzoniK. A.TostL. P.HernandezM.LarrickR. P.2012. “It’s Only a Matter of Time, Death, Legacies, and Intergenerational Decisions.” Psychological Science23 (7): 704–9.
99.
WangL.LyuJ.2019. “Inspiring Awe Through Tourism and Its Consequence.” Annals of Tourism Research77:106–16.
100.
WangY.BramwellB.2012. “Heritage Protection and Tourism Development Priorities in Hangzhou, China: A Political Economy and Governance Perspective.” Tourism Management33 (4): 988–98.
101.
WeiW.2018. “Understanding Values of Souvenir Purchase in the Contemporary Chinese Culture: A Case of Shanghai Disney.” Journal of Destination Marketing & Management10:36–48.
102.
WittkowskiJ.2001. “The Construction of the Multidimensional Orientation Toward Dying and Death Inventory (MODDI-F).” Death Studies25 (6): 479–95.
103.
WuL.2019. “Understanding How the Message Appeal of Moral Beauty Influences Advertising Effectiveness Under Mortality Salience.” Journal of Marketing Communications25 (6): 586–606.
104.
YangG.KexinL.HongL.2021. “Go With the Flow Against Uncertainty About Self Under Existential Threat.” Self and Identity20 (3): 438–61.
105.
YenC. L.ChengC. P.2013. “Researcher Effects on Mortality Salience Research: A Meta-Analytic Moderator Analysis.” Death Studies37 (7): 636–52.
106.
YiX.FuX.LinV. S.XiaoH.2022. “Integrating Authenticity, Well-Being, and Memorability in Heritage Tourism: A Two-Site Investigation.” Journal of Travel Research61 (2): 378–93.
107.
ZacherH.RosingK.FreseM.2011. “Age and Leadership: The Moderating Role of Legacy Beliefs.” The Leadership Quarterly22 (1): 43–50.
108.
ZaleskiewiczT.GasiorowskaA.KesebirP.2015. “The Scrooge Effect Revisited: Mortality Salience Increases the Satisfaction Derived From Prosocial Behavior.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology59:67–76.
109.
ZhangF.WuC.2019. “How mortality salience affects tourists’ choice of restaurants?” Paper presented at From the perspective of Terror Management Theory. International Conference of TTRA, Melbourne, Australia, June 25–27.
110.
ZhangR.SmithL.2019. “Bonding and Dissonance: Rethinking the Interrelations Among Stakeholders in Heritage Tourism.” Tourism Management74:212–23.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
