Three studies examined the effects of separation reminders on death-thought accessibility. In Study 1, participants imagined a separation from a relationship partner, the death of such a partner, or a TV program. In Study 2, participants imagined a separation from a relationship partner, a separation from an acquaintance, or an academic failure. In Study 3, participants imagined a short-term, long-term, or final separation from a relationship partner. In the three studies, death-thought accessibility and attachment style were assessed. Thoughts of separation from a relationship partner led to heightened death-thought accessibility mainly when thoughts were focused on long-term or final separations and among persons scoring high on attachment anxiety. The discussion focused on the death-anxiety buffering function of close relationships.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aiken, L. S. , & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regressions: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2.
Arndt, J. , Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & Simon, L. (1997). Suppression, accessibility of death-related thoughts, and cultural worldview defense: Exploring the psychodynamics of terror management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 5-18.
3.
Baumeister, R. F. , & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.
4.
Birnbaum, G. E. , Orr, I., Mikulincer, M., & Florian, V. (1997). When marriage breaks up: Does attachment style contribute to coping and mental health?Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 643-654.
5.
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2. Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.
6.
Brennan, K. A. , Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46-76). New York: Guilford.
7.
Buss, D. M. , & Schmitt, D. P. (1993). Sexual strategies theory: An evolutionary perspective on human mating. Psychological Review, 100, 204-232.
8.
Florian, V. , & Mikulincer, M. (1997). Fear of death and the judgment of social transgressions: A multidimensional test of terror management theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 369-380.
9.
Florian, V. , Mikulincer, M., & Hirschberger, G. (in press). The anxiety buffering of close relationships: Evidence that relationship commitment acts as a terror management mechanism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
10.
Fraley, R. C. , & Shaver, P. R. (1997). Adult attachment and the suppression of unwanted thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1080-1091.
11.
Fraley, R. C. , & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Airport separations: A naturalistic study of adult attachment dynamics in separating couples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1198-1212.
12.
Gerstel, N. , & Gross, H. (1984). Commuter marriage. New York: Guilford.
13.
Goldenberg, J. L. , McCoy, S. K., Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (2000). The body as a source of self-esteem: The effects of mortality salience on identification with one’s body, interest in sex, and appearance monitoring. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 118-130.
14.
Greenberg, J. , Pyszczynski, T., & Solomon, S. (1997). Terror management theory of self-esteem and cultural worldviews: Empirical assessments and conceptual refinements. In P. M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 29, pp. 61-141). San Diego: Academic Press.
15.
Greenberg, J. , Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., Rosenblatt, A., Veeder, M., Kirkland, S., & Lyon, D. (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 Psychology, 58, 308-318.
16.
Greenberg, J. , Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., Simon, L., & Breus, M. (1994). The role of consciousness and accessibility of death related thoughts in mortality salience effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 627-637.
17.
Greenberg, J. , Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., Rosenblatt, A., Burling, J., Lyon, D., & Simon, L. (1992). Assessing the terror management analysis of self-esteem: Converging evidence of an anxiety-buffering function. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 913-922.
18.
Harmon-Jones, E. , Simon, L., Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & McGregor, H. A. (1997). Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduces mortality salience effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 24-36.
19.
Higgins, E. T. (1998). Promotion and prevention: Regulatory focus as a motivational principle. In P. M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 30, pp. 1-46). New York: Academic Press.
20.
Leary, M. R. (1999). Making sense of self-esteem. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 32-35.
21.
Lester, D. , & Kam, E. G. (1971). Effect of a friend dying upon attitudes toward death. Journal of Social Psychology, 83, 149-150.
22.
Lifton, R. J. , & Olson, E. (1974). Living and dying. New York: Praeger.
23.
McCarthy, J. B. (1980). Death anxiety: The loss of self. New York: John Wiley.
24.
Mikulincer, M. , & Florian, V. (1998). The relationship between adult attachment styles and emotional and cognitive reactions to stressful events. In J. A. Simpson & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 143-165). New York: Guilford.
25.
Mikulincer, M. , & Florian, V. (2000). Exploring individual differences in reactions to mortality salience: Does attachment style regulate terror management mechanisms?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 260-273.
26.
Mikulincer, M. , Florian, V., & Tolmacz, R. (1990). Attachment styles and fear of personal death: A case study of affect regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 273-280.
27.
Parkes, C. M. , & Weiss, R. S. (1983). Recovery from bereavement. New York: Basic Books.
28.
Piotrkowski, C. S. , & Gornick, L. K. (1987). Effects of work-related separations on children and families. In J. Bloom-Feshbach & S. Feshbach (Eds.), The psychology of separation and loss (pp. 267-299). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
29.
Shaver, P. R. , & Hazan, C. (1993). Adult romantic attachment: Theory and evidence. In D. Perlman & W. Jones (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 4, pp. 29-70). London: Jessica Kingsley.
30.
Smith, E. R. , Murphy, J., & Coats, S. (1999). Attachment to groups: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 94-110.
31.
Solomon, S. , Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). A terror management theory of social behavior: The psychological functions of self esteem and cultural worldviews. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 24, pp. 93-159). New York: Academic Press.
32.
Stroebe, M. , & Stroebe, W. (1993). Determinants of adjustment to bereavement in younger widows and widowers. In M. Stroebe, W. Stroebe, & R. Hansson (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement (pp. 208-226). New York: Cambridge University Press.
33.
Taubman-Ben-Ari, O. , Florian, V., & Mikulincer, M. (1999). The impact of mortality salience on reckless driving: A test of terror management mechanisms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 35-45.
34.
Vormbrock, J. (1993). Attachment theory as applied to war-time and marital separation. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 122-144.
35.
Wachtel, J. R. , & Strauss, C. C. (1995). Separation anxiety disorder. In A. R. Eisen & C. A. Kearney (Eds.), Clinical handbook of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents (pp. 53-81). Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.
36.
Weiss, R. S. (1976). The emotional impact of marital separation. Journal of Social Issues, 23, 135-145.
37.
West, M. , & Sheldon-Keller, A. (1992). The assessment of dimensions relevant to adult reciprocal attachment. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 37, 600-606.
38.
West, M. , Sheldon-Keller, A., & Reiffer, L. (1987). An approach to the delineation of adult attachment: Scale development and reliability. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175, 738-741.
