Self/Ideal Discrepancy and Fear of Death: The Test of an Existential Hypothesis

Abstract

The investigators reasoned, after Sartre, that death would be more threatening to individuals whose projected identities were radically incomplete, since it would finalize the meaning of their lives at a level discrepant with their ideals. In order to test this hypothesis, 101 adult respondents from a number of community groups were divided into “high” and “low” discrepancy categories on the basis of a modified Self/Ideal self “split” score derived from the Threat Index. The prediction was strongly supported: The “high split” group scored as significantly more apprehensive on both The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale. Moreover, further analysis suggested that this inter-group difference was primarily attributable to the “high split” group's greater concern with the state of death, as opposed to the process of dying. The paper concludes by noting the implications of these findings for thanatological theory, research and praxis.