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Does death make us all equal? Materialism and status-seeking under Mortality Salience

Author

Listed:
  • Elisa Ciaramelli

    (University of Bologna)

  • Caterina Giannetti

    (University of Pisa)

  • Raimondello Orsini

    (University of Bologna)

Abstract

The thought of one’s own death induces anxiety and threatens self-esteem. According to Terror Management Theory (TMT), to reduce this existential threat individuals (1) adhere more strongly to their cultural worldview and (2) embrace behaviors aimed at boosting self-esteem. Previous psychological studies of TMT do not generally rely on incentive-compatible mechanisms. However, economic incentives are strong drivers of individuals’ behavior and need to be studied along with intrinsic motivations. Here, we combined—for the first time—a real effort task with psychological priming techniques. Crucially, we adopted a “flat-wage” scheme to investigate whether individuals primed with death-related thoughts, i.e., a Mortality Salience (MS) induction, increase their individual productivity more than individuals primed with a control topic (Music salience induction). We also investigated whether the effect of MS on performance is mainly driven by the quest for self-esteem vs. status-seeking, providing either private or public feedback on performance. Participants generally showed lower performance levels in the MS compared to the control condition. Public feedback bolstered performance, but its effect was milder under MS. These results suggest that in the absence of economic incentives to perform, individuals do not generally increase effort and productivity; they rather adhere more tightly to cultural (materialistic) worldviews, avoiding effort that is not compensated. The effect of MS, indeed, was strongly influenced by individual materialism.

Suggested Citation

  • Elisa Ciaramelli & Caterina Giannetti & Raimondello Orsini, 2019. "Does death make us all equal? Materialism and status-seeking under Mortality Salience," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 66(1), pages 57-78, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:inrvec:v:66:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s12232-018-0309-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s12232-018-0309-8
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    1. Zhanyu Liu & Zishu Ma & Yuqiong Lei, 2023. "Prospects of Mortality Salience for Promoting Sustainable Public Sector Management: A Survey Experiment on Public Service Motivation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Terror Management Theory; Mortality Salience; Real effort; Status-seeking; Conformism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis

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