The Roles Of Implicit Self-Esteem In Mortality Salience Effects

Self-esteem can buffer death anxiety is a central hypothesis of Terror management theory, it holds that low self-esteem individuals tend to use defensive response to face death. Some research indirect support this hypothesis, however, other studies had found that high self-esteem individuals tend to use defensive response to face death.The purpose of this study is from the side of implicit self-esteem to explore the reason of this dispute. This article assumes that, implicit self-esteem also have terror management function, namely in the case of mortality salience, low implicit self-esteem individual than high implicit self-esteem worldview defense level is higher.Methods:Experiment one, first measuring the participants’ implicit self-esteem, and then divided the subjects into mortality salience and neutral condition, asked subjects to answer respectively on the death of open questions, or watching TV theme, Next to use the mood measurement and delayed operation, finally measured subjects worldview defense level.In experiment 2, as a result of the experiment one confirmed implicit self-esteem does have terror management function, in order to provide direct evidence to support this conclusion, this article through the manipulation of the participants’ implicit self-esteem to achieve further validation. First asked participants to answer on the death of open questions, or watching TV theme. Next to the manipulation of implicit self-esteem, measured the participants worldview defense level, in the end, measuring the participants’ implicit self-esteem.By collating and analyzing the experimental data, the following conclusions:(1) The subjects on emotional score does not exist significant difference, so the final worldview defense are not affected by the subjects mood.(2)Through regression analysis, the standard regression coefficient significantly. the mortality salience operation is effective.(3)In the mortality salience condition, low implicit self-esteem subjects in worldview defense level is significantly higher than high implicit self-esteem subjects; Showed that implicit self-esteem do have terror management functions.(4) The implict self-esteem manipulation is effective, raising the level of implicit self-esteem in group of participants is significantly higher than non-ascending group.(5) Simple effect test showed that the ascension of implicit self-esteem can reduce highlight group participants worldview defense level, namely in the mortality salience condition, non-ascending group participants worldview defense were significantly higher than that of group ascension.Experimental results verified the hypothesis, implicit self-esteem do have terror management function. So, previous studies appear dispute, the reason may be that the individual the implicit and explicit self-esteem level caused by inconsistent. Although this article did not fundamentally solve the problem of the controversy, however, provides a clue for future research. In order to make clear the specific mechanism in the self-esteem in anxiety buffer. the later researchers, from the implicit and explicit self-esteem a combination of different levels up to investigate the self-esteem machanism in anxiety-buffer.