ABSTRACT

Terror management theory suggests people can manage existential concerns through faith in their cultural systems, including religious beliefs. It is not clear, however, how people with a religious “quest” orientation manage such existential concerns. The present research explored the intersection between existential concern and religious quest. Quest individuals experience doubt, which comes at the cost of greater death-related anxieties (Study 1, n= 654), cognitions (Study 2, n = 167), and vulnerability against mortality reminders (Study 3, n= 226). Second, mortality salience (MS) led people high in quest to become more culturally open-minded (Study 4, n = 100), and less likely to believe-in or commit-to their supernatural agent (Study 5, n = 120). These responses were mitigated when quest individuals were first prompted to explore (a step toward resolving) their doubts and uncertainties (Study 6, n = 462). Implications for quest orientation and existential defense- vs. growth-motivation are discussed.

摘要

恐怖管理理论表明，人们可以通过对包括宗教信仰在内的文化体系的信仰来管理存在的问题。然而，尚不清楚具有宗教“追求”倾向的人如何处理这些存在的问题。本研究探讨了存在关注和宗教追求之间的交叉点。Quest个体经历怀疑，其代价是更大的与死亡相关的焦虑（研究1，n = 654）、认知（研究2，n = 167）和对死亡提醒的脆弱性（研究3，n = 226）。其次，死亡率显着性（MS）导致人们在文化上更加开放（研究 4，n= 100），并且不太可能相信或承诺他们的超自然力量（研究 5，n = 120）。当探索者第一次被提示去探索（解决问题的一步）他们的疑虑和不确定性时，这些反应得到了缓解（研究 6，n = 462）。讨论了探索导向和存在防御与成长动机的含义。