Introduction: Research in support of terror management theory suggests that mortality concerns will activate symbolic defenses associated with cultural worldviews, and when these defenses are activated, mental health will benefit. However, no study to date has examined this process in full. We filled this gap, while testing the moderating effect of feeling successful vis-à-vis cultural value-standards. Method: In two studies, we hypothesized that participants who feel successful at meeting cultural standards would engage cultural worldview defense (WVD) following mortality salience (MS), and as a consequence of their defensiveness, would experience greater mental health. Results: In Study 1, MS increased pro-American WVD only among relatively wealthy participants, which in turn reduced death-thought accessibility. In Study 2, MS increased pro-American WVD only among participants primed with felt success (vs. failure), which in turn reduced anxiety and depression. Conclusions: Culture can relieve death-related distress and promote mental health to the extent that it provides feelings of success.

中文翻译：

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对胜利者来说，存在的战利品：文化世界观防御对成功达到文化标准和有价值目标的人的心理健康益处

简介：支持恐怖管理理论的研究表明，对死亡的担忧将激活与文化世界观相关的象征性防御，当这些防御被激活时，心理健康将受益。然而，迄今为止，还没有一项研究全面检查过这一过程。我们填补了这一空白，同时测试了感觉成功相对于文化价值标准的调节作用。方法：在两项研究中，我们假设认为成功达到文化标准的参与者会在死亡显着性 (MS) 之后进行文化世界观防御 (WVD)，并且由于他们的防御性，他们的心理健康状况会更好。结果：在研究 1 中，MS 仅在相对富裕的参与者中增加了亲美的 WVD，这反过来又降低了死亡思想的可及性。在研究 2 中，MS 仅在感到成功（相对于失败）的参与者中增加了亲美的 WVD，这反过来又减少了焦虑和抑郁。结论：文化可以减轻与死亡相关的痛苦，并在一定程度上促进心理健康，从而提供成功的感觉。