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Self-determined immortality: Testing the role of autonomy in promoting perceptions of symbolic immortality and well-being

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Abstract

This pre-registered work was designed to replicate and extend previous research finding that autonomy is associated with greater extent of belief in symbolic immortality (feeling that some aspect of an individual will endure and/or be remembered long after death). Study 1 (n = 1185) replicated this prior work, finding that self-reported autonomy predicted extent of belief in symbolic immortality, which mediated the relationship between autonomy and meaning in life. Study 2 (n = 117) provided an experimental extension of Study 1, finding that reading about an individual with an autonomous (vs. controlled) life increased perceptions of that individual’s symbolic immortality, which mediated the relationship between reading about the autonomous life and perceptions of the individual’s satisfaction with life. Study 3 (n = 175) replicated the results of Study 2 and also showed that the extent to which people viewed the target individual as feeling autonomous predicted perceptions of that individual’s symbolic immortality even after controlling for perceived self-esteem.

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Data for this research are available online: https://researchbox.org/340.

Notes

  1. Recent recommendations (e.g., Pieters, 2017) suggest that mediation models should be based on a priori theoretical analyses building on prior research, and the ones we developed and tested were indeed based on an a priori integration of theory and research concerning terror management and self-determination. However, an anonymous reviewer asked us to test an alternative model in which autonomy increases life meaning or satisfaction, which in turn increases symbolic immortality, and we are thankful for the suggestion. The reviewer posited this alternative model would fit the meaning maintenance model (Heine et al., 2006), which, much like cognitive dissonance theory, proposes that people strive to sustain expected connections among their cognitions, and when cognitions do not fit, people compensate by increasing meaning in some way. We do not believe this model offers predictions regarding if or how autonomy and symbolic immortality relate to life meaning or satisfaction. If a person views their life as meaningful, it is not clear from the meaning maintenance model why they would need autonomy or symbolic immortality at all, or why these two variables would relate to more meaning or satisfaction. In contrast, TMT and SDT posit clear functions of perceived autonomy and symbolic immortality for well-being, and these are supported by their research programs. However, it is plausible from a self-determination perspective that autonomy might make life seem more meaningful or satisfying, and this might lead people to feel that they are making a more permanent mark on the world, thus increasing symbolic immortality. Indeed, when we tested whether there was an indirect effect of autonomy on symbolic immortality through meaning and satisfaction with life, the indirect effects were significant: Study 1 (indirect effect = .48, SE = .05, 95% CI [.40, .58]), Study 2 (indirect effect = 1.03, SE = .41, 95% CI [.23, 1.87]), and Study 3 (indirect effect = .94, SE = .38, 95% CI [.20, 1.70]). This suggests that either the a priori mediation model or this alternative mediation model could account for the relations among the variables, and longitudinal studies would be needed to determine if it is more likely that greater perceived symbolic immortality leads to more subsequent meaning and satisfaction with life or that more meaning and satisfaction with life contributes to subsequent greater perceived symbolic immortality.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, 1503 East University Blvd, P.O. Box 210068, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0068, USA

    Dylan E. Horner, Alex Sielaff & Jeff Greenberg

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Horner, D.E., Sielaff, A. & Greenberg, J. Self-determined immortality: Testing the role of autonomy in promoting perceptions of symbolic immortality and well-being. Motiv Emot 46, 429–446 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-022-09944-3

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