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TitleDeliver us from Evil: The Effects of Mortality Salience and Reminders of 9/11 on Support for President George W. Bush
Uniform TitlePersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin
PublisherSage Publications
NameLandau, Mark J. (Author), Solomon, Sheldon (Author), Greenberg, Jeff (Author), Cohen, Florette (Author), Pyszczynski, Tom (Author), Arndt, Jamie (Author), Miller, Claude H. (Author), Ogilvie, Daniel M. (Author), Cook, Alison (Author),
Date Created2004
SubjectTerror management theory,
Terrorism,
September 11 terrorist attacks, 2001,
Election politics,
Charismatic leaders,
Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-
DescriptionAccording to terror management theory, heightened concerns about mortality should intensify the appeal of charismatic leaders. To assess this idea, we investigated how thoughts about death and the 9/11 terrorist attacks influence Americans’ attitudes toward current U.S. President George W. Bush. Study 1 found that reminding people of their own mortality (mortality salience) increased support for Bush and his counterterrorism policies. Study 2 demonstrated that subliminal exposure to 9/11-related stimuli brought death-related thoughts closer to consciousness. Study 3 showed that reminders of both mortality and 9/11 increased support for Bush. In Study 4, mortality salience led participants to become more favorable toward Bush and voting for him in the upcoming election but less favorable toward Presidential candidate John Kerry and voting for him. Discussion focused on the role of terror management processes in allegiance to charismatic leaders and political decision making.
NoteThis is an electronic version of the article published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30(9):1136-1150, 2004 Sept. The published article is available at http://psp.sagepub.com/content/30/9/1136.short
NoteLandau, Mark J., Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Florette Cohen, Tom Pyszczynski, Jamie Arndt, Claude H. Miller, Daniel M. Ogilvie, Alison Cook. Deliver us from evil: the effects of mortality salience and reminders of 9/11 on support for President George W. Bush. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30 (9):1136-1150, 2004.
NoteDOI:10.1177/0146167204267988
Genrearticles
Persistent URLhttp://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore30123600001.Manuscript.000063881
LanguageEnglish
CollectionOgilvie Daniel Collection
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