An Investigation Into the Unconscious Influence of Mortality Salience Upon Sentencing Decisions.
| Autor: | Robinson B; Department of Applied Psychology, School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK., Stubbings DR; Department of Applied Psychology, School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK., Davies JL; Department of Applied Psychology, School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK., Skillicorn D; Department of Applied Psychology, School of Sport and Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK. |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | Psychological reports [Psychol Rep] 2024 Oct 23, pp. 332941241295971. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Oct 23. |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00332941241295971 |
| Abstrakt: | This study aimed to explore if unconscious awareness of death influences the harshness of offender sentencing. According to Terror Management Theory death is anxiety-provoking, and self-esteem and a belief in a shared cultural worldview keep anxiety at bay. When these factors are challenged then death awareness increases. These dynamics could be relevant in a court setting in which judges have to make decisions regarding offenders who may have different world views and in cases that trigger the awareness of mortality. We used subliminal priming to activate the awareness of death and recorded the effect it had on decision-making against a hypothetical offender. Participants ( N = 303) were recruited and randomly assigned to either an experimental mortality condition or a neutral control condition. Analysis revealed that death-related subliminal priming brought about harsher sentencing effects than the control. The results suggest that subconscious awareness of death may bias decision-making when sentencing. Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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