13 December 2004
Deliver Us From Evil
Reminding people of their mortality may make them more likely to vote for bold political leaders who promise to keep them safe, a new study suggests. The research builds on terror-management theory, which states that fear of death affects a wide range of human activities and attitudes and that many people turn to aggression, risk-taking, and nationalism to manage their fears. In the current study, Sheldon Solomon of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and his colleagues randomly assigned 190 students to two groups. They asked one group to respond to open-ended questions such
as: "Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you as you physically die." The other group responded to questions about their next important exam. Next, participants in both groups read campaign statements by three imaginary gubernatorial candidates with distinctly different leadership styles: a bold candidate who emphasizes the nation's greatness and the need for victory over evil; a second candidate who focuses on cooperation between leader and citizens; and a third candidate who emphasizes the accomplishment of realistic goals. After reading the statements, the subjects cast their votes.
The third, pragmatic candidate received more votes than any other candidate in both groups. But the nationalist candidate did much better among the students who had been thinking about death, receiving 30% of their votes, compared with only 4% of those who had been pondering their upcoming exam. According to Solomon, the results, which are published in Psychological Science's December issue, indicate that in times of mental distress, individuals prefer an audacious leader who promises to rid the world of evil. Solomon sees a real-life parallel in the recent U.S. presidential election, in which he says President George W. Bush's decisive leadership style and emphasis on patriotism played well with an electorate constantly reminded of the threat of terrorist attacks.
Daniel McIntosh, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is impressed by the study. "I was struck by the magnitude of the effect," he says. According to McIntosh, the new study adds an important dimension to terror-management theory by demonstrating that fear of death greatly affects political preference.
--NADJA GEIPERT
Related sites
Daniel McIntosh's page du.edu
Ernest Becker Foundation
faculty.washington.edu
Link to a related study psp.sagepub.com
Link to original study psychologicalscience.org
Copyright © 2004 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. |
