The Terror Management Function of Descendent Continuity: Evidence That Descendent Continuity Acts as a Distal and Proximal Defense.

Abstract

Previous researches showed that offspring can function as a distal defense, we presented seven studies to further explore the role of offspring in terror management for Chinese people based on their unique fertility culture. Both Studies 1a and 1b found that mortality salience increased desire for children. Study 2 showed that offspring salience reduced the effect of mortality salience on social transgressions judgments. Study 3 revealed that disruption of procreation strivings increased death-thought accessibility. Study 4 demonstrated that conscious responses to worldview threats overwhelmed the unconscious compensation effect of worldview threats on desire for children. Study 5a and Study 5b found that offspring salience decreased death anxiety for parents and nonparents. Taken together, these findings expand terror management theory, emphasizing descendent continuity not only as a related yet separate distal defense from the cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and close relationship but also as a proximal defense, especially for Chinese.