New Research: Thinking About Your Mortality Makes You A Better Person

A pointer to this from Australian Chris Barry came in my email this morning.  Here is what Ken Vail and his co-authors found:

Contemplating death doesn't necessarily lead to morose despondency, fear, aggression or other negative behaviors, as previous research has suggested. Following a review of dozens of studies, University of Missouri researchers found that thoughts of mortality can lead to decreased militaristic attitudes, better health decisions, increased altruism and helpfulness, and reduced divorce rates.

Some of the specific effects were quite interesting -- everything from being more peaceful and cooperative to exercising more and quitting smoking. I especially liked this study described in the summary in ScienceDaily:

Even subconscious awareness of death can more influenced behavior. In one experiment, passers-by who had recently overheard conversations mentioning the value of helping were more likely to help strangers if they were walking within sight of cemeteries.

The researchers suggest one reason for such effects (based on something called terror management theory) is that  "people deal with their awareness of mortality by upholding cultural beliefs and seeking to become part of something larger and more enduring than themselves, such as nations or religions." 

So that is my happy thought for the day: Think about your death, it is good for you and those around you!

P.S. Here is the source: "When Death is Good for Life: Considering the Positive Trajectories of Terror Management," published online on April 5, 2012, in Personality and Social Psychology Review. 

Comments

[Sue Bock]

Like myself, any breast cancer survivor/thriver can share that perspective with you. Nice to know there is research to support it.

Sue Bock
Http://couragetoadventurecoaching.wordpress.com

[Chrisdbarry]

Hi Bob! Thanks for the shout out! It is certainly interesting and as Chip noted, it was certainly my experience. (One quick note, I am Chris "Barry")

[Chip Overclock]

At risk of TMI: between the ages of 50 to 55 (where I am now) I lost several long time colleagues, family, and good friends: cancer, stroke, accidents, old age, and in one tragic case murder. There is nothing like a sense of your own mortality to give you a sense of priorities. Now I work less, volunteer more, write more, donate more, keep an eye out for opportunities to teach and to give back, and sure as heck feel more appreciation for my spousal unit of twenty-eight years. It's a shame that I had to lose so many of those important in my life for that to happen. But I'd like to think that they would approve of the effect their deaths had on me.