Assessing non-conscious thought activation using word fragment tasks
Dr. Sam Fairlamb
Terror Management Theory research often relies on the use of word fragment tasks to assess the accessibility of non-conscious thoughts of death (e.g., K I _ _ E D can be killed or kissed). My ongoing work has sought to examine whether effects identified in the Terror Management research are the result of activation of death concerns, or related concerns such as meaninglessness or uncertainty. Additionally, my research is also examining the limitations of word fragment tasks to assess non-conscious thought activation, examining whether there are within-task effects (e.g., suppression of death thoughts) that may make it difficult to identify predicted effects.
Does Terror Management Theory predict reactions to Terror Management Theory?
Dr. Sam Fairlamb
This project aims to assess attitudes towards Terror Management Theory. Terror Management Theory is a divisive theory that has garnered its advocates as well as critics. This project aims to assess whether the polarised nature of attitudes towards the theory can be explained by the theory itself. This is because the theory predicts that under conditions of mortality salience (which reading or thinking about the theory would cause) people cling onto their belief systems and often defend them. Therefore, depending on whether the theory conflicts or aligns with one’s perception of human behaviour, the theory would suggest it should lead to more intensive positive or negative reactions. The project aims to examine whether individual differences in self-report fear of death may explain these polarised reactions.
Learning about the end of life: exploring the relationship between Death Anxiety and Death Education
Dr. Melissa Henderson
This is a small-scale research study with previous cohort of students looking at whether learning about death and dying has a significant influence on feelings of death anxiety. Using the concept of Terror Management Theory, students on the Sociology of Death module completed the Templar death anxiety scale at two points of the course to measure any change in feelings of death-related anxiety. A small group of students also completed interviews with more in-depth discussions around their attitudes towards death before and after completing the module.
Funeral poverty: The cost of dying has hit a record high, with growing numbers of families having to sell belongings, dip into savings or borrow to cover a loved one’s funeral
Dr. Natalie Pitimson
There has been an increase in the number of ‘public health funerals, these are arranged by the local council for someone who has died without relatives, and with no way of paying for their own send-off. And the cost of living crisis in particular has meant that paying for a funeral, now more than ever, is pushing families into debt and impacting their mental and physical wellbeing. I am currently applying for funding in order to bring together a range of people from related areas, including: those from community organizations that work with people experiencing funeral poverty, representatives from relevant council departments related to public health funerals, charities supporting the bereaved, death studies academics as well as those who have previously campaigned around funeral poverty and those who have had to turn to a public health funeral at some point in the last two years following a bereavement. The intention is to map out both experiential reflections on the impact of the cost of living crisis on bereaved individuals and families, as well as to start to consider ways in which improved support-based policy at both local and national level could be developed and mobilized in response to the recent increases in people not being able to afford funerals for loved ones.
Human rights issues raised by high death rates in care homes during the Covid pandemic
Dr. Natalie Pitimson
This is a project in collaboration with colleagues in the social work and the law department at Royal Holloway in which we are exploring decisions made by governments across Europe regarding care homes during the pandemic. Care homes saw some of the largest death tolls, due to lack of testing and PPE, over-worked staff and the discharging of Covid patients from hospitals to care homes. In this project we are exploring post-covid reports from across several European countries to in order to consider whether the high number of deaths in these contexts represent human rights breaches.
Examining suicide ideation among students in higher education
Dr. Izzat Morshidi
In this study, we are examining the risk of suicide ideation among South Korean students who are pursuing their university degree at home (domestically) and in the UK (internationally) as well as a sample of UK students as a control. We are interested in examining cross-cultural differences in the role of parental expectations, family education level, and other demographic factors in predicting suicidal thoughts.