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Life-after-death beliefs and self motivations

ABSTRACT An experimental study was designed to ascertain whether three self-motives (death-thoughts avoidance, self-uncertainty reduction, and need-for-control) are irreducible motives or examples of a more basic primary motive with regard to their relationship to life-after-death (LAD) beliefs. The study explored the impact of the three self-motives on adherence to LAD beliefs through three mediators: self-esteem, feelings of disquiet, and thoughts-accessibility (thoughts of death, need-for-control, and uncertainty). Participants were randomly assigned to write about their own death, a time they felt uncertain, a time they felt powerless, or about a toothache episode. The mediators (accessibility of disturbing thoughts, feelings of disquiet-uncertainty, and self-esteem) were measured next. The dependent variable selected was endorsement of LAD beliefs. Results showed that the cognitive and emotional responses produced by the activation of the three motives were similar. The three motives increased the accessibility of uncertain-related thoughts that, in turn, increased the adherence to LAD.