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The Human Solution to the Problem of Death
• Become more than a mere animal, destined to die and decay
• Our ancestors invented a world that transcend the body, that never ends
• We are souls, spirits, minds – our bodies are mere containers for our “real essence”
• Greater spiritual powers that control our eternal destiny: Gods, deities, omnipotent spiritual beings
• Gives us hope of literal immortality
• We emphasize our minds and spirits and distance ourselves from our bodies
“Why did man not go insane in the face of an existential contradiction between a symbolic self, that seems to give man an infinite worth in a timeless scheme of things, and a body that is worth about 98 cents?”
Erich Fromm (1955)
A Body of Terror
The Body Problem
• Bodies are frightening
• Blood, mucous, saliva, urine, feces, bones, organs -- we are physical creatures
• Bodies also become sick, age, lose their functioning
• Bodies DIE!!!
• So we MUST be more than our bodies
Negative Emotional Reactions to Our Bodies
• Remind us of our creaturely, animalistic, physical nature
• Which reminds us that, like all other animals, we die
5.82 5.76
6.73
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
Control Death/Immediate Death/Delay
Dis
gust
Sen
siti
vity
Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, Solomon, Kluck, & Cornwell, 2001
Body Disgust
1.19
1.67
0.5
1
1.5
2
Neutral Body Products
Dea
th A
cces
sib
ility
Cox, Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, & Weise, 2007
Body Disgust
What Happens when People are Reminded of their Creaturliness?
• Distancing self from their bodies
• Emphasize mental, spiritual, romantic aspects of self – how we are DIFFERENT from animals
• Find bodily experiences more disturbing
Creatureliness: “the boundary between humans and
animals is not as great as most
people think … our bodies work
in pretty much the same way as
the bodies of all other animals
… whether you're talking about
lizards, cows, horses, insects,
or humans, we're all made up of
the same basic biological
products…”
Creatureliness Prime:
Uniqueness: “although we humans have some things in
common with other animals,
human beings are truly unique
… the potential of the human
mind and spirit go far beyond
anything remotely similar to
what is found in simple animals
… humans have language and
culture … we create works of
art, music, and literature …”
• Women read essay about humans are similar to or different from animals, or neutral control
• Watch video teaching how to do breast self-examination for tumors
• Asked to do breast self-examination
• Measure how much time they spend on breast self-examination
Goldenberg, Arndt, Hart, & Routledge, 2008
Creatureliness and Breast Exams
58.6257.5
38.74
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
No Essay Human Uniqueness Human Creatureliness
Se
co
nd
s
4.13
4.68
4.78
3.77
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
Uniqueness Creatureliness
Ap
pea
l of
Ph
ysic
al S
ex
Exam
Death
Goldenberg, Cox, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 2002
Creatureliness and Sex
Why is Sex Such a Problem?
• Do you remember the first time you learned about sex?
• Why do ALL cultures have taboos and rituals surrounding sex? Why do all cultures restrict sex?
• Some cultures very restrictive; some cultures very permissive
• Most theories simply blame it on society --- but the real question is WHY?
Sex is a Reminder of our Physical, Animalistic, Creaturely Nature
• Sex is of the body … and the body is of death
• Sex is troubling becomes it indirectly reminds us of death
• Transform sex into something more than a mere animalistic act:
– Love
– Spiritual enlightenment
– Sexual athlete or hero
• Participants read essay about how human beings are either similar to or different from other animals
• Answer several short open-ended questions about either the physical or romantic aspects of sex
• Measure death thought accessibility (DTA) with word completion task
• D_ _ D; COFF_ _
1.47
1.13
1.26
1.59
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Uniqueness Creatureliness
Dea
th A
cces
sib
ility
Romantic Sex
Physical Sex
Goldenberg, Cox, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 2002
Creatureliness and Sex
• Participants high or low in self-esteem
• Mortality salience or dental pain conditions
• Measure the appeal of the physical and romantic aspects of sex
4.06
5.28
4.374.50
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
Low High
Body-Esteem
Ap
pe
al o
f P
hy
sic
al S
ex
Death
TV
Appeal of Physical Sex as a Function of Mortality Salience and Body Self-Esteem
Reproduction:
Females ≠ Males
The female “is more enslaved to the species than the male, her animality is more manifest” (de Beauvoir, 1953)
Women’s Bodies
Reactions to Pregnancy
Goldenberg, Cox, Arndt, & Goplen, 2007
3.04
2.80 2.87
3.93
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Demi Not Pregnant Demi Pregnant
Dis
app
rova
l
Uniqueness
Creatureliness
Reactions to Pregnancy
Reactions to Pregnancy
Goldenberg, Cox, Arndt, & Goplen, 2007
4.97 4.92
5.31
4.14
3
4
5
6
Gwyneth Not Pregnant Gwyneth Pregnant
Per
ceiv
ed C
om
pet
ence
Uniqueness
Creatureliness
Reactions to Pregnancy
Reactions to Breastfeeding
2.97
4.27
2.73
5.3
2
3
4
5
6
No Breastfeeding Breastfeeding
Dis
app
rova
l fo
r M
agaz
ine
Co
ver
Control
Creatureliness
Cox, Goldenberg, Arndt, & Pyszczynski, 2007
Reactions to Breastfeeding
Reactions to a Woman Breast-feeding in Room Next Door
• “Other participant” brings baby to study
• Goes into next room to feed baby, with breast or bottle
• Afterward she comes out for study
• Participants told to get a chair and sit next to her to talk
• Measure physical distancing from mother, in inches
33.19
31.44
32.58
38.06
25
30
35
40
Bottle feeding Breastfeeding
Inch
es b
etw
een
Ch
airs
Dental Pain
Death
Cox, Goldenberg, Arndt, & Pyszczynski, 2007
Reactions to Breastfeeding
1.55
1.42 1.42
2.25
1
1.5
2
2.5
Bottle feeding Breastfeeding
Cre
atu
relin
ess
Acc
essi
bili
ty
Dental Pain
Death
Cox, Goldenberg, Arndt, & Pyszczynski, 2007
Reactions to Breastfeeding
Men’s Attraction to Women
Landau, Goldenberg, Greenberg, Gillath, Solomon, Cox, Martens, & Pyszczynski, 2006
Men’s Attraction to Women
4.3
5.1
3.92
2.95
2
3
4
5
6
Wholesome Seductive
Att
ract
ion
Dental Pain
Death
“In woman dressed and adorned, nature is present but under restraint” (de Beauvoir, 1952)
Beauty as a Solution
Women Compared to Men: • Value appearance over competence (e.g., Fredrickson et al., 1998) • Have memories from observer’s perspective (Huebner & Fredrickson, 1999) • Are less aware of physiological states (Roberts & Pennebaker, 1995)
When women’s appearance is primed: • Restrain eating (e.g., Fredrickson et al., 1998) • Perform poorly on a cognitive tasks (e.g., Gervais et al., 2011) • Talk less (Saguy et al., 2010)
Women high in “self-objectification”: • Have ineffective motor performance (Fredrickson & Harrison, 2005) • Hold negative views about body functions (e.g., Roberts, 2004) • Are less assertive and interested in sex (e.g., Impett et al., 2004) • Feel less competent (i.e., self-efficacy) and purposeful (i.e., intrinsic
motivation) (Gapinski et al., 2003)
Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997)
Objectified Women are:
• Perceived as less competent and warm (Heflick, Goldenberg, Cooper, & Puvia, 2011)
• Denied mind and moral status (Loughnan et al., 2010)
• Attributed less agency (Cikara, Eberhardt, & Fiske, 2011)
• Perceived as interchangeable, or fungible (Gervais, Vesco, & Allen, in press)
• Recognized with cognitive processes similar to perceiving objects (Bernard, Gervais, Allen, Campomizzi, & Klein, in press)
• Attributed less human nature (Heflick & Goldenberg, 2009)
New Approach in Psychology: Objectification of Others
Focus on Appearance
Roberts, Goldenberg, Manly, & Pyszczynski, 2002
3.06
7.06
2
4
6
8
Hair Clip Tampon
Val
ue
Ap
pea
ran
ce
Beauty as a Solution
Pregnant Images
Morris, Goldenberg, & Heflick, in prep
4.64
-2.46
2.29
10.54
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Non-Pregnant Pregnant
Self
-ob
ject
ific
atio
n Q
ues
tio
nn
aire
Pain
Death
Pregnancy and Women’s Appearance Striving
Conclusion
“Objectification entails making into a thing, treating as a thing, something that is really not a thing” (Nussbaum, 1995)
But Why?
accounting for: (1) women’s self-objectification and (2) men’s attraction to women
OBJECTS DON’T DIE!