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DEATH&DYING, LIFE & LIVING

Eighth edition

Chapter 3

Changing Attitudes toward Death

Changing Attitudes toward Death (1 of 2)

Chapter Objectives

To explain the concept of an “attitude” and to identify death-related attitudes as a component of death-related experiences

To describe the meaning of “death anxiety” and to explore interest in understanding that concept

To examine terror management theory

To identify four basic categories of death-related concerns and responses found in individuals

To sketch a theory of five dominant social patterns in Western attitudes toward death

To illustrate the role that attitudes play in death-related experiences through examples from:

Contemporary Amish life in North America

The New England Puritans of the 17th century

Changing Attitudes toward Death (2 of 2)

What Is an Attitude?

A way of presenting oneself to or being in the world

How Do Attitudes Influence Encounters?

Attitudes help to shape & form our knowledge of what is happening

We contribute to our own experiences through our prior beliefs & feelings

Death Anxiety (1 of 2)

Death Anxiety

Complex & not fully understood

Research involves

Measuring various forms of death anxiety

Determining influential/non-influential variables

Comparing different population groups

Assumptions of Death Anxiety Research

Death anxiety exists

Individuals will be both willing & able to disclose their death anxieties

Adequate instruments & methodologies are available for identification & measurement

Death Anxiety (2 of 2)

Generalized Research Findings

Women typically report higher death anxiety than men

Older adults appear to report somewhat less death anxiety than some younger persons

Individuals who firmly believe or firmly disbelieve in religion & an afterlife seem to have less death anxiety than those who do not share similar value frameworks

Terror Management Theory

TMT argues that the unique ability of humans to become aware of the inevitability of their death produces anxiety, denial, & terror

TMT claims efforts to manage such terror are seen in individual behaviors & the symbolic cultural systems that seek to provide life with meaning & value

Two questions:

Is everyone as terrified by the thought of his or her personal death as proposed by TMT, i.e., is “mortality salience” the dominant motivation in human life?

What, exactly, are people anxious, fearful, or even terrified about in relationship to death?

Death-Related Concerns and Responses (1 of 5)

Four Categories of Attitudes about:

My own dying

My own death

What will happen to me after my death

The dying, death, or bereavement of someone else

Death-Related Concerns and Responses (2 of 5)

My Own Dying

Fears & Anxieties

A long, difficult, painful, or undignified dying process

In an alien institution

Under the care of strangers who might not respect my personal needs or wishes

Without time to address “unfinished business”

Preferences

Without any form of distress or prior knowledge

In my sleep

After putting my affairs in order

Death-Related Concerns and Responses (3 of 5)

My Own Death

How does the prospect of my imminent death impact me?

Do I welcome death?

Relief from suffering

Rejection of heroic measures

Do I resist death?

Fight the loss of my life & loss of my loved ones

Employ measures to postpone death

Death-Related Concerns and Responses (4 of 5)

What will happen to me after my death?

Questions about the consequences or aftermath of my death

Anxiety about the unknown

Fear of judgment & punishment

Anticipation & hope for heavenly rewards

A bridge or passage to another life

Death-Related Concerns and Responses (5 of 5)

The Dying, Death, or Bereavement of Someone Else

Implications for Ourselves

Will I be strong & resourceful enough to help someone cope with his or her dying?

What will I do when my loved one is gone?

Will I feel relief when he or she has died?

Implications for Others

Am I a burden?

What will happen to my loved ones when I’m gone?

What about my unfinished plans & projects?

Death-Related Attitudes

Two Major Implications

Variation in death-related attitudes

Humans may adopt a broad range of attitudes, feelings, & emotions

Influence over death-related attitudes

Humans have some ability to reflect, select, &/or change their attitudes

Western Social & Cultural Attitudes toward Death

Five Dominant Patterns (Philippe Ariès)

Tame Death

Death of the Self

Remote & Imminent Death

Death of the Other

Death Denied - Forbidden

Five Dominant Patterns in Western Attitudes toward Death (1 of 6)

Tame Death

Death is familiar, simple, inevitable, & inescapable

Dying persons calmly await their deaths

Death is a public or social event

Dying persons are surrounded by loved ones & members of the community

All wait peacefully for the end

Attention is focused on the community’s loss

The afterlife is not threatening because death is seen as a kind of sleep

Awake at some point to eternal bliss

Remain eternally asleep.

Five Dominant Patterns in Western Attitudes toward Death (2 of 6)

Death of the Self

The dying person is now seen as a separate individual

He or she is distinct from other members of society in life & in what follows death

Death produces great anxiety for the dying person

Rewards or punishments await

Five Dominant Patterns in Western Attitudes toward Death (3 of 6)

Death involves a final testing period

One’s actions at this moment determine what will happen after death & the meaning of one’s whole life

Just before death a patron saint & the devil struggle; final judgment follows

Several religious traditions have similar beliefs (e.g., Judaism, Buddhism, Muslim)

Five Dominant Patterns in Western Attitudes toward Death (4 of 6)

Remote & Imminent Death

Death is viewed with ambivalence

Death is a wholly natural event (not a supernatural one)

Great effort is made to keep death at a distance

Death is untamed and invasive

Because it is natural, it is imminent

Because it is dangerous & frightening, it is remote

Death is both inviting & repelling, beautiful & to be feared

Five Dominant Patterns in Western Attitudes toward Death (5 of 6)

Death of the Other

Romanticized view of death

Death involves a breaking of relationships

For survivors, death is an intolerable separation

Feelings & behaviors may go out of control (wailing, keening, throwing oneself in the grave, etc.)

Communication & maintaining connections with the dead are very important

For the one who dies, death is a period of waiting for reunion with loved ones

Five Dominant Patterns in Western Attitudes toward Death (6 of 6)

Death Denied/Forbidden Death

Dying persons are isolated in institutions

Death is no longer natural

Extraordinary intervention measures forestall death & prolong life

Focus is on responses of others to a person's death

Society pauses only for a brief funeral period

Emotions are suppressed, concealed, & channeled in "safe" ways

Mourning is morbid & pathological

Death is unnatural, forbidden, indecent, & even "pornographic"

The Critical Role of Attitudes in Shaping the Character of Death-Related Experiences

The Amish of North America

Death is not feared

Acceptance of one’s own death is valued

Dying is part of the family life cycle

Death rituals are conducted by family & involve the entire community

The Puritans of 17th Century New England

Death & final damnation are terrifying prospects

Concerns about salvation & high child mortality may strain parent/child relationships (compared to the Amish)

Death rites evolved to include rituals familiar to many today