Evidence of a Terror Management Function of Cultural Icons: The Effects of Mortality Salience on the Inappropriate Use of Cherished Cultural Symbols

Based on the terror management notion that cultural icons are part of a system that provides protection from fears about one's mortality, it was hypothesized that reminding subjects of their mortality would make it more difficult for them to use cultural icons in an inappropriate way. Subjects responded to questions about either their own mortality or television, and then participated in two problem-solving tasks involving the culturally inappropriate use of cultural icons (a flag and crucifix) or the use of neutral objects. Although mortality salience did not affect actual use of the objects, it did increase the amount of time required to solve the problems, the number of alternative solutions generated, and the extent to which subjects expressed reluctance to use the icons. Mortality salience also increased subjects' reports of task difficulty and tension when the optimal solutions of the problems required inappropriate use of the cultural icons.