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

mailto:jonespbc@aol.commailto:MrsLSteele@aol.com

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!