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Chiu, Chi-Yue Kesebir, Pelin 2015-09-25T20:39:30Z 2015-09-25T20:39:30Z 10000-01-01 2009 2009 The project tests the hypothesis that the tendency to perceive the secular world in sacred terms functions as a buffer against death anxiety and the possibly destructive effects of death anxiety, such as materialism. The sacred is associated with the qualities of transcendence (perception of a larger and sublime reality beyond appearances) and ultimacy (perception of utmost significance and value), which can render death thoughts less accessible, and/or less threatening. First, a measure of Sacredness Perception is developed to capture the extent to which individuals see sacredness in the seemingly secular aspects of life. Study 1 showed that after being reminded of their mortality, individuals who score high in Sacredness Perception report lower negative affect. Study 2 revealed that after being primed with mortality thoughts, individuals high in Sacredness Perception report lower death-thought accessibility. In Study 3, participants with high Sacredness Perception levels exhibited less materialistic tendencies after being reminded of their mortality. Study 4 manipulated Sacredness Perception, and found that an experimentally heightened sense of Sacredness Perception following reminders of mortality leads to lowered materialism compared to a control condition. Overall, the research program demonstrated that perceptions of sacredness, independent of a religious context, help individuals to manage their existential anxiety and deal with the potentially toxic byproducts of existential anxiety such as materialism. Made available in DSpace on 2015-09-25T20:39:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license.txt: 4848 bytes, checksum: 96035ab3f5e1c23cc7138a224ce498bd (MD5) 3392086.pdf: 2938163 bytes, checksum: 81e888e20d064c83edb0867027b7bd5e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 83469 Lift date: Forever Reason: Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs Restricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETDs U of I Only 71 p. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/82188 (MiAaPQ)AAI3392086 eng Spirituality Perceiving the World in Sacred Terms: Its Buffering Function Against Death Anxiety text Psychology Psychology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Dissertation Ph.D.