Why do humans pursue higher social class? Death anxiety matters

Abstract

This research examined whether death anxiety motivated individuals to pursue a higher social class. Two studies were conducted to provide supporting evidence. Study 1 (n = 1847) showed that higher chronic death anxiety was associated with stronger motivation to pursue a higher social class. Study 2 (n = 135) showed that situationally induced death anxiety augmented the pursuit of a higher social class and was associated with choosing lower criteria for joining a higher social class. Together, the two studies provided both experimental and correlational evidence for the motivational significance of death anxiety in pursuing a higher social class.

Author contributions

W.C. constructed the original concepts, performed research and analyzed data, W.C. and H.L. designed the study, and W.C. and H.J.C. draft the manuscript. All authors critically revised the paper and approved the final version of the manuscript for submission. All researchers claim no conflicts of interests.

Notes

1 All data can be accessed from http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/j6t2ttfjws.1

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the funds for PHD researchers of Guangdong Medical University in 2019 [B2019013], China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2017M612744]; and National Social Science Fund of China [17ZDA324].