Mortality Salience and Political Attitudes: The Implications on Queer Politics and the LGBTQIA+

Abstract

Terror management theory (TMT) suggests that we utilize cultural worldviews and self-esteem to reduce our anxieties about our mortality. Previous research on TMT and politics shows when people are presented with mortality salience (MS), reminders of death, it leads them to make decisions according to their political beliefs (Burke et al., 2013). MS also results in worldview defense, making decisions that are most positive towards in-group members and are more negative towards out-group members (Burke et al., 2013). Historically, when the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) had a rise in cases, there was a need to reduce the MS it caused. The queer community was largely affected. Politically driven prejudice impacted how people viewed these illnesses and treatment. Currently, we are facing a rise in cases of monkeypox, and the criteria an individual must meet to receive a vaccination for monkeypox includes disclosing types of sexual partners, how they identify themselves, and in what settings sexual acts may take place in (Centers for Disease Control, 2022). This has led to a large misinterpretation that monkeypox is only affecting the queer community, similar to what was first thought about HIV when it was referred to as gay-related immunodeficiency syndrome (GRID). This study will investigate how MS and political ideology impact worldview defense and attitudes toward people with illnesses that largely affect the queer community. Participants will be grouped by political ideology and primed with MS or control. Participants’ attitudes toward the queer community and a fictional character with monkeypox will be measured. We hypothesize that participants in the MS condition who are conservative will express more negative attitudes toward the fictional character, than participants in the MS condition who are more liberal. We will explore how these results can inform current reactions to monkeypox in the US.

Details

Session 2

3:00pm – 4:30pm

Grand Salon