Mortality Anxiety Management of Chinese Undergraduates in the Horizon of Cultural Psychology

Abstract

The death attitude and personality questionnaire was used to investigate and analyze Chinese undergraduates’ views on death. The results showed that: (1) The mortality concept of Chinese undergraduates is divided into nine dimensions, which sequence ranked from high to low according to their scores is unfinished feeling, interpersonal relationship, life review, calmness, life attachment, liberation, spiritual concept, terror and pain. This result is obviously inconsistent with Terror Management Theory (TMT), reflecting the characteristics of Chinese culture. (2) The mortality cognition of Chinese undergraduates is divided into seven dimensions, which sequence ranked from high to low according to their scores is body’s becoming cold, body’s decay, sensory loss, consciousness loss, loss of control, soul drift away, and body’s becoming stiffness. This result is consistent with TMT. However, the subjects’ statements about the cognition of the process of spiritual change at death salience reflected the color of Chinese culture, consistent with Taoist and Buddhist thoughts in Chinese traditional culture. This shows that there are the thoughts of death anxiety management in Chinese culture, which are of great value and Enlightenment to the effective development of life education.