When we see ourselves as mere mortal animals, creative pursuits may help to assuage a fear of death

By Emma Young How similar do you think humans are to other animals? The answer might reveal more than you think: according to new research, people who perceive themselves as being more similar to other animals are more likely to care about being creative, and to engage with the arts. Why? It’s all to do with how we manage death anxiety, argue Uri Lifshin at Reichman University, Israel, and colleagues, in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. We all know that at some point, sooner or later, we are going to die. It’s not exactly an uplifting thought. According to Terror Management Theory, to assuage death anxiety, we created cultural belief systems that allow us to see ourselves as more than mortal animals. Belief in an afterlife and a strong identification with one’s national culture are two such systems. But there are also other ways to get a sense of immortality: by becoming famous, say, or via creative pursuits, which might leave a lasting mark. To explore individual differences in feeling that people are more than mortal animals, the team used a four-item “perceived similarity of the self to animals” (PSSA) scale. (Participants had to rate “how similar you think you are to other animals”, for example.) And in an initial study on almost 900 American students, they found a correlation between higher PSSA scores and scores on other measures, including being less invested in national identity and feeling that “being creat...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Creativity The self Source Type: blogs