Poster Presentations - Guzman Lecture Hall
Personality Traits and the Fear of Death and Dying
Location
Guzman Lecture Hall Poster #11
Start Date
4-23-2015 6:30 PM
End Date
4-23-2015 7:30 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
William Philips, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
An inevitable and inconvenient truth of human existence is our eventual demise. The topic of human mortality remains neglected in discussions between Westerners, despite the undeniable fact that the experience of death and dying is something we all shall collectively experience. Since the Western world embraces the individual rather than the collective, the individualist focus on success and self-preservation has likely altered Western perspectives on the limitations of human mortality. It is argued that humble people are less likely to experience the fear of death, while those who feel more entitlement are more likely to experience the fear of death (Kesebir, 2014). This study proposes to establish an understanding of how personality traits may affect an individual’s fear of death and dying. Additionally, the study will determine if a relationship exists between personality, religiosity and fears of death and dying. Participants (n=80) recruited from Dominican University and social media will be surveyed using the HEXACO-60 (Ashton & Lee, 2008) as a measure of personality, and the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (Lester & Abdel-Khalek, 2002) to measure fears of death and dying. Participants will also be asked questions pertaining to their demographics and the importance of religion in their lives. These measures will supply this research with a comprehensive look into how personality traits such as honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness versus anger, conscientiousness, and openness to experience might relate to and influence death and dying fears. There is also an opportunity to compare measures of religiosity and personality with death fears. It is hypothesized that 1) participants scoring high in honesty-humility will report low fear of death and dying, 2) participants high in religiosity will report low fear of death, but high fear of dying, and 3) participants scoring high on emotionality will report high fears of death and dying. Data collection for this study will begin in February of 2015.
Personality Traits and the Fear of Death and Dying
Guzman Lecture Hall Poster #11
An inevitable and inconvenient truth of human existence is our eventual demise. The topic of human mortality remains neglected in discussions between Westerners, despite the undeniable fact that the experience of death and dying is something we all shall collectively experience. Since the Western world embraces the individual rather than the collective, the individualist focus on success and self-preservation has likely altered Western perspectives on the limitations of human mortality. It is argued that humble people are less likely to experience the fear of death, while those who feel more entitlement are more likely to experience the fear of death (Kesebir, 2014). This study proposes to establish an understanding of how personality traits may affect an individual’s fear of death and dying. Additionally, the study will determine if a relationship exists between personality, religiosity and fears of death and dying. Participants (n=80) recruited from Dominican University and social media will be surveyed using the HEXACO-60 (Ashton & Lee, 2008) as a measure of personality, and the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (Lester & Abdel-Khalek, 2002) to measure fears of death and dying. Participants will also be asked questions pertaining to their demographics and the importance of religion in their lives. These measures will supply this research with a comprehensive look into how personality traits such as honesty-humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness versus anger, conscientiousness, and openness to experience might relate to and influence death and dying fears. There is also an opportunity to compare measures of religiosity and personality with death fears. It is hypothesized that 1) participants scoring high in honesty-humility will report low fear of death and dying, 2) participants high in religiosity will report low fear of death, but high fear of dying, and 3) participants scoring high on emotionality will report high fears of death and dying. Data collection for this study will begin in February of 2015.