psyc 208 cross cultural perspectives on dying, death, & grief - lecture 6 review

Culture

Distinctive customs, beliefs, knowledge, art, & language of a society or community; values are passed down throughout generations

Cultural values

Basis for everyday behaviours & practices

Religion

Organized system of beliefs, practices, rituals, & symbols that facilitate closeness to the sacred or transcendent (e.g a deity) & foster understanding of one's relation & responsibility to others in a community

Culture vs religion

Are distinct concepts; religion plays an important role in culture

Cross culturally religion & culture dictate

What is important or normal in relation to death & grief

How the meaning of death & individual reactions are understood

In a cultural context

Cross culturally conceptions & definitions of death...

Vary across cultures; including afterlife beliefs

Things cultural beliefs on death affect

Death anxiety & death acceptance

Eastern religions

Believe in a circular pattern of life & death; people die & are reborn

Examples of Eastern religions

Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, Sikhism

Hinduism

When someone dies their soul travels to another world for a bit, then returns again to the earth to continue its journey; remains are cremated

Buddhism

People are reincarnated & their status depends on what they did in their previous life; remains are cremated or buried

Taoism

Belief people are of the way of the natural order of the universe/the Tao both when alive & dead; remains are buried or cremated

Abrahamic religions

Believe death only occurs once; the spirit lives on in the afterlife

Examples of Abrahamic religions

Christianity, Islam, Judaism

Christianity

Those who do not follow Jesus end up in Hell & those who do achieve salvation & end up in Heaven; remains are buried or cremated

Islam

Current life is preparation for the next realm of existence/life; remains are buried

Judaism

Those who have lived a worthy life are rewarded in the afterlife; remains are buried

Indigenous religions

Believe the dead & living co exist & the dead can influence the living; e.g visiting through dreams or connecting through dance

Indigenous beliefs on religion

The deceased lives on in the spirit world, death is followed by reincarnation, & the living can communicate with the deceased through rituals & in dreams; often mixed with Christian views

Amount of people that believe in an afterlife

Majority of global population

Trend of belief in God in Western countries

Belief is declining

Survey on religious belief across generations

Belief in an afterlife has slightly increased over time

Millenials

Believe in an afterlife slightly more than previous generations

Survey on belief in Hell across generations

Belief in Hell is common; has declined over time

Relationship between Covid 19, religiosity, & belief in an afterlife

Globally Covid 19 is associated with an increase in religiosity & greater belief in an afterlife

Belief in reincarnation in Eastern religions vs the West

Belief in reincarnation is common in Eastern religions; less common in the West

Trend of belief in reincarnation in Westerners

Increase in belief in reincarnation without a strong religious affiliation

Factors that influence afterlife beliefs

- Religion & culture

- Religious affiliation & church attendance; stronger religious affiliation/investing in faith (e.g by attending church) associated with stronger belief in the afterlife & Heaven

- Near death experiences (NDEs) & post death sensory experiences; stronger belief in an afterlife & reincarnation

- Terror management theory (TMT); belief in an afterlife is motivated by the fear of death & desire to overcome death anxiety

Study on participants who imagined what it is like to die & be dead

- Participants imagined the state of death as a continuation of the self; even without afterlife beliefs (the dead I)

- Half of participants imagined death as a spectator; death is observable

- 35% said it was impossible to imagine death as the absence of oneself

The dead I

Phenomenon where one's self concept/image persists even when imagining death; as if an aspect of the self remains alive after death

Explanation for evidence of intuitive afterlife beliefs

Is impossible to imagine something without inserting consciousness into it; especially death because it is the absence of consciousness

Research explanation for why afterlife beliefs are intuitive

Afterlife beliefs are intuitive due to the tendency to insert consciousness into death when imagining it

Terror management theory (TMT) explanation for why afterlife beliefs are intuitive

Afterlife beliefs are intuitive because the thought of death provokes death anxiety

Evolutionary function of belief in an afterlife

Increases group/social cohesion & creates a sense of continued relationships

Study where participants evaluated the degree to which different experiences are dependent on the body

Perceptual, emotional, epistemic/cognitive/knowledge, & desire were all associated with the dead I;

Relationship between perceptual, emotional, epistemic/cognitive/knowledge, & desire & the dead I

These experiences are perceived as more likely to continue after death; stronger belief in the dead I

Study on how American university students conceptualized a dead person's mental state immediately after death

Different categories of mental states/capacities were conceptualized differently; psychobiological & perceptual states ceased after death; emotional, desire, & knowledge continued after death

Cross cultural implication of study on how American university students conceptualize mental states after death

Has been replicated with Chinese students

Dualistic pattern of thinking

Belief that biological processes cease at death; more than psychological processes do (they continue), common across cultures

Natural & supernatural explanations for death

Often coexist; dualistic thinking is more common in children

Natural explanation for death

Psychological functioning ceases after death

Supernatural explanation for death

Psychological functioning continues after death

Intuitive dualism

Natural assumption about different outcomes for the body & mind after death

Explanation for intuitive dualism

The cessation of biological processes is observed; yet it is difficult to imagine the cessation of mental processes, not easily observable

Study primed participants to think about God

Participants were more likely to believe that psychological & biological processes continue after death

Consequences of afterlife beliefs in research (good & bad)

- Death anxiety

- Making sense of the world; belief in reincarnation is associated with less feelings of helplessness, anger, or guilt

- Grief responses & adjustment following loss; bleak or uncertain views on the afterlife is associated with greater difficulty with adjustment

Explanation for relationship between afterlife beliefs & ability to make sense of the world

- Beliefs provide organization & certainty in a seemingly chaotic & unpredictable world

- Belief in reincarnation helps with making sense of injustice or suffering

Study on belief in Hell

Belief in Hell associated with lower crime rates in several countries

Death affirming cultures

Cultures that handle the idea of death well & are more accepting of death; views death as merely a transition, involves more celebrations related to death & death rituals

Example of death affirming cultures

Most Eastern cultures

Death denying/defying cultures

Cultures with great aversion to the idea of dying; often equates death of the body with the death of the self

Example of death denying/defying cultures

Most Western cultures

Relationship between death anxiety & death denying/defying cultures

Death anxiety is higher is death denying/defying cultures; death anxiety also related to religion & afterlife beliefs

Explanation for relationship between death anxiety & death denying/defying cultures

When emotions (e.g anxiety) is suppressed this amplifies their effects; becomes maladaptive

Study on relationship between beliefs & death anxiety in 3 countries

Fear of death is highest in Abrahamic religions (Islam, then Christianity), followed by Eastern religions; non religious belief was associated with the least death anxiety

Relationship between religious belief & death anxiety

Religious belief is positively correlated with death anxiety

Meta analysis of studies on relationship between religion & death anxiety

Evidence of both positive & negative correlations between religiosity & death

Relationship between intrinsic religiosity & death anxiety

Intrinsic religiosity is negatively correlated with death anxiety; religiosity is driven by internal needs & sincere motives

Relationship between extrinsic religiosity & death anxiety

Extrinsic religiosity is positively correlated with death anxiety; religiosity is driven by external pressures or reinforcements

Explanation for relationship between intrinsic religiosity & death anxiety

Religious belief mitigates death anxiety; consistent with terror management theory (TMT), religion is a worldview

Explanation for relationship between extrinsic religiosity & death anxiety

Death anxiety motivates religious belief; consistent with terror management theory (TMT), religious belief is motivated by the fear of death

Relationship between Atheism & death anxiety

Strong worldviews reduce death anxiety; atheists have strong beliefs & experience reduced death anxiety

Study on secure attachment to God & death anxiety

Secure attachment to God is associated with decreased death anxiety over time; greater religious commitment associated with less death anxiety

Study on expectations in the afterlife & death anxiety

The expectation of reward vs. punishment in the afterlife is associated with death anxiety; not purely belief in an afterlife

Study on relationship between religiosity, belief in an afterlife, & death anxiety

Not straightforward; degree of involvement in religion can affect belief in an afterlife, which influences death anxiety

Death apprehension theory (DAT)

Belief in an afterlife can contribute to death anxiety; due to uncertainty over the outcome

4 factors that affect the fear of death in death apprehension theory (DAT)

1. Belief in a demanding & vindictive God

2. Certainty about the reality of an afterlife

3. Obedience to religious teachings

4. Certainty of divine forgiveness

If factors 1 & 2 are high (death apprehension theory [DAT])

High fear of death; due to uncertainty over the outcome

If factors 3 & 4 are also high (death apprehension theory [DAT])

Fear of death is mitigated; due to reduced uncertainity

Study on role of pleasant vs. unpleasant afterlife beliefs in mental health disorders (anxiety disorders, depression, OCD, & paranoid ideation)

- Pleasant beliefs associated with reduced symptoms of mental disorder; e.g union with God, reunion with loved ones in afterlife

- Unpleasant beliefs associated with increased symptoms of mental disorder; e.g being reincarnated as another life form (not human), the afterlife being unpleasant

Cross cultural beliefs about what tasks must be done after a death

- The corpse is disposed of

- The bereaved as shocked & socially disoriented; must be helped to reorient

- The whole group requires a known way of readjusting; e.g funeral

Relationship between death & emotionality

Death is universally associated with emotionality the bereaved most commonly cry; fear & anger are also universal expressions

Relationship between culture & grieving

Culture influences, shapes, limits & defines grieving; most cultures provide opportunities for grieving in rites of mourning

Cultural differences in grieving & mourning

The amount of time & space given to formal rituals & the expression of feelings varies across cultures

Individualistic cultures

Focus on uniqueness, independence, agency & value identity & self enhancement

Examples of highly individualistic cultures

Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, & the US

Examples of moderately individualistic cultures

Argentina, Iceland, India, Japan, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, & Ukraine

Collectivistic cultures

Focus on relationships & communion & values community/social harmony/reciprocity & selflessness

Examples of collectivistic cultures

Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, & South Korea

Research on emotional expressivity across cultures

Greater emotional expressivity on a daily basis in individualistic cultures; collectivistic cultures are higher in restraint or suppression

Study on bereaved adults in the US vs. China

More intense mourning rituals in China; despite being higher in emotional restraint; greater emotional expressivity is not correlated to greater emotional processing following a loss

Findings on bereaved Chinese adults

- Had a more acute pattern of grieving during earlier months; more distress & poorer perceived health

- More rapid recovery; lower distress 18 months post loss

- Greater levels of grief processing early on & ways of accepting the death

How collectivistic cultures see funerals

View funerals as opportunities for social bonding & grand celebration; greater importance placed on community

How individualistic cultures see funerals

View funerals as opportunities for mourning; more private & solemn

Study on mourning practices in the US (European Americans & African Americans), & Akan culture (West Africa)

African American culture retained some elements of African culture & traditions at the end of life; challenges: differences in length of mourning & cultural expectations

There is a lack of understanding on the psychological impact of...

Cultural practices in death & mourning

Highly traumatic stressors of European colonization for Indigenous people

- Genocide

- New disease

- Loss of land & culture

- Criminalization of culture

- Forced assimilation

Transgenerational trauma

Trauma passed down through generations

Transgenerational grief

Grief passed down through generations

Explanation for transgenerational trauma & grief

The trauma of Indigenous people is often ongoing; they continue to endure disadvantages, also vicarious trauma (e.g from stories of trauma) & untreated PTSD

Social issues that historical unresolved grief contributes to

- High rates of suicide

- High rates of homicide

- Domestic violence

- Child abuse

- Alcoholism

Factors that place Indigenous people at increased risk of complicated/traumatic grief

- Rates of mortality & death by suicide

- History of multiple stressors from the effects of colonization & forced assimilation

- Loss of language & culture

Residential school system

Contributes to the traumatic grief of Indigenous people

Relationship between the discovery of unmarked graves & the traumatic grief of Indigenous people

The discovery of unmarked graves worsens traumatic grief

How the cycle of continuous grieving of Indigenous people affects them

Places them at high risk for complicated grief

Explanation for how unresolved grief transmits across generations

Presence of learned helplessness

Ways Indigenous burial grounds are disrupted

Archaeological digs & excavations; treated as scientific data & property

How disruption of Indigenous burial sites affects grieving practices

Disrupts funeral rituals & afterlife beliefs of Indigenous cultures; e.g may interfere with the deceased's process of making it to the afterlife

Relationship between African American college students & traumatic grief

African Americans are higher in traumatic grief than White peers