MORTALITY SALIENCE AND CONSUMER RISK TAKING: STRIVING FOR PERSONAL CONTROL AND SELF-ESTEEM
Open Access
Author:
Atalay, Ayse Selin
Graduate Program:
Business Administration
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
February 12, 2007
Committee Members:
Johann Baumgartner, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Margaret Grace Meloy, Committee Chair/Co-Chair William T Ross, Committee Member Melvin Michael Mark, Committee Member Anna S Mattila, Committee Member
Keywords:
risk taking need for control need for self esteem terror management risk aversion consumer decision making mortality salience
Abstract:
From a terror management perspective, this thesis argues that mortality salience (MS) causes consumers to become risk averse. Two mediators (the need for personal control and self-esteem striving) and a moderator (self-esteem relevance of the outcome of the risk) of this relationship are proposed. Three experiments show that MS leads to greater risk aversion, but allowing individuals to acquire control or to acquire self-esteem reduces the effect. A fourth study examines a boundary condition and looks at the effect of the self-esteem relevance of the risk on the risky choice. The research provides insights into how today’s consumers deal with existential anxiety in risky choice settings.
