Expectation violation reduces the accessibility of implicit suicidal concepts and explicit life concepts.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Terror Management Theory posits that threats to cultural worldviews increase death concept accessibility. Suicide and death concepts are related and jointly represent the fear of life. Threats to cultural worldviews may similarly increase suicide concept accessibility. This study situates worldview threats within the broader context of expectation violation and investigates its impact on both implicit and explicit suicide concept accessibility.

Methods

Four experiments were conducted to examine this relationship. Expectancy violation was induced by violating the stated purpose of an intelligence test, challenging established beliefs about evolution, and presenting logically incoherent sentences. Implicit concept accessibility was assessed using a lexical decisio

SUBMITTER: Liu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12568519 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature