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International Journal of Intercultural Relations 34 (2010) 436–451

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International Journal of Intercultural Relations

journa l homepage: www.e lsev ier .com/ locate / i j in t re l

Terror management and acculturation: Do thoughts of death affect theacculturation attitudes of receiving society members?

Darcy R. Dupuis !, Saba SafdarUniversity of Guelph, Psychology Department, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Accepted 16 April 2010

Keywords:Terror Management TheoryMortality salienceAcculturation attitudesImmigration

a b s t r a c t

According to terror management theory, cognitive processes related to the awareness ofone’s own mortality can often exacerbate negative reactions to the presence, or to themere existence, of individuals who hold divergent worldviews. The goal of this study wasto explore whether symbolic terror management processes can have an effect on receiv-ing society members’ acculturation attitudes toward distinct immigrant groups. In thisstudy, following a manipulation of mortality salience (MS), a measure was taken of Anglo-Canadian receiving society members’ acculturation attitudes toward either culturally close(British) or culturally distant (Arab-Muslim) immigrants. The effects of MS on attitudes ofAnglo-Canadians were measured using the Relative Acculturation Extended Model (RAEM).MS was hypothesized to lead to higher separation and lower assimilation toward Britishimmigrants and higher assimilation and lower separation toward Arab-Muslim immigrants.The hypotheses were partially supported. MS led to a greater desire for separation and lesserdesire for assimilation of British immigrants. MS led to a greater desire for assimilation ofArab-Muslim immigrants within the family relations domain of acculturation. The effectsof terror management processes on acculturation attitudes are discussed primarily withinthe context of Canadian society, with implications for other societal settings.

© 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Although the majority of studies examining acculturation attitudes and strategies have been carried out with immigrantgroups in particular, successful acculturation depends also on how the immigrant group and their cultural habits are wel-comed by members of the receiving society (Berry, 2006; Bourhis, Moïse, Perreault, & Senecal., 1997; Esses, Wagner, Wolf,Preiser, & Wilbur, 2006; Navas et al., 2005; Piontkowski, Florack, Hoelker, & Obdrzalek, 2000). Recent research confirms that,even in multicultural societies, receiving society members often demonstrate varying acculturation attitudes or expectationstoward immigrant groups of distinct ethnic origins (e.g., Montreuil & Bourhis, 2001; Montreuil & Bourhis, 2004; Navas, Rojas,Garcia, Pumares, 2007; Safdar, Dupuis, Lewis, El-Geledi, & Bourhis, 2008). In particular, less welcoming attitudes have beenobserved toward relatively culturally distant immigrant groups, as compared with those groups of cultural backgroundcloser to that of the receiving society. Given the recurrence of similar findings across diverse receiving societies, furtherexploration of these discrepant expectations is warranted.

A range of speculative accounts have been set forth to explain such preferential attitudes. For example, more accommo-dating acculturation attitudes toward those groups that are culturally close to the receiving society have been explained by

! Corresponding author.E-mail address: ddupuis@uoguelph.ca (D.R. Dupuis).

0147-1767/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2010.04.006

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citing a tendency for individuals to value groups whose culture and language are comparatively similar to that of the receiv-ing society, and to devalue those groups whose culture and language are distinct (e.g., Bourhis & Dayan, 2004; Montreuil& Bourhis, 2001; Montreuil & Bourhis, 2004; Montreuil, Bourhis, & Vanbeselaere, 2004). Esses, Dovidio, and Hodson (2002)offer that societal trends and significant events can affect attitudes toward immigrants by way of symbolic threat. For exam-ple, attitudes toward certain immigrant groups in the U.S. may have been negatively affected in the aftermath of the attackson September 11, 2001, via media portrayals of the events as an assault on the symbols and values central to a Westernlifestyle and ideology. Furthermore, Montreuil and colleagues (2004) indicate that groups low in cultural, linguistic, andpolitical security may be more inclined to feel threatened by immigrants in general. Despite some speculation, however,there seems to be a lack of research empirically examining whether symbolic threats can have direct effects on acculturationattitudes among receiving society members.

Although it has not received considerable attention in the acculturation literature, Terror Management Theory (TMT;Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) offers a compelling and heavily researched account of cultural threat that maybe valuable to an understanding of symbolic processes affecting acculturation attitudes. According to TMT, the maintenanceof a culturally derived worldview serves as a symbolic buffer against the potential for anxiety associated with the conceptof death (Rosenblatt, Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszczynski, & Lyon, 1989). One common way to gain support for one’s culturalworldview is to seek consensus among those around us. Thus, the presence of cultural groups perceived as distinct fromone’s own may serve to undermine confidence in one’s own worldview. Thoughts of death have consistently been found toexacerbate negative reactions to the presence, or to the mere existence, of individuals who hold worldviews that divergefrom one’s own (e.g., Greenberg et al., 1990; Rosenblatt et al., 1989). In contrast, thoughts of death have been found to leadto greater affinity toward those individuals who share, and thus provide support for, one’s own worldview.

With theory grounded in the terror management literature, we propose that the activation of thoughts of mortalitymay have differential effects on the acculturation attitudes held by receiving society members toward culturally close andculturally distant immigrant groups. Specifically, under conditions of heightened mortality salience (MS) individuals shouldreject the presence of cultures that are threatening to their own cultural worldview and nurture those cultures that bolstertheir worldview.

Thoughts of death may be particularly salient following specific events, such as the attacks on the World Trade Center onSeptember 11, 2001, or in certain locales, such as impoverished or war torn countries. Furthermore, it is possible that certainimmigrant groups may evoke thoughts of death based on media propagated portrayals of their home countries or heritagecultures as being associated with mortality cues. More generally, thoughts related to mortality are a fundamental aspect ofliving, profoundly affecting all people in all societies. As TMT currently offers the most compelling account of individuals’reactions toward others when faced with thoughts of mortality, it is important to explore its applicability to acculturationattitudes.

2. Terror Management Theory

2.1. TMT and its origins

Drawing extensively from the work of Ernest Becker (e.g., Becker, 1971, 1973, 1975), TMT was first conceptualized inthe literature by Greenberg et al. (1986). The theory maintains that “cultural conceptions of reality serve the vital functionof buffering the anxiety that results from awareness of human vulnerability and mortality” (Rosenblatt et al., 1989, p. 681).At its core, TMT provides a basis for understanding the motivational forces central to the maintenance and defense of ourculturally derived notions of reality (Rosenblatt et al., 1989).

Central to TMT is the argument that our drive for self-preservation, coupled with the uniquely human capacity to under-stand that we will inevitably fail to survive, has shaped the potential for overwhelming anxiety (Solomon, Greenberg, &Pyszczynski, 1998). According to TMT, culture developed in part to manage the potential for anxiety-laden responses to ourunique awareness of mortality (Liechty, 1998; Solomon et al., 1998).

2.2. The dual-component cultural anxiety buffer

Culturally derived worldviews provide individuals with systems of meaning and standards to uphold. Living up to suchstandards enables individuals to perceive themselves as valuable beings in a meaningful world (Pyszczynski, Solomon, &Greenberg, 2003; Solomon et al., 1998). The dual-component cultural anxiety buffer, which is composed of one’s culturallyderived worldview and self-esteem (Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & Solomon, 1999), is hypothesized to suppress the potential foranxiety associated with thoughts of mortality. The maintenance of a culturally derived worldview provides individuals with aset of standards from which a sense of personal value and significance can be achieved (Rosenblatt et al., 1989). Faith in one’sworldview “imbues reality with order, stability, meaning, and permanence” (Pyszczynski et al., 2003, p. 16). Self-esteem isconceptualized in the terror management literature as the perception of the degree to which one is meeting or exceedingexpectations derived from the standards and values held within one’s culturally derived worldview (Harmon-Jones, Simon,Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1997).

As the maintenance of a cultural worldview is theorized to buffer against the potential anxiety associated with death,it follows that, when thoughts of mortality are salient, there should be an increased tendency to bolster aspects of one’s

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worldview and defend one’s worldview against threats (Greenberg et al., 1990; Pyszczynski et al., 2003). A large amount ofsupport for the mortality salience hypothesis can be found throughout the TMT literature (e.g., Florian & Mikulincer, 1997;Hirschberger, Ein-Dor, & Almakias, 2008; McGregor et al., 1998; Pyszczynski et al., 2006; Rosenblatt et al., 1989; Walsh &Smith, 2007). For example, Rosenblatt and colleagues (1989) hypothesized that municipal court judges in the U.S., for whomthe law was surmised to be an essential worldview component, would uphold the law more severely when mortality wassalient by making more severe judgements against a lawbreaker. Those judges who received a MS prime were found to seta higher average bond for alleged prostitution ($455) than judges in a control group ($50).

2.3. Worldview defense

As culturally derived worldviews develop uniquely for each individual, they are inherently fragile symbolic constructs(Pyszczynski et al., 2006). Thus, continual validation of one’s worldview is necessarily undertaken in order to maintainconfidence in one’s conception of reality. Validation is often accomplished by seeking consensus with one’s own worldviewamong the worldviews of similar others in one’s social environment.

Conversely, encountering the divergent worldviews of others can serve as a reminder that one’s own worldview may notbe without error (Pyszczynski et al., 2003; Solomon et al., 1998). Individuals often exhibit a tendency to actively bolster thelegitimacy of their own worldview by distancing, derogating, or reacting otherwise defensively toward salient others whohold opposing worldviews (Greenberg et al., 1990; McGregor et al., 1998; Rosenblatt et al., 1989; Solomon et al., 1998). Forexample, Greenberg et al. (1990) found that Christian college students who experienced a MS induction tended to have morepositive reactions toward another Christian person and more negative reactions toward a Jewish person, as compared witha non-MS control group. Similarly, Tam, Chiu, and Lau (2007) found that, individuals who were given a MS prime displayedmore bias and allocated more resources toward members of their ingroup than toward members of an outgroup.

3. Acculturation

A popular definition of acculturation (e.g., Berry, 2003; Kang, 2006; Rudmin, 2003) attributed to Redfield, Linton, andHerskovits (1936) states that “acculturation comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of individuals havingdifferent cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of eitheror both groups” (p. 149). Psychological acculturation involves changes for the individual, which may include adjustmentsin values, beliefs, attitudes, identity, and behavior (Sam, 2006). Research now clearly supports the view that immigrationinvolves a “complex pattern of continuity and change” (Berry, 1997, p. 6) rather than a complete maintenance of heritageculture or a complete shift to the culture of the new societal setting.

The formulation of the Acculturation Model (Berry, Kim, Power, Young, & Bujaki, 1989) has had, and continues to have, amajor impact on theory and research in the area of acculturation (e.g., Bourhis et al., 1997; Florack, Piontkowski, Rohmann,Balzer, & Perzig, 2003; Navas et al., 2005). Berry and colleagues’ model presents two basic dimensions important to theunderstanding of the process of acculturation. The first dimension involves the degree to which immigrants desire to maintainaspects of their heritage culture. The second dimension involves the extent to which it is desirable for immigrants to developcontacts with members of the receiving society.

Berry and colleagues’ (1989) original two dimensions have been criticized for measuring two different types ofattitudes—involving the value of one’s heritage culture and the value of outgroup contact, respectively (Bourhis et al., 1997). Inorder to enhance consistency between the two dimensions, Bourhis and colleagues place the emphasis of the second dimen-sion on the degree to which it is desirable for immigrants to adopt the receiving society’s culture, rather than the degreeto which it is desirable for immigrants to pursue contact with receiving society members. More recent models have alsoadopted this formulation (e.g., Navas and colleagues, 2007, 2005). The two dimensions form a bidimensional view of accul-turation, which makes possible the formation of four separate acculturation strategies for immigrant groups—integration,assimilation, separation, and marginalization. Integration takes place when immigrants maintain aspects of their heritageculture while also adopting aspects of the receiving society’s culture. The assimilation strategy occurs when immigrantsadopt the culture of the receiving society and reject their heritage culture. Separation involves the maintenance of immi-grants’ heritage culture and the rejection of the receiving society’s culture. Marginalization occurs when immigrants neitherretain their heritage culture nor adopt the culture of the receiving society.

3.1. Acculturation attitudes of receiving society members

Until recently, the majority of research conducted in the area of acculturation has focused primarily on the acculturationstrategies of immigrants (Berry, 2006; Bourhis et al., 1997; Montreuil & Bourhis, 2004; Piontkowski et al., 2000). However,as immigrant groups and receiving societies do not operate in isolation, there must be concern with the acculturationexpectations held by receiving society members (Berry, 2003; Horenczyk, 1996). According to Navas and colleagues’ (2005)Relative Acculturation Extended Model (RAEM), the acculturation attitudes of receiving society members coincide with theabove four acculturation strategies for immigrants, but refer instead to expectations for the target immigrant group.

The majority status of receiving society individuals often means that they, as a group, are in a position of power relativeto immigrant minorities (Piontkowski et al., 2000). Thus, the attitudes they hold may often affect the facility with which

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immigrants are able to maintain aspects of their heritage culture and adopt aspects of the receiving society’s culture. Acontrast between the preferred acculturation strategies of an immigrant group and the acculturation expectations receivingsociety members hold toward the immigrant group (e.g., the receiving society adopts an assimilationist perspective whereasthe immigrant group wishes to remain separate) can lead to problematic or conflictual relationships (Bourhis et al., 1997).As explained by Bourhis and colleagues, when the acculturation attitudes of an immigrant group and a receiving society arecongruent (e.g., both groups desire assimilation or both groups desire integration), the relationship is considered consensual,and positive relations are more likely to result.

Attitudes toward immigrants can have direct effects on immigrants through intergroup contact (Bourhis et al., 1997;Piontkowski et al., 2000). Jasinskaja-Lahti, Liebkind, Horenczyk, and Schmitz (2003) indicate that discrepancies betweenimmigrants’ acculturation preferences and the expectations of the receiving society are associated with higher perceiveddiscrimination and greater stress among immigrants. Safdar and colleagues (e.g., Safdar, Lay & Struthers, 2003; Safdar & Lewis,2007; Safdar, Rasmi, Dupuis, & Lewis, in press) have found that discrimination and other acculturation-specific hassles areassociated with psychological and physical health outcomes.

Receiving society members can also have an impact on the adaptation of immigrants by exerting an influence on a nation’sadoption of immigration and integration policies (Bourhis et al., 1997; Bourhis & Dayan, 2004). Immigration policies involvedecisions regarding the amount of tolerable immigration, the type of immigrants desired, and the nationalities of immigrants.Integration policies involve the approach a nation adopts for helping immigrants adjust within the receiving society.

In order to measure acculturation attitudes of the receiving society, Navas and colleagues (2005) have recently developedthe Relative Acculturation Extended Model (RAEM). This model uses the four acculturation attitudes (integration, assim-ilation, separation, and marginalization), as derived from measurement along two dimensions (maintenance of heritageculture and adoption of receiving society’s culture). Crossing the dimensions provides a relative score for each of the fouracculturation attitudes in bidimensional space. The RAEM also includes separate measures of the individual’s perception ofthe real situation, or the degree to which strategies are perceived to be adopted by immigrants in actuality, and the idealsituation, which measures attitudes regarding the preferred acculturation of immigrants.

Furthermore, in accord with the research of Arends-Toth and Van de Vijver (2006, 2007), Navas and colleagues (2005)acknowledge that acculturation attitudes are complex and should vary across life domains. The RAEM outlines seven specificdomains of acculturation: (1) political and government system; (2) labour or work; (3) consumer habits and family economy;(4) religious beliefs and customs; (5) ways of thinking (principles and values); (6) social relations; and (7) family relations.

3.1.1. Acculturation attitudes and cultural distance in Canadian societyFirst becoming a multicultural society in 1971, multicultural policy in Canada was further supported by the Multicultural

Act of 1988, which stands for the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage amongst Canadian citizens (Jansen,2005). Because of multiculturalism’s importance in Canada, it is likely that a multicultural ideology has, to some extent,become entrenched within the worldviews of individual Canadians. In fact, Bourhis and colleagues (1997), state that pluralistintegration policies, such as Canada’s Multiculturalism Act of 1988, can have an influence on the acculturation attitudes heldby receiving society members.

However, research has recurrently found that Canadian receiving society members accept different immigrant groups tovarying degrees based on their ethno-cultural origins (e.g., Montreuil & Bourhis, 2001; Montreuil & Bourhis, 2004; Safdar et al.,2008). For example, Montreuil and Bourhis (2001) found that Francophones in Quebec hold more welcoming attitudes towardFrench speaking immigrants from France as compared with French speaking immigrants from Haiti. Montreuil and Bourhis(2004) found that Quebec Anglophones expressed more welcoming acculturation attitudes toward British immigrants thantoward Indo-Pakistani Sikh immigrants. Similarly, Safdar and colleagues (2008) found that Anglo-Canadian receiving societymembers in Ontario indicated more welcoming acculturation attitudes toward culturally close British immigrants thantoward culturally distant Arab-Muslim immigrants.

4. Terror management and acculturation attitudes of the receiving society

4.1. Threat and immigration

Although threats specifically related to mortality concerns and worldview defense have not received a good deal ofattention in the acculturation attitudes literature, the effects of other types of threat have been studied to some extent.Realistic threats, such as competition for economic resources, have been found to be related to more negative attitudestoward immigrants (Esses et al., 2002; Esses, Jackson, & Armstrong, 1998; Zagefka, Brown, Broquard, & Martin, 2007).Montreuil and colleagues (2004) surmise that groups low in cultural, linguistic, and political security, as compared withmore secure groups, may feel more threatened by immigrants in general. Esses et al. (2002) indicate that symbolic threatsmay also affect attitudes toward immigrant groups. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, for example, the media tendedto portray the tragic events as an attack on the symbols and values central to a Western lifestyle and ideology. According toEsses and colleagues (2002), the attacks on America were likely to have led some members of Western society to “limit theopportunities of other groups in an attempt to achieve or maintain positive group esteem and value” (p. 76). The catastrophicevents and the subsequent measures taken by the U.S. were noted, for example, to have had an impact on a large populationof Arab individuals in Dearborn, Michigan—a city well-known for having a large concentration of Arab immigrants:

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As the Bush administration’s “War on Terror” expands. . .Arab Detroit’s rich history of domestic integration andtransnational connection is being truncated, questioned, re-politicized, Americanized, and selectively erased. Thisradical transformation is rooted in anxiety about boundaries: Arabs and Muslims are clearly “in Detroit.” with “us,”but their hearts might still be “over there,” with “them.” (Howell & Shryock, 2003, p. 444)

From a TMT perspective, the defensive reaction toward the perceived attack on Western values may be related to aneed for individuals to defend the worth of their culturally derived worldviews in the face of the then ubiquitous mortalitycues—especially with intercultural conflict so inextricably linked with those cues (cf., Pyszczynski et al., 2003).

MS appears to present a unique kind of symbolic threat that may be prevalent to varying degrees in diverse social con-texts. It can be persistent in a given society—for example, in countries plagued by war, natural disaster, or disease—or canbe characteristic of a specific time period, such as that following the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11,2001. Furthermore, the concept of death may be attached to a specific stigmatized immigrant group, such as Arab-Muslimswho continue to bear the unfortunate association with suicide bombings. In certain social contexts, MS may therefore havea greater potential impact on acculturation attitudes. Generally, however, mortality is a fundamental aspect of living, pro-foundly affecting all people in all societies. As TMT currently offers the most compelling account of individuals’ cognitive andbehavioral reactions toward others when faced with thoughts of death, an examination of the effects of terror managementprocesses on acculturation attitudes may reveal an important route through which symbolic cultural processes can affectthe degree to which culturally close and culturally distant immigrant groups experience differential degrees of acceptanceand rejection.

4.2. Selection of target immigrant groups

As this study involved attitudes held by Anglo-Canadian receiving society members toward culturally close and culturallydistant immigrant groups, we selected British immigrants to represent a culturally close group and Arab-Muslim immigrantsto represent a culturally distant group. Differences in religious ideology, language, cultural symbols, and shared historyserved as core criteria for cultural distance. Cross-cultural differences on Hofstede’s (2001) value dimensions were alsoobserved as a measured indication of cultural distance. Researchers have suggested that these dimensions may be useful forunderstanding intercultural encounters (Hofstede, 2001; Redmond, 2000).

As the Canadian way of life was initially shaped by the institutions and culture of the early British settlers (Winter,2007), many aspects of Canadian living remain tied to British culture. The influence of the British is still observable, forexample, in many Canadian symbols such as provincial flags and Canadian coinage (Hiller, 2000). Although various groupsmay have been selected to represent a culturally distant group, continued tensions between the West and the Middle East,and the resultant Western animosity held toward Arab-Muslims in particular (e.g., Gerges, 2003; Moore, 2002; Park, Felix, &Lee, 2007; Rowatt, Franklin, & Cotton, 2005), makes acculturation attitudes toward Arab-Muslim immigrants a particularlyimportant research concern.

4.3. Hypotheses

Based on the view that mortality salience should lead individuals to seek support for their worldview and defend theirworldview against threats (e.g., Pyszczynski et al., 2003), we expected that MS should lead to support for worldview-consistent cultures and suppression of worldview-inconsistent cultures. Thus, among receiving society members, MS shouldlead to a preference for immigrants to maintain or adopt aspects of culture supportive of the receiving society individual’sown worldview. In contrast, we expect that MS should lead to a preference, among receiving society members, for immigrantsto reject aspects of culture that conflict with the receiving society individual’s own worldview.

Among Anglo-Canadian receiving society members, MS should lead to a decreased preference for Arab-Muslims to main-tain aspects of their heritage, as maintenance of their heritage culture may be perceived as a threat to an Anglo-Canadianworldview. By contrast, when mortality is salient a heightened preference for Arab-Muslims to adopt Canadian culture isexpected. As Arab-Muslims’ conformity to Canadian cultural practices should serve to legitimize the culture, adoption shouldbolster the worldviews of receiving society members. Combining the expected effects for these two dimensions, accultura-tion attitudes toward Arab-Muslim immigrants should shift toward assimilation and away from separation. As shifts towardor away from integration and marginalization should each include one worldview protecting and one worldview threateningchange in attitude, we hypothesized no MS induced effects on these two acculturation attitudes.

Because of its closeness to an Anglo-Canadian worldview, British culture is expected to support the worldviews of Anglo-Canadian receiving society members. Therefore, when mortality is salient, there should be a greater tendency to prefer thatBritish immigrants maintain their heritage culture. For the cultural adoption dimension, one might assume that MS shouldinduce a shift toward receiving culture adoption, as this would indicate support for the Canadian worldview. However, ifBritish culture serves to bolster the Anglo-Canadian worldview, the capacity for that worldview to remain stable among theBritish in Canadian society may be construed as more supportive of an Anglo-Canadian worldview. As a Canadian culturemay be construed as somewhat ambiguous (Sumara, Davis, & Laidlaw, 2001), and may not be specifically representativeof Anglo-Canadian’s worldviews, the broadly conceived Canadian culture may not be thought of as fully consistent withAnglo-Canadians’ own worldviews. Thus, imposing aspects of Canadian culture on British immigrants may be perceivedas interfering with an already worldview bolstering ideology. Contrasting with the hypotheses for Arab-Muslim target

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immigrants, combining expectations for British immigrants on the two dimensions leads to the prospect of a shift awayfrom assimilation and toward separation when mortality is salient. Again, as shifts in integration and marginalization wouldeach include one worldview protecting and one worldview threatening change in attitude, they should remain relativelystable.

The above hypotheses comprehensively cover the expectations with respect to acculturation attitudes in general.Although each of Navas and colleagues’ (2005) life domains refers to a different aspect of living, we expected correspondingMS effects on each of (1) labour or work, (2) consumer habits and family economy, (3) religious beliefs and customs, (4) waysof thinking (principles and values), (5) social relations, and (6) family relations. As hypothesized by TMT, another group’scultural perspective within any domain should be similarly threatening inasmuch as it is conceived as divergent from theindividual’s own worldview. It is possible that larger effects may occur within domains for which greater divergence isperceived; however, as we did not measure perceived cultural divergence, specific hypotheses were not made.

Furthermore, MS effects should be specific to attitudes toward immigrants’ acculturation. That is, there should be no MSeffects on perception of actual acculturation experienced by immigrants. The expected null effects of MS on real situationacculturation should therefore provide some support for the uniqueness of effects on acculturation attitudes.

Hypothesis 1a. MS will lead to lower endorsement of ideal assimilation held toward British immigrants.

Hypothesis 1b. MS will lead to higher endorsement of ideal assimilation held toward Arab-Muslim immigrants.

Hypothesis 2a. MS will lead to higher endorsement of ideal separation held toward British immigrants.

Hypothesis 2b. MS will lead to lower endorsement of ideal separation held toward Arab-Muslim immigrants.

Hypothesis 3. MS will not lead to shifts in ideal integration or ideal marginalization toward British or Arab-Muslimimmigrants.

Hypothesis 4. MS will not lead to shifts in perception of acculturation in the real situation for either British or Arab-Muslimtarget immigrants groups

4.4. A Caveat Regarding Multiculturalism in Canada

As this research is intended to explore a complex application of TMT, it should be acknowledged that there exists somepotential for alternative findings. In addition to acknowledging efforts to remove the threat of alternative worldviews, TMTposits that individuals should exhibit an increased tendency to live up to their own cultural worldview when mortality issalient (Greenberg, Simon, Pyszczynski, Solomon, & Chatel, 1992). A mitigation or a reversal of the expected effects towardculturally distant immigrants may be observed in the possible instance that a tolerant multicultural ideology is activatedwhen mortality is salient. Because of multiculturalism’s importance in Canada, it is likely that a multicultural ideology has, tosome extent, become entrenched within the worldviews of Canadians. If multiculturalism is an important part of Canadians’worldviews, it may potentially mitigate a need for individuals to guard against competing cultural worldviews held byculturally distant immigrants. Support for this notion comes from a study by Greenberg et al. (1992) in which MS causedconservatives to react negatively toward a worldview-threatening other, whereas liberals became more tolerant whenmortality was salient. This possibility should have no bearing, however, on attitudes toward culturally close immigrants.

5. Method

This study used a 2 " 2 design with two between-subject independent variables: MS (mortality vs. control) and targetgroup (Arab-Muslim immigrants vs. British immigrants). Undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned toeither a MS prime or a control prime condition and were subsequently asked to complete one of two versions of the RAEMscale targeting either British immigrants or Arab-Muslim immigrants.

5.1. Participants

Participants were 190 university students, recruited from an undergraduate psychology course at the University ofGuelph. Individuals were asked to participate in this study only if they were born in Canada. One participant who didnot meet this inclusion criterion was excluded from the analyses. Of the remaining 189 participants, 151 (81.1%) werefemale. The mean age was 19.71 (SD = 1.50). Across all groups, participants generally indicated that they were either Chris-tian (53.8%) or that they were not religious (35.5%). The majority of participants indicated their ethnic origin as Canadian orEuropean-Canadian (94.1%). No participants indicated that they were of Arab and/or of Muslim background.

5.2. Procedure and materials

The study was conducted at the Centre for Cross-Cultural Research at the University of Guelph in paper and pencil format.In groups of two to ten, participants were given information about task completion and were then given time to fill out thequestionnaire package. The contents and the order of the questionnaire package are described below.

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5.2.1. Demographics and filler questionnairesParticipants were asked to complete a demographics form followed by a series of filler questionnaires intended to disguise

the MS prime and the true purpose of the study.

5.2.2. Mortality salience manipulationFollowing the methods established by TMT researchers, mortality was made salient by asking participants to complete

two open-ended questions concerning thoughts regarding death (Greenberg et al., 1990). Participants were informed thatthe questions were part of a new measure to assess personality (Rosenblatt et al., 1989). The questions were: “Please brieflydescribe the emotions that the thought of your own death arouses in you” and “Jot down, as specifically as you can, whatyou think will happen to you as you physically die and once you are physically dead” (Landau et al., 2004).

As in previous studies, participants in the control group were asked to complete two open-ended questions related tofailure on an exam (e.g., Pyszczynski, Greenberg, Solomon, Arndt, & Schimel, 2004; Routledge, Arndt, Sedikides, & Wildschut,2008). The questions for the control group were: “Please briefly describe the emotions that the thought of failing an examarouses in you” and “Jot down, as specifically as you can, what you think will happen to you as you experience failing anexam and once you have experienced failing an exam.”

5.2.3. Delay and distractionAccording to TMT, in response to MS, a two-stage process of defense occurs in the temporal order of proximal defenses

followed by distal defenses (Pyszczynski et al., 1999). When death-related thoughts are functioning at a conscious level,proximal defenses are activated. These defenses are believed to be focused directly and more deliberately on the threat ofdeath. Distal defenses, which are indirect and symbolic, are activated when death-related thoughts are present outside ofconscious awareness. Worldview defense is expected to occur at this stage. In accord with procedures outlined in past terrormanagement research, a word-search puzzle and the 60-item Positive and Negative Affective Schedule-Expanded Form(PANAS-X; Watson & Clark, 1991) served as a delay and distraction period prior to the dependent measure (e.g., Landauet al., 2004; Maxfield et al., 2007). The word search puzzle, consisted of finding and circling 12 death-neutral words (e.g.,paper, computer). The PANAS-X comprises 60 words and phrases depicting different emotions. On a 5-point Likert scale,participants were to indicate the degree to which each word describes their present emotional state. As in past studies, thePANAS-X was also used to assess whether MS was accompanied by an affective response (e.g., Landau et al., 2004).

ANOVAs conducted on the positive and negative scales of the PANAS-X revealed that negative affect did not differ betweenthe MS and control conditions. There was, however, a small difference in positive affect between the MS and control condi-tions, F(1, 184) = 7.47, p < .01, !2

p = .04. Examination of the means indicated that positive affect was higher in the MS condition(M = 2.70) than in the control condition (M = 2.39). However, as positive affect was not correlated with the acculturationdomains, it was not taken into account as a covariate.

5.2.4. Dependent measureThe dependent variable was the RAEM measure of acculturation attitudes for receiving society members (Navas et al.,

2005). Half of participants received a version of the scale tailored specifically to the Arab-Muslim immigrant target group,whereas the other half received the RAEM for the British immigrant target group.

Items for six domains specified by the RAEM were incorporated. The six domains were: (1) labour and work, (2) consumerhabits and family economy, (3) family, (4) social, (5) religious beliefs and customs, and (6) ways of thinking (principles andvalues). For each domain, participants were asked for their personal opinions with regard to each of the following aspects ofacculturation: (1) ideal maintenance of heritage culture; (2) ideal adoption of receiving society’s culture; (3) real situationmaintenance of heritage culture; and (4) real situation adoption of receiving society’s culture. In total, the measure was24 items in length. Ideal maintenance and adoption combine to form a bidimensional measure of acculturation attitudes.Real situation maintenance and adoption combine to form a bidimensional measure of perception of immigrants’ actualacculturation tendencies. Answers to each question were provided on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from “not at all” to “alot”. After completing all measures, participants were debriefed verbally and were informed that they had been deceived asto the true nature of the study. All participants consented to the use of their data.

5.3. Analysis of the data

Man analyses of MS effects on acculturation attitudes (hypotheses 1–3) were conducted using aggregated scores on the6 items for ideal situation cultural maintenance and aggregated scores on the 6 items for ideal situation cultural adoption.For hypotheses 1 and 2, further analyses on each of the specific domains of acculturation were pursued. Parallel analyseswere conducted on the aggregates of the items measuring perceived real situation acculturation (hypothesis 4). Reliabilitiesfor both British and Arab-Muslim scales within the MS and control conditions were calculated for each of the 6-item idealplane and 6-item real plane RAEM scales (see Table 1).

5.3.1. Hypotheses 1–3To test hypotheses 1–3, 2 " 2 (MS condition [MS vs. control] by target immigrant group [Arab-Muslim vs. British]) factorial

analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were conducted on Euclidean distances from maximal values on each of the four acculturation

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Table 1Cronbach’s alpha, means, and standard deviations of aggregate RAEM dimensions.

Mortality salience Control

Alpha (n) Mean (SD) Alpha (n) Mean (SD)

RAEM (Arab-Muslim)Maintenance (Ideal) .83 (48) 3.45 (.85) .76 (47) 3.70 (.71)Maintenance (Real) .81 (48) 3.76 (.71) .81 (47) 3.70 (.66)Adoption (Ideal) .68 (48) 2.93 (.67) .58 (47) 2.87 (.57)Adoption (Real) .76 (48) 2.71 (.64) .72 (47) 2.80 (.56)

RAEM (British)Maintenance (Ideal) .81 (48) 3.72 (.66) .85 (43) 3.43 (.77)Maintenance (Real) .84 (48) 3.42 (.69) .76 (43) 3.45 (.66)Adoption (Ideal) .75 (48) 2.72 (.65) .78 (43) 3.00 (.74)Adoption (Real) .67 (48) 3.07 (.51) .71 (43) 3.29 (.54)

attitudes (integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization) to obtained aggregate scores on acculturation attitudesin bidimensional space. Thus, four ANOVAs—one for each acculturation attitude—were conducted. The Euclidean distances(length of a straight line) were calculated from the maximal values for each acculturation attitude (e.g., the maximal scoreon assimilation is distinguished by a score of 1 on the maintenance dimension and a score of 5 on the adoption dimension) tothe location in bidimensional space designated by crossing the means of participants’ scores on the dimensions of heritageculture maintenance and receiving cultural adoption (see also Arends-Toth & Van de Vijver, 2007). All analyzed scores aredistances from the maximal score on a given attitude to the obtained mean score in bidimensional space; therefore, smallervalues indicate greater endorsement of the particular attitude. Complete agreement with an acculturation attitude wouldbe indicated by a distance score of 0. Complete disagreement would be indicated by a distance score of 5.66. For a givenacculturation attitude, a significant difference in the Euclidean distance between the MS group and the control group isindicative of a MS effect. Euclidean distances were normally distributed for each of integration, assimilation, separation, andmarginalization.

Further analyses on each of the six specific domains of acculturation were pursued to achieve a more thorough view ofMS effects on assimilation and separation (hypotheses 1 and 2). For each life domain, a 2 " 2 (MS condition [MS vs. control]by target immigrant group [Arab-Muslim vs. British]) factorial ANOVA was conducted on the Euclidean distances betweenthe obtained mean scores in bidimensional space and the maximal score on assimilation (hypothesis 1). The same analyseswere conducted on the Euclidean distances between the obtained mean scores in bidimensional space and the maximalscore on separation (hypothesis 2).

Hypothesis 1 attains support in the instance of an interaction between MS and target immigrant group on distancesfrom obtained acculturation attitude score and the maximal score on assimilation. Specifically, support for hypothesis 1a isindicated by a larger distance score for the British target group in the MS condition versus the control condition, whereassupport for hypothesis 1b is indicated by a smaller distance score for the Arab-Muslim target group in the MS conditionversus in the control condition.

Hypothesis 2 attains support in the instance of an interaction between MS and target immigrant group on distancesfrom obtained acculturation attitude score and the maximal score on separation. Specifically, support for hypothesis 2a isindicated by the observation of a smaller distance score for the British target group in the MS condition versus the controlcondition, whereas support for hypothesis 2b is indicated by observation of larger distance score for the Arab-Muslim targetgroup in the MS condition versus the control condition.

Support for hypothesis 3 is indicated by the absence of an interaction between MS and target immigrant group ondistances from obtained acculturation attitude score and the maximal score on both integration and marginalization. It isalso expected that there will be no main effect of MS for either integration or marginalization.

5.3.2. Hypotheses 4To test hypothesis 4, four 2 " 2 (MS condition [MS vs. control] by target immigrant group [Arab-Muslim vs. British])

ANOVAs were conducted on Euclidean distances for perceived real situation integration, assimilation, separation, andmarginalization.

Support is indicated by the absence of an interaction between MS and target immigrant group on distances from obtainedperception of real situation acculturation score and the maximal score on each acculturation attitude. It is also expected thatthere will be no main effect of MS for each analysis.

6. Results

6.1. Hypotheses 1–3: mortality salience and acculturation attitudes

6.1.1. Hypotheses 1a and 1b: mortality salience effects on assimilationFor assimilation, there was an interaction between MS and target immigrant group, F(1, 185) = 6.55, p = .01, !2

p = .03 (seeFig. 1a). No main effects were observed for MS or for target immigrant group. Tests of simple effects of MS on attitudes

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Fig. 1. (a) The effects of mortality salience and target immigrant group on ideal assimilation. (b) The effects of mortality salience and target immigrantgroup on ideal separation.

toward each target immigrant group were conducted to explore the interaction. There was a significant difference betweenthe means of the MS and the control group for assimilation toward British immigrants, F(1, 185) = 4.90, p < .05, !2

p = .03. Insupport of hypothesis 1a, mean distances from maximal assimilation to obtained scores revealed that individuals endorsedassimilation toward British immigrants to a lesser degree when mortality was salient (M = 3.60) than when mortality wasnot salient (M = 3.23). However, contrary to hypothesis 1b, MS did not have a significant effect on assimilation held towardArab-Muslim immigrants.

Follow up analyses involving each specific domain of acculturation revealed expected MS by target immigrant group inter-actions for the family and the social relationships domains. Fig. 2 (acculturation attitudes toward Arab-Muslim immigrants)and Fig. 3 (acculturation attitudes toward British immigrants) graphically display mean responses within each domain forMS group and control group participants. For assimilation within the domain of family relationships, there was a significantinteraction between MS and target immigrant group, F(1, 185) = 7.30, p < .01, !2

p = .04 (see Fig. 4a). Supporting hypothesis

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Fig. 2. Acculturation attitudes toward Arab-Muslim immigrants. The control group is represented by circles and the mortality salience group is representedby triangles. W, work; E, economic; S, social relationships; F, family relations; R, religious beliefs and customs; T, ways of thinking: principles and values.

1b, individuals endorsed assimilation toward Arab-Muslim immigrants to a greater extent in the MS condition (M = 3.48)than in the control condition (M = 4.02), F(1, 185) = 4.35, p < .05, !2

p = .02. The simple effect on assimilation toward Britishimmigrants was not statistically significant. Additionally, whereas there was no difference between attitudes toward Arab-Muslim and British immigrants in the control conditions, when mortality was salient individuals desired higher assimilationfor Arab-Muslims (M = 3.48) than for the British (M = 4.25), F(1, 185) = 8.96, p < .01, !2

p = .05.For assimilation within the domain of social relationships there was a significant interaction between MS and target

immigrant group, F(1, 185) = 4.44, p < .05, !2p = .02. Although the effects were in the expected direction, analysis of simple

effects revealed that MS did not have significant effects on assimilation toward Arab-Muslim immigrants or toward Britishimmigrants.

6.1.2. Hypotheses 2a and 2b: mortality salience effects on separationFor separation, there was an interaction between MS and target immigrant group, F(1, 185) = 6.06, p = .01, !2

p = .03 (seeFig. 1b). No main effects were observed for MS or for target immigrant group. Tests of simple effects for MS on each target

Fig. 3. Acculturation attitudes toward British immigrants. The control group is represented by circles and the mortality salience group is represented bytriangles. W, work; E, economic; S, social relationships; F, family relations; R, religious beliefs and customs; T, ways of thinking: principles and values.

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Fig. 4. (a) The effects of mortality salience and target immigrant group on ideal assimilation within the domain of family relations. (b) The effects ofmortality salience and target immigrant group on ideal separation within the domain of family relations.

immigrant group were conducted to explore the interaction. There was a significant difference between the means of the MSand the control group for separation toward British immigrants, F(1, 185) = 5.93, p < .05, !2

p = .03. Supporting hypothesis 2a,mean distances from maximal separation to obtained scores revealed that individuals endorsed separation toward Britishimmigrants to a greater degree when mortality was salient (M = 2.22) than when mortality was not salient (M = 2.64). Contraryto hypothesis 2b, MS did not significantly affect separation held toward Arab-Muslim immigrants.

Follow up analyses involving each specific domain of acculturation revealed expected MS by target immigrant groupinteractions for the family relationships domains. There was a significant interaction for separation within the domain offamily relationships, F(1, 185) = 6.86, p < .05, !2

p = .04 (see Fig. 4b). For British immigrants, individuals endorsed separationto a greater degree when mortality was salient (M = 1.60) than they did in the control condition (M = 2.23), F(1, 185) = 5.25,p < .05, !2

p = .03. MS did not have a significant effect on separation toward Arab-Muslim immigrants. Additionally, whereasthere was no difference between attitudes toward Arab-Muslim and British immigrants in the control conditions, when MS

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was salient individuals were more likely to endorse separation toward British immigrants (M = 1.60) than they were towardArab-Muslim immigrants (M = 2.38), F(1, 185) = 8.28, p < .01, !2

p = .04.

6.1.3. Hypotheses 3: mortality salience effects on integration and marginalizationNeither integration nor marginalization was expected to serve a terror management function. Consistent with hypothesis

3, no interactions were observed between MS and target immigrant group for integration and marginalization. As expected,no main effects were observed for MS. There were also no main effects for target immigrant group.

6.2. Hypothesis 4: mortality salience and perception of the real situation

In order to examine whether the observed MS effects were specific to attitudes, analyses were conducted on the aggregatescales for perception of real situation acculturation. Consistent with expectations, an examination of whether MS had an effecton perceived real situation assimilation for Arab-Muslim versus British immigrants did not reveal a significant interactionbetween MS and target immigrant group. As expected, there was also no main effect for MS. However, a main effect wasobserved for target immigrant group, F(1, 185) = 20.80, p < .001, !2

p = .10. British immigrants were perceived to assimilate toa greater degree (M = 3.09) than were Arab-Muslim immigrants (M = 3.57).

Consistent with expectations, an examination of whether MS had an effect on perceived real situation separation forArab-Muslim versus British immigrants did not reveal a significant interaction. As expected, there was also no main effectfor MS. However, there was a main effect for target immigrant group, F(1, 185) = 24.66, p < .001, !2

p = .10. Arab-Muslimimmigrants were perceived to separate to a greater degree (M = 2.23) than were British immigrants (M = 2.74).

7. Discussion

The purpose of this study was to examine whether MS can have an effect on acculturation attitudes of Canadian receivingsociety members. Predictions were formulated and explored from a TMT perspective. As far as we are aware, this is the firstpublished research to observe MS effects on acculturation attitudes and the first to implement Navas and colleagues’ (2005)RAEM in a Canadian context.

7.1. Acculturation attitudes

Similar patterns of acculturation attitudes were endorsed toward both Arab-Muslim and British immigrants. As in Navasand colleagues’ (2007) research with the RAEM in Spain (exploring the acculturation attitudes held by Spaniards towardMaghreb and Sub-Saharan immigrants), integration was the desired option only within the social relationships domain. Thisis consistent with a multicultural ideology, which involves the desire for all cultural groups to engage actively in the receivingsociety (Berry, 2006). Whereas Navas et al. (2007) found that a Spanish receiving society generally preferred assimilation forfamily economy, family relationships, and ways of thinking, and were ambivalent regarding religious beliefs of the targetimmigrants, the preference for these four domains in the present Anglo-Canadian sample was for separation. Accordingto Berry (2006), the willingness of a receiving society to accept immigrants’ maintenance of their cultural integrity whileupholding intergroup contact is indicative of multicultural ideology. Thus, the present pattern of findings is consistent withmulticulturalism as a means through which cultural identity can be retained by immigrants and tolerated or accepted bythe receiving society, while cross-cultural contact is fostered between groups (Berry, 2006; Hiller, 2000).

7.2. Mortality salience and acculturation attitudes

Supporting hypotheses 1a and 2a, MS led to a shift toward separation and away from assimilation for the ideal accultur-ation of British immigrants. Hypotheses 1b, which stated that MS should lead to higher endorsement of assimilation towardArab-Muslim immigrants, received support within the domain of family relationships. Hypothesis 2b, which stated that MSwould lead to lower endorsement of separation toward Arab-Muslim immigrants, however, was not supported.

Three interrelated reasons are proposed for a terror management function of enhanced separation and diminished assim-ilation held toward British immigrants: (1) the role of the ambiguous nature of Canadian culture; (2) the support providedby British culture for an Anglo-Canadian worldview; and (3) the possible salience of threats to the cultural anxiety buffer inCanadian society. The ambiguous nature of Canadian national identity may help account for the observed tendency towardseparation when mortality is salient. Sumara et al. (2001) observed that, aside from statements attempting to define whatCanadians are not, individuals from Canada have some trouble agreeing upon a unifying national identity. In fact, the diver-sity and flexibility of identities within Canada’s borders, proliferated by the acceptance of and respect for different ideologies,are often referenced among the nation’s defining characteristics (e.g., Bibby, 1990; Sumara et al., 2001). Canadian citizensmay not see British immigrants’ adoption of the Canadian culture as worldview enhancing if the broader Canadian cultureis not a strong source of support for Canadian citizens’ own individual worldviews.

Furthermore, as similar worldviews may be perceived as being shared among Anglo-Canadians and the British, theMS enhanced desire for British immigrants to maintain their heritage culture in the absence of cultural integration may

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serve to verify an Anglo-Canadian worldview. British culture, on its own, may be perceived as providing support for Anglo-Canadians’ worldviews. Jansen (2005) suggests that, although immigrants from other nations tend to be considered asoutsiders, British immigrants are often assumed to be sufficiently adapted to Canadian society prior to their arrival. TheMS enhanced acceptance of the British and their culturally close worldview may be compounded by the perception of aubiquitous presence of worldview threatening cultures in Canada. When mortality is salient, Anglo-Canadians’ enhancedpartiality for British cultural maintenance may occur in an effort to preserve an Anglo-Canadian worldview, support forwhich may be perceived as dissipating in the presence of increasing cultural diversity.

With regard to hypothesis 1b and 2b, although aggregate acculturation attitudes toward Arab-Muslims exhibited a ten-dency to shift in the expected direction (toward assimilation and away from separation), the effect was not significant. It wassomewhat surprising to find that acculturation attitudes held toward Arab-Muslim immigrants appear not to have as stronga terror management function as do attitudes held toward British immigrants. However, it is possible that the social desir-ability of responding in a non-ethnocentric manner mitigated reactions consistent with the previously observed tendencyto defend against worldviews that are perceived as contrasting with one’s own. The present research used a direct measureof attitudes toward immigrants, whereas past research within the TMT literature tended to use more covert measures ofattitudes and behavioral responses toward others, (e.g., Greenberg et al., 1990; Greenberg et al., 1992; Harmon-Jones et al.,1997; McGregor et al., 1998). It is also possible that a mitigation of the expected MS effects on attitudes toward Arab-Muslimimmigrants may have been observed due to the activation of a tolerant multicultural ideology (see Section 4.4). If multicul-turalism is an important part of Canadians’ worldviews, it may mitigate a need for individuals to guard against competingcultural perspectives.

However, a significant MS effect for assimilation toward Arab-Muslims did occur within the domain of family rela-tions (supporting hypothesis 1b). When mortality was salient, Anglo-Canadians were found to desire that Arab-Muslimimmigrants assimilate to a greater extent within their family life (relationships between spouses, with their sons, with theirdaughters, and upbringing of their sons and daughters). Thus, family relations of Arab-Muslim immigrants may be perceivedas threatening to the cultural-worldviews of Anglo-Canadians.

The domain of family relations, especially with regard to women’s rights, has figured prominently in Western discussionof the Muslim world (e.g., Alatas, 2006; Park et al., 2007; Smidt, 2005). Although Anglo-Canadians’ perceptions of Arab-Muslim families are likely influenced by media-propagated misunderstandings and Western bias (Nasr, 2004) , perceptionof differences between Western and Arab-Muslim families may be quite salient among Western individuals. According toBibby (1990), as countless choices are available to Canadians in terms of socially acceptable living situations, the Canadianfamily is virtually indefinable. Perhaps the threat perceived in Arab-Muslim family life is its highly structured nature inwhich the bonds of marriage are stronger than is generally the case in the modern West (Nasr, 2004). When culturallyderived ideals regarding human freedoms are perceived to be at stake, Anglo-Canadians may be more likely to desire thatimmigrants conform to the ideology of Canadian culture.

Though it is undeniable that Arab-Muslim family life differs from the family life of many Westerners, it is the perceptionheld by Westerners, more so than the reality of difference, out of which worldview threat may emerge. According to Nasr(2004), views of Muslim family life in the West often arise from misleading and biased sources. Perhaps, a more openand multi-perspective discourse must be developed in order to enhance intercultural understanding; otherwise, Westernperceptions will continue to be drawn from various misleading and disreputable sources, which can only serve to exacerbateperceptions of threat.

Consistent with the expectations of hypothesis 4, MS did not affect the degree to which immigrants were perceived toactually adopt the strategies consistent with assimilation and separation. This supports the view that there is no theoreticalbasis for MS induced shifts in perceived reality of acculturation strategies pursued by immigrant groups and indicates thatthe MS effects may be specific to attitudes regarding the acculturation of immigrant groups.

7.3. Implications and future directions

Within multicultural nations such as Canada and, more broadly, throughout a world that has recently witnessed increasesin cross-cultural contact due to processes of globalization (Salzman, 2001), individuals are continually exposed to thoseothers who may pose a symbolic threat to their culturally derived worldviews. In addition to heightened cross-culturalcontact, traditional closely-knit ingroups have become progressively less common. In the case of modernized nations suchas Canada, traditional social environments, which can foster the development and maintenance of rigid and secure culturalworldviews, have in many cases been supplanted by social environments that promote flexible but perhaps ultimatelymore insecure systems of meaning. The present research has indicated that, within particular life domains, MS can leadAnglo-Canadians to desire the perpetuation of cultures close to their own within Canadian society.

As Canada is a relatively peaceful nation, Canadian citizens are not normally overwhelmed by the continual presence ofunpredictable threats to mortality. However, when catastrophic events do take place close to home, such as the terroristattacks occurring in the United States on September 11, 2001, the presence of existential threat can become ubiquitous inthe media and is often presented alongside references to cultural groups hastily perceived to be associated with the events.It is possible that, in such instances of heightened MS, threat perceived in other cultural groups may be exacerbated. As faras we are aware, there has not yet been research on the long-term effects of MS induced shifts in attitudes. However, thepotential exists for periodic shifts toward more ethnocentric attitudes to affect long-term perceptions of immigrant groups.

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Furthermore, mortality is an unavoidable aspect of living, having the potential to permeate our thoughts at both explicitand implicit levels. It is therefore valuable for research to further explore how intergroup relations among immigrants andreceiving society members may be affected by MS. Many questions remain unanswered and many related opportunities forinvestigation may be considered.

First, in terms of the Canadian receiving society, future research may examine the effects of MS on acculturation attitudestoward a number of other target immigrant groups. Focusing solely on attitudes toward the current target groups constrainsthe ability to generalize MS effects to other culturally close and culturally distant immigrant groups. Second, it is importantto pursue research in this area in other receiving societies. Stronger effects may be observed in societies that have a lessambiguous cultural identity than that of Anglo-Canadians. For example, because of a widespread perception of immigrants asthreatening to the national identity in a country such as Germany (Esses et al., 2006), inducing MS among German citizensmight yield greater worldview defense. Such effects may possibly arise due to a more coherent cultural identity amongcitizens and a greater desire to preserve that identity. Third, future research can examine whether activating a tolerantworldview might influence MS effects on acculturation attitudes. This suggestion follows the proposition that a toleranceideology among Canadians may function to mitigate worldview defense directed toward culturally distant immigrant groups.It may be fruitful to follow tolerance-activating methodology used in previous TMT research (e.g., Greenberg et al., 1992).Lastly, as an accompaniment to this research, it would be interesting for similar research to be pursued with immigrantgroups themselves as the population of interest. Promising research may arise from asking whether MS affects the degreeto which immigrants are inclined to take on or reject aspects of the receiving society’s culture, and the degree to which theyare inclined to maintain or rejection of aspects of their heritage culture.

8. Conclusion

Support has been established for subtle terror management processes as one route through which divergent expectationsfor distinct immigrant groups can arise or be enhanced. Previous research on worldview defense within the TMT literaturehas often focused on MS induced shifts in interpersonal evaluations or behavioral responses exhibited toward others whosupport or detract from the validity of one’s culturally derived worldview (e.g., Greenberg et al., 1990; McGregor et al., 1998;Rosenblatt et al., 1989; Solomon et al., 1998). The present research supports the notion that terror management concernsmay even lead individuals to exhibit shifts in their desire for others to maintain, adopt, or reject cultural practices andideology. This is noteworthy as it indicates that terror management processes can affect attitudes regarding the culturalperspectives of whole groups in society, in addition to the effects previously observed regarding specific salient others whomight more directly threaten or bolster one’s worldview.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Canada Graduate Scholarship (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada).The authors would like to thank Dr. Rees J. Lewis for advice on early drafts of this paper. His feedback and suggestions

are much appreciated.

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