Perceptions of Death and the Effects of Emotion

Emily S. Prater

Abstract

How people view emotion in the deceased varies.  Gender, cause of death, life orientation, and education are important issues among participants studied.  Participants were McKendree College students and fifty adults from two places of employment in Bond County, Illinois.  First, how men and women view the emotions of the deceased face was studied.  Next, the differences in the emotions of people based on if the victim died of leukemia, or AIDS was studied.  Third, the difference of emotions of optimistic and pessimistic people was analyzed.  Finally, those who are educated in death were compared to those who are not educated.  None of the hypothesis were significant.

 Perceptions of Death and the Effects of Emotion

            Most people have dealt with the death of a loved one at some point in their life.  When dealing with death, different emotions come into play, based on how well a person copes.  Upon the occurrence of death, sadness is a common reaction of loved ones.  As a person tries to adjust to life without the person they cared about, depression may take hold.  Anger is another emotion commonly experienced by those who are grieving.  This is a normal grief reaction that should be encouraged, with attempts to redirect the anger, which is often displaced (Zilberfein, 1999).  As one lives with the loss, they become scared, lonely, and confused.  Once the person realizes that denying the loss will not make it go away, individuals often become angry (Gard, 2000).  Sadness, anger, happiness, fear, surprise, hope, contentment, and peacefulness are a few examples of adjectives used to describe how we view death based on the circumstances of the death.

            The subject of death is taboo in our society.  This situation contributes to the difficulties many have in accepting and coping with the death of a loved one, impeding the process of grief and bereavement.  When people refer to death as �passing away�, �moving on�, or �going to a better place� they are disguising death through euphemistic language.  Many people live by the myth that if death is not talked about; it will pass without the pain associated with the loss of a loved one.  This only serves to prolong the grieving process, which can result in the stages of death not being resolved.  How people mourn and grieve depends on many factors in their lives, including but not limited to the following:   gender, beliefs about death, personality type, and perception of the loss.

 Gender and Coping

            The language of emotions is vulnerable to learning, but the physiology of feelings seems so firmly anchored that even gender differences have little impact.  There is a growing body of evidence that the physiology of emotion is consistent across gender.  We know that there is a distinct physiological profile for at least several emotions and that people may have these reactions whether or not they label them as feelings.  People intuitively know that different emotions produce different physiological states.  In the article Universality of Emotions (1992), it is stated that men are just as likely as women to respond physiologically and to say they feel an emotion.  There are gender differences in more complex situations where women tend to talk more about feelings and to use more emotional expression.  �We have to understand that when people are talking about their feelings, there is a great potential for miscommunication,� said Levenson.  �People may willfully misrepresent their feelings or they may not know how they feel.  They may not know how to describe the sensations going on in their bodies� (Universality of Emotions, 1992).  Gender effects how a person copes with death.  Women view death with more sadness, while men will view death with contentment.

            In the article Gender Differences in Parental Coping Following Their Child�s Death (Cramer & Littlewood, 1991), Verbrugge states that men tend to prefer active styles of coping, while women tend to use more palliative, passive, comforting thoughts and emotionally expressive styles of coping.  Men for example, tend to keep busy and take on additional workloads as a way of coping with their loss.  They may also be more critical of social support, and have a hard time talking about the death.  Men prefer problem-solving and tension-reducing ways of coping.  If they are more likely to use a way of coping, which is perceived as potentially problematic, they may be less likely to be offered support and consequently feel avoided.  Men�s goals are directed more toward autonomy and minimization of vulnerability.  If having a private inner life lessens a sense of autonomy, men, who tend to perceive an emotional approach as indicating vulnerability, may use this approach less frequently and with less success.  Young boys expect peers and parents to be less receptive to negative emotional displays, especially sadness, so they are more likely to endorse display rules favoring emotional containment.

            On the other hand, women tend to remain depressed for longer periods of time, and can be preoccupied with thoughts of the death.  Women prefer to use social support and emotionally oriented coping styles.  Parents discuss emotion more and display a wider range of emotions with daughters.  Thus, women may become more skilled in processing and expressing emotions and may meet with greater social approval for doing so, although these differences may vary as a function of contextual factors (Danoff-Burg & Stanton, 2000).  Over time, both men and women tend to revert to gender-related coping preferences (Cramer & Littlewood, 1991).

Aids vs. Leukemia

            The Fundamental Attribution Theory simply refers to the process of assigning causes to things that happen.  Attributional style refers to a characteristic way that an individual may tend to make attributions for bad events or for good events.  However inaccurate our attributions may be, they become important parts of our view of the world and can have significant effects on our emotional well being.  They can also make us see other people and ourselves as unchanging and unchangeable, leading us to be inflexible in our relationships (Mineka, 2000).  As discussed in the fundamental attribution theory, the leukemia victims will be viewed as more peaceful than AIDS victims.

            One of the most amazing features of human beings is that they can explain anything.  To help us explain our own, or other people�s behavior, and make it possible to predict what others or we are likely to do in the future, we use casual attributions.  This may include attributing causes to external events, such as rewards or punishments.  For example, �That person is suffering from AIDS because they chose to lead a risqu� lifestyle�, claiming that some outside thing motivated the event.  �That person is immoral therefore they deserve to suffer�.  The message �you are a particular kind of person� is more important that the specification of �why�.  This implies that direct linkage of skill-specific attributions to the self-system is more important than the bias on which the linkage is made.  Attribution statements need not involve persuasive intent but may instead be simple statements of fact.  Indeed, their guise as truth statements may be thought of as their most effective advantage.  Not only does this enable them to have an impact on a person�s self-concept, but it may also enable them to slip by the defenses a person ordinarily employs against persuasive attempts that are recognized as persuasion, and hence less likely to arouse resistance, counter arguing, or reactance (Bolen & Miller, 1975).

            In 1995, 42,506 people lost their lives to AIDS, and 537,969 deaths occurred as a result of some form of cancer (Edmondson, 1997).  We are given time to accept the thought of death is we know that it is going to happen.  When a violent death occurs it is difficult to understand and know how to react.  A person may wonder why this is happening, if they had no knowledge that it was going to happen.  The reactions to these two causes of death are very different.  People assume that those who die of AIDS brought on their illness.  Much differently, those who succumb to leukemia are victims.

Optimism vs. Pessimism

            The road to achievement is often long and full of twists and turns.  It goes without saying that external circumstances can sometimes get in the way (Clarke, 1999).  Everyone goes through hard times, but not every person deals with these periods of time in the same way.  When death occurs, optimistic people mourn and grieve, but in a different manner than that of which pessimistic people grieve.  Optimistic people view death as content more often than those who do not consider themselves optimistic.

            If you expect something to turn out badly, it probably will.  Pessimistic people are seldom disappointed.  But the same principle also works in reverse.  If you expect good things to happen, they usually do.  Optimism and pessimism are both powerful forces, and each of us must choose which we want to shape our outlook and our expectations.  There is enough good and bad in everyone�s life to find a rational basis for either optimism or pessimism.  We can choose to smile or cry, bless or curse, remember the good times or dwell upon the missing void that we are left with when death occurs.  The only thing more powerful that negativism is a positive affirmation, a word of hope.  Too many people spend too much time looking down rather than up (De Vos, 2001).

            People with positive attitudes and outlooks live longer and feel better in the process.  �Pessimists are their own worst enemies.  They expect the worst.  They predict the worst.  They prepare for the worst, and the worst often happens to them.  Life tends to live down to their expectations� (Ramsey, 2000).  Pessimistic people make death seem like an end to life, instead of the beginning of eternity.  Most optimists are realistic in accepting that problems, setbacks, and tragedies such as death happen.  They just refuse to allow reversals to prevail.  If you believe in happy endings, you are more likely to experience them.  This of course has a huge effect on how the different personality types view death.  Pessimism is a prison that some people impose on themselves.

Education about Death

            People who relate to any aspect of dying and death are thought by many to be �weird� or �morbid�.  Note the reactions of others when death education is discussed.  The startled reactions of those when told about courses in dying and death are rather interesting, to say the least (Dickenson & Leming, 1996).  When we think of death education we think of high school or college courses.  People may argue that it is not necessary to teach a child about death because they are to young to understand it.  With that in mind, people never consider the fact that children loose loved ones too.  It may be more difficult for a child who does not understand death to deal with a loss.  Death education should start at a young age not only because this type of education helps the child to understand death better, but it will help children as they become adults to know how to deal with the death of a loved one.  Learning how to prepare family and friends for a potentially negative outcome, while also maintaining hope, is a skill that trainees can apply in many difficult situations (Cohn, Frager, Levetown, Sahler, & Upson 2000).  Those who have been enrolled in a death and dying course will view death as peaceful more often than those who have not previously had the course.

            The traditional house wakes are being replaced with a more clinical approach to death, allowing little participation for children in death rituals.  Increasingly, schools are being asked to provide educational and counseling support to students experiencing situations involving death, suicide, or grief trauma.  A number of handbooks and support materials for schools have been circulated by statutory and voluntary agencies in dealing with adult and child bereavement.

            Death should be discussed with children before they encounter it.  Discussions of death were reported in the article �Death Education:  Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perspectives of Irish Parents and Teachers� (Barry & McGovern, 2000).   Although discussions in the home and classroom by both teachers and parents were reported, it was relevant that parents were not comfortable talking about death with their children.  There was general support for the inclusion of death education in the school curriculum, with both teachers and parents supporting the need for further teacher training to undertake its delivery.  However, it appears that personal attitudes and anxieties concerning death and dying significantly influence their level of support.  There were few significant differences between the expressed attitudes of parents and teachers.  However, teachers were more likely than parents to agree that death education would take away from parental responsibility.  If there were more parental knowledge about the subject, the result could be more parental support (McGovern, 2000).

This research study on the topic of death and dying is guided by these hypothesis:

1.      Gender effects how a person copes with death.  Women view death with more sadness, while men will view death with contentment.

2.      As discussed in the fundamental attribution theory, the leukemia victims will be viewed as more peaceful then AIDS victims.

3.       Optimistic people view death as content more often then those who do not consider themselves optimistic.

4.      Those who have been enrolled in a death and dying course will view death with more peacefulness then those who have not previously had the course.

Method

Participants

            The participants consisted of fifty college students attending a small Midwestern church related liberal arts college.  The surveys were handed out to students enrolled in four different psychology classes.  The classes included Psychology of the Exceptional Child, Theories of Personality, Adult Development, and Introduction to Psychology.  There was a much greater number of females in the Psychology of the Exceptional Child class, and so in Theories of Personality, and Adult Development, only males were given the survey.  In Introduction to Psychology, both males and females were given the survey.  All of the students were in a Psychology class, but not all were Psychology majors.  Out of those participants, 20 were males, and 30 were females. 

Another 50 surveys were handed out in two different places of employment in Bond County, IL.  The first place of employment is Behrends Sales & Service in Vandalia, IL.  The second place of employment is Country Corner Caf� in Pocahontas, IL.  In this group 28 males, and 22 females completed the survey.  All participants in this group were placed in the �older� age group.   

Instructions

            One hundred surveys were handed out on the perceptions of death.  Along with the survey, participants were given a black and white picture of a woman lying in a casket.  The participants were asked to answer all of the questions completely and honestly.  They were also asked to not discuss or share information with their friends or classmates, and to respond anonymously.   

Materials and Testing Instruments

            The demographic data requested was gender, age, and death education.  Next, the students were asked to read a scenario.  Fifty of the 100 hundred surveys included a woman named Marybeth who had struggled with Leukemia for 2 years and eventually succumbed to the disease.  The other 50 surveys included the same person, but instead the disease that Marybeth succumbed to was AIDS.  All 100 participants were given a picture to look at; all of the pictures were the same.  Once the participants read the scenario they were asked to choose a facial expression out of sadness, anger, happiness, fear, surprise, hope, contentment, and peace to describe the deceased facial expression.   The final section is a life orientation scale.  There are eight different questions all dealing with optimism and pessimism.  The participants choose their answer on a one to five likert scale, with one being equal to strongly agree, and five being strongly disagree (see Appendix A).

Results

Hypothesis 1:  Gender and Coping

            Gender effects how a person copes with death.  Women view death with more sadness, while men will view death with contentment.  To assess the first hypothesis, a chi-square was conducted comparing men and women on eight different choices of facial expressions.  The percentage of men who choose sadness as the facial expression of the deceased was 29.  The percentage of women who choose sadness as the facial expression of the deceased was 15.  The percentage of males that choose contentment as the facial expression of the deceased was 19.  The percentage of females that choose contentment as the facial expression of the deceased was 29 (see table 1 for a complete breakdown). This hypothesis was not significant chi=5.829,  p=.323 on a .05 or less significance scale. 

Hypothesis 2:  AIDS vs. Leukemia

            As discussed in the fundamental attribution theory, the leukemia victims will be viewed as more peaceful then AIDS victims.  To assess the second hypothesis, a chi-square was conducted comparing the AIDS and Leukemia scenarios to the facial expression choices.  Of those participants whom filled out the AIDS survey, 49% choose peacefulness.  Of those participants that filled out the Leukemia survey, 51% choose peacefulness (see table 2 for the complete breakdown).  This hypothesis was not significant chi=2.520,  p=.773 on a .05 or less significance scale.

Hypothesis 3: Optimism vs. Pessimism

            Optimistic people view death as content more often then those who do not consider themselves optimistic.  To assess the third hypothesis, a chi-square was conducted comparing pessimism and optimism to the eight facial expression choices.  A total was created by adding the scores of the life orientation scale.  One a scale of 5 to 40 participants were scored then divided into two groups with the low scores being equal to pessimism and the higher scores equaling optimism.  Thirty-five percent of those in the pessimistic group, and 15% of those in the optimistic group, choose hopeful as the facial expression of the deceased (see table 3 for complete breakdown).  This hypothesis was not significant chi=.214, p=.214 on a .05 or less significance scale.

 Hypothesis 4: Education about Death   

            Those who have been enrolled in a death and dying course will view death with more peacefulness then those who have not previously had the course.  To assess the final hypothesis, a chi-square was conducted comparing those who have had former death education, and those who have not had former death education, to the eight facial expressions.  Of those who have had death education, 40% choose peaceful as the deceased facial expression.  Of those who have had death education, 50% choose peaceful as the deceased facial expression (see table 3 for complete breakdown).  This hypothesis is not significant, chi=1.229, p= .942 on a .05 or less significance scale.

Discussion

Death is a taboo subject in our society today.  People choose not to discuss death because they do not feel comfortable talking about the subject.  Different factors effect how a person may view death.  The percentage of males, who saw the deceased person�s face as sad, is much greater than females who saw the deceased face as sad.  Females who saw the deceased person�s face as content have a much higher percentage then the males who choose contentment.  The gender differences are a result of being raised emotionally different.  Men are not able to deal with death as well because they are not expected to express their emotions.  Women are more likely to get emotional support from friends and family, which helps them learn to accept death and view it as content.      

            The Fundamental Attribution Theory says that human beings have a way of assigning cause to every event that happens.  An external attribution may suggest that a person who has died of AIDS has caused their own death by leading a risqu� type of lifestyle. An internal attribution may suggest that death caused by Leukemia and can only be caused by genetics.  There was no significant difference between these two scenarios, which could be due to the participant�s lack of knowledge about the deceased. 

            Optimism effects every aspect of life.     Those who are optimistic look at everything, including death, much differently then those who are pessimistic.  An optimistic outlook may be that death is a beginning, where a pessimistic outlook may be that death is an end.  Optimistic people may view death as peaceful, content, happy, or hopeful.  Pessimistic people may view death as fearful, or sad.  A higher percentage of pessimistic people choose contentment as the deceased facial expression.  This is not a disappointment when considering all of the choices an optimistic person has.   

            People who relate to any aspect of dying and death are thought by many to be �weird� or �morbid�.  These types of stereotypes come from lack of education about the subject of death.  Death is not discussed therefore it can not be understood.  If death is not understood, then it is impossible to cope in a healthy way.  On the other hand, those who have had death education are more likely to accept it.  A smaller number of those who have had death education choose peacefulness then those who have not had a course in death and dying.  Actions speak louder then words.  People without death education were more likely to choose peacefulness as a facial expression, but are not more likely to express this emotion when death occurs. 

Problems

            A larger number of participants from different cultural backgrounds should be taken into account.  Male and female participants were of an unequal number, and racial background was not looked at.  Instead of looking at the participant�s individual age, they were put in to groups based on age.  Death and dying education was initially only considered a psychology course, but there are many other courses that could be looked at as well.  Previous death experience is an important factor, which was asked on the survey but not analyzed.  The participants were asked to pick one facial expression to describe the deceased emotion.  Instead it could have been taken into account that some of the facial expressions are similar, and some participants may have chosen more than one facial expression if given the chance.   

Future Research

            The research would be better handled if a larger, more diverse group were explored.  Instead of just handing out surveys randomly, the experimenter may get a large group of people together then divide this group into two groups.  In the first group AIDS should be discussed by the experimenter first, then the discussion could be left open to people in the group.  In the second group Leukemia should be discussed by the experimenter, then the discussion could be left open to people in the group.  Once the group is thinking about the illness, the survey should then be administered.  All eight of the facial expressions should be given on a one to seven likert scale using one as strongly agree, and seven as strongly disagree.   

Works Cited

Barry, Margaret M., & McGovern, Marguerita.  (2000).  Death Education:  Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perspectives, of Irish Parents and Teachers.  Death Studies, 24, 325.

Bolen, D., Brickman, P., & Miller, R.  (1975).  Attribution Versus Persuasion as a Means of Modifying Behavior.  Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 430-441.    

Carson, Robert C., Butcher, James N., & Mineka, Susan.  (2000).  Abnormal Psychology and Modern Life (11^th ed.).  Boston, Massachusetts:  Allyn & Bacon.  

Clarke, Robyn D.  (1999).  Those Internal Hurdles.  Black Enterprise, 29, 131.

Cohn, Felicia G., Frager, Gerri, Levetown, Marcia, Lipson, Michael A. & Sahler, Olle Jane Z.  (2000).  Medical Education about End-of-Life Care in the Pediatric Setting:  Principles, Challenges, and Opportunities.  Pediatrics, 105, 575. 

Cramer, Duncan, & Littlewood, Jane L.  (1991).  Gender Differences in Parental Coping Following their Child�s Death.  British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 19, 139.

Danoff-Burg, Sharon, & Stanton, Annette L.  (2000).  Coping through Emotional Approach:  Scale Construction and Validation.  Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 78, 1150. 

DeVos, Rich.  (2001).  Choose Optimism.  Saturday Evening Post, 273, 44.

Dickinson, George E., & Leming, Michael R.  (1996).  Understanding Dying, Death, & Bereavement (4^th ed.).  Fort Worth, TX:  Harcourt Brace & Company.

Edmondson, Brad.  (1997).  The Facts of Death.  Amercan Demographics, 46-53. 

            Gard, Carolyn.  (2000).  Coping with Loss.  Copyright Weekly Reader Corporation, 26, 26-28.

             Ramsey, Robert D.  (2000).  How an Optimistic Outlook can Give you an Edge.  Supervision, 61, 6.

            Universality of Emotions, 29, 2.  May/June 1992.

            Zilberfein, Felice. (1999).  Coping with Death:  Anticipatory Grief and Bereavement.  ASA, 23, 69-74.

Appendix A

(7)  Life Orientation Scale

Please use the following scale:

 A                     B                      C                     D                     E

Strongly                                                                                    Strongly

Agree                                                                                       Disagree

In uncertain times, I usually expect the worst.

If something can go wrong for me, it will.

I always look on the bright side of things.

I�m always optimistic about my future.

I hardly ever expect things to go my way.

Things never work out the way I want them to.

I�m a believer in the idea that �every cloud has a silver lining�.

I rarely count on good things happening to me.

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3

Table 4