How thoughts of death and intrinsic/extrinsic goal orientation affect well-being during the pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, reminders of death are so ubiquitous that it is almost impossible to avoid death-related thoughts. This research examined the effect of COVID-19-induced thoughts of death on life evaluation, a core component of well-being, and investigated the moderating role of goal orientation in this effect. Results from two experiments (N = 384) indicated that participants with a relative orientation toward extrinsic aspirations (wealth, fame, image) decreased their life evaluation, both when under conscious death thoughts (Study 1) and after being distracted from these thoughts (Study 2). By contrast, participants with a relative orientation toward intrinsic aspirations (personal growth, meaningful relationships, community contributions) increased their life evaluation when under conscious death thoughts, while they maintained their baseline life evaluation after being distracted from these thoughts. This research also found evidence for the moderating role of belongingness. However, no evidence was found for the moderating roles of self-esteem and attachment style.