The effect of mortality salience on perceived risk in drivers: The mediating role of emotions

The Terror Management Theory (TMT) assumes that individuals manage the horror of death by using psychological defense mechanisms. Accordingly, when individuals are reminded of their mortality, psychological defense mechanisms help to eliminate the negative emotions caused by this terror. It is claimed that threatening the structures in the management of terror affects only the cognitive and behavioral tendencies of the individual. However, recent studies have shown that mortality salience affects not only cognitive and behavioral tendencies but also emotional tendencies. In this context, the study's first aim is to test the effects of mortality salience on emotional experiences. On the other hand, it has been shown that the number of recent studies in traffic and transportation psychology related to the theory is increasing and that mortality salience affects perceived risk, which is also described as psychological structure. In this context, the study's second aim is to test the effects of mortality salience on perceived risk. In addition, studies showing that emotional experiences affect perceived risk have also increased recently. The third aim of the study is to test the mediating role of emotional experiences in the effect of mortality salience on perceived risk. Thus, it was aimed to determine the dynamics of the affect-perceived risk link based on TMT. In this study, which was completed in two stages in line with these objectives, in the first stage (Experiment 1), independent sample t-test and multiple mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate the data related to 2 different conditions (experimental and control conditions); in the second stage (Experiment 2), one-way MANOVA and mediation analyses with multi-category independent variables using dummy coding procedure were conducted to evaluate the data related to 3 different conditions (neutral, non-traffic-related mortality salience and traffic-related mortality salience conditions). In addition, a randomized design with a post-test paired control group was used in both phases. The findings show that mortality salience affects perceived risk and emotional dispositions, and the mediating role of emotional experiences in the effect of mortality salience on perceived risk is significant. Finally, possible reasons for these findings, limitations of the current study, and suggestions for future studies are discussed.