Quantity and proximity: The terror-managing function of abstract figures

Terror Management Theory (TMT) has proven valuable for interpreting and clarifying responses to (mortality) threats. One of the key findings in TMT research is that people tend to cling more to groups, in particular their ingroup, when mortality is salient. In the present studies, we extend this insight by demonstrating that—when people are confronted with their own mortality—figures that resemble large and cohesive groups increase feelings of safety, even when these figures are "meaningless" and abstract. in Study 1, we show that when mortality is salient, people indicate that they feel safer in a (fictitious) large group and close to others, than in a smaller and/or less cohesive group. In Study 2, we add to this by showing that figures consisting of more squares close together make people feel more safe than other figures, when mortality is salient.

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