Identity and Death Threats: An Investigation of Social Identity and Terror Management Processes in Online News Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Mao Houamoua Vang-Corne, M.A. Graduate Program in Communication The Ohio State University 2016 Dissertation Committee: Jesse Fox, Advisor Lanier Holt Nancy Rhodes Zheng Joyce Wang Copyright by Mao Houamoua Vang-Corne 2016 Abstract When people experience reminders of their mortality, anxiety heightens. This, in turn, can increase worldview defenses such as outgroup derogation. In this experiment, White participants (N = 190) read an online news story that presented a death threat (death threat, non-death threat) and identity threat (White threat, Black threat, race-neutral threat) manipulation. Following exposure to the experimental manipulation, participants completed measures of anxiety, specific self-esteem, and worldview defense. A multicategorical moderation supported the integration of specific self-esteem in social identity processes. The findings from moderated mediation analyses support previous terror management research (Greenberg et al., 1997): When exposure to a death threat has not been sufficiently suppressed, anxiety from the threat can manifest in worldview defenses. Results demonstrate that specific self-esteem buffers anxiety elicited from threats unrelated to racial identity. Implications include identity processes by which the effects of threat can be mitigated. ii To kuv txiv, Wang Xing Houamoua Vang, kuv niam, Xiong Lee Vang, and my husband, Joseph Corne. iii Acknowledgments This document could not have been written without my advisor, Dr. Jesse Fox, whom I love and fear, just a little. But far from just being my advisor, you have become my older sister, my fellow foodie, my priest, my mentor. Thank you for kicking my butt and caring. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following who guided, supported, and counseled me through this process: Dr. Nancy Rhodes, Dr. Lanier Holt, Dr. Joyce Wang, Dr. David Ewoldsen, Dr. Natalie Boyne, Adam Gay, David Myers, Dr. Roselyn Lee-Won, Dr. Sugata Chakravarti, Dr. Kevin Jolly, Patrick Fries, Kelly Dillon, Rachel Ralston, Stefanie Best, Jonathan Grove, Kylie Butte, my team at McGraw-Hill Education, my compatriots in the School of Communication, and many others who have cheered me on throughout these past four years. Many thanks especially to my family: Chong, Teng, Pao, Maiyer, Babe, Mom, Don, Jim, Carol, Lisa, Jay, JJ, and Brody. All of you: your support, your patience, and your pride in me are humbling. It is truly from such genuine, consistent support and belief in my ability that I am able to achieve everything that I have. iv To my husband, Joe, who puts up with the daily stressors, notes and books strewn about the house, and periods of dejection and listlessness: you quiet my doubts, you calm my fears, and you still love me even though you’ve seen me at my most neurotic, paranoid, and downright weird. Thank you for loving me. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my parents, Wang Xing Houamoua Vang and Xiong Lee Vang, whose wisdom guide my every action. I am grateful to have parents who encourage my educational dreams and who faithfully support me even though they may not fully understand me. At every milestone, you stood by me. At every downturn, you believed in me. At every decision, you counseled me. Ua neb tsaug, kuv niam thiab kuv txiv. v Vita 2008 ............................................................... B.A. Art, The Leland Stanford Junior University 2012 ............................................................... M.A. Communication, The Ohio State University 2012 to 2015 ................................................. Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Communication, The Ohio State University 2015 to present .............................................. User and Market Researcher, McGraw-Hill Education Publications DeAndrea, D. C., Van Der Heide, B., Vendemia, M. A., & Vang, M. H. (in press). How people evaluate online reviews. Communication Research. doi: 10.1177/0093650215573862 vi Wang, Z., Vang, M. H., Lookadoo, K., Tchernev, J., & Cooper, C. (2015). Engaging high seekers: The dynamic interplay of sensation seeking, message visual-auditory complexity and arousing content. Journal of Communication, 65, 101-124. doi: 10.1111/jcom.12136 Johnson, B. K., Vang, M. H., & Van Der Heide, B. (2015). Show me the goods: The warranting effect of user-generated photographs in online auctions. Journal of Media Psychology, 27, 3-10. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000126 Vang, M. H., & Fox, J. (2014). Race in virtual environments: Competitive versus cooperative games with Black or White characters. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 17(4), 235-240. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2013.0289 Fox, J., Christy, K. R., & Vang, M. H. (2014). The experience of presence in persuasive virtual environments. In G. Riva, J. Waterworth, & D. Murray (Eds.), Interacting with presence: HCI and the sense of presence in computer-mediated environments (pp. 164-178). Berlin, Germany: DeGruyter Open. Van Der Heide, B., Johnson, B. K., & Vang, M. H. (2013). The effects of product photographs and reputation systems on consumer behavior and product cost on eBay. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 570-576. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2012.11.002 Fields of Study Major Field: Communication vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iv Vita ..................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview ............................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Theoretical Background ..................................................................................... 3 Chapter 3: Method ............................................................................................................. 26 Chapter 4: Results .............................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 5: Discussion ...................................................................................................... 600 References ......................................................................................................................... 76 Appendix A: Stimuli Pretest .............................................................................................. 92 Appendix B: Stimuli Pretest Measures .............................................................................. 98 Appendix C: Wave 1 Survey and Correlations ................................................................. 99 Appendix D: Final Stimuli .............................................................................................. 107 viii Appendix E: Specific Self-Esteem and Anxiety Measures ............................................ 113 Appendix F: Worldview Defense .................................................................................... 115 Appendix G: Wave 2 Items ............................................................................................. 116 Appendix H: Syntax for Hypotheses ............................................................................... 118 Appendix I: Model for Moderation of Identity Threat on Worldview Defenses Through Specific Self-Esteem (H1) ............................................................................................... 120 Appendix J: Descriptive Statistics for Identity and Death Threat Conditions on Worldview Defenses (H3) ............................................................................................... 121 Appendix K: Descriptive Statistics for Identity and Death Threat Conditions on Anxiety (H4) .................................................................................................................................. 122 Appendix L: Descriptive Statistics and Independent Samples t-Test Output With Death Threat Conditions ............................................................................................................ 123 ix List of Figures Figure 1. Moderation of identity threat on worldview defenses through specific self- esteem ................................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 2. Statistical model for the mediation of death threat, as moderated by identity threat, on worldview defenses through anxiety, as moderated by specific self-esteem .... 25 Figure 3. A visual representation of the interaction between specific self-esteem and identity threat generated with the SPSS code .................................................................... 43 Figure 4. Statistical model for the mediation of death threat on worldview defenses through anxiety .................................................................................................................