Abstract

In this study, we aim to understand the psychological aspects of death by examining the effects of the cause of death on the posthumous impressions of individuals. Specifically, we explored how impressions are formed regarding perceived likability, perceived competence, perceived morality, perceived warmth, the perceived value of the individual's life, and the sense of longing for the target when a moral or immoral figure experiences accidental or natural death, or stays alive. We hypothesized that the target would be evaluated more positively when they are deceased compared to when they are alive due to death positivity bias and more positively when experiencing accidental death (vs. natural death). The results showed a death positivity bias in all impression variables except warmth. Additionally, the target was perceived as more competent and having higher life value when passed away due to accidental death compared to natural death. Furthermore, we examined how the fairness of the cause of death is perceived based on the target's morality, and how the perceived fairness influences impressions. It was found that natural death was perceived as the fairer cause of death when the target was moral, while accidental death was perceived as fairer when the target was immoral. Moreover, the more participants considered the cause of death to be fair, the more positively they evaluated the target. Lastly, contrary to previous studies suggesting cultural worldview endorsement as the mechanism of death positivity bias, we raised questions and discussed the ambiguity of cultural worldview interpretations in death positivity bias research. This study contributes by confirming that impression formation can extend to posthumous contexts, exploring and discovering psychological phenomena stemming from the cause of death.