This is pretty cool. Scary, mind you. But it gives some academic cover to things We Pretty Much Knew All Along. From today's Chicago Tribune, with some rearrangement of paragraphs for condensation purposes:

How people deal with existential concerns could help explain a broad spectrum of behavior, they believe, from political and religious leanings to altruism and the pursuit of riches to patriotism and terrorism.

Already, experiments have shown that when people are reminded of their own deaths, they become more patriotic, more conservative, more family-oriented, more security-minded.

The developing field, called experimental existential psychology, or XXP, explores how people find meaning and purpose in their lives.

Okay, enough with the la-ti-dah psychobabble. What does this have to do with the price of ice cubes in Alaska?

In the United States, the threat of terrorism has made citizens feel more anxious for security. A study Greenberg and his colleagues conducted before the 2004 presidential election found that college students were slightly in favor of Democrat John Kerry. But when the students were reminded of their mortality, a fear that terrorism provokes, the majority favored his Republican opponent, George Bush.

Bet these are three scientists who are having no trouble at all getting their grant requests approved. And without even having to cite abstinence, creationism, or Jeebus! Although god-bothering does manage to creep in to their study, they are clear to cite it as an effect rather than a cause: Read more…