Living the death: death attitudes and representations after a near-death experience

Over the last 40 years, since Moody’s (1975) seminal work, Near Death experiences (NDEs) have been being at the centre of several academic investigations in in psychology, philosophy and medicine, and the debate on its nature is still in progress (Agrillo, 2011). This topic widely extends the scientists’ and philosophers’ reflections on the relationship between mind and brain, life and death, as well as the entire ontological question (Moody, 1975; Rousseau, 2011; Fenwick 2012). Until now, a number of authors tried to investigate and propose an interpretation of NDE. In existing literature, we observe a predominance of opinion articles, review articles, and papers, which describe NDE’s features. A recent work, that offers a review of the literature, highlights a lack of empirical studies that test explanatory hypotheses by using original data (Sleutjes et al., 2014). Direct studies of the phenomenon in lab, or at least in a controlled condition, are not possible, given the subjective and extraordinary nature of this experience (see paragraph 1.1 for an extensive description). Thus, the investigation of what NDE produces in people (e.g., memories of the experience or the so-called NDE aftereffects) could represent a more suitable way to explore NDE nature, since if we can assess objectively differences between people who had a NDE and people who had not, we could be able to derive indirectly information about NDE. In this study, we focus on a widely reported aftereffect, which is not still understood: NDErs’ loss or reduction of fear of death (Tassel-Matamua & Lindsay, 2016). In order to explore the processes underlining the loss of fear of death in people who had a NDE, we apply a mixed methodology, in which explicit and implicit measures are included. The general aim of this study is to investigate conscious and unconscious death anxiety and death representations in people who had a NDE, and to provide insights on the nature of this fascinating phenomenon. In the first chapter, the theoretical framework of the study is provided. NDE has been described as an intense phenomenon that leads to a variety of psychological and interpersonal aftereffects. In this section, a number of theoretical models are extensively described in order to provide a useful framework to interpret this phenomenon. Moreover, a review on the death anxiety concept and the measures of fear of death is provided, highlighting differences between conscious fear of death, usually assessed with self-report instruments, and unconscious reaction toward death, assessed using implicit measures. Finally, Terror Management Theory (TMT) is introduced, as one of the most relevant models that describe human reactions toward death. In this piece of research, NDE is studied for the first time within a TMT framework, producing interesting implications that are discussed in last chapter. In the second chapter, the method is presented. In order to test our hypotheses and to integrate different perspectives and methodologies, participants’ death attitude is assessed using self-report scales, open ended questions, and an implicit measure of what is called “Death Thought Accessibility”, that it is an indirect measure of psychologically defensive reactions toward death. In the third chapter, results are reported, showing differences between people who had a NDE and those who do not. Specifically, people who had a near death experience reported less fear of death, more death acceptance, and a different representation of death with respect to individuals who had not have a NDE. In the fourth chapter, discussion of results and suggestions for future research are provided.