Undergraduate Students’ Beliefs About Different Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena

Ninety-seven undergraduate students responded to a survey regarding their beliefs about unusual end-of-life phenomena (EOLP). Previous studies have examined beliefs about EOLP collectively (i.e., as a single entity). The purpose of this study was to examine participants' beliefs about different EOLP separately. To that end, participants responded "yes", "no", or "unsure" to 36 statements about 18 different EOLP (two statements for each phenomenon). The results revealed that participants believed in some EOLP (e.g., 62% believed that pets behave strangely when their owner is about to die), disbelieved in some EOLP (e.g., 78% disbelieved that clocks and watches can stop when someone dies), and were uncertain about still others (e.g., 44% were unsure whether a dying person's deceased loved ones will be there to collect them when they die and take them on a journey to the afterlife). Limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.