Death salience influences responsibility toward future generations and pro-environmental attitudes: A cross-generational study

This study aimed to investigate the impact of death salience on perceived responsibility toward future generations and pro-environmental attitudes across generations. Using a sample of 1243 participants from Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and Silent Generation, an experimental manipulation of death salience resulted in lowered responsibility toward future generations among participants in the death salience condition compared with the control condition. Generation Z had a lower perceived responsibility toward future generations than Generation X and Baby Boomers. Silent Generation had lower pro-environmental attitudes than Generation Z, Millennials, and Generation X. Baby Boomers had lower pro-environmental attitudes than Generation Z and Millennials. The interaction between death salience and generation showed no significant effect on the dependent variables. These findings suggest that leveraging responsibility toward future generations for climate action is promising, but making death salient may undermine this approach.