Deck 3: Changing Attitudes Toward Death

Question 1

Freud argued that:

A) In the unconscious, every one of us is convinced of his or her own mortality.
B) At bottom nobody believes in his or her own death.
C) Our own death is quite imaginable.
D) Awareness of individual mortality is the most basic source of anxiety.
E) Self-reports about death anxiety are both valid and reliable.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

According to many studies of death anxiety in our society, .

A) women report higher death anxiety than do men
B) men report higher death anxiety than do women
C) younger persons report less death anxiety than do adults
D) measuring death anxiety is relatively simple to accomplish
E) death anxiety is independent of one's life accomplishments

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Attitudes include a person's .

A) ways of presenting oneself to, or being in, the world
B) settled behaviors or manner of acting
C) postures of the body or dispositions to action
D) All of these
E) None of these

Answer 3

D

Question 4

When people say "Mary had a difficult death," they are likely to be referring to .

A) the manner of Mary's dying
B) the underlying cause of Mary's death
C) the aftermath of Mary's death
D) the implications of Mary's death for her spouse and family members
E) the likelihood that Mary committed suicide

Question 5

Which of the following is true about HIV infection?

A) As of 2015, only homosexual men are at risk for this infection.
B) The only persons who can be infected with HIV are women, children, and men.
C) One cannot be infected with HIV if one has sex with an infected person only once.
D) HIV is now a disease that is manageable without risk of undesirable side effects of the treatment
E) HIV is mainly a problem for the economically advantaged.

Question 6

Events immediately before, at the time of, and shortly after the death of John Stolzfus are .

A) typical of encounters with death in American society at the end of the 20th century
B) a model for death-related practices that are developing in the 21st century
C) similar to practices looking back to the 16th and 17th centuries
D) unique and unparalleled in other groups and times
E) None of these

Question 7

Attitudes toward death:

A) Are the same in all cultures and historical eras
B) Are unrelated to encounters with death
C) Help shape encounters with death
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 8

Anxieties associated with death may be found in:

A) Death-related attitudes about my own dying
B) Death-related attitudes about my own death
C) Death-related attitudes about what will happen to me after my death
D) Death-related attitudes about the dying, death, or bereavement of someone else
E) All of these

Question 9

Individuals might fear a sudden, unanticipated death because:

A) They want to "get ready to meet their Maker."
B) They want to say "I love you" and "Goodbye" to those they love.
C) They want to finish "unfinished business."
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 10

Human beings .

A) are passive receivers of information about their world
B) in no way shape their knowledge of what is happening around them
C) whether Amish or Puritan or secular, all shape their knowledge of the world around them in exactly the same way if they are members of American society
D) shape their encounters and knowledge of the world depending on their prior beliefs and feelings
E) do not have their attitudes toward death shaped by the numbers and sorts of varying encounters they have with death

Question 11

A situation in which I am concerned that I may experience a difficult life-threatening illness before I die is an example of:

A) Death-related attitudes about my own dying
B) Death-related attitudes about my own death
C) Death-related attitudes about what will happen to me after my death
D) Death-related attitudes about the dying, death, or bereavement of someone else
E) None of these

Question 12

Which of the following is the accurate number of persons living with HIV infection as of 2015 according to the CDC?
A) 8,750

A) Less than 11,000
B) More than 18,000
C) Almost 40,000
E) 78,200

Question 13

After John Stolzfus' first wife died, he remarried so that he would have someone to care for his five children.

A) So far, this is a typical encounter with death in American society in the 21st century.
B) This encounter with death is more typical of American encounters with death prior to the 20th century.
C) This demonstrates Amish attitudes that adopt behaviors among what they call the "English."
D) This behavior contrasts sharply with how Puritans behave in America today.
E) None of these

Question 14

In many studies of death anxiety in our society, .

A) en report higher death anxiety than women
B) older adults report more death anxiety than younger persons
C) individuals with strong religious convictions report more death anxiety than those who do not share such a value framework
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 15

An individual's attitudes about death and dying are most often closely connected to .

A) the individual's encounters with death
B) the individual's experiences with death
C) the individual's cultural background
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 16

A situation in which I try to hold onto my life for fear of losing so many things that are important to me is an example of:

A) Death-related attitudes about my own dying
B) Death-related attitudes about my own death
C) Death-related attitudes about what will happen to me after my death
D) Death-related attitudes about the dying, death, or bereavement of someone else
E) None of these

Question 17

A situation in which I am concerned that my death may lead to absolute nothingness is an example of:

A) Death-related attitudes about my own dying
B) Death-related attitudes about my own death
C) Death-related attitudes about what will happen to me after my death
D) Death-related attitudes about the dying, death, or bereavement of someone else
E) None of these

Question 18

A situation in which I am concerned that I may experience a terminal illness in an alien institution under the case of strangers who might not respect my person needs or wishes is an example of:

A) Death-related attitudes about my own dying
B) Death-related attitudes about my own death
C) Death-related attitudes about what will happen to me after my death
D) Death-related attitudes about the dying, death, or bereavement of someone else
E) None of these

Question 19

Many studies of death anxiety assume that:

A) Adequate instruments and methodologies are available to identify and measure death anxieties.
B) Individuals will be both willing and able to disclose their death anxieties.
C) Death anxiety does exist.
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 20

Attitudes are defined as:

A) Ways of presenting oneself to or being in the world
B) Expressions of fear and anxiety
C) Manifestations of friendliness and hospitality
D) Characteristics unique to the Amish and the Puritans of 17th century New England
E) Another word for "encounters"

Question 21

One point on which the Amish and the New England Puritans disagreed sharply was:

A) Belief in Christianity
B) Belief in the sinfulness and depravity of children
C) Belief that communities should workshop together
D) Their desire to reform certain aspects of Christian belief and practices
E) Their denial of death or unwillingness to think about that subject

Question 22

According to Ariès, ambivalence is most characteristic of which patterns of Western attitudes towards death?

A) Death of the self
B) Remote and imminent death
C) Tame death
D) Death denied
E) Death of the other

Question 23

According to students of Ariès' account of "death of the self," it encompasses .

A) an emphasis upon the "ars moriendi" or "art of dying well"
B) a view of the afterlife as nonthreatening
C) an emphasis upon spiritualism
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 24

According to Ariès, "death of the self" .

A) puts great emphasis on what one does at or just before the moment of one's death
B) emphasizes what a particular death means for the community
C) does not regard the moment of death as very important
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 25

According to Ariès, in "forbidden death" the dying person is most often:

A) Comforted
B) The center of a public death scene
C) Isolated
D) Permitted to express emotions freely
E) None of these

Question 26

According to Ariès, "death of the self" involves .

A) seeing death as a natural event
B) seeing death as leading to reward or punishment in a future state
C) an emphasis on relationships broken by death
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 27

People who have attitudes toward the dead that Ariès labeled "tame death" .

A) regard death as essentially a private event
B) are not primarily concerned with the loss of a member of the community
C) greatly fear the afterlife
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 28

According to Ariès, "death of the other" .

A) rejects a reunion with the beloved after death
B) perceives death as an intolerable separation from the one who dies
C) does not focus primary attention on the relationship between those who have died and God
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 29

According to Ariès, "death denied" is characterized by:

A) Limited mourning in public
B) New funerary rites invented in the United States
C) The dying person is deprived of his or her own death
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 30

According to Ariès, "death of the other" is characterized by:

A) A focus of attention primarily on the survivors
B) The possibility that mourners "lose control"
C) Anticipating reunion with loved ones in the next life
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 31

The Puritans of 17th century New England believed that .

A) human beings were basically good and worthy of salvation
B) God, in His infinite mercy and love, would give eternal reward to all people
C) they could rely on the "sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life"
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 32

The analysis in Chapter 3 of the eighth edition of Death Dying, Life and & Living of four types of death-related concerns commonly found in individuals in our society demonstrates that .

A) all humans are anxious about death
B) there is little variation in human attitudes toward death
C) death-related attitudes can be influenced by human beings
D) the distinction between "fear" and "anxiety" is prominent in death-related research
E) All of these concerns essentially involve the same thing

Question 33

Ariès found "forbidden death" to include which of the following?

A) Death is most often seen as dirty and indecent.
B) More and more people are present at the moment of death.
C) Death is seen as unthreatening.
D) Mourning is more public than it was in earlier centuries.
E) Death is seen as a normal part of living.

Question 34

According to Ariès, "tame death" means that .

A) people view death as a natural event
B) people view death as a wild force
C) people view death as a phenomenon beyond their control
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 35

Aries' description of an attitude toward death he called "tame death" differs from what he called "death of the self" by which of the following characteristics?

A) Tame death is one where the focus of attention is almost entirely on what the death means for the dying person.
B) In tame death, death is typically faced more calmly than it is in death of the self.
C) In death of the self, death is seen as a sort of sleep and thus is unthreatening.
D) In death of the self, the concerns and needs of the community take precedence over those of the dying person.
E) An "ars moriendi" developed historically around an attitude of tame death.

Question 36

A situation in which I am concerned about what will happen to my spouse after my death is an example of:

A) Death-related attitudes about my own dying
B) Death-related attitudes about my own death
C) Death-related attitudes about what will happen to me after my death
D) Death-related attitudes about the dying, death, or bereavement of someone else
E) None of these

Question 37

According to Ariès, "death of the self" .

A) focuses on a final testing period and a judgment as the dominant image for life after death
B) emphasizes what a particular death means for the community
C) does not regard the moment of death as very important
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 38

The analysis in Chapter 3 of the eighth edition of Death Dying, Life and & Living of four types of death-related concerns commonly found in Individuals in our society demonstrates that:

A) All humans are anxious about death.
B) There is great variation in human attitudes toward death.
C) Death-related attitudes cannot be influenced by human beings.
D) The distinction between "fear" and "anxiety" is prominent in death-related research.
E) All of these concerns essentially involve the same thing.

Question 39

The Puritans of 17th century New England believed that .

A) human beings were basically good and worthy of salvation
B) God, in His infinite mercy and love, would give eternal life to all people
C) each person was utterly and totally depraved
D) they could rely on the "sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life"
E) death was not something to be feared

Question 40

In his analysis of "tame death," Ariès found:

A) No great fear of death
B) Familiarity with death
C) A major focus of attention on the community
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 41

Philippe Ariès' described changing attitudes toward death in Western culture. Answer both of the following:
a. Explain carefully what Ariès holds to be the typical attitude(s) toward death in our contemporary society. Make plain the typical feelings, beliefs, and behaviors that Ariès believes are found among people living in today's society early in the 21st century when they respond to death.
b. Choose specific, concrete examples from your experience that clearly demonstrate how someone you know has acted on these attitudes.

Question 42

What does it mean to speak of an "attitude" toward death? Why is it important to understand the role played by attitudes in our experiences with death?

Question 43

Philippe Ariès described five different types of attitudes toward death. Choose one of these attitudes (as Ariès discussed it), and describe it carefully enough so that it can be distinguished from the other four. Make plain what is particularly unique about the attitude you choose to describe.

Question 44

Chapter 3 in our textbook described four basic types of death-related concerns and responses that an individual might have. Identify and explain each of these types.
Give an example of each.

Question 45

Identify and describe three points of contrast in the death-related attitudes that are prominent among the Amish, the Puritans of 17th century New England, and the mainstream of contemporary American society. Be specific. Give examples.

Question 46

Describe the attitudes toward death that characterize the Puritan community of 17th century New England.

Question 47

Explain what is meant by Terror Management Theory. What are the strengths and the weaknesses or limitations of this theory?

Question 48

Describe two of the central attitudes toward death that characterize the Amish community in which John Stolzfus lived.

Question 49

Describe the notion of "death anxiety" and explain how it is relevant to the contents of Chapter 3 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living.

Question 50

Discuss three lessons drawn from the discussion in Chapter 3 about recent interest in death anxiety?