Wang Yuanyuan, Pei Fuhua, Yang Yisheng, Wang Junxiu
School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
School of Psychology, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, Shandong, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Apr 25;16:1567600. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1567600. eCollection 2025.
This study employs Heidegger's philosophy, Goal Content Theory, and Terror Management Theory to investigate the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic goals in the relationship between death attitudes (neutral acceptance vs. death anxiety) and the good life experience. Analyzing nationally representative data from the Chinese Social Mentality Survey (N=10,195), structural equation models revealed three key findings: (1) Neutral acceptance positively correlated with the good life experience, whereas death anxiety demonstrated negative associations; (2) In the primary conceptual model (Model 1), intrinsic goals mediated while extrinsic goals suppressed the relationship between the death attitudes and the good life experience; (3) Further model validation indicated that consistent suppression effects of extrinsic goals in national stability (Model 2) and personal richness (Model 4) frameworks, with distinctive dual mediation emerging in family happiness (Model 3). Notably, the personal richness model (Model 4) showed non-significant total effects despite preserved mediation patterns. These results advance existential psychology by elucidating culture-specific mechanisms through which death attitudes influences well-being in Chinese populations, while providing empirical validation and theoretical refinement of Goal Content Theory's cross-cultural applicability.
本研究运用海德格尔哲学、目标内容理论和恐惧管理理论，探讨内在目标和外在目标在死亡态度（中性接受与死亡焦虑）与美好生活体验之间关系中的作用。通过分析来自中国社会心态调查的全国代表性数据（N = 10195），结构方程模型揭示了三个关键发现：（1）中性接受与美好生活体验呈正相关，而死亡焦虑则呈负相关；（2）在主要概念模型（模型1）中，内在目标起中介作用，而外在目标抑制了死亡态度与美好生活体验之间的关系；（3）进一步的模型验证表明，外在目标在国家稳定（模型2）和个人丰富（模型4）框架中具有一致的抑制作用，在家庭幸福（模型3）框架中出现独特的双重中介作用。值得注意的是，尽管保留了中介模式，但个人丰富模型（模型4）的总效应不显著。这些结果通过阐明死亡态度影响中国人群幸福感的特定文化机制，推进了存在心理学的发展，同时为目标内容理论的跨文化适用性提供了实证验证和理论完善。
