In their own world: Creative people are not as afraid of death as others

People with a creative bent of mind are less anxious about death than others, scientists from the University of Kent have claimed in a recent study.

People with a creative bent of mind are less anxious about death than others, scientists from the University of Kent have claimed in a recent study.

Published in the Journal of Creative Behavior, the study suggests that creative people, such as recently-announced Nobel Prize winner for Literature Bob Dylan, are often thought to be motivated by the desire to leave an enduring cultural legacy.

Through their creative work, people like Leonard Cohen and David Bowie continue to live on in our culture even after passing away.

Conversely, the destruction of ancient monuments and artifacts in Iraq in 2015 by members of Islamic State could be interpreted as a symbolic act aimed at achieving high negative impact on society through the destruction of a cultural legacy.

It is through their creative work that artistes continue to live on in our culture even after passing away.

Now research, conducted by Rotem Perach showed that those with high levels of creative ambition and achievement are particularly likely to be more resilient to death concerns.

The students completed two questionnaires to gauge their level of creative achievement and creative ambition.

Those with a record of creative achievement, coupled to high levels of creative ambition, were found to make less death associations in their thought processes after thinking about their own demise in comparison to those in the control condition.

In comparison, among those with low levels of creative ambition — whatever their record of creative achievement — thinking about their own mortality did not affect their levels of death-thought accessibility in comparison to controls.

The findings suggested that those who pursue creativity and produce significant creative contributions may benefit from existential security in the face of death.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more.