A review of the scrooge effect and its moderating factors

Abstract

Research on mortality salience has traditionally been focused on its destructive qualities. According to the terror management theory, when a person is reminded of death, he gets anxious and seeks to transcend death by protecting his cultural worldviews and self-esteem. This has resulted in ingroup favouritism and prejudice in many cases. However, a spate of growing evidence in the last decade suggests prosocial outcomes for mortality salience as well. This is known as the Scrooge effect. In this literature review, we seek to examine if the Scrooge effect exists and the factors that affect it. A consolidation of papers on the effect has shown support for the Scrooge effect’s existence and uncovered various factors that influence it. Due to its strong basis in the terror management theory, some of the main factors we have found to influence the Scrooge effect are one’s cultural worldview and the presence of alternative ways to transcend death. Limitations and future directions for research on the Scrooge effect are also discussed.