Jess & Whitney’s Presentation at the Evolutionary Perspectives on Death Conference

Recently, graduate students Whitney Dominick and Jess Kopitz shared a poster presentation at an annual conference hosted by the Department of Psychology at Oakland University. Over the past several years, the Department of Psychology has hosted an evolution-focused conference, and this year’s event was titled “Evolutionary Perspectives of Death.” The goal of the conference was twofold: to enrich one’s understanding of death and dying, and to recognize the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. During a portion of the conference, graduate students had the opportunity to give a poster presentation. Whitney and Jess’s study titled “Cross-Cultural Differences in Perceptions of Death in Japanese and American Undergraduates” examined four death-related components: 1) emotions evoked by thoughts of death (sorrow versus anxiety), 2) focus on self versus others, 3) mention of reincarnation, and 4) mention of living a fulfilling life. Whitney and Jess predicted that participants from Japan and America would differ in each category, with Japanese participants predicted to mention reincarnation more than Americans and American participants predicted to mention fulfillment in life more than Japanese. All their hypotheses were supported, suggesting significant cultural differences in the way death is perceived and cognitively processed. Well done, Jess and Whitney!