Empowering the self: Using the terror management health model to promote breast self-examination

According to the terror management health model, when thoughts of death are non-consciously activated, health decisions should be influenced by identity-relevant motivations. Therefore, in this context, framing a health behavior as a tool to empower the self should increase intentions to engage in the behavior and enhanced feelings of empowerment after doing so. In Study 1, women for whom death thoughts were more accessible responded to an empowerment frame with increased breast self-exam intentions relative to women for whom death thoughts were less accessible. In Study 2, priming death led to increased empowerment feelings after conducting an exam framed as empowering. Discussion focuses on empowerment as a health promotion tool in contexts likely to activate non-conscious death thoughts.