Present-orientation and the outcome of contemplating death

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the outcome of contemplating death during young adulthood, a change in time attitude, is influenced by present-orientation via the views of death. A total of 199 undergraduates responded to a questionnaire assessing time attitude and present-orientation before and after the assignment to contemplate death. The results of structural equation modeling revealed that present-orientation has a direct effect on the outcome, but the view of death does not have a mediated effect. The results of ANOVA also supported the direct effect of present-orientation. The analysis of the individual description showed that present-orientation has relevance with how to think life after contemplating death. The relationships between contemplating death and young adults’ ego identity which is closely related to time perspective were discussed.

Keywords

Death present-orientation time attitude balanced time perspective adolescence

In Japan today, there are many young adults whose behavior disregards the value of life. Examples include vicious bullying, suicide, delinquency, prostitution, NEET (young people not in education, employment, or training), and hikikomori (extreme isolation). Ebine (2009) analyzed cases in which young people displayed a wanton disregard of life and found that they tended to have had limited opportunities in their family home to develop an outlook on life and death. He argued that schools have an important role to play in developing this outlook. Young people are becoming increasingly insulated from the reality of death due to various factors, including the increasing number of deaths taking place in hospitals (as opposed to the family home), the rise of the nuclear family, and the prevalence of video games that trivialize death. It has therefore become necessary to teach young people about the reality of life and death in schools.

Death education that focuses on living a better life

A form of death education that focuses on both life and death will help young people live a better life and address this problem. According to Deeken (2001), people should be mindful of how their life will one day end, consider how they can best use the precious time allotted to them, and make proactive steps to live better. He argues that death education is synonymous with life education in that it encourages people to make the most out of their limited time. Similarly, Tai (2002) states that all people must face death eventually and the prime focus of death education should be on valuing time before this eventuality occurs. The notion that death education benefits a person’s life is also supported by Kubler-Ross (1975), who argued that people who have an awareness of death do not stop growing until the very final stage of life. Furthermore, Attig (1992) demonstrated the importance of deepening life understanding within the theme of death. Kurlychek (1977) also emphasized the impact of death education upon life. Thus, it appears that death education, by using the topic of death as a springboard for thinking about life, can help people lead better lives.

Nevertheless, there is limited research into the outcome of such education. One of the few studies on this rarely handled topic, Wong (2009) revealed a strong correlation between attitudes about life and death as a result of death education. Another such study by Hee and Eunjoo (2009) revealed that there are higher feelings of satisfaction among people who receive death education. However, the research has not clarified the mechanism. In addition, the outcome of such education has not been empirically verified since no control group was used. Therefore, the research falls far short of practical application. In order to propagate death education, it will be necessary to provide empirical evidence of the outcome of focusing on leading a better life. That will include clarifying the theoretical background and mechanism involved.

Death contemplation and time attitude

Discussing death is likely to have an impact on young adults’ approaches to life, particularly on their time attitude (Shirai, 1994a), which refers to their affective appraisals of past, present, and future. According to Shirai (2001), when people realize the reality of death, they become aware of the importance of their time, which they had previously spent casually and aimlessly. It is in fact very precious and they begin to critically review the values they hold. Shimojima and Gamou (2009) gave university students a learning task that provided a simulated experience of the dying process. They found that as a result of engaging in the task, the students placed more importance on the present and harbored more specific future hopes. Hankoff (1975) also argued that coming face to face with death will open young adults’ eyes to the significance of their limited time. Ishida (2008) asked university students to consider how they would live out their remaining days and observed that many of the students showed a positive attitude; they earnestly contemplated what they should do with the rest of their lives and conveyed a desire to value them. Ishii (2013) investigated the issue more directly in a study that used a control group. This study empirically demonstrated that thinking about death facilitates a positive time attitude.

Individual differences that affect the outcome of contemplating death

While it has been confirmed that time attitude is affected by contemplating death, something that must be clarified before death education can be implemented practically. Until now, death education has often aimed to ease the fear and unease associated with death, but the actual impact of death education in this regard appears to be inconsistent. In some studies, such as the ones by Hutchison and Scierman (1992) and Peal et al. (1981), death anxiety decreased as a result of death education. On the other hand, other studies such as those by Bailis and Kennedy (1997) and Knight and Elfenbein (1993) reported that death anxiety actually increases. Discrepancies between the various research results are not the only issue. Knight and Elfenbein (1993) reported that death education increases death anxiety, but the impact varies considerably between individuals. There have in fact been some studies into such individual differences. Cronbach (1957) proposed the Aptitude × Treatment Interaction formula as a measure by which individual differences among learners may be used to optimize educational instruction. In death education also, it would be hardly surprising to find that individual differences affect learning outcome. For example, Johansson and Lally (1990) and Maglio and Robinson (1994) focused on occupation, educational level, age, and gender as individual difference variables. It is not possible to advance the practical implementation of life-focused death education without an exploration into individual differences. A clarification of the psychological factors and processes will also be necessary.

Thinking about how best to live out one’s remaining days is believed to be an essential part of a life-focused death education (Attig, 1992; Deeken, 2001; Tai, 2002). Shirai (1994b) argued that to engage in issues of death is to engage in issues of life. Becoming aware of the reality of death will bring home the preciousness of life, facilitate an improvement in the quality of life, and ultimately lead to true self-actualization. In his practice, Komatsu (2001) demonstrated that tackling the topic of death prompts a re-examination of how one should live their life. Ishizaka (2006) quantitatively investigated the correlation between attitudes toward life and death and concluded that the view of death one forms will affect one’s attitude toward life; that is, how one lives their life. Fujiwara (2011) argued that forming a positive view of death prompts one to focus on life and consider its meaning; specifically, how to live out one’s remaining days in a meaningful way. Thus, whether a contemplation of death will lead to a contemplation of life and affect time attitude will likely depend on whether the contemplator can form a positive view of death. It follows therefore that the factors influencing views of death can explain the individual differences in outcome.

It has been argued that views of death are related to ego development during young adulthood (Morita, 2007; Tange, 1995). It may be related in particular to the foundational part of such development, namely temporal orientation. Temporal orientation is defined by Kono (2003) as an individual’s awareness of the past, present, and future. It involves the measurement of quantity of consciousness. Time attitude, used in the present study as an outcome index, represents a kind of emotional appraisal; as such, it is distinguished conceptually from temporal orientation (Hulbert and Lens, 1988; Nuttin and Lens, 1985; Shirai, 1997). Matsuda (1996) investigated the relationship between such temporal consciousness and views of death and found that strongly future-oriented people tend to form a negative view of death, whereas strongly present-oriented people tend not to do so. Takase and Hirai (1999) also showed that strongly present-oriented people tend to form a positive view of death, whereas people who have a weak present-orientation tend to disregard death or form a negative view. Thus, the research suggests that when people contemplate death, those with a strong present-orientation will form a positive view of death and think about how they should live out their “present” prior to death. On the other hand, those with a weak present-orientation will disregard death or view it negatively and will not then contemplate life. In short, the strength of one’s present-orientation before contemplating death is a predictor of the outcome of contemplation.

Study objective and hypothesis

Based on this, it is reasonable to propose the following hypothesis. The potential outcome of a young adult contemplating their own death—namely, gaining a time attitude wherein they feel satisfied with the present and are oriented toward future goals—is moderated by the strength of present-orientation as mediated by their view of death. In other words, when strongly present-oriented young adults contemplate death, they will form a positive view of death and, in turn, develop a positive time attitude. On the other hand, those with a weak present-orientation will form a negative view of death, thereby precluding that outcome. In this study, we aimed to verify this hypothesis and thereby clarify the individual difference variables that influence the time attitude outcome of contemplating death during young adulthood. In addition to views of death, we also asked participants to freely describe their attitudes about life as part of an exploratory analysis of the mechanisms by which present-orientation exerts its influence.

Method

Participants

The study was conducted with 199 participants in October 2013. Of these, 67 students were from University A, a private institution, and 132 were from College B, a public institution. Of the participants who engaged in the death contemplation task and answered all questions in the pretask and posttask questionnaire, we excluded those who provided deficient answers or whose age was 26 or above (who probably cannot be considered young adults). We then analyzed the data of the remaining 32 participants (15 males, 17 females, average age of 19.47).

Procedure

The study took place over a two-week period. We used a simultaneous distribution and collection method. We distributed the task sheets and the pre- and posttask questionnaires in the relevant order during a psychology-related lecture and asked the participants to complete and return them at the same location. The pretask questionnaire was conducted one week before tackling the task, assessing “satisfaction with present,” “goal-orientation,” and “present-orientation.” The posttask questionnaire was conducted immediately after the task, assessing “satisfaction with present” and “goal-orientation.” We distributed the posttask questionnaire once we had confirmed that all the participants had completed the entire task.

Ethical considerations

The participants received a written explanation (on their task sheet) and a verbal explanation. Explanations clearly conveyed that the task concerned the topic of “death,” they should not feel obliged to participate if they had a problem with the topic, and they were free to withdraw from the study at any time. After this explanation, the participants indicated their informed consent by circling an “I consent to take part” field on a consent form before proceeding with the task.

Questionnaires

Measuring time attitude

To measure time attitude, we used part of the Experiential Time Perspective Scale developed by Shirai (1994a). The scale consists of four subscales and 18 questions. Specifically, four questions on “acceptance of past” measure attitudes about the past, five questions on “satisfaction with present” measure attitudes about the present, five questions on “goal-orientation” measure attitudes about the future, and four questions measure “aspirations.” Shirai’s scale (1994a) has had its reliability (based on internal consistency) and construct validity confirmed. For the present study, we used the questions on “satisfaction with present” and “goal-orientation” (10 questions) as outcome indices of contemplating death. An example item for “satisfaction with present” is my daily life is satisfying. An example item for “goal-orientation” is I have goals for the future. Each item is scored on a five-point scale (1: disagree strongly, 2: disagree, 3: cannot say either way, 4: agree, 5: agree strongly) with higher scores indicating greater “satisfaction with present” and “goal-orientation.”

Measuring present-orientation

We referred to free descriptive data of Shirai (1997) and the case study by Kono (2003), and drew up the following five items for measuring “present-orientation”: 1. I am focused on the things directly before me; 2. I give all to the present; 3. The present should be treated as important; 4. I want to be satisfied in the here and now; and 5. I am happy with my daily life. A survey conducted with 157 university students confirmed the scale’s factorial validity and the discriminant and convergent validity between time attitude and temporal continuity. Each item is scored on the same five-point scale with higher scores indicating greater present-orientation.

Measuring views of death and attitudes toward life

The participants were asked to read a text about death and provide descriptive answers to the following questions: Having read the text, what do you think about your own death? and Having read the text, what do you think about your own life? The space provided for answering each question was, in both cases, one third of an A4 page.

According to Jankelevitch (1978), there are three modes of viewing death: death in the third person (death is treated as general and impersonal), death in the second person (death of someone close), and death in the first person (anticipating one’s own death). Shimojima and Gamou (2009) discussed how contemplating death in the first person prompts one to think seriously about one’s own death. They claimed that their study raised the participants’ awareness in various ways. We decided that a serious contemplation of one’s own death would be necessary in our study as well, given that time attitude is being used as an index of outcome. Therefore, the questions inquired about death in the first person; that is, the participant’s own death.

Death contemplation task

The participants were required to read an approximately 1000 character text in Japanese about death. They were given about 20 min to read the text and answer the questions. While the text depicts an experience of death, no one actually dies. We judged that this stimulus material would not present a serious psychological burden to the participants. In addition, this text recounts an experience of death resulting from a motor accident, which is something that can happen to anyone. We therefore felt that this text would make it easy for the participants to contemplate their own death.

Results

Scale construction

Based on Shirai’s (1994a) scale construction, we calculated the total of the scores for each item in “satisfaction with present” and “goal-orientation.” We used the mean value to represent the score for that subscale. In order to verify internal consistency, we calculated Cronbach’s alpha. For “satisfaction with present,” it was a = .77 (pretask) and a = .84 (posttask). For “goal-orientation,” it was a = .82 and a = .84. These results confirmed that the scale had internal consistency. We totaled the scores for the five items and used the mean value to represent the “present-orientation” score. The Cronbach’s alpha for “present-orientation” was a = .78, which confirmed internal consistency. Table 1 shows the scores for each subscale, the mean and standard deviation values for item groups’ scores, and the alpha coefficients. We divided the descriptive answers to the question on death (used to measure views of death) into three categories based on a positive–neutral–negative axis. Answers in which death was described in positive terms, or where the participant mentioned living positively in view of death, were assigned to the “positive view” category. Answers that described death as a mere reality, or where the participant only provided an objective and factual account concerning death, were assigned to the “neutral understanding” category. Answers that described death in negative terms, or where the participant displayed their intention to avoid thinking of the matter, were assigned to the “negative/denial” category. Sample answers of each category are shown in Table 2. We were assisted in this categorization process by two graduate students who majored in psychology and were unaware of the study’s objective. In cases where there was discrepancy in the categorization of an answer, we held discussions and came to a decision on a singular category assignment. The concordance rate among the evaluators was 78.13%.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics of satisfaction of present, goal-orientation, and present-orientation.

	Pretask			Posttask
	M	SD	α	M	SD	α
Satisfaction of present	2.99	0.81	.77	3.02	0.89	.84
Goal-orientation	3.18	0.97	.82	3.19	0.91	.84
Present-orientation	3.89	0.67	.78

Table 2.

Sample answers of each category.

Category	Sample answers
Positive view	“I will live my own way until my death.” “I want to die being content with my life.”
Neutral understanding	“Life and death are opposite sides of the same coin.” “Nobody knows when death comes.”
Negative/denial	“I will feel regret when dying.” “I do not think about anything.”

The relationship between present-orientation/views of death and the outcome of contemplating death

We used structural equation modeling to test the hypothetical model that present-orientation influences the outcome of contemplating death through the mediation of views of death. The correlation coefficients between the variables are shown in Table 3.

Table 3.

The correlation coefficients among time attitude, views of death, and present-orientation.

	Satisfaction of present (pretask)	Satisfaction of present (posttask)	Goal- orientation (pretask)	Goal- orientation (posttask)	Views of death
Satisfaction of present (posttask)	.78**
Goal-orientation (pretask)	.32^†	.38*
Goal-orientation (posttask)	.37*	.53**	.88**
Views of death	.13	.22	.14	.26
Present-orientation	.58**	.67**	−.01	.17	.32^†

†

p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01.

Evaluating “satisfaction with present” as an outcome index

Figure 1 shows the model in which “satisfaction with present” is used as an outcome index of contemplating death. We postulated the covariance between “satisfaction with present: pre-task” and “present-orientation.” This model showed sufficient goodness of fit with χ² (1) = 0.14, p = .71, GFI = 1.00, AGFI = .98, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = .00. There was a path coefficient of .66 (p < .01) between “satisfaction with present: post-task” and “satisfaction with present: pre-task.” We also observed a significant direct path of .41 (p < .05) from “present-orientation” to “satisfaction with present: post-task.” On the other hand, while the path from “present-orientation” to “views of death” tended to be significant at .34, the path coefficient from “views of death” to “satisfaction with present: post-task” was close to 0 and not significant. The covariance between “satisfaction with present: pre-task” and “present-orientation” was significant (p < .05) at .30. Based on these data, the multiple correlation coefficient of “satisfaction with present: post-task” was .69.

Figure 1.

The influence of present-orientation and views of death on the outcome of contemplating death (outcome index: satisfaction of present). **p < .01, *p < .05, ^†p < .10.

Evaluating “goal-orientation” as an outcome index

Figure 2 shows the model in which “goal-orientation” is used as an outcome index of contemplating death. This model showed sufficient goodness of fit, at χ² (2) = 0.68, p = .71, GFI = .99, AGFI = .95, CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = .00. There was a path coefficient of .82 (p < .01) between “goal-orientation: post-task” and “goal-orientation: pre-task.” There was also a significant, albeit small, direct path coefficient of .19 (p < .10) from “present-orientation” to “goal-orientation: post-task.” As with Figure 1, the path from “present-orientation” to “views of death” tended to be significant at .34, but the path coefficient from “views of death” to “goal-orientation: post-task” was low at .12 and not significant. Based on this data, the multiple correlation coefficient of “goal-orientation: post-task” was .81.

Figure 2.

The influence of present-orientation and views of death on the outcome of contemplating death (outcome index: goal-orientation). **p < .01, *p < .05, †p < .10.

The influence of present-orientation on the outcome of contemplating death

In order to examine how the outcome of contemplating death varies depending on the strength of present-orientation, we divided the participants into a strong and a weak present-orientation group. We then analyzed the groups’ mean scores for “satisfaction with present” and “goal-orientation” pre- and posttask. The division of the participants was based on the mean scores for present-orientation. We conducted a one-way factorial analysis of variance in which the independent variable was (strong/weak present-orientation group) and the dependent variable was (differences in scores for “satisfaction with present” and “goal-orientation” between pretask and posttask). The analysis revealed a significant difference in both “satisfaction with present” (F (1, 31) = 5.18, p < .05) and “goal-orientation” (F (1, 30) = 4.44, p < .05). In both cases, the strong present-orientation group had a high mean difference in scores. Figures 3 and 4 show how the mean scores for both groups differed between the pretask and posttask.

Figure 3.

Changes of satisfaction of present before and after the task in each present-orientation group.

Figure 4.

Changes of goal-orientation before and after the task in each present-orientation group.

An exploratory examination of the mechanisms by which present-orientation influences the outcome of contemplating death

In order to explore the mechanisms by which present-orientation influences the outcome of contemplating death, we analyzed the descriptive answers for the second question concerning attitudes toward life.

We divided the participants’ answers to this question into three categories as this is deeply related to the outcome index and individual differences variables. The three categories were “references to one’s past,” “references to one’s present,” and “references to one’s future.” Each of the descriptive answers was assigned to the category it best matched. The categorization process was as described above. The concordance rate was 75%.

In order to determine whether the strength/weakness of present-orientation was reflected in the proportion of descriptive answers in each category, we cross-tabulated category with present-orientation group (Table 4) and conducted Fisher’s exact test. The results proved significant (p = .01). We therefore conducted a residual analysis on cell frequencies of five or more where the statistics were expected to follow the model distribution. The analysis revealed that the observed frequencies for (strong present-orientation group/‘references to one’s present’) (p < .01) and (weak present-orientation group/‘references to one’s future) (p < .01) were both significantly higher than the expected frequencies. The observed frequency for (weak present-orientation group/‘references to one’s present) was significantly lower than the expected frequency (p < .05).

Table 4.

Descriptive answers concerning attitudes toward life in each present-orientation group.

	References to one’s past	References to one’s present	References to one’s future	Total
Strong present-orientation	2	11	3	16
Strong present-orientation	6.25	34.38	9.38	50.00
Weak present-orientation	0	5	11	16
Weak present-orientation	0.00	15.63	34.38	50.00
Total	2	16	14	32
Total	6.25	50.00	43.75	100.00

Note. Upper row indicates frequency, lower row indicates ratio (%).

Discussion

In this study, we sought to clarify how the potential outcome of contemplating death during young adulthood, a change in time attitude, is influenced by the individual difference variable of “present-orientation” via the mediation variable “views of death.” To achieve this, we conducted a survey-based study on university students.

Model for explaining individual differences in outcome

We formulated a hypothetical model in which present-orientation exerts influence on the outcome of contemplating death via views of death. When we tested this model using structural equation modeling, the results were unexpected. Regardless of whether the outcome index used was satisfaction with the present or goal-orientation, we scarcely observed present-orientation exerting influence on outcome via views of death. This suggests that present-orientation influences the outcome directly. We assumed that for death contemplation to affect a change in time attitude, the contemplation of death must become a catalyst for contemplating life. In order for this to happen, the contemplator must form a positive view of death, which in turn relies on present-orientation. Our study does corroborate the findings of Takase and Hirai (1999) on the relationship between present-orientation and positive views of death, but they do not show that a positive view of death leads to a contemplation of life. Ishizaka (2006) conducted a cross-sectional study on views of life and death and found them to be related. By contrast, our study was prospective in examining the impact of contemplation of death on views of life at a later point in time. The views of death participants formed after reading the text about death depended to some extent on the way they comprehended the text. There is a possibility that the views they formed differed from their original views of death. In our study, we did not compare the views of death participants formed against a default or baseline value (Ishizaka’s cross-sectional study did not do so either). Therefore, there is a future need to examine how changes in views of death affect changes in views of life.

While it is true that more needs to be done to investigate such changes, the fact that views of death per se did not impact the outcome suggests that present-orientation directly influences death becoming a catalyst for contemplation of life. When we performed analyses of covariance on the differences in scores between the two points in time, we found that the strong present-orientation group achieved higher mean scores after the task. Conversely, the weak present-orientation group achieved lower scores after the task. Furthermore, the analysis of the descriptive answers on attitudes toward life revealed that a contemplation of death prompts those with strong present-orientation to contemplate their present life. Alternatively, it prompts those with weak present-orientation to contemplate their future life. The outcome of contemplating death, namely a feeling of satisfaction and orientation toward goals, relies on a process whereby contemplation of a future eventuality (death) leads to a contemplation of one’s present way of life. It stands to reason then that a strong focus on the present time impacts this outcome.

Death contemplation and young adults’ development

The outcome of contemplating death and the individual difference variable that affects it, strength of present-orientation, are probably related to the development of time perspective. Shirai (1997) conducted a survey among university students examining their temporal orientation. The survey revealed that 76.2% of them were oriented to the present to a greater degree than they were to the past and future. With regard to time perspective development, Lewin (1951) reported that as people age, their present behavior becomes affected by more distant future and past events; they begin to differentiate between the present and nonpresent. Shirai (1997) reported that as young adults develop greater awareness of the relationship between goals and means, they start placing more weight on present behavior with a view to achieving their future goals. Shirai also found that while their future perspective in terms of cognitive capacity expands, their future perspective in terms of interests narrows until they make the shift to full adulthood. Young adults hold a realistic perception of the future and engage in instrumental thinking with a view to achieving such a future; hence, they focus heavily on the present. If it is the case that young adults are strongly oriented to the present due to thinking instrumentally about the future, then contemplating death and dealing with the reality that one’s lifetime is limited will presumably prompt them to recognize afresh the preciousness of the present time, increase their feeling of satisfaction, and further strengthen their goal-orientation.

The outcome of contemplating death may also be related to young adults’ ego identity. However, Shirai (1997) discovered that people who have formed an ego identity place relative weight on the future. If we relate this finding to ours, namely that the outcome of contemplating death relies on strong present-orientation, we assume that the outcome would not occur if the contemplator has established an ego identity. Zimbardo and Boyd (1999) argued that a well-balanced time perspective is psychologically and physically healthy and thus the ideal time perspective. Moreover, Shirai, Nakamura, and Katsuma (2012) revealed that a temporal orientation balancing between past, present, and future is associated with ego identity establishment during young adulthood. Thus, the research suggests that individuals with an established ego identity have a relatively strong future-orientation that is well integrated with their present and past-orientation. The results of our study might not apply to those with established ego identities. In the future, there is a need to study the outcome of contemplating death controlling for ego identity. Such research should help clarify the relationship between ego identity and the outcome of contemplating death.

Future issues and limitations of this study

This study revealed that contemplating death has a positive effect on satisfaction with present and goal-orientation when present-orientation is strong and has the opposite effect when present-orientation is weak. The outcome of contemplating death involves a process whereby contemplation of the future eventuality of death leads to contemplation of present life; hence, it is essential to have a strong present-orientation. The study can provide material for policy formulation designed to implement death education more safely and securely. Given that the study showed that contemplating death negatively affects time attitude in the case of weak present-orientation, it may be possible to avoid this negative effect by measuring strength of present-orientation before completing death education. Further research is needed to clarify whether it is possible to increase the strength of present-orientation and thereby control the outcome.

This study’s finding concerning the importance of present-orientation may have been affected by the text content in the task. The text used in this study recounted a near-death experience due to a motor accident; as such, it likely emphasized that the participants’ own death could happen at any moment. While it does appear that the outcome of contemplating death is obtained by death becoming a catalyst for contemplation about life, the particular task used in this study may have prompted the participants to contemplate their present way of life more than they would have otherwise, thus facilitating the present-orientation, which controlled the outcome. It is also conceivable that when contemplating the death that lies in wait sometime in the future, the outcome may be controlled by future-orientation. Multiple stimulus materials are needed to investigate the relationship between the outcome of contemplating death and past/present/future-orientations. Furthermore, contemplation on matters such as death and time may also be affected by religious and cultural factors. There needs to be a comparative study to examine whether the results obtained in this study can be replicated in other countries with different cultural backgrounds. Such research should help clarify the relationship between young adulthood and the topic of death as well as facilitate greater understanding of young people.

While it was an unavoidable limitation considering the nature of the experimental procedure, the number of participants in this study was small. Therefore, care needs to be taken when extrapolating the findings. In addition, the study was implemented during the host university’s lecture hours and the participants had limited time to answer the questions. In order to approach implementing death education in practice, it will be necessary to prepare a procedure and program that allow participants to think more deeply about their own deaths, target greater numbers of participants, and gain empirical evidence concerning the outcomes and individual differences. Future research must examine both the positive and negative influences and include in its scope the durability of such influences.

Footnotes

Acknowledgement

Special thanks are due to Professor Tatsuo Ujiie (Nagoya University, JAPAN) for kindness instruction.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was supported by Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows Number 15J10901.

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