When One'S Death Awareness Involves Others: the Role of Relationship Closeness in Luxury Consumption

People are often reminded of death -- either due to natural or man-made causes. People are also social animals who are embedded in their relationship networks all the time. Therefore, it is important to understand how people respond to mortality salience in the context of relationship closeness. Our research demonstrates that people's attitudes and intentions toward luxury goods depend on how salient people are aware of death as well as how close people are connected with others. We expect that under mortality salience, people with close relationships are less likely to consumer luxury goods than people with weak relationships.