Hayley L. Gaudiosi
SCS- 200 Applied Social Sciences
Research Investigation
There are many differing views of death within the United States of America. Some view
death as a terrifying and unwelcome exit from the living as where others view death as a
welcomed new beginning. On this topic, a large amount of research has been done to find the
cultural differences between attitudes towards death and what may cause these differences.
Through the lens of psychology, there is one prominent question that has been asked, which is:
does an individual's past experiences with death shift their perception on the topic? This question
is significant as it could assist in a better understanding of what follows the inevitable along with
creating a better understanding of what has an everlasting effect on one's opinions and outlook
on life. There are several articles that provide research that is significant to the question posed.
The research can be found in the article "Memories of near-death experiences: are they self-
defining?", which explores the topic of permanent effects of near-death experiences. Other
relevant articles would be "An exploration of the roles of trauma and dissociation in mystical
experiences and near-death experiences.", an article focusing on the effects near-detah
on Near Death Experience, its Perceived Effects and Coping Mechanisms: Input to
Psychological and Emotional Adjustment Training Program", an article which focuses on the
prolonged and short-term effects of near-detah experiences.
Scientific principles are social norms, beliefs and values, social institutions, and social
roles within society that are believed to influence the behavior of individuals. With that being
said, in relation to the topic of experiences influencing an individual's perception of death, a
scientific principle that applies would be beliefs and values. The article "Difference between
Values and Beliefs" lists beliefs and values as values and convictions that are often to be
expected to be true, therefore altering an individual's perception of life. This fact can be found in
the article "How Beliefs Affect Your Life, Changing Your Perception Of Reality" which goes on
to state that beliefs affect your life and therefore alter your perceptron which then becomes your
reality. This relates to the topic of experiences altering an individual's perception of death as it
can be noted that an individual's cultural beliefs along with other factors of their existence have
been seen to influence an individual's perception of death and the afterlife.
Based on the research provided a narrowed research question has emerged. The question
that I desire to research and possibly answer would be "What is the prolonged effect of a near.
death experience on an individual?". There are several ways a social scientist could go about
answering this question. One way in which a social scientist could go about answering this
question would be to set up a study with a control group being those who have not experienced a
near-death experience and a test group of those who have. The social scientists could then
examine the specimen and take note of any