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More dead than dead: perceptions of persons in the persistent vegetative state.
Kurt Gray1, T Anne Knickman, Daniel M Wegner
1Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, MD 20742, USA. kurtgray@umd.edu
Cognition
|July 30, 2011
Summary
People perceive patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) as less mentally capable than the deceased. This perception, influenced by afterlife beliefs and religiosity, makes PVS seem worse than death.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Medical Ethics
Background:
- Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) presents complex ethical and social challenges.
- Understanding public perception of PVS is crucial for informed societal and medical discourse.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individuals perceive patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) compared to deceased individuals.
- To explore the psychological factors, including afterlife beliefs and religiosity, influencing these perceptions.
- To determine if PVS is considered a state worse than death.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted to assess perceptions of PVS patients.
- Experiment 1 compared perceived mental capacity of PVS patients versus the deceased.
- Experiment 2 examined the role of afterlife beliefs and focus on physical versus mental states.
- Experiment 3 evaluated whether PVS is viewed as a state worse than death.
Main Results:
- PVS patients were perceived as having less mental capacity than deceased individuals.
- Afterlife beliefs and a focus on the physical body contributed to lower perceived mental capacity in PVS patients.
- Early death was considered preferable to being in a PVS, indicating PVS is perceived as worse than death.
- Individuals high in religiosity showed a particularly strong effect of devaluing the minds of PVS patients.
Conclusions:
- Public perception often views persistent vegetative state (PVS) as a state more undesirable than death.
- Cognitive biases related to afterlife beliefs and religiosity significantly shape the perception of PVS patients' mental value.
- These findings highlight a societal tendency to devalue the minds of individuals in PVS, even when biologically alive.
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