Psychology Essay
2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.5
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Figure 8.19 In som e cultures, people's bodies m ay be
buried in a cem etery after death. (credit: Christina Rutz)
M o d u le 8 .5 : D e a t h a n d D y in g
Every story has an ending. D eath m arks the end of your life story (Figure 8.19). O ur culture
and individual backgrounds influence how w e view death. In som e cultures, death is
accepted as a natural part of life and is em braced. In contrast, until about 50 years ago in
the U nited States, a doctor m ight not inform som eone that they w ere dying, and the
m ajority of deaths occurred in hospitals. In 1967 that reality began to change w ith the
creation of the first m odern hospice in England. The aim of hospice is to help provide a
death w ith dignity and pain m anagem ent in a hum ane and com fortable environm ent,
w hich is usually outside of a hospital setting. In 1974, the first hospice in the U .S. w as
founded. Today, hospice provides care for 1.65 m illion Am ericans and their fam ilies.
Because of hospice care, m any term inally ill people are able to spend their last days at
hom e, w ith fam ily, rather than in a hospital or nursing facility.
Research has indicated that hospice care is beneficial for the patient and for the patient's
fam ily. H ospice patients report high levels of satisfaction w ith hospice care because they
are able to rem ain at hom e and are not com pletely dependent on strangers for care. In
addition, hospice patients tend to live longer than non-hospice patients. Fam ily m em bers
receive em otional support and are regularly inform ed of their loved one's treatm ent and
condition. The fam ily m em ber's burden of care is also reduced. Both the patient and the patient's fam ily m em bers report increased fam ily
support, increased social support, and im proved coping w hile receiving hospice services.
H ow do you think you m ight react if you w ere diagnosed w ith a term inal illness like cancer? Elizabeth Kübler-Ross (1969), w ho w orked w ith the
founders of hospice care, described the process of an individual accepting his ow n death. She proposed five stages of grief:
1. D enial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. D epression
5. Acceptance
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M ost individuals experience these stages, but the stages m ay occur in different orders, depending on the individual. In addition, not all people
experience all of the stages. It is also im portant to note that som e psychologists believe that the m ore a dying person fights death, the m ore
likely he is to rem ain stuck in the denial phase. This could m ake it diffi cult for the dying person to face death w ith dignity. H ow ever, other
psychologists believe that not facing death until the very end is an adaptive coping m echanism for som e people.
W hether due to illness or old age, not everyone facing death or the loss of a loved one experiences the negative em otions outlined in the
Kübler-Ross m odel. For exam ple, research suggests that people w ith religious or spiritual beliefs are better able to cope w ith death because of
their hope in an afterlife and because of social support from religious or spiritual associations.
D espite Ross's popularity, there are a grow ing num ber of critics of her theory w ho argue that her five-stage sequence is too constraining
because attitudes tow ard death and dying have been found to vary greatly across cultures and religions, and these variations m ake the process
of dying different according to culture. As an exam ple, Japanese Am ericans restrain their grief so as not to burden other people w ith their pain.
By contrast, Jew s observe a 7-day, publicly announced m ourning period. In som e cultures the elderly are m ore likely to be living and coping
alone, or perhaps only w ith their spouse, w hereas in other cultures, such as the H ispanic culture, the elderly are m ore likely to be living w ith
their sons and daughters and other relatives, and this social support m ay create a better quality of life for them .
M argaret Stroebe and her colleagues (2008) found that although m ost people adjusted to the loss of a loved one w ithout seeking professional
treatm ent, m any had an increased risk of m ortality, particularly w ithin the early w eeks and m onths after the loss. These researchers also found
that people going through the grieving process suffered m ore physical and psychological sym ptom s and illnesses and used m ore m edical
services.
The health of survivors during the end of life is influenced by factors such as circum stances surrounding the loved one's death, individual
personalities, and w ays of coping. People serving as caretakers to partners or other fam ily m em bers w ho are ill frequently experience a great
deal of stress them selves, m aking the dying process even m ore stressful. D espite the traum a of the loss of a loved one, people do recover and
are able to continue w ith effective lives. G rief intervention program s can go a long w ay in helping people cope during the bereavem ent period.
Lin k to Le a rn in g
Really Achieving Your Childhood D ream s
A prom inent exam ple of a person creating m eaning through death is Randy Pausch, w ho w as a w ell-loved and respected
professor at Carnegie M ellon U niversity. D iagnosed w ith term inal pancreatic cancer in his m id-40s and given only 3–6
m onths to live, Pausch focused on living in a fulfilling w ay in the tim e he had left. Instead of becom ing angry and depressed,
he presented his now fam ous last lecture called "Really Achieving Your Childhood D ream s." In his m oving, yet hum orous
talk, he shares his insights on seeing the good in others, overcom ing obstacles, and experiencing zero gravity, am ong m any 2017-6-26 PSY101 - Module 8.5
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other things. D espite his term inal diagnosis, Pausch lived the final year of his life w ith joy and hope, show ing us that our
plans for the future still m atter, even if w e know that w e are dying.
H ere is Randy Pausch's last lecture. Listen to his inspiring talk.
Randy P ausch Last Lectur e: Achie ving Y our Childhood Dr eams
M odule 8.4
