The Interactive Effect of Mortality Reminders and Tobacco Craving on Smoking Topography Jamie Arndt and Kenneth E. Vail, III University of Missouri Cathy R. Cox Texas Christian University Jamie L. Goldenberg University of South Florida Thomas M. Piasecki University of Missouri Frederick X. Gibbons University of Connecticut Objective: Although fatal consequences of smoking are often highlighted in health communications, the question of how awareness of death affects actual smoking behavior has yet to be addressed. Two experiments informed by the terror management health model were conducted to examine this issue. Previous research suggests that the effects of mortality reminders on health-related decisions are often moderated by relevant individual difference or situational variables. Thus, a moderated effect was hypothesized here, and cigarette cravings were tentatively explored in this regard. Methods: In both studies, relatively light smokers completed a brief questionnaire about cigarette cravings, were reminded of their mortality or a control topic, and then smoked five puffs from a cigarette while the topography (i.e., volume, duration, and velocity) of their inhalations was recorded. Results: Significant craving  death reminder interactions emerged in both experiments. After reminders of mortality, stronger cravings predicted greater smoking intensity. Further, reminders of mortality increased smoking intensity for those with stronger cravings in both studies, and there was also some indication that mortality reminders decreased smoking intensity for those with weaker cravings. Conclusions: Although there are limitations in the present research’s utilization of light smokers as opposed to heavy smokers, these findings indicate a nuanced effect of mortality reminders on smoking intensity and suggest that careful consideration needs to be given to when and how reminders of death are used in communications about smoking. The discussion also highlights the benefits of social psychologically informed theory for understanding health and smoking behavior. Keywords: smoking, smoking cravings, puff topography, mortality salience, terror management theory Whether through the Federal Drug Administration’s recent ef- forts to regulate graphic cigarette warning labels, or through any number of cessation programs, the fatal consequences of smoking are often highlighted. Presumably this reflects the intuitive expec- tation that reminding people of their mortality will decrease smok- ing behavior, whether by curbing initiation, stopping the progres- sion from casual to habitual use, or motivating cessation efforts. However, the fundamental question underlying this assumption has yet to be addressed: How do reminders of death actually affect smoking behavior? Research derived from the social psychological theory of terror management (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) is in- creasingly revealing the importance of peoples’ efforts to manage their awareness of inevitable mortality in understanding health- relevant decisions. The emergent terror management health model (TMHM; Goldenberg & Arndt, 2008) thus represents a bridge between traditional social and existential psychology and behavior in a health context. However, whereas TMHM has been applied to different health behaviors, it has yet to target peoples’ actual tobacco consumption among either established or more novice smokers. The present research thus enlists the TMHM framework to offer preliminary insights into how death reminders influence smoking behavior. The Terror Management Health Model Terror management theory explains how humans’ nonconscious awareness of mortality potentiates an ominous capacity for anxiety Jamie Arndt, Kenneth E. Vail, III, and Thomas M. Piasecki, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri; Cathy R. Cox, Department of Psychology, Texas Christian University; Jamie L. Goldenberg, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida; Frederick X. Gibbons, Depart- ment of Psychology, University of Connecticut. We thank Alice Andres, Josh Ascoli, Michael Bultmann, Tyler Bres- hears, Chris Canarios, Kenneth Englund, Andrew Evans, Nick Newlin, and Michael Sappington for their help in collecting data for this article. Prep- aration for this article was partially supported by National Cancer Institute grant R01CA09658 and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jamie Arndt, Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. E-mail: arndtj@missouri.edu This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Health Psychology © 2013 American Psychological Association 2013, Vol. 32, No. 5, 525–532 0278-6133/13/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0029201 525