What defines a life well-lived? Obituaries may have the answers

What constitutes a life well-lived? A new Michigan State University-led study is turning to a common cultural artifact to find out: the obituary.

In the study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from MSU, Boston College and Arizona State University analyzed 38 million obituaries from the U.S. spanning 30 years to examine what values people are most remembered for, how cultural events and time change how people are remembered, and how legacy reflections reinforce societal expectations of a life well-lived based on demographics.

This research introduces a new framework for the psychological study of legacy by shifting focus from how individuals wish to be remembered to how they are actually remembered by others.

“Obituaries serve as a unique source of information about how societies value different kinds of lives,” said David Markowitz, an associate professor of communication in the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences and lead author of the study. “They reveal broader patterns of remembrance by showing who is remembered, for what contributions, and how cultural values are expressed through these acts of memory.”

Personal values and demographic differences

To analyze what values people are most remembered for, the researchers drew on Schwartz’s theory of basic human values, which argues for a collection of 10 universal guiding principles for one’s life. They found that the most prevalent personal values in obituaries were tradition (represented in about 80% of obituaries) and benevolence (76%).

Using Schwartz’s theory, tradition is defined as “the need for respect, commitment and acceptance of customs and ideas.” It was typically reflected in involvement with religion. Benevolence is the need to care for others and was indicated by obituaries that characterized the deceased as reliable and trustworthy.

Markowitz and his colleagues found that women are remembered for benevolence more than men, while men are remembered for more achievement than women. Men are also remembered for more conformity than women. However, in this context, “conformity” may signal structured responsibility and adherence to social order, which are common in references to military service and civic involvement—typically male-dominated fields. In addition, men’s obituaries show greater variation in values over a lifespan than women’s.

“Gender stereotypes may not just reflect interpersonal and intergroup biases, but they may also be embedded, and transmitted across generations, in our cultural practices of legacy and memorialization,” said Markowitz.

The study also showed older people were remembered more for tradition and less for benevolence than younger people.

The role of major cultural events

Markowitz and his colleagues examined how three major cultural events—the 9/11 attacks, 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic—were linked to changes in how people wrote about their loved ones who passed.

9/11

Security, or the need for safety, harmony and stability, declined after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but tradition and benevolence increased. Those who died in New York State were written about with more benevolence than those who died outside of New York State. At least two weeks after 9/11, there was a reduced focus on security for those in New York State versus those outside of New York State. Markowitz notes that this is clear evidence of a language,location link that modifies obituary writing during cultural events.

“These findings suggest that traumatic events affect not only how people react in the moment, but also how they later make sense of meaning and memory. This impact can look different depending on where people live and die,” he said. “In this way, shared trauma can influence what is mourned and highlight regional differences in how people remember, showing how place and closeness shape the idea of legacy.”

2008 financial crisis

Achievement, the need for personal success by showing you have the skills or abilities that society values, gradually fell starting one month after the financial crisis and continued to decrease over the next year. Hedonism, the need for pleasure, enjoyment or gratification, was generally lower than baseline for all time periods, except for one year after the financial crisis, when it was higher.

“Perhaps this reversal reflects a psychological improvement where people began focusing on values related to satisfaction instead of personal survival over the long term,” said Markowitz.

COVID-19 pandemic

Benevolence has experienced a decrease in obituary appearances since 2019—just before the COVID-19 pandemic—and has yet to recover.

“During a time when communities were making extraordinary sacrifices for the collective good, obituaries became less likely to emphasize caring for others,” Markowitz said.

Two years and four years after the pandemic, tradition increased and did not return to baseline. There was a strong link between COVID-19 deaths and tradition: As more people died during the pandemic, obituaries tended to focus more on religion and social norms and less on conformity.

Markowitz noted that the value shifts in obituaries following 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis and the pandemic signal possible social and psychosocial disruptions that each crisis had on the U.S.

“Shifts in personal values are linked to consequential cultural events in history that impact how people think, feel and appraise the world around them—including their loved ones who died,” Markowitz said.