In an ambitious new study that delves into the cultural fabric of American society, researchers from Michigan State University, Boston College, and Arizona State University have turned their attention to an unconventional but profound source of insight: obituaries. Spanning more than three decades and analyzing an unprecedented dataset of 38 million obituaries across the United States, this study represents the largest empirical exploration into how societies remember the deceased and what this reveals about shared values, identity, and legacy. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research proposes a novel psychological framework that shifts focus from individuals’ self-directed legacy aspirations to the collective memory constructed by others after death.
Obituaries have long served as reflective mirrors, capturing societal ideals of a life well-lived and immortalizing cultural norms. Yet, until now, no study has employed such an extensive dataset to quantify the underlying values that dominate our communal narratives of remembrance. By applying Schwartz’s theory of basic human values—a theory that classifies ten foundational principles that guide human behavior—the researchers were able to systematically decode the virtues and attributes spotlighted within obituary texts. This method illuminates not merely anecdotal shifts but quantifiable trends across time, geographic location, and demographic variables in how Americans enshrine their deceased loved ones.
The analysis reveals that tradition and benevolence emerge as the two most pervasive values represented in obituaries, appearing in roughly 80% and 76% of cases respectively. Tradition, as operationalized in this study, encompasses respect for customs, commitment to social and religious norms, and the acceptance of established ideas. Benevolence centers on relational care—emphasizing traits such as reliability, trustworthiness, and nurturing close bonds. These findings underscore how obituaries do not simply memorialize individuals; they also serve as cultural rituals reinforcing social cohesion and prescribing normative life paths.
A striking dimension of the study concerns how gender influences patterns of remembrance. Women are more frequently memorialized for benevolence, highlighting their roles as caregivers and relational anchors within families and communities. Men, on the other hand, tend to be remembered more for achievements and conformity. The latter, often reflecting military service or civic engagement, suggests that male remembrance may be tethered to structured responsibility and social order. Notably, men’s obituary values fluctuate more across their lifespan compared to women, hinting at gendered trajectories in societal roles and legacy constructions. The authors suggest these patterns may both mirror and perpetuate deeply embedded gender stereotypes within cultural memory practices.
Age also emerges as a determinant factor in obituary content. Older individuals tend to be recalled more prominently for tradition and less for benevolence. This finding conveys that as people age, societal expectations and memorial narratives increasingly emphasize their adherence to customs and generational continuity. Such a shift may illuminate how cultural memory mechanisms adapt to accommodate intergenerational transitions and evolving social roles.
This research further probes how major cultural traumas and societal upheavals shape obituary narratives and, by extension, collective memory. The team meticulously examined three significant crises in recent American history—the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic—to identify how values expressed in obituaries shifted in response to these disruptions. These events functioned as sociopsychological inflection points, modulating not only lived experience but the cultural meanings ascribed in memory rituals post-mortem.
In the wake of 9/11, obituaries surprisingly reflected a decrease in the value placed on security, defined as the need for safety, harmony, and stability. Instead, tradition and benevolence values experienced an uptick, with those who died in New York State particularly remembered for benevolence. This localized variation highlights how place and shared trauma intersect to mold collective narratives. The study contends that such shifts betray a complex communal reckoning, altering how grief is expressed and how social values are asserted through remembrance.
During the 2008 financial crisis, the study found a progressive decline in achievement-related values within obituaries, signaling a potential societal recalibration of success amid economic instability. Simultaneously, the hedonic values—relating to pleasure and gratification—generally remained suppressed except for a brief resurgence one year subsequent to the crisis. Researchers hypothesize this rebound may represent a psychological adaptation where societal focus temporarily shifted towards seeking satisfaction and well-being after enduring hardship.
The COVID-19 pandemic induced yet another marked transformation in obituary value patterns. Benevolence declined starting just before the pandemic’s emergence and has not returned to previous levels, an unexpected development given the collective sacrifices and communal solidarity characterizing the pandemic period. Meanwhile, tradition increased substantially and failed to revert to baseline even years after the crisis began. Obituaries of COVID-19 victims emphasized religion and social norms while de-emphasizing conformity, indicating a complex interaction between mortality salience, societal disruption, and memorial practices.
These dynamic shifts in how values are memorialized in obituaries across major societal crises underscore the sensitivity of cultural memory to historical events. They reveal that legacy is far from static—it evolves in tandem with collective experience and socio-historical context. By highlighting how personal values encoded in obituaries reflect broader psychosocial processes, the study opens new avenues for understanding the interplay between individual identity, social memory, and cultural continuity.
The implications of this research extend beyond academic inquiry into practical realms, considering that legacy motivations influence behaviors such as charitable giving, end-of-life choices, and societal engagement. Understanding how societies collectively remember the deceased offers insights into the mechanisms by which cultural values are transmitted and reshaped across generations. It also challenges traditional psychological approaches that prioritize personal self-idealizations over actual social processes of remembrance.
David Markowitz, the study’s lead author and associate professor of communication at MSU, emphasizes that obituaries provide a unique, large-scale lens on societal values and memory. According to Markowitz, these cultural artifacts serve as time capsules revealing “who is remembered, for what contributions, and how cultural values are expressed through these acts of memory.” By integrating linguistic analysis with social psychological theory, this research not only quantifies evolving cultural values but also signals the pathways through which legacy and memory are culturally constructed.
In highlighting the transmission of gendered stereotypes through obituary conventions, the study invites reflection on how cultural memory practices might perpetuate systemic biases, influencing social expectations and identity formation long after an individual’s death. Recognizing these embedded legacies may help inform efforts in social policy, media representation, and cultural interventions aimed at fostering more equitable narratives of legacy.
By framing obituaries as active sites where societal values are both reflected and negotiated, this research revitalizes a common yet under-studied cultural practice. The granular exploration of 38 million obituaries bridges individual stories with vast societal currents, illuminating collective psychology at scale. Such a comprehensive approach offers an innovative model for future interdisciplinary investigations into how societies remember, mourn, and derive meaning from the lives lost.
In sum, this landmark study opens fresh vistas into the sociology and psychology of legacy, revealing how collective memory, shaped by demographic factors and monumental cultural disruptions, constructs the enduring narratives of human lives. Obituaries, far from mere announcements of death, emerge as profound societal texts through which communities articulate their values, grapple with loss, and preserve identity across time.
Subject of Research: Psychological and sociocultural analysis of legacy through obituary narratives
Article Title: An exploration of basic human values in 38 million obituaries over 30 years
News Publication Date: 26-Aug-2025
Web References:
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2510318122
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2510318122
Keywords: Social psychology, human social behavior, social attitudes, social judgments, stereotypes, social relationships, sociological data, social research, demography, psychological science, sociology, COVID-19
