Sense of home buffers threats to the self

We hypothesised that sense of home serves as a buffer against self-threat. In three experiments, we induced sense of home (vs. control) and assessed its buffering function to threat. Sense of home augmented openness to stereotype threat information (Experiment 1), increased performance on a spatial rotation ability test after stereotype threat (Experiment 2), and reduced the desire for high-status products following mortality salience (Experiment 3). This "proof of concept" research establishes the buffering potential of sense of home and raises theoretical and practical implications.