The Allocation of Limited Life Resources: The Impact of Mortality Awareness and Happiness Orientation on Cognitive Effort

This dataset supports the research titled "The Allocation of Limited Life Resources: Effects of Mortality Awareness and Hedonic/Eudaimonic Orientation on Cognitive Effort". The studies examine how mortality awareness influences cognitive effort allocation and whether subjective time perception and motivational value orientations shape this effect. The core hypotheses were that (1) mortality awareness would increase cognitive effort via compressed subjective time perception (Study 1), and (2) hedonic and eudaimonic orientations would moderate this relationship, enhancing or reducing cognitive effort depending on motivational focus (Study 2). The dataset contains raw behavioral and questionnaire data from two laboratory experiments, including condition assignments (mortality vs. toothache salience; hedonic vs. eudaimonic orientation), measures of subjective time perception assessed through a line-marking task, and C-EEfRT behavioral records indicating effort choices. Data were collected from undergraduate participants through manipulation writing tasks, orientation priming materials, time perception assessment, and repeated effort decision trials. Results reflected that mortality awareness shortened perceived time and increased high-effort choices in Study 1, while in Study 2, mortality awareness increased effort under eudaimonic activation but decreased effort under hedonic activation. These findings provide evidence for an effort cost–benefit decision mechanism influenced by existential awareness and motivational orientation. The dataset can facilitate replication, secondary analysis, and extended modeling of cognitive effort allocation under mortality cues. All data are anonymized, clearly labeled, and can be interpreted using variable notes and task indicators included with the files.

本数据集支持题为《有限生命资源的分配：死亡意识与享乐/自我实现导向对认知努力的影响》的研究。本系列研究旨在探讨死亡意识如何影响认知努力分配，以及主观时间知觉与动机性价值导向是否会对该效应产生调节作用。本研究的核心假设包括：（1）在研究1中，死亡意识可通过压缩主观时间知觉提升认知努力投入；（2）在研究2中，享乐主义导向与自我实现导向会对该关联产生调节作用，且会依据动机焦点的不同分别增强或降低认知努力投入。本数据集包含两项实验室实验的原始行为数据与问卷数据，涵盖实验条件分配（死亡显著性vs.牙痛显著性；享乐导向vs.自我实现导向）、通过线段标记任务测得的主观时间知觉指标，以及表征努力选择的C-EEfRT（Cued Effort-Based Reward Task）行为记录。本研究的受试者均为在校本科生，数据通过操纵性写作任务、导向启动材料、时间知觉测评任务与重复努力决策试次采集得到。研究结果表明，在研究1中，死亡意识会缩短被试的主观感知时长并提升高努力选择倾向；在研究2中，死亡意识在自我实现导向激活时会提升认知努力投入，而在享乐导向激活时则会降低认知努力投入。上述研究结果为受存在性意识与动机性导向影响的认知努力成本-收益决策机制提供了实证依据。本数据集可为死亡线索下认知努力分配的重复验证、二次分析与拓展建模提供支持。本数据集所有数据均已匿名化处理，标签清晰明了，可通过配套文件中的变量说明与任务指标进行解读。