Abstract:Previous studies have examined the relationship between mortality salience and the false consensus effect, but relevant findings are inconsistent and few studied have explored the underlying mechanisms empirically. The present research introduced self-construal and future self-continuity to reconcile the inconsistence of previous studies and provide some explanations for the underlying mechanisms. The results of two experiments indicated that self-construal moderated the effect of mortality salience on the false consensus Specifically, for independent self-construal individuals, mortality salience increased the false consensus effect, while for the dependent self-construal individuals, the effect of mortality salience on the false consensus was negative. Additionally, future self-continuity could explain the moderating effect of self-construal. This research draws a picture of when mortality salience could increase the false consensus effect and provides a new perspective (i.e., the time dimension of self) for explaining the effects of mortality salience.