Scientists analyzed 38 million obituaries and found a hidden story about American values

A sweeping linguistic analysis of over 38 million obituaries from across the United States provides new insight into how Americans collectively define a meaningful life. The study, published in PNAS, suggests that values such as tradition and caring for others tend to be the most emphasized in memorials. It also finds that historical events like the September 11 attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic correspond to changes in the values highlighted in these final tributes.

Obituaries are one of the most enduring public records of an individual’s life. They serve not only as announcements of death but also as brief accounts of who someone was and what they stood for. Written by family members or close acquaintances, these short texts often condense a person’s character, accomplishments, and relationships into just a few paragraphs.

Psychologists and social scientists have long studied how people want to be remembered, often focusing on what is referred to as “symbolic immortality”—the sense that some part of the self will outlast death. But far fewer studies have examined how people are actually remembered by others. This distinction matters because legacies are co-constructed, not just imagined. The current study aimed to fill this gap by analyzing the content of obituaries at scale to understand how societal values are encoded in posthumous narratives.

“I’m a psychology of language scholar who is interested in learning about the human condition through words — what people are thinking, feeling, and experiencing psychologically in everyday life,” explained study author David Markowitz, an associate professor of communication at Michigan State University.

“Obituaries provide an incredible source of social, psychological, and sociological information to understand how people reflect on the lives of those who have come before us. From them, we can glean what it means to have lived a good life, and we were interested in tackling this question in a way that has not been addressed before.”

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The researchers analyzed more than 38 million English-language obituaries published between 1998 and 2024 on Legacy.com, a widely used online memorial platform that hosts about 70% of death notices in the United States. Using a dictionary of words associated with ten personal values—based on a well-known framework called Schwartz’s theory of basic human values—the team measured how often each value appeared in obituary texts. These values include benevolence, tradition, universalism, self-direction, hedonism, power, achievement, security, conformity, and stimulation.

The analysis showed that the most commonly represented values in obituaries were tradition and benevolence. Tradition appeared in over 80% of obituaries, while benevolence was present in around 76%. Values like power and stimulation were much less common, showing up in less than a quarter of cases. This pattern suggests that Americans tend to remember the deceased for qualities such as honoring cultural customs and caring for others, rather than for seeking dominance or excitement.

“One high-level takeaway is that every obituary tells two stories — one about an individual life and another about what our society values at that moment in time,” Markowitz told PsyPost. “By understanding these patterns, we can become more conscious of how we remember others and what kind of legacy we want to leave behind for the next generation, both individually and as a culture.”

Beyond identifying which values appeared most often, the researchers also explored how the prominence of these values changed over time, particularly during periods of national crisis. They examined obituary content before and after three significant events: the September 11 attacks in 2001, the 2008 financial collapse, and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

After September 11, the value of security—reflected in words like “health” and “order”—declined and remained below baseline for at least a year. At the same time, tradition and benevolence increased, suggesting a collective emphasis on family, faith, and social cohesion. During the financial crisis, references to achievement declined, possibly reflecting a cultural reevaluation of success in the face of economic hardship.

In the aftermath of COVID-19, the most pronounced change was a sharp and lasting drop in benevolence-related language. This decline began about a month into the pandemic and persisted for years, never returning to pre-pandemic levels. Obituaries also became less likely to mention hedonism—pleasure and enjoyment—suggesting a broader cultural shift in how lives were framed during this prolonged crisis.

“The finding that was most surprising related to the personal value of benevolence decreasing after the COVID-19 pandemic and never returning to baseline,” Markowitz said. “During a time when communities were making extraordinary sacrifices – wearing masks, social distancing, staying home – obituaries became less likely to emphasize caring for others, which felt like a paradox. However, we think this reflects how in times of crisis and personal distress, prosocial behavior becomes harder to publicly recognize, even when it is widespread.”

The study also looked at how values varied across demographic categories, particularly gender and age. Men were more often remembered for achievement, power, and conformity. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to be remembered for benevolence and hedonism. Older individuals were remembered more frequently for tradition and conformity, while younger people were more associated with self-direction and benevolence. These patterns reflect broader cultural stereotypes: men as agents of power and success, women as nurturers, and older adults as keepers of tradition.

Interestingly, the way values changed with age differed between men and women. The value profiles for women remained relatively stable across the lifespan, while men’s legacies showed more fluctuation with age. For example, as men grew older, their obituaries increasingly emphasized conformity and power, possibly reflecting accumulated achievements and social roles over time.

While the dataset was large and rich in detail, the researchers acknowledged several limitations. First, they were unable to analyze certain demographic factors, such as race, socioeconomic status, or political affiliation, because that information is not typically included in obituaries. Gender was inferred based on first names using predictive tools, which may not always be accurate or inclusive of non-binary identities.

Obituaries also tend to be written in a constrained format, which limits the length and depth of the narrative. However, this constraint may also reflect what loved ones prioritize most in remembrance, making the text an efficient representation of perceived core values.

Another limitation involves generalizability. “These data only came from obituaries in the United States, so it is unclear how the findings might generalize to others in different countries or cultures,” Markowitz noted.

Future research might explore longer historical trends by examining obituaries from earlier time periods. Researchers could also investigate how occupational roles or community status influence legacy construction. Additionally, examining obituaries during other major events—such as wars, social movements, or natural disasters—could help clarify how collective memory shifts in response to different types of societal disruption.

The study, “An exploration of basic human values in 38 million obituaries over 30 years,” was authored by David M. Markowitz, Thomas Mazzuchi, Stylianos Syropoulos, Kyle Fiore Law, and Liane Young.