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DEATH: THE WORM AT THE CORE... TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY (EVIDENCE…
DEATH: THE WORM AT THE CORE... TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY
Addresses the issue of WHY humans behave/think the way we do... whilst most psychological theories consider HOW
Psychology :no_entry:
overlooks the WHY
Micro-theories often lack parsimony - Occam's razor
completely ignore the issue of death as if it has no influence over human behaviour
Original aims (1980s) - Becker
WHY do we need to be CORRECT IN OUR WORLDVIEW?
WHY do we find it so hard to PEACEFULLY COEXIST
WHY do we need SELF ESTEEM?
Natural MS
Pyszczynski
Funeral home study revealed significant increase in commitment to own worldview and overestimates of positive social consensus
need for WV to be correct
Bush' approval ratings sky rocketed after 9/11 when he commented that terror acts may be damaging but can 'never touch the foundation of America'
2 factors interact + cause COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
the innate will to survive
the knowledge that as human beings we will all inevitably die
RESULT: Existential terror
Managing terror: beliefs which quell the anxiety by giving our lives some structure, purpose or meaning
Literal vs symbolic immortality striving
L: religion, soul, eternal life
Dechesne
presentation of afterlife eliminates WD/SE striving after MS
S: legacy, children, achievements, 'changing the world'
Florian
reduce WV defence when SI achieved after MS e.g. work published,
Routledge
willing to self-sacrifice for nation when MS shows attempt to achieve SI,
Castano
MS increased identification with eternal groups i.e. will live on because group lives on e.g. national pride
Origin of human life
Big bang, divine creation
Rules and schemas of behaviour
laws, social norms, religion (10 commandments)
Maintaining cultural worldviews: a buffer of existential terror i.e. THE DUAL COMPONENT ANXIETY BUFFER
WV provides a sense of order and purpose
WV provide levels of conduct against which we can measure ourselves - a dimension of self esteem
maintains EQUANIMITY : stable psychological state
Implications on original aims
SELF ESTEEM
It is NOT an END GOAL but rather exists to serve the SUPERORDINATE NEED of managing ET
PEACEFUL COEXISTANCE
because our CWV is essential to MANAGING TERROR, we find it incredibly DIFFICULT to accept that an ALTERNATIVE WV may have any VALIDITY, since this would mean accepting that our OWN WV is in some way INVALID... hence we cannot get along
OUR WV IS CORRECT
if we accept that our own WV is invalid... then we know nothing... then we have an existential crisis x
high COMMITMENT to WV linked to higher DISCRIMINATION or prejudice
EVIDENCE
Greenberg
BOLSTER SELF ESTEEM/ WV will REDUCE ANXIETY ... self-report and physiological evidence to support this hypothesis
supporting the ANXIETY-BUFFERING HYPOTHESIS... being that WV and SE work as buffers in threatening situations
IV: personality test feedback :check: or :red_cross:
IV: Death-related video or control video
DV: self-report anxiety and physiological arousal
Burke
meta analysis supports MORTALITY SALIENCE HYPOTHESIS
...being that REMINDERS of HUMAN MORTALITY/ DEATH will INCREASE NEED to have own WV CONFIRMED or have SELF ESTEEM BOLSTERED
277 experiments
Rosenblatt
supports the WORLDVIEW DEFENCE HYPOTHESIS
...being that MORTALITY SALIENCE causes POLARIZATION of WV as a defence mechanism which in turn INFLUENCES BEHAVIOUR
9 times higher bail bond set by judges in MS condition -prostitute
3.5 times higher reward in MS condition - student
other BEHAVIOURAL evidence
Greenberg
MS increased task time when the task involved destroying something which symbolised WV (valued cultural symbols) e.g. flag... i.e. attempt to bolster WV leads to avoidance of conclusion that to complete task need to destroy symbol... influencing slower cognitive processing/ problem solving
McGregor
hot sauce, Christians and gay task. MS increased commitment to WV influencing anti-social behaviour/ discrimination
SELF ESTEEM as a defence mechanism against MS
MS produces INCREASE in behaviours relating to SELF WORTH e.g. body image / smoking
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: MS has different affects in collectivist and individualistic cultures
Kashima
implications in clinical psychology: modern day societal norms and schemas for self-worth create unachievable goals... hence epidemic of LOW SE which has mental health implications
Harmon-Jones
high SE after MS reduces defensive responses when WV threatened... shows that SE a vital buffer of anxiety/ protector from anxiety... but there are different domains of SE which may be bolstered/ challenged
Greenberg
... SE needs to be protected against threats
Atheists
MS decreases religious beliefs explicitly in Atheists but implicitly there is an increase in religious beliefs
Jong
... the EXPLICIT DECREASE reflects BOLSTERING of cultural WORLD VIEW, whereas the IMPLICIT INCREASE reflects the LITERAL IMMORTALITY STRIVING as a way of managing existential anxiety
MS increases WV defence when atheist worldview affirmed but not when challenged
Heflick
MORTALITY SALIENCE ONLY HAS AN EFFECT WHEN OUTSIDE CONSCIOUS AWARENESS
Proximal defences are CONSCIOUS, IMMEDIATE. Suppress thoughts of death or postpone to future
e.g.
"If you smoke you will get lung cancer and die" response "yes, BUT it won't happen til I'm much older" -> distancing
Distal defences are UNCONSCIOUS, DELAYED. Bolster worldview, self esteem etc
DEATH-THOUGHT ACCESSIBILITY HYPOTHESIS
DTAH refers distal defence: low SE etc linked with high/easy accessibility of death-related thoughts
Evidence
word-filling task
article THREATENING WV increased DTA
Schimel
Hayes
student false IQ feedback damage/bolster SE showed DTA effects
JUST WORLD BELIEFS interact
Roylance
belief in JW show LARGER DIFFERENCE between DTA after just or unjust experiences than those who don't originally believe in JW... HIGH DTA in unjust (threaten WV) and LOW in just condition
DTA + MS
bolstering WV/SE reduces DTA even after MS
Alternative explanations (to TMT which explain existential anxiety)
Uncertainty Management Model (UMM)
Van den Bos
Evidence 'for TMT'actually just reflects the broader threat to uncertainty... UNCERTAINTY SALIENCE causes WV defence + uncertainty priming does not increase DTA in self-report
CONSCIOUS measure of DTA -> peripheral focus rather than distal
we like certainty but sometimes we prefer uncertainty? e.g. most people wouldn't want to know exactly when they will die
Meaning Maintenance Model
Heine
evidence 'for TMT' actually due to meaning threats which induce WV defence + don't increase DTA
Weber
evidence that meaning threats DO increase DTA
Perhaps MMM looks at the issue backwards: i.e. evolutionarily, symbolic meaning systems most likely developed as a product of existential terror and awareness of death as a means of restoring order and meaning and managing anxiety?
Factors of death which may be threatening (hence influencing SE/ WV etc
Inevitable
Uncontrollable
Insignificance of self
Loss of social relationships
Permanency
History full of "man's inhumanity to man": INABILITY TO CO-EXIST PEACEFULLY
ANNIHILATING other peoples WV's is an APPEALING and EFFECTIVE form of self-defence
Greenberg
Pyszczynski
USA ppts: MS increased endorsement of extreme military force on Middle East including harm of innocent civilians... Iranian ppts: MS increased support of martyrdom
"to escape evil we create evil"
CYCLES
Jonas + Fritsche
EXISTENTIAL THREAT
DEFENCE OF INGROUP + WV
INTOLERANCE OF OTHERS/ OUTGROUP
HOSTILITY + VIOLENCE
.
POSITIVES OF TMT
MS does NOT always lead to dehumanisation/ discrimination/ conflict... if the social norms of the WV promote liberal, peaceful attitudes then MS can INCREASE tolerance (
Greenberg
liberals)
Rothschild
religious text with compassionate views decrease support for military after MS
Promote desire for offspring, relationships, romance, personal growth, creative expression, achievements and improving society/ aiding humanity!