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Is Death the Worm at the Core? (Mortality Salience Hypothesis (Studies…
Is Death the Worm at the Core?
Terror Management Theory
Strive to mean something as not important in grand scheme
Critique of Psych
Psychological processes not why people behave
Info processing paradigm > rise of social = decrease in motivation
TMT - three questions
Why do we need to feel our understanding of the world is correct?
If not can't function
To manage terror
Why do people struggle to peacefully co-exist?
Can't accept worldview may be different
Lessen own view > increased terror
Why do people need self esteem?
Serves need of managing terror
Defence mechanism
Idea that we matter
Historical
Ernest Becher
Know we will die
General science of humans > Triangulation not specific domain
All
living things = orientated towards survival
Humans
= unique in knowing death is inevitable/controllable therefore no more sig (AWE + DREAD)
Interplay
> paralysing existential terror
Development + maintenance of CULTURE to manage
Where come from? How behave? When die?
Greenberg, Solomon + Pyszczynki (1986)
Bio desire for self preservation + Awareness of inevitability of death > Existential Terror > Cultural worldview/self esteem
Intelectual capacity to overcome
Hypotheses = AB, MS, DTA
Critics of TMT
TMT = not falsifiable - various inconsistent effects
Alternative explanations = ignored
Anxiety Buffering Hypothesis
World view = anxiety buffer, bolstering = reduce anxiety in threatening situations
Lower SE = more anxiety
Greenberg et al (1992)
False feedback on personality test
Exposure to threatening situation
Increased SE reduced physiological and self report measures of anxiety to threat
Mortality Salience Hypothesis
If world views buffer from terror, then death reminders increase need for psychological structures (views/cultural belief for support)
Studies
Rosenblatt et al (1989)
Judges + bail bond for prostitute
Judges = law as central world view
More punitive of those who transgress world view
Students + reward for hero
Higher reward for someone who bolsters world view
$1000 vs. $3500
Greenberg et al (1995)
Desecration of cultural symbols
Less likely to do so when reminded of death
McGregor et al (1998)
Hot sauce allocation to world view threatening target
Give more to those who disagree
Burke et al (2010)
Negative open ended questions
Polarising effects of attitude/behaviours towards others dependent on whether it supports/violates
MS + Self Esteem
Increases need to feel valued/live up to cultural standards afforded by world view
Different norms in different cultures = different reactions
Striving in relevant domains
May not be healthy - unrealistic standards
SE insulates from death anxiety, more sensitive to defending sources of self worth
SE after MS mitigates defensive reactions towards others
If bolstered, SE = challenged then increases defensiveness
SE allows for death anxiety to be unconscious > threats decrease SE and allow anxiety to creep into consciousness
Low SE = psychological difficultly, lower ideas that life is meaningful
Literal + Symbolic Immortality
Ultimate goal = feel life is sig, transcend (literally/symbolically)
MS + willingness to self sacrifice when reminded of mortal properties of nation
MS + affirmation of afterlife reduces defensiveness, live on
MS + affirmation of being remembered reduces defensiveness
Atheist + Immortality
Atheism = belief system, serves death denying function
Living on in another tangible way
Research
MS decreases explicit but increased implicit religiosity
MS increases defensiveness when worldview affirmed, but not when challenged
Natural MS
Pyszczynski et al (1995)
Natural setting with subtle exposure to MS = similar effects
Outside = inflated social consensus estimates, confirm view
George Bush
- 9/11 speech
Worst approval rating prior to 9/11
Bolstering American worldview
Reminded of immortality an voted Bush
How does MS work?
Not result of reflecting on negative topic
Does increase physiological arousal or negative affect, nor do these mediate MS effects
Occur typically after delay
Dual Process Model -
Pyszczynski et al (1999)
MS > Proximal Defence > Distal Defence
MS = conscious reminder of death, death associated stimuli
Proximal Defence = conscious, immediate, suppress/distract from death thought
Distal Defence = subconscious, delay, worldview bolster/defence
Subliminal forms bypass proximal (immediate)
Death-Thought Accessibility Hypothesis
Worldviews defend from death related concerns, threatening psychological structures should temporarily make death related thought accessible
Measured using word-stem task
National worldview threat -
Schimel et al (2007)
Threat to WV increased DTA
DTA increased immediate, fades with delay
Not results of anger
Self Esteem threat (IQ) -
Hayes et al (2008)
Threatening SE increased DTA
Increases in death, but not negative related thought
Fortifying self-esteem eliminates this increase in DTA after threat
Beliefs in just world predict DTA after exposure to just world violation
Roylance et al (2015)
> higher belief in just world = higher DTA when contradicted
IDs in world view > emphasis depends on how threatening
Combining Hypotheses
If worldview act as distal defences to the awareness of death, then affirming/defending one's worldview should reduce levels of DTA
Change in affirmation, change in DTA
Hyp = DTA mediates threat defence link
Increase in DTA that derives defensive measure
MS > both defence and DTA
DTA inhibits ability to suppress forms of death
Hard to empirically assess because of measurement of DTA leads to downstream effects that obscure observation of defence
Alternative Explanations
Uncertainty mangement model
uncertainty elicited by death, is the core existential motive
Life = uncertain therefore drive to find certainty
Reminders of uncertainty can provoke worldview defence and not increase death related thought
Prefer certainty?
Meaning maintenance model
Reminder that like is trivial is the core motive
Threats induce worldview defence, but not increase in DTA
Evolutionary perspective: symbolic meaning > arraigns of death; awareness of death > symbolic meaning
MS vs Other Threats
MS shows different time course to other types of threat
Different course trajectory of threat may show similarity to hypothesised changes in DTA
Both meaning + uncertainty perspectives dramatically simplify the problem of death