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Terror Management Theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) defines self-esteem as the feeling that one is living up to the standards of their internalized cultural worldview and is consequently worthy of the symbolic and/or literal modes of death transcendence offered by that worldview. Although there is ample evidence for the death-anxiety buffering function of self-esteem, no study to date has assessed the hypothesis that high self-esteem is associated with a stronger sense of symbolic immortality. Supporting this hypothesis, in seven samples (N = 7,404) we found that American students with higher self-esteem more strongly believed that they will be remembered and have an impact after they die. Symbolic immortality was also related to greater ingroup identification and lower levels of loneliness, existential isolation, death-thought accessibility, and depression. Additionally, symbolic immortality partially mediated the effect of self-esteem on death-thought accessibility (Samples 4-7) and on depression (Sample 4), although these relationships were also bi-directional with self-esteem partially explaining the variance between symbolic immortality and these constructs. These findings augment the literature delineating the existential function of self-esteem and highlight the potential importance of perceived symbolic immortality to psychological well-being. Article citation: Lifshin, U., Horner, D. E., Helm, P. J., Solomon, S., & Greenberg, J. (2021). Self-esteem and immortality: Evidence regarding the terror management hypothesis that high self-esteem is associated with a stronger sense of symbolic immortality. Personality and Individual Differences, 175, 110712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110712

Terror management theory is focused on the role that awareness of death plays in diverse aspects of life. Here, we discuss the theory’s implications for understanding the widely varying ways in which people have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that regardless of whether one consciously believes that the virus is a major threat to life or only a minor inconvenience, fear of death plays an important role in driving one’s attitudes and behavior related to the virus. We focus on the terror management theory distinction between proximal defenses, which are activated when thoughts of death are in current focal attention and are logically related to the threat at hand, and distal defenses, which are activated when thoughts of death are on the fringes of one’s consciousness and entail the pursuit of meaning, personal value, and close relationships. We use this framework to discuss the many ways in which COVID-19 undermines psychological equanimity, the diverse ways people have responded to this threat, and the role of ineffective terror management in psychological distress and disorder that may emerge in response to the virus.

Aim: As a brief psychotherapy for individuals facing mortal threat, Dignity Therapy (DT) effects on spiritual outcomes are unknown, especially as an intervention to support cancer health equity for racial minority patients. Our study aim was to compare usual outpatient palliative care and such care along with nurse-led or chaplain-led DT groups for main effects on dignity impact and the interaction of DT with race. Methods: We conducted the 4-step, stepped-wedge randomized control trial at 4 NCI designated cancer centers and 2 academic cancer centers across the United States. Half of the sites were randomized to chaplain-led DT and half to nurse-led DT. Of the 645 recruited cancer patients (age ≥ 55 years) receiving outpatient palliative care, 579 (59% female, mean age 66.4±7.4 years, 78% White, 77% Christian religion, 62% stage 4 cancer) provided data for intent-to-treat analysis. Over 6 weeks, patients completed pretest/posttest measures including the Dignity Impact Scale (DIS, primary outcome) ranging from low impact of 7 to highest impact of 35. In step 1-3, study procedures were completed in person. In step 4 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), when all sites were providing the intervention, study procedures were completed via Zoom. We used multiple imputation and regression analysis adjusting for pretest DIS, study site, and study step. Results: Of the 579 patients, 317 were in the DT group and 262 in the usual care group. The vast majority of the sample was White (n=448) along with 103 Blacks, 5 Asians, 2 Pacific Islanders, 1 Native American, 13 other races (all minorities were combined as Other Race), and 7 were missing race data. At pretest, the mean DIS score was 24.3±4.3 in the DT group and 25.9±4.3 in the usual care group. Adjusting for pretest DIS scores, study site, and study step, the chaplain-led (β=1.7, p=.02) and nurse-led (β=2.1, p=.005) groups reported significantly higher posttest DIS scores than the usual care groups. Adjusting for age, gender, race, education, and income, the effect on DIS scores remained significant for both DT groups. We then examined the interaction between race and DT with the entire sample and observed that the interaction was not significant (p=.73) and the sizes of DT effects were similar for White (β=1.9, p=.005) and the Other Race (β=1.6, p=.055) patients. Conclusions: Whether led by chaplains or nurses, DT was effective in improving dignity impact for older adult outpatient palliative care patients with cancer. DT, a patient-centered approach, has promise as an intervention to improve health equity in support of dignity for racial minorities. This rigorous trial of DT is a landmark step in gero-oncology palliative care and spiritual health services research focused on cancer health equity. Citation Format: Diana J. Wilkie, George Fitchett, Tasha M. Schoppee, Marvin O. Degado Guay, Joshua Hauser, Sheri M. Kittelson, Sean O-Mahony, Michael W. Rabow, Tammie E. Quest, Sheldon Solomon, Yingwei Yao, George Hadzo, Harvey Max Chochinov, Linda L. Emanuel. Dignity therapy effects by race: Chaplain and nurse implementation in pragmatic, multisite stepped-wedge randomized control trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A032.

Exactly one year ago, between February and March 2020, the SARS-CoV2 infection went from an epidemic confined to China to a worldwide pandemic that was particularly lethal in Italy. This study examined media accounts during that period by analysing the representation of death-related constructs in Corriere della Sera, the most widely read newspaper in Italy. A textual and thematic analysis of articles published between period A (epidemic: 23 January–22 February 2020) and period B (pandemic: 23 February–31 March 2020) was conducted using Nvivo-11. A total of 141 articles comprising 48,524 words was collected. The most utilized words and meanings linked to SARS-CoV2 were computed. In the rank distribution, ‘China’ and ’virus’ were the terms most frequently used in both periods. The terms ‘death’ and ‘dead’ were completely absent in period A and appeared in the 535th position in period B. The term ‘dead’ was used primarily to indicate the number of deceased. From a Terror Management Theory perspective, it is possible that the minimal reference to death-related issues was a reflection of death denial and a manifestation of efforts to deny death to manage terror. These findings highlight the ambiguities and ambivalence surrounding any issue pertaining to death; on one side, undue alarmism may provoke exaggerated reactions, such as moral panic, while on the other denial-based messages that minimize references to mortality may reduce safe behaviour during a pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment in which existence is more fragile and existential fears or terror rises in people. Objective: Managing existential terror calls for being mature about mortality, something with which palliative care providers are familiar and in need of greater understanding. Methods: Using a case to illustrate, we describe existential terror, terror management, and existential maturity and go on to outline how existential maturity is important for not only the dying and the grieving but for also those facing risk of acquiring COVID-19. Results: Next, we describe how essential components in attaining existential maturity come together. (1) Because people experience absent attachment to important people as very similar to dying, attending to those experiences of relationship is essential. (2) That entails an internal working through of important relationships, knowing their incompleteness, until able to “hold them inside,” and invest in these and other connections. (3) And what allows that is making a meaningful connection with someone around the experience of absence or death. (4) We also describe the crucial nature of a holding environment in which all of these can wobble into place. Discussion: Finally, we consider how fostering existential maturity would help populations face up to the diverse challenges that the pandemic brings up for people everywhere.

Exactly one year ago, between February and March 2020, the COVID-19 infection went from an epidemic confined to China to a worldwide pandemic that was particularly lethal in Italy. This study examined the media accounts during that period by analysing the representation of death-related constructs in Corriere della Sera, the most widely read newspaper in Italy. A textual and thematic analysis of articles published between period A (epidemic: 23 January–22 February 2020) and period B (pandemic: 23 February–31 March 2020) was conducted using Nvivo-11. A total of 141 articles comprising 48,524 words were collected. The most utilised words and meanings linked to COVID-19 were computed. In the rank distribution, ‘China’ and ’virus’ were the terms most frequently used in both periods. The terms ‘death’ and ‘dead’ were completely absent in period A and appeared in the 535th position in period B. The term ‘dead’ was used primarily to indicate the number of deceased. From a Terror Management Theory perspective, it is possible that the minimal reference to death-related issues was a reflection of death denial and a manifestation of efforts to deny death to manage terror. These findings highlight the ambiguities and ambivalence surrounding any issue pertaining to death, on the one side, undue alarmism may provoke exaggerated reactions, such as moral panic, while on the other denial-based messages that minimise references to mortality may reduce safe behaviour during a pandemic.

A critical function of religion is to manage the potential for terror inherent in living knowing the only certainty in one’s life is the knowledge that it will inevitably end. We first provide an overview of this terror management theory (TMT) account of religion. We discuss how children are socialized into faith in worldviews that allow them to believe they are significant contributors to a meaningful life. We consider how religious worldviews emerged and evolved over human history. We then briefly review empirical support for TMT in general and specifically as an explanation of faith in religions. We cover evidence that religiosity reduces death anxiety, that reminders of mortality increase investment in religion, and that religiosity reduces defensive responses to reminders of mortality. We conclude by considering TMT insights into the constructive and destructive influences of two kinds of religious worldviews.

Religious faith is a driving force behind a substantial portion of human behavior. Yet theologically motivated action presents as a paradox: in some instances, reflecting humanistic yearnings for selflessness, giving, and tolerance; and in others, revealing aggressive, tribalistic urges for dominance and power. The present chapter applies the work of cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker and terror management theory to delineate how these divergent trends commonly emerge from human efforts to mitigate potential anxiety stemming from the awareness of death. Empirical research shows that reminders of mortality typically motivate intercultural conflict among religious groups. Additional work shows, however, that this trend is reversed under certain conditions, such that death-related concerns fuel prosocial religious behavior. Individual differences in religious orientation constitute one important moderating factor, as do the values and norms promoted in society at large, and the extent to which individuals engage in conscious, mindful encounters with the thought of their mortality.

In this interview, clinical psychologist Robert Firestone responds to questions from terror management theorist and researcher Sheldon Solomon regarding the basic concepts in separation theory, an approach that integrates psychoanalytic and existential systems of thought. The topics under discussion include an explanation of the core conflict in life, a description of the fantasy bond, the critical inner voice, Voice Therapy, a cognitive/affective/behavioral methodology that focuses on accessing emotions in countering clients’ destructive thoughts and attitudes, and a case study illustrating the methods applied in individual psychotherapy. There is also a discussion of the “kinds of challenges that people are confronted with today” as contrasted to the past.

We tested predictions about religiosity and terror management processes in 16 nations. Specifically, we examined weekly variation in Google search volume in each nation for 12 years (all weeks for which data were available). In all 16 nations, higher than usual weekly Google search volume for life-threatening illnesses (cancer, diabetes, and hypertension) predicted increases in search volume for religious content (e.g., God, Jesus, prayer) in the following week. This effect held up after controlling for (a) recent past and annual variation in religious search volume, (b) increases in search volume associated with religious holidays, and (c) variation in searches for a non-life-threatening illness (“sore throat”). Terror management threat reduction processes appear to occur across the globe. Furthermore, they may occur over much longer periods than those studied in the laboratory. Managing fears of death via religious belief regulation appears to be culturally pervasive.

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that the uniquely human awareness of death engenders potentially debilitating existential terror that is “managed” by subscribing to cultural worldviews providing a sense that life has meaning as well as opportunities to obtain self-esteem, in pursuit of psychological equanimity in the present and literal or symbolic immortality in the future. In empirical support of TMT, research has demonstrated that: self-esteem serves to buffer anxiety in general, and about death in particular; reminders of death increase defense of the cultural worldview and efforts to bolster self-esteem; threats to the cultural worldview or self-esteem increase the accessibility of implicit death thoughts; conscious and non-conscious thoughts of death instigate qualitatively different defensive processes; death reminders increase hostility toward people with different beliefs, affection for charismatic leaders, and support for political and religious extremism; and death reminders magnify symptoms of psychological disorders.

According to terror management theory (TMT), culturally shared beliefs about the nature of reality (i.e., cultural worldviews) are critical for people’s efforts to combat existential fears about death. Cultural worldviews delineate why we are here, where we come from, and what happens to us when we are gone. More importantly, cultural worldviews provide pathways to obtaining immortality, either literal immortality in the form of an afterlife or symbolic immortality in the form of achievements that transcend one’s self. It is easy to see why religious worldviews would function to alleviate concerns about death, given their strong portrayal of religious afterlives that can be obtained. However, considerable research also indicates that secular worldviews serve a death transcendence function. This chapter will provide an overview of this research and will serve as the natural companion to the chapter on religious worldviews. Specifically, this chapter will describe the TMT analysis of secular worldviews and will provide an integrative overview of the research in support of it. Example topics to be covered include the TMT analyses of the allure of fame, politics, scientific worldviews (including evolution), and nationalism/patriotism. Given the breadth of these topics, this chapter will be appealing to social scientists from a range of disciplines, including social psychology, sociology, and political science.

Near-death experiences (NDE) are intense events that can have profound psychological consequences. Although decreased fear of death after an NDE is a well-documented phenomenon, it is unclear what psychological factors are associated with reduced death anxiety. In this study, grounded in terror management theory, we compared 102 people who had an NDE with 104 individuals who did not. Participants completed measures of death anxiety, self-esteem, mindfulness, and death representation. Results indicated that people who had an NDE had lower fear of death, higher self-esteem, greater mindfulness, and viewed death more as a transition rather than as absolute annihilation. Subsequent analyses found that NDE had a direct effect on death anxiety, and that the effect of NDE on death anxiety was also mediated by indirect effects on self-esteem and death representation. Implications of these findings are considered, limitations of the present study are acknowledged, and suggestions for future theory and research are proffered.

According to terror management theory, human beings share a basic biological predisposition toward self-preservation with all other forms of life. Humans are, however, unique in their capacity for abstract symbolic thought and self-consciousness, including the awareness of the inevitability of death. Death awareness gives rise to potentially debilitating existential terror that is “managed” by embracing humanly constructed cultural worldviews, striving for a sense of personal significance (i.e. self-esteem), and forging and maintaining close relationships with significant others. Cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and close relationships serve to buffer anxiety and to enhance the prospect of acquiring literal or symbolic immortality. From an existential perspective, becoming a parent is a potentially dynamic transition that confers numerous social and psychological benefits, as well as presenting some daunting challenges. Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of terror management theory and research, and to present an empirically corroborated account of how parenthood assuages and arouses existential anxieties.

Terror management theory posits that the uniquely human awareness of death gives rise to potentially paralyzing terror that is assuaged by embracing cultural worldviews that provide a sense that one is a valuable participant in a meaningful universe. We propose that pervasive and pronounced anti-atheist prejudices stem, in part, from the existential threat posed by conflicting worldview beliefs. Two studies were conducted to establish that existential concerns contribute to anti-atheist sentiments. Experiment 1 found that a subtle reminder of death increased disparagement, social distancing, and distrust of atheists. Experiment 2 found that asking people to think about atheism increased the accessibility of implicit death thoughts. These studies provide the first empirical link between existential concerns and anti-atheist prejudices.

Terror management theory posits that the juxtaposition of an inclination toward self-preservation with the highly developed intellectual abilities that make humans aware of their vulnerabilities and inevitable death creates the potential for paralyzing terror. One of the most important functions of cultural worldviews is to manage the terror engendered by death awareness. This is accomplished primarily through the cultural mechanism of self-esteem, which consists of the belief that one is a valuable contributor to a meaningful universe, and hence eligible for literal and/or symbolic immortality. Effective terror management requires, first, faith in a meaningful conception of reality (the cultural worldview), and second, belief that one is meeting the standards of value prescribed by that worldview (self-esteem). Because of the protection from the potential for terror that these psychological structures afford, people are motivated to maintain faith in their cultural worldviews and satisfy the standards of value associated with them.

Four studies were conducted to examine how concerns about mortality contribute to Americans' negative attitudes and behavior toward symbols of Islam. Study 1 found that a subtle reminder of death decreased support for the Ground Zero mosque, and increased the distance from Ground Zero that people felt was appropriate for a mosque to be built. Study 2 found that asking people to think about a mosque being built in their neighborhood increased the accessibility of implicit death thoughts. Study 3 replicated the results of Study 2 and showed that thinking of a church or synagogue did not produce the same effect as thinking of a mosque. Study 4 found that heightened death thought accessibility in response to a mortality salience induction was eliminated when the participants read a newspaper account of the desecration of the Quran.

Terror-management theory is used to examine how political preferences are altered when existential concerns are aroused. The theory posits that the uniquely human awareness of death engenders potentially debilitating terror that is managed through devotion to cultural worldviews that give individuals a sense that life has meaning and that they have value. Research shows that mortality salience increases adherence to cherished cultural values and instigates efforts to bolster self-esteem. Here we review research documenting the role of terror-management processes in promoting support for charismatic leaders who share one’s cherished beliefs and aggression against those who hold rival beliefs. Implications for fostering effective participatory democracy are considered.

Fantasies and dreams of flight are ubiquitous across cultures and throughout history and often linked to immortality. A perspective derived from terror management theory holds that flight fantasies are appealing because they suggest transcendence of the limitations of creatureliness and mortality. Five studies established the link between mortality concerns and flight fantasy. In Study 1, participants showed greater desire to fly after contemplating death compared to a control topic. In Study 2, participants showed greater desire to fly, but not to engage in other supernatural acts, after contemplating death compared to a control topic. In Studies 3 and 4, participants who engaged in flight fantasy did not subsequently demonstrate defensive reactions to a death reminder observed in nonflight conditions. Study 5 showed that flight fantasy, but not other pleasurable or empowering fantasies, decreased death thought accessibility after mortality salience, and this effect was uniquely mediated by a feeling of freedom from bodily limits.

Research on gambling, and risk taking in general, has focused primarily on approach-related motivations. The current study examined the avoidance of existential anxiety as a possible source of risky decision making and behaviour. The authors hypothesized that participants reminded of their own mortality would consequently make riskier decisions (and therefore perform more poorly) on the Iowa gambling task. Results confirmed this prediction. Implications of the finding that existential concerns undermine efficient decision making are considered.

We present an existential account of the psychological function of artistic activity derived from terror management theory. From this perspective, artistic creation and response alleviate concerns with mortality by affording opportunities to bolster cultural belief systems that provide death-transcending meaning and significance. We review research showing that reminders of mortality exaggerate people's responses (positive and negative) to artworks that bear on their conceptions of death, cultural ideologies and symbols, and bases of meaning. We also review research on the interplay between the motives for terror management and creative self-expression. We compare a TMT analysis to alternative accounts of art's function derived from uncertainty management theory (e.g., van den Bos, 2009) and the meaning maintenance model (Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006). We conclude by recommending that future research examine whether immersive aesthetic engagement is psychologically beneficial because it provides temporary ...

Research has shown that mortality salience (MS) heightens liking for certain political candidates. Yet the particular qualities that make candidates more appealing after MS has been subject to debate. This study tested three possibilities: MS increases liking for charismatic candidates independent of participants’ or candidates’ political orientation; MS increases liking for conservative candidates independent of participants’ or candidates’ political orientation; and MS increases liking only for charismatic candidates who support the individual’s pre-existing political orientation, whether liberal or conservative. Following a MS manipulation, liberal and conservative participants evaluated two hypothetical gubernatorial candidates who differed both in their political orientation and level of charisma. MS heightened liking of charismatic candidates who shared the perceiver’s political orientation, whether liberal or conservative. In contrast, MS reduced liking for uncharismatic and opposing-orientation candidates. Results thus indicated that MS heightens regard for same-political orientation charismatic candidates, rather than just any charismatic candidate or conservative candidates. Implications for the influence of death-related concerns on political preference are briefly discussed.

Although the appeal of fame in society seems to be increasing, experimental research has yet to examine the motivations that may underlie this apparent appeal. As a first step toward doing so, we conducted three studies to assess whether concerns with mortality play a role in these phenomena. Based on terror management theory and research, we hypothesized that reminders of death would increase people's desire for fame and admiration of celebrities. In Study 1, mortality salience led participants to report greater desire for fame. In Study 2, mortality salience produced greater interest in having a star in the galaxy named after oneself. In Study 3, mortality salience increased liking for abstract art when it was attributed to a celebrity. These findings suggest that the appeal of fame is based in part on the desire for symbolic continuance beyond death. Discussion focused on the implications of these findings and remaining issues.

From a terror management theory (TMT) perspective, religion serves to manage the potential terror engendered by the uniquely human awareness of death by affording a sense of psychological security and hope of immortality. Although secular beliefs can also serve a terror management function, religious beliefs are particularly well suited to mitigate death anxiety because they are all encompassing, rely on concepts that are not easily disconfirmed, and promise literal immortality. Research is reviewed demonstrating that mortality salience produces increased belief in afterlife, supernatural agency, human ascension from nature, and spiritual distinctions between mind and body. The social costs and benefits of religious beliefs are considered and compared to those of secular worldviews. The terror management functions of, and benefits and costs associated with, different types of religious orientation, such as intrinsic religiosity, quest, and religious fundamentalism, are then examined. Finally, the TMT analysis is compared to other accounts of religion.

Two studies were conducted to examine the hypothesis derived from a juxtaposition of the undesired self and terror management theories that making aspects of the undesired self salient produces effects comparable to those obtained in response to making mortality salient. In Study 1, participants reminded of either death or aspects of their undesired self were more supportive of President George W. Bush and his policies in Iraq, relative to participants in exam salient or desired self salient control conditions. In Study 2, participants reminded of death or aspects of their undesired self showed greater accessibility of implicit death thoughts, relative to participants in pain salient or desired self salient control conditions. Implications of these findings for future theory and research are considered.

Research on terror management theory (TMT) indicates that reminders of death affect political attitudes, but political orientation only sometimes moderates these effects. We propose that secure relationships are associated with values of tolerance and compassion, thus orienting people toward liberalism; insecure attachments are associated with more rigid and absolutist values that orient people toward conservatism. Given that attachment relationships become especially active when security needs are heightened, we predicted that mortality salience would be an important factor in understanding the relationship between attachment processes and political orientation. Supporting these ideas, Study 1 showed that after a mortality-salience manipulation, securely attached participants increased their support for a liberal presidential candidate, and less securely attached participants increased their support for a conservative presidential candidate. In Study 2, a secure-relationship prime following a mortality-salience manipulation engendered a less violent approach to the problem of terrorism than did a neutral-relationship prime. We discuss the interaction of TMT processes and individual differences in attachment in shaping political preferences.

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that cultural worldviews and self-esteem function to buffer humans from mortality-related anxiety. TMT research has shown that important behaviors are influenced by mortality salience (MS) even when they have no obvious connection to death. However, there has been no attempt to investigate TMT processes in anxious responding. The present research examines that question. In Study 1, compared to a control condition, MS increased anxious responding to spider-related stimuli, but only for participants who met criteria for specific phobia. In Study 2, compared to an aversive control condition, MS increased time spent washing hands, but only for those scoring high on a measure of compulsive hand washing (CHW). In Study 3, compared to a different aversive control condition, MS increased avoidance of a social interaction, but only for those scoring high on a measure of social interaction anxiety. The relevance of TMT in anxious responding is discussed.

This chapter explores methods of coping with the inevitability of death. It discusses Terror Management Theory, the mortality salience hypothesis and anxiety buffer hypothesis, proximal and distal defenses. The chapter also outlines the mismanagement of terror, which can manifest as anxiety disorders, neuroticism, and excessive fear.

Terror management theory posits that human awareness of the inevitability of death exerts a profound influence on diverse aspects of human thought, emotion, motivation, and behavior. People manage the potential for anxiety that results from this awareness by maintaining: (1) faith in the absolute validity of their cultural worldviews and (2) self-esteem by living up to the standards of value that are part of their worldviews. In this chapter, we take stock of the past 30 years of research and conceptual development inspired by this theory. After a brief review of evidence supporting the theory's fundamental propositions, we discuss extensions of the theory to shed light on: (1) the psychological mechanisms through which thoughts of death affect subsequent thought and behavior; (2) how the anxiety-buffering systems develop over childhood and beyond; (3) how awareness of death influenced the evolution of mind, culture, morality, and religion; (4) how death concerns lead people to distance from their physical bodies and seek solace in concepts of mind and spirit; and (5) the role of death concerns in maladaptive and pathological behavior. We also consider various criticisms of the theory and alternative conceptualizations that have been proposed. We conclude with a discussion of what we view as the most pressing issues for further research and theory development that have been inspired by the theory's first 30 years.

Two studies examined whether dissociation from 9/11-related thoughts and emotions would be higher after mortality salience (MS) relative to a control condition. Because dissociation is believed to contribute to anxiety disorders, we also examined whether higher ratings of dissociation after MS would lead to higher reported anxiety sensitivity. In Study 1, MS participants reported higher levels of peritraumatic dissociation from 9/11 and higher levels of anxiety sensitivity than control participants who contemplated an upcoming exam. Furthermore, the extent to which MS induced higher levels of anxiety sensitivity was fully mediated by the extent to which MS caused greater dissociation. In Study 2, we examined whether heightened anxiety sensitivity is specifically a consequence of MS-induced dissociation or whether MS-induced worldview bolstering also causes higher anxiety sensitivity. Results indicated that MS participants reported more peritraumatic dissociation from 9/11 or bolstered support for their wo...

We are gratified that after 20 years, terror management theory (TMT; Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986), a formalization of Becker's (1971, 1973, 1975) integrative interdisciplinary analysis ...

Study 1 investigated the effect of mortality salience on support for martyrdom attacks among Iranian college students. Participants were randomly assigned to answer questions about either their own death or an aversive topic unrelated to death and then evaluated materials from fellow students who either supported or opposed martyrdom attacks against the United States. Whereas control participants preferred the student who opposed martyrdom, participants reminded of death preferred the student who supported martyrdom and indicated they were more likely to consider such activities themselves. Study 2 investigated the effect of mortality salience on American college students' support for extreme military interventions by American forces that could kill thousands of civilians. Mortality salience increased support for such measures among politically conservative but not politically liberal students. The roles of existential fear, cultural worldviews, and construing one's nation as pursing a heroic battle against evil in advocacy of violence were discussed.

Why do people dislike art that they find meaningless? According to terror management theory, maintaining a basic meaningful view of reality is a key prerequisite for managing concerns about mortality. Therefore, mortality salience should decrease liking for apparently meaningless art, particularly among those predisposed to unambiguous knowledge. Accordingly, mortality salience diminished affection for modern art in Study 1, and this effect was shown in Study 2 to be specific to individuals with a high personal need for structure (PNS). In Studies 3 and 4, mortality salient high-PNS participants disliked modern art unless it was imbued with meaning, either by means of a title or a personal frame of reference induction. Discussion focused on the roles of meaninglessness, PNS, and art in terror management.

An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of a subtle reminder of death on voting intentions for the 2004 U.S. presidential election. On the basis of terror management theory and previous research, we hypothesized that a mortality salience induction would increase support for President George W. Bush and decrease support for Senator John Kerry. In late September 2004, following a mortality salience or control induction, registered voters were asked which candidate they intended to vote for. In accord with predictions, Senator John Kerry received substantially more votes than George Bush in the control condition, but Bush was favored over Kerry following a reminder of death, suggesting that President Bush's re-election may have been facilitated by non conscious concerns about mortality in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.