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Tales from Existential Oceans: Terror Management Theory and How the Awareness of Our Mortality Affects Us All
Author(s) -
Arndt Jamie,
Vess Matthew
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
social and personality psychology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 1751-9004
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00079.x
Subject(s) - terror management theory , existentialism , unconscious mind , psychodynamics , psychology , mortality salience , structuring , creativity , distress , social psychology , epistemology , death anxiety , psychoanalysis , psychotherapist , anxiety , philosophy , finance , psychiatry , economics
Terror management theory is a social psychological theory that draws from existential, psychodynamic, and evolutionary perspectives to understand the often potent influence that deeply rooted concerns about mortality can have on our sense of self and social behavior. The present article presents a brief introduction to the theory, comments on critiques and alternative explanations, and highlights where the theory came from, where it has been, and a few places that it might be going. Research is reviewed that uses this analysis to understand conscious and unconscious processes of psychological defense, the role of relationships and basic structuring of reality for managing existential distress, the integration of these ideas with motives for creativity and psychological growth, as well as a number of applied directions that help to make sense of pressing social problems.