Terror Management Theory

Terror Management Theory (TMT) was developed by social psychologist Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, Sheldon Solomon in 1986 based on Ernest Becker's idea.

TMT believes that humans share the self-protection tendency of living organisms in all forms of reproductive services, but our uniqueness in symbolic thinking will promote self-awareness and the ability to look back on the past and promote the ability to think about the future . This increases the awareness that death is unavoidable and can occur at any time for unexpected reasons and for controlled reasons.

Recognition of death has created a potentially debilitating fear "managed" by the development and maintenance of a cultural worldview: humans share the reality of human construction by minimizing the existence of meaning and value Belief that you do. I am afraid. Every culture provides a meaningful sense of life by providing an explanation about the origin of the universe, the prescription of appropriate behavior, and the immortality guarantee of people who fulfill the cultural mission. The souls, heaven, sequelae and reincarnation associated with all major religions bring immortality. Symbolic immortality is obtained by being part of a great country, accumulating huge wealth, noteworthy achievements, and having children.

Psychological tranquility also requires that individuals see themselves as valuable people in a meaningful world. This is achieved by social roles and relevant criteria. Self esteem is a personal meaning to meet or exceed these standards.

Self-esteem anxiety cushioning has been established throughout the study, where improvement in self-esteem results in lower self-reported anxiety and physiological arousal.

Making death important by making people think about their own death (or seeing the graphical depiction of death, interviewing in front of the funeral home, or unintentionally exposing the term "pointless" or "death") As well as positive reactions of others to strengthen efforts to protect the cultural world view by doing so, we will react negatively to various people

This study verifies the existence of a cultural worldview and self-esteem by proveing ​​that the idea of ​​unconscious death is more easily recalled when cherishing cultural beliefs and self-esteem is threatened To do.

TMT conducts empirical research (currently more than 500 studies) and is focusing on romance and interpersonal relationships including aggression, stereotype, structural and semantic needs, depression and psychopathology, political preference, creativity, and sexuality , Self-recognition, unconscious recognition, martyrdom, religion, group identity, aversion, relationship between person and nature, physical health, risks and legal judgment

In 2015, Greenberg, Pyszczynski, and Solomon reviewed this extensive study and announced the "core worm" that supports Becker's central claim that the fear of death is "the main driving force of human activity" .

Terror Management Theory (TMT) is a social psychology theory originally proposed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski and is summarized in their book "The Worms in the Core" I will. (2015) Although it suggests that basic psychological conflict arises from self-defense instincts, death is inevitable and recognizes that it is somewhat unpredictable. This confrontation creates terrorism and manages terrorism by incorporating cultural values ​​and symbolic systems that provide persistent meaning and value to life.

Terror management theory is an empirically supported theory that explains self-esteem and the psychological function of culture. The theory suggests that people seek to maintain the belief that they are important contributors to meaningful space to minimize the terrible possibilities of their perception of their own mortality. Culture provides meaning to its members - the view of the world and the foundation of self-esteem to fulfill this terrorist management function. Former graduate students from the University of Kansas, Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg and Tom Pyszczynski developed the theory of terrorism management in 1984. These social psychologists are looking for answers to two basic questions about human behavior. Why do people need self esteem? Why are there different cultures during the difficult times of coexistence during peace? Trio found a potential answer to these questions in the work of anthropologist Ernest Becker.