Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Applications of Terror Management Theory

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Medicalized Body and Anesthetic Culture

  • 564 Accesses

Abstract

In general, people cope with death through two basic avenues, the enhancement of self-esteem and the protection of one’s cultural worldview. Neuroscientific evidence has shown a brain area called the insula plays an important role in the self-regulation of emotions associated with terror management, with regard to both self-esteem and empathic engagement with others. These principles of terror management theory provide a framework to unlock modern medicine’s unique and rather ingenuous strategies for the management of death anxiety through cognitive and neurological management of self-worth and worldview defense of medical culture.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 149.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Batson, C. D. (1975). Rational processing or rationalization? The effect of discomforming information on a stated religious belief. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 176–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., Smart, L., & Boden, J. M. (1996). Relation of threatened egotism to violence and aggression: The dark side of high self-esteem. Psychological Review, 103(1), 5–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, E. (1962). The birth and death of meaning. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, E. (1964). Revolution in psychiatry. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, E. (1973). The denial of death. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellini, L. M., Baime, M., & Shea, J. A. (2002). Variation of mood and empathy during internship. Journal of the American Medical Association, 287(23), 3143–3146.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bellini, L. M., & Shea, J. A. (2005). Mood change and empathy decline persist during three years of internal medicine training. Academic Medicine, 80(2), 164–167.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burke, B. L., Kosloff, S., & Landau, M. J. (2013). Death goes to the polls: A meta-analysis of mortality salience effects on political attitudes. Political Psychology, 34(2), 183–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burris, C. T., Harmon-Jones, E., & Tarpley, W. R. (2010). “By faith alone”: Religious agitation and cognitive dissonance. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 19(1), 17–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, W. K., Rudich, E. A., & Sedikides, C. (2002). Narcissism, self-esteem, and the positivity of self-views: Two portraits of self-love. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(3), 358–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, D., Lew, R., Hershman, W., & Orlander, J. (2007). A cross-sectional measurement of medical student empathy. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22(10), 1434–1438.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, A. D. (2009). How do you feel—Now? The anterior insula and human awareness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(1), 59–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, S. F., Bremer, S. A., Anderson, B. J., & Tramill, J. L. (1983). The interrelationships of ego strength, self-esteem, death anxiety, and gender in undergraduate college students. The Journal of General Psychology, 108(1), 55–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dechesne, M., Greenberg, J., Arndt, J., & Schimel, J. (2000). Terror management and the vicissitudes of sports fan affiliation: The effects of mortality salience on optimism and fan identification. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30(6), 813–835.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan, Y., Wonneberger, C., Enzi, B., & de Greck, M. (2011). The narcissistic self and its psychological and neural correlates: An exploratory fMRI study. Psychological Medicine, 41(8), 1641–1650.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., & Kosloff, S. (2008). Terror management theory: Implications for understanding prejudice, stereotyping, intergroup conflict, and political attitudes. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(5), 1881–1894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., Pinel, E., Simon, L., & Jordan, K. (1993). Effects of self-esteem on vulnerability-denying defensive distortions: Further evidence of an anxiety-buffering function of self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 29(3), 229–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., Rosenblatt, A., Veeder, M., Kirkland, S., & Lyon, D. (1990). Evidence for terror management theory II: The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who threaten or bolster the cultural worldview. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(2), 308–318.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., Simon, L., Pyszczynski, T., Solomon, S., & Chatel, D. (1992). Terror management and tolerance: Does mortality salience always intensify negative reactions to others who threaten one’s worldview? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(2), 212–220.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Pyzzczynski, T., Rosenblatt, A., Burling, J., Lyon, D., …, Pinel, E. (1992). Why do people need self-esteem? Converging evidence that self-esteem serves an anxiety-buffering function. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(6), 913–922.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haque, O. S., & Waytz, A. (2012). Dehumanization in medicine: Causes, solutions, and functions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7(2), 176–186.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harmon-Jones, E., Simon, L., Greenberg, J., Pyzczynski, T., Solomon, S., & McGregor, H. (1997). Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduced mortality salience effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1), 24–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hojat, M., Hojat, M., Gonnella, J. S., Nasca, T. J., Veloski, J. J., Erdmann, J. B., …, Magee, M. (2002). Empathy in medical students as related to academic performance, clinical competence and gender. Medical Education, 36(6), 522–527.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hojat, M., Mangione, S., Nasca, T. J., Rattner, S., Erdmann, J. B., Gonnella, J. S., & Magee, M. (2004). An empirical study of decline in empathy in medical school. Medical Education, 38, 934–941.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, P. L., Meltzoff, A. N., & Decety, J. (2005). How do we perceive the pain of others? A window into the neural processes involved in empathy. Neuroimage, 24(3), 771–779.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, P. L., Brunet, E., Meltzoff, A. N., & Decety, J. (2006). Empathy examined through the mechanisms involves in imagining how I feel versus how you feel pain. Neuropsychologia, 44(5), 752–761.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, E., Greenberg, J., & Frey, D. (2003). Connecting terror management and dissonance theory: Evidence that mortality salience increases the preference for supporting information after decisions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(9), 1181–1189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kesebir, P., & Pyszczynski, T. (2011). A moral-existential account of the psychological factors fostering intergroup conflict. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(11), 878–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klackl, J., Jonas, E., & Kronbichler, M. (2014). Existential neuroscience: Self-esteem moderates neuronal responses to mortality-related stimuli. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(11), 1754–1761.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lamm, C., Decety, J., & Singer, T. (2011). Meta-analytic evidence for common and distinct neural networks associated with directly experienced pain and empathy for pain. NeuroImage, 54(3), 2492–2502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landau, M. J., & Greenberg, J. (2006). Play it safe or go for the gold? A terror management perspective on self-enhancement and self-protective motives in risky decision-making. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1633–1645.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marcus, E. R. (1999). Empathy, humanism, and the professionalization process of medical education. Academic Medicine, 74(11), 1211–1215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McGregor, H. A., Lieberman, J. D., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Arndt, J., Simon, L., & Pyszczynski, T. (1998). Terror management and aggression: Evidence that mortality salience motivates aggression towards worldview-threatening others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(3), 590–605.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikulincer, M., & Florian, V. (2002). The effects of mortality salience on self-serving attributions—Evidence for the function of self-esteem as a terror management mechanism. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 24(4), 261–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morf, C. C., & Rhodenwalt, F. (2001). Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism: A dynamic self-regulatory processing model. Psychological Inquiry, 4, 177–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motyl, M., Hart, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2010). When animals attack: The effects of mortality salience, infrahumanization of violence, and authoritarianism on support of war. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(1), 200–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, M., Edelhauer, F., Tauschel, D., Fischer, M., Wirtz, M., Woopen, C., …, & Scheffer, C. (2011). Empathy decline and its reasons: A systematic review of studies with medical students and residents. Academic Medicine, 86(8), 996–1009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paulus, M. P., Feinstein, J. S., Castillo, G., Simmons, A. N., & Stein, M. B. (2005). Dose-dependent decreased activation in bilateral amygdala and insula by lorazepam during emotional processing. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(3), 282–288.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., Cohen, F., & Weise, D. (2006). Mortality salience, martyrdom, and military might: The Great Satan versus the Axis of Evil. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(4), 525–537.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raskin, R., Novacek, J., & Hogan, R. (1991). Narcissistic self-esteem management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(6), 911–918.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen, M. K., & Pidgeon, A. M. (2010). The direct and indirect benefits of dispositional mindfulness on self-esteem and social anxiety. Anxiety, Stress and Coping: An International Journal, 24(2), 227–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, I. M., Gimotty, P. A., Shea, J. A., & Bellini, L. M. (2006). Evolution of sleep quality, sleep deprivation, mood disturbances, empathy, and burnout among interns. Academic Medicine, 81(1), 82–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenblatt, A., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., & Lyon, D. (1989). Evidence for terror management theory: I. The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who violate or uphold culture values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(4), 681–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, S. G., Klumpp, H., Angstadt, M., Pradeep, J. N., & Phan, K. L. (2009). Amgydala and insula response to emotional images in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 34(4), 296–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, C. R., Lassegard, M. A., & Ford, C. E. (1986). Distancing after group success and failure: Basking in reflected glory and cutting off reflected failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(2), 382–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, A., Matthews, S. C., Paulus, M. P., & Stein, M. B. (2008). Intolerance of uncertainty correlates with insula activation during affective ambiguity. Neuroscience Letters, 430(2), 92–97.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, A., Strigo, I., Matthews, S. C., Paulus, M. P., & Stein, M. B. (2006). Anticipation of aversive visual stimuli is associated with increased activation in anxiety-prone individuals. Biological Psychiatry, 60(4), 402–409.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, T., Seymour, B., O’Doherty, J., Kaube, H., Dolan, R., & Frith, C. D. (2004). Empathy for pain involves the affective but not sensory components of pain. Science, 303(5661), 1157–1162.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (1991). Terror management theory of self-esteem. In C. R. Snyder & D. D. Forsyth (Eds.), Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective (pp. 21–40). New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stein, M. B., Simmons, A. N., Feinstein, J. S., & Paulus, M. P. (2007). Increased amygdala and insula activation during emotion processing in anxiety-prone subjects. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(2), 318–327.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suliman, W. A., & Halabi, J. (2007). Critical thinking, self-esteem, and state anxiety among nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 27(2), 162–168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suls, J., & Wan, C. K. (1987). In search of the false-uniqueness phenomenon: Fear and estimates of social consensus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 211–217.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S. E., & Lobel, M. (1989). Social comparison activity under threat: Downward evaluation and upward contacts. Psychological Review, 96(4), 569–575.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, M. R., Dyrbye, L. N., Huntington, J. L., Lawson, K. L., Novotny, M. S., Sloan, J. A., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2007). How do distress and well-being relate to medical student empathy? A multicenter study. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22(2), 177–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Ryn, M., Hardeman, R. R., Phelan, S. M., Burke, S. E., Przedworski, J., Allen, M. L., …, Dovidio, J. F. (2014). Psychosocial predictors of attitudes toward physician empathy in clinical encounters among 4732 1st year medical students: A report from the CHANGES study. Patient Education and Counseling, 96(3), 367–375.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yousaf, O., & Gobet, F. (2013). The emotional and attitudinal consequences of religious hypocrisy: Experimental evidence using a cognitive dissonance paradigm. The Journal of Social Psychology, 153(6), 667–686.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Point Park University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Brent Dean Robbins

Authors
  1. Brent Dean Robbins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brent Dean Robbins .

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Robbins, B.D. (2018). Applications of Terror Management Theory. In: The Medicalized Body and Anesthetic Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95356-1_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation