Terror management theory

A social-psychological theory proposing that awareness of mortality can produce existential anxiety, which people manage through cultural worldviews and self-esteem.

Mortality salience: The heightened accessibility of thoughts about one’s own death. Making death salient is the experimental trigger used to test the theory.
Ernest Becker: An American cultural anthropologist whose work examined human fear of death and the pursuit of meaning. His account of mortality and culture inspired the theory’s psychological framework.
Mortality salience and political attitudes: Research examining whether reminders of death alter political judgments and support for leaders or policies. Studies test whether mortality cues intensify attachment to political worldviews.
Terror management theory and terror management health model: A framework applying terror management ideas to health behavior and death-related health messages. It extends the theory to health decisions, where mortality reminders can sometimes promote or deter action.
Worldview defense: The process of defending beliefs and values that give life meaning and order. The theory predicts that mortality reminders can strengthen defense of cultural beliefs.
The Denial of Death: Ernest Becker’s 1973 book arguing that fear of death shapes human culture and behavior. This book supplied the theory’s foundational argument about symbolic defenses against death.
Mortality salience and prejudice: Research on how reminders of death affect evaluations of people who challenge cultural norms. Worldview defense predicts harsher judgments of those seen as threatening shared values.
Meaning maintenance model: A psychological theory proposing that threats to meaning prompt efforts to restore meaning in other domains. It explains some responses attributed to mortality concerns through broader meaning disruption.
Self-esteem: A person’s evaluation of their own worth. The theory treats self-esteem as a buffer against anxiety associated with mortality.
Jeff Greenberg: A social psychologist who helped develop and test terror management theory. Greenberg’s research program turned Becker’s ideas into experimentally testable hypotheses.

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