Adaptive self‐objectification in the context of breast cancer: A theoretical integration of the terror management health model and research on objectification

This article offers terror management theory (TMT) as a conceptual lens through which the process of infrahumanization can be viewed. TMT suggests that people are threatened by the awareness of their mortal, animal nature, and that by emphasizing their symbolic, cultural—and hence, uniquely human—existence, they can help quell this threat. The article reviews empirical evidence demonstrating that reminders of mortality increase efforts to see the self and in-groups as more uniquely human. In addition, it is posited that, as an ironic consequence of defensive efforts to rid the self and certain others of any connection to animal nature, people are sometimes stripped of their human nature. The study presents evidence that the objectification, and self-objectification, of women can be viewed from this perspective and concludes that both emphasizing people’s uniquely human qualities and viewing them as objectified symbols can be understood as serving a terror management function.

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Where Health and Death Intersect

Current Directions in Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/0963721416689563 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 126-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jamie Arndt ◽

Jamie L. Goldenberg

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Terror Management ◽

Coping Resources ◽

Cultural Value ◽

Conscious Awareness ◽

Health Domains ◽

Health Related ◽

Health Model ◽

And Coping ◽

Reduce Health Risk

This article offers an integrative understanding of the intersection between health and death from the perspective of the terror management health model. After highlighting the potential for health-related situations to elicit concerns about mortality, we turn to the question, how do thoughts of death influence health-related decision making? Across varied health domains, the answer depends on whether these cognitions are in conscious awareness or not. When mortality concerns are conscious, people form healthy intentions and engage in healthy behavior if efficacy and coping resources are present. In contrast, when contending with accessible but nonconscious thoughts of death, health-relevant decisions are guided more by the implications of the behavior for the individual’s sense of cultural value. Finally, we present research suggesting how these processes can be leveraged to facilitate health promotion and reduce health risk

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In Defense of the Body: The Effect of Mortality Salience on Female Body Objectification

Psychology of Women Quarterly ◽

10.1111/j.1471-6402.2005.00165.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 33-37 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Shelly Grabe ◽

Clay Routledge ◽

Alison Cook ◽

Christie Andersen ◽

Jamie Arndt

Keyword(s):

Female Body ◽

Terror Management Theory ◽

Terror Management ◽

Self Esteem ◽

The Body ◽

Management Theory ◽

Psychological Consequences ◽

Body Objectification ◽

Self And Other ◽

Self Objectification

Previous research has illustrated the negative psychological consequences of female body objectification. The present study explores how female body objectification may serve as a defense against unconscious existential fears. Drawing from terror management theory, an experiment was designed to test the potential functionality of female body objectification. Men and women were primed to think about either their own mortality or an aversive control topic, and levels of body objectification were then assessed for both self- and other (women)-objectification. Findings supported the hypothesis that priming mortality would increase both self- and other-objectification among women, and self-objectification among those who derive self-esteem from their body. Implications for this research are discussed.

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