Whistling in the Dark: Exaggerated Consensus Estimates in Response to Incidental Reminders of Mortality

Terror management theory posits that cultural worldviews function to provide protection against anxiety concerning human vulnerability and mortality and that their effectiveness as buffers against such anxiety is maintained through a process of consensual validation Two field experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that incidental reminders of one's mortality increase the need to believe that others share one's worldview In both studies, passersby on city streets were asked to estimate the extent of social consensus for culturally relevant attitudes, 100 m before passing a funeral home, 100 m after passing a funeral home, or directly in front of a funeral home In the first study, conducted in Germany, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Germans who shared their opinions about a proposal to change the German constitution to restrict the immigration of foreigners, in the second study, conducted in the United States, subjects were asked to estimate the percentage of Americans who shared their opinions about the teaching of Christian values in the public schools In both studies, subjects who held the minority position on the issue estimated greater consensus for their opinions when interviewed directly in front of a funeral home than when interviewed either before or after passing it

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Of Mice and Men, and Objectified Women: A Terror Management Account of Infrahumanization

Group Processes & Intergroup Relations ◽

10.1177/1368430209340569 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 763-776 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Jamie Goldenberg ◽

Nathan Heflick ◽

Jeroen Vaes ◽

Matt Motyl ◽

Jeff Greenberg

Keyword(s):

Human Nature ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Terror Management Theory ◽

Terror Management ◽

The Self ◽

Management Theory ◽

Management Function ◽

Mortality Increase ◽

Objectification Of Women ◽

Self 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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Dying to Watch

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000079 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 55-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Laramie D. Taylor

Keyword(s):

Terror Management Theory ◽

Terror Management ◽

Management Theory ◽

Media Content ◽

Sexual Content ◽

Entertainment Media ◽

Sexual Values ◽

Television Shows ◽

Sexual Cognitions ◽

Sexual Media

Research has shown that thoughts about death influence sexual cognitions and some media choices. The present study tested the hypothesis that thoughts about death may affect individuals’ tendency to select or avoid entertainment media programming containing sexual material. In two experiments, thoughts about death (mortality salience [MS]) were manipulated before college undergraduates expressed interest in viewing television shows and movies with varying amounts of sexual content. In both studies, MS was associated with greater overall interest in sexual media content. Although terror management theory would indicate that sexual worldview should moderate this effect, this was not observed to be the case. In addition, MS was not found to affect interest in other types of highly engaging media content including violent and dramatic content. Limitations regarding generalizability are discussed. Results suggest that MS increases a preference for sexual media content, and that this occurs for individuals with diverse sexual values systems. This is discussed in terms of implications for terror management theory and cognitive models of media influence.

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When Death Is Compelling

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000252 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 352-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Simon Schindler ◽

Marc-André Reinhard

Keyword(s):

Terror Management Theory ◽

Mortality Salience ◽

Terror Management ◽

Management Theory ◽

Control Group ◽

Norms And Values ◽

Hypothetical Scenario ◽

The Face ◽

Scenario Study ◽

Norm Of Reciprocity

Abstract. Research on terror management theory has found evidence that people under mortality salience strive to live up to activated social norms and values. Recently, research has shown that mortality salience also increases adherence to the norm of reciprocity. Based on this, in the current paper we investigated the idea that mortality salience influences persuasion strategies that are based on the norm of reciprocity. We therefore assume that mortality salience should enhance compliance for a request when using the door-in-the-face technique – a persuasion strategy grounded in the norm of reciprocity. In a hypothetical scenario (Study 1), and in a field experiment (Study 2), applying the door-in-the-face technique enhanced compliance in the mortality salience condition compared to a control group.

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