scholarly journals Albert Camus – A Psychobiographical Approach in Times of Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude-Hélène Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Albert Camus ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
French History ◽  
Political Activist ◽  
History Of

Albert Camus (1913–1960) stands as one of the famous pioneers in the French history of existentialism. He was a novelist, political activist, essayist and editor, as well as a journalist and playwright. Although he was described as philosopher, he often denied this ascription. Through his professional and creative expressions, Camus focused on questions of existentialism, the aspect of the human fate, and meaning in life, death and suicide. These existential questions have experienced a strong revival during the Covid-19 occurrence. This psychobiographical approach aims at understanding Albert Camus' life and work in the context of the terror management theory of Becker and Wong's 4 pillars of PP2.0 theory, namely virtue, meaning, resilience and well-being. Both theories have gained importance during the pandemic. Based on the findings of the research study, implications for future research in the context of the pandemic are given. Finally, this article provides recommendations and best practices on how to approach the Covid-19 pandemic from a terror management theory and PP2.0 perspective in the light of Albert Camus' philosophy. The contribution of this psychobiography is two-fold: first, it expands psychobiographical research on Albert Camus from absurdist and existentialist theories and thereby expands the theoretical framework of psychobiographies. Second, it aims at strengthening the importance of theoretical psychobiographical investigations and their application in real-world scenarios to address complex contemporary challenges on the basis of existentialist positive psychology theories.

scholarly journals African American Health and Posttraumatic Slave Syndrome: A Terror Management Theory Account

2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Halloran
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Trauma ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
American People ◽  
Posttraumatic Slave Syndrome ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this article is to explicate a terror management theory (TMT) analysis of the poor social and psychological well-being of African Americans by drawing upon a model of cultural trauma to explain the antecedents and effects of posttraumatic slave syndrome. Cultural trauma is defined as a state that occurs when a people’s cultural worldview has been destabilized to the point where it does not effectively meet its TMT function of providing a buffer against basic anxiety and uncertainty. The article outlines how the impact of slavery was a significant trauma to African American people, which was carried forward through successive generations; providing an explanation of their current anxiety-related conditions, poor health, and maladaptive behaviors. Findings from health and justice research and qualitative data from narratives of African Americans are presented to substantiate the adaptation of a model of cultural trauma for understanding the contemporary situation of African Americans.

Terror Management in a Predominantly Muslim Country

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doğan Kökdemir ◽  
Zuhal Yeniçeri
Keyword(s):  
Home Country ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Mortality Salience ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Private University ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Muslim Country ◽  
State University

The mortality salience hypothesis of terror management theory was tested in a predominantly Muslim country. In Study 1a, private university students primed with thoughts of death reported more negative evaluations of a paragraph arguing state universities’ superiority to private ones, compared to a control condition in which “death” was replaced by “an important exam.” Study 1b conceptually replicated this finding at a state university. Study 2 found that MS participants wanted their home country to have stronger relations with Turkmenistan and weaker relations with England and Greece. Results were discussed with reference to university and national identity, and implications for future research were noted.

scholarly journals Nostalgia for a Purpose? A Comparison of Three Theoretical Frameworks in a Lifespan Sample

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 773-774
Author(s):  
Jennifer Turner ◽  
Jessica Kerin ◽  
Kenzie Delposen ◽  
Jennifer Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Diary Study ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Daily Diary Study ◽  
The Past ◽  
Different Types

Abstract Nostalgia is a common experience for most people, but the functions or motivations for nostalgia are unclear. Several theoretical arguments for the purpose of nostalgia have been offered: nostalgia may reduce anxiety or fear of mortality (i.e., Terror Management Theory), resolve developmental conflicts (i.e., ego-integrity vs. despair), or provide a touchstone to the past (i.e., self-continuity). The goal of this study was to compare these theoretical frameworks among young (YA), middle-aged (MA), and older adults’(OA) descriptions of nostalgia and explore whether content of nostalgia differs by age. We hypothesized that YA would report greater amounts of nostalgia related to self-continuity, MA would report more integrity-related nostalgia, and OA would report more Terror Management. Nostalgia recordings (N=593) were collected during a two-week daily diary study in 108 participants (ages 18-78 years; 60.2% women). Recordings were transcribed and then coded by two trained coders (Magreement=87.4%; κ=.66, p<.001) using a rubric containing three typologies of nostalgia: Terror Management, Integrity v. Despair, Self-Continuity. Only n=255 transcripts could be coded within these typologies. Supporting our hypotheses, YA reported more self-continuity (51.5%) than Integrity (39.4%) or Terror Management (9.1%), and MA reported more Integrity (42.0%), than self-continuity (39.5%) or Terror Management (18.5%). Our third hypothesis was not supported: OA reported self-continuity most frequently (47.5%), followed by Integrity (31.9%) and Terror Management (20.6%). Nostalgia may provide a vehicle for self-reflection as people compare the past to the present, and future research should examine whether emphasis on different types of nostalgia has implications for psychological outcomes like wellbeing.

Appreciation and Enjoyment of Meaningful Entertainment

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Hofer
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Mortality Salience ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Audience Response ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Reverse Pattern ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

Appreciation is an audience response associated with entertainment portrayals concerned with the meaning of life and human existence. Appreciation has been shown to be conceptually and empirically different from enjoyment, which is characterized as pleasure and fun. Drawing upon terror management theory, this research investigates first the influence of reminders of one’s own death on appreciation and enjoyment of a meaningful film and second, the influence of the search for meaning in one’s life on these outcomes. Results of an experimental study (N = 60) showed that mortality salience increased appreciation of a meaningful film, but only for those who rated highly for search for meaning in life. Concerning enjoyment, a reverse pattern was found: Participants who intensely search for meaning in their lives enjoyed the film when their own mortality had not been made salient before watching. Results are discussed in the light of theoretical considerations about entertainment experiences and meaning.

The Role of Close Relationships in Terror Management: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Plusnin ◽  
Christopher A. Pepping ◽  
Emiko S. Kashima
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
Relational Outcomes

Terror management theory outlines how humans seek self-esteem and worldview validation to manage death-related anxiety. Accumulating evidence reveals that close relationships serve a similar role. However, to date, there has been no synthesis of the literature that delineates when close relationships buffer mortality concerns, under what conditions, on which specific outcomes, and for whom. This systematic review presents over two decades of research to address these questions. Findings from 73 reviewed studies revealed that close relationships serve an important role in buffering death-related anxiety. A range of dispositional and situational moderating factors influence either the activation or inhibition of relational strivings to manage heightened death awareness, the most influential being attachment, gender, and relationship-contingent self-esteem. These findings were integrated into an overarching model that highlights some of the conditions under which mortality salience (MS) influences relational outcomes. We conclude by highlighting a range of theoretical and methodological concerns to be addressed by future research.

scholarly journals Terror Management Theory: Missiological Applications in Times of Crisis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Robert Dunaetz
Keyword(s):  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Eternal Life ◽  
Missio Dei ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Human Motivation ◽  
Christian Worldview

Terror Management Theory seeks to explain the human motivation to find meaning in life. The theory proposes that humans experience anxiety, even terror, when faced with the reality of their own mortality. To manage this anxiety, humans are motivated to adopt worldviews that indicate that they are significant (in contrast to meaningless) and that they will endure beyond death, either figuratively or literally. Global crises, such as natural disasters, terrorism, or war, make human mortality salient on a large scale. In such situations, humans are more than ever motivated to seek an afterlife, to act in a way to be remembered favorably after death, and to identify with communities that will transcend the duration of their own life. These conditions make some individuals especially open to the gospel which explains how humans can experience eternal life, how they can live righteous lives full of love, and how they can fit into both the Christian community and the Missio Dei. Missionaries should use this openness to the gospel in sensitive and loving ways to help victims of global crises discover a solution to the existential terror that they experience when facing their own mortality. The loving response of missionaries is to proclaim the Christian worldview so that people can make sense out of the crisis and respond positively to the gospel.

Terror Management Theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Arrowood ◽  
Cathy R. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Management Theory ◽  
Physical And Psychological Health ◽  
Health Model ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Politics And Law

Abstract From the perspective of terror management theory (TMT), the awareness of death is problematic as it has the potential to increase anxiety. It would be hard to function when faced with this fear; thus, people defend themselves from heightened mortality awareness by adhering to their cultural beliefs (e.g., religion, nationalism), having positive self-views (i.e., self-esteem), and/or turning toward their relationships with close others. The purpose of the current volume is to introduce readers to the field of experimental existential psychology (broadly) and TMT (specifically). To do this, Section 1 will provide an introduction to the field, along with discussing methodological considerations when conducting terror management research. Section 2 was written to discuss some of the applied implications of TMT as it is relates to close relationships, religion, politics and law, positivity, and existential growth. Much work from a terror management tradition has been interested in how death concerns affect physical and psychological health. Because of this, Section 3 will introduce two variations of TMT (i.e., Terror Management Health Model [TMHM] & Anxiety-buffer Disruption Theory [ABDT]), with implications for individuals’ well-being. Finally, Section 4 will discuss alternative perspectives and controversies within the field. Throughout this volume, we provide a discussion on potential avenues of future study.

Media Psychology and Complex Modes of Entertainment Experiences

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Klimmt
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Media Psychology ◽  
Mixed Emotions ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Complex Modes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Media Enjoyment

This comment briefly examines the history of entertainment research in media psychology and welcomes the conceptual innovations in the contribution by Oliver and Bartsch (this issue). Theoretical perspectives for improving and expanding the “appreciation” concept in entertainment psychology are outlined. These refer to more systematic links of appreciation to the psychology of mixed emotions, to positive psychology, and to the psychology of death and dying – in particular, to terror management theory. In addition, methodological challenges are discussed that entertainment research faces when appreciation and the experience of “meaning for life” need to be addressed in empirical studies of media enjoyment.

Dying to Watch

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-64 ◽  
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.

When Death Is Compelling

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 352-360 ◽  
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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