Putting the terror in terror management theory: evidence that the awareness of death does cause anxiety and undermine psychological well-being
Putting the terror in terror management theory: evidence that the awareness of death does cause anxiety and undermine psychological well-being
Rooted in the writings of existentialists, terror management theory states that the awareness of death has the potential to create debilitating anxiety and compromise psychological well-being and that psychological buffers (e.g., self-worth) protect against these aversive effects. Hundreds of studies have supported the theory. However, until recently, little work has focused on the central assertion that the awareness of death causes anxiety and undermines well-being.
We review a recent program of research that fills this critical void in the literature. This work has demonstrated that experimentally heightening the awareness of death increases anxiety and decreases well-being for individuals who lack appropriate psychological buffers.
99-103
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
April 2016
Juhl, Jacob
1c3b38b1-ba9e-4f3c-8520-ebca3b712fa2
Routledge, Clay
c1e0088a-3cc4-4d54-bbd3-de7d286429d8
Juhl, Jacob and Routledge, Clay
(2016)
Putting the terror in terror management theory: evidence that the awareness of death does cause anxiety and undermine psychological well-being.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25 (2), .
(doi:10.1177/0963721415625218).
Abstract
Rooted in the writings of existentialists, terror management theory states that the awareness of death has the potential to create debilitating anxiety and compromise psychological well-being and that psychological buffers (e.g., self-worth) protect against these aversive effects. Hundreds of studies have supported the theory. However, until recently, little work has focused on the central assertion that the awareness of death causes anxiety and undermines well-being.
We review a recent program of research that fills this critical void in the literature. This work has demonstrated that experimentally heightening the awareness of death increases anxiety and decreases well-being for individuals who lack appropriate psychological buffers.
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Terror in Terror Management.pdf
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Accepted/In Press date: 7 December 2015
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 April 2016
Published date: April 2016
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Local EPrints ID: 385875
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/385875
ISSN: 0963-7214
PURE UUID: b6c9ff96-a843-48bd-ab62-91cb4568ed36
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Date deposited: 25 Jan 2016 15:03
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 22:23
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Author:
Clay Routledge
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