An Appreciative View of the Brighter Side of Terror Management Processes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5933044 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kenneth E Vail (0000-0002-2993-3379, Cleveland State University, corresponding author), Kenneth Vail, Iii Kenneth Vail, Jacob Juhl (0000-0003-4833-8062, University of Southampton) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1020-1045 |
| Publication date | 2015-10-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2076-0760 • E-ISSN: 2076-0760 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/socsci4041020 |
| OpenAlex | W1837510503 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 118 |
Physical death is an inevitable part of life. From the perspective of terror management theory (TMT), people's efforts to manage the awareness of death can sometimes have harmful social consequences. However, those negative consequences are merely one side of the existential coin. In considering the other side of the coin, the present article highlights the more beneficial trajectories of the terror management process. For example, the awareness of mortality can motivate people to prioritize their physical health; uphold prosocial values; build loving relationships and peaceful, charitable communities; and foster open-mindedness. Further, the article explores the possible balance between defense and growth motivations, including the motivations toward integrative self-expansion, creativity, and well-being. And finally, we tentatively consider the potential positive impacts of direct confrontations with mortality on terror management processes. In sum, the present analysis suggests that although death awareness can sometimes produce some harmful outcomes, at least under certain conditions it can also motivate attitudes and behaviors that have positive personal and social consequences
Creativity · Existentialism · Great Rift · Mortality salience · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Prosocial behavior · Self-awareness · Terror management theory · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies · Optimism, Hope, and Well-being · Psychology · Social Psychology
Life at death
In common predicament
Childhood and society
The Oxford Handbook of Stress, Health, and Coping
The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Toward a psychology of being.
The Scrooge Effect
I Belong, therefore, I Exist
At the Intersection of Emotion and Cognition
When Death is Good for Life
Of Wealth and Death
On the relations among work value orientations, psychological need satisfaction and job outcomes
Greed, Death, and Values
Positive change following trauma and adversity
Mortality Salience Increases Adherence to Salient Norms and Values
Thirty Years of Terror Management Theory
Mortality Salience, Martyrdom, and Military Might
A dual-process model of defense against conscious and unconscious death-related thoughts
Evidence of a Terror Management Function of Cultural Icons
The Existential Function of Close Relationships
Generativity among young, midlife, and older adults.
Proximal and Distal Defenses in Response to Reminders of One’s Mortality
A Time to Tan
Creativity
The implications of death for health
The Causes and Consequences of a Need for Self-Esteem
Target Article
Motivation reconsidered
Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior
Public Self and Private Self
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
The Social Self
Psychological Needs and the Facilitation of Integrative Processes
Love and expansion of the self
Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being
Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being
Posttraumatic growth, meaning in life, and life satisfaction in response to trauma
Posttraumatic stress reactions as a disruption in anxiety-buffer functioning
Extent of trauma exposure and PTSD symptom severity as predictors of anxiety-buffer functioning
Empowering the self
Bicultural Terror Management
Defining near-death experiences
The Common Ingroup Identity Model
Drawing attention to global climate change decreases support for war
The Role of Rumination in the Coexistence of Distress and Posttraumatic Growth Among Bereaved Japanese University Students
Reduced death threat in near-death experiencers
The nature of death and the death of nature
Limited time perspective, values, and greed
The path taken
The control of death and the death of control
Self‐sacrifice as self‐defence
The effects of existential threat on reading comprehension of worldview affirming and disconfirming information
Task engagement after mortality salience
Terror management and tolerance
Evidence for terror management theory II
Creativity and terror management
Fear of Death
Pearls in the desert
Subtle priming of shared human experiences eliminates threat-induced negativity toward Arabs, immigrants, and peace-making
Does peace have a prayer? The effect of mortality salience, compassionate values, and religious fundamentalism on hostility toward out-groups
Mortality salience and the desire for offspring
The protective identity
Beyond pleasure and pain
Taking time seriously
The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits
Art and artist
Blowing in the (social) wind
Terror management and aggression
A Function of Form
Hiding in the crowd
The support of autonomy and the control of behavior
Focus theory of normative conduct and terror-management theory
Exploring the existential function of religion
Stereotypes and terror management
The role of control motivation in mortality salience effects on ingroup support and defense
The anxiety-buffering function of close relationships
The dynamics of death and meaning
Adjusting to death
Personal need for structure
Terror management and adults' attachment to their parents
Positive emotions broaden the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires
Strivings for Romantic Intimacy Following Partner Complaint or Partner Criticism
Did Divorces Decline After the Oklahoma City Bombing
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,75 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2024 (7) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |