The Terror Management Theory

The Terror Management Theory

In 1986 Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski proposed the idea of Terror Management Theory (TMT). TMT is a social psychology theory that was inspired by the writings of Ernest Becker. In his writings he asked two basic questions: “Why do people have such a great need to feel good about themselves?; and Why do people have so much trouble getting along with those different from themselves?” (Arndt & Cox, 2008) From this Greenberg, Solomon, and Pyszczynski developed the Terror Management Theory.

There are two simple observations that are at the beginning of TMT. Humans like all animals have numerous biological systems that assist in keeping us alive and that humans have a self-awareness and the aptitude to envision the past and future. All of this give humans the knowledge that one day all these

There are two psychological structures that assist humans in overcoming this fear: cultural worldview and self-esteem. It is the cultural belief systems or worldviews that give an explanation for existence; give the world order and meaning; and gives a set of standards so that individuals can attain some personal value. These help to build self-esteem within humans, by living up to the standard set in our belief systems, and worldviews. Without both of these psychological structures humans would not be able to overcome their fear of death.

Terror Management Theory helps to explain why humans seek to find a sense of meaning in their lives. It says that humans fill their lives with meaning in order to overcome the anxiety that comes with a fear of death. Humans will fill their lives with different beliefs and values in order to overcome their fear. They will align themselves with different groups (nationalities, races, religions, family, etc.) in order to feel that they belong and that even in death they will be able to continue