Terror Mismanagement: Evidence That Mortality Salience Exacerbates Phobic and Compulsive Behaviors

Abstract

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that cultural worldviews and self-esteem function to buffer humans from mortality-related anxiety. TMT research has shown that important behaviors are influenced by mortality salience (MS) even when they have no obvious connection to death. However, there has been no attempt to investigate TMT processes in anxious responding. The present research examines that question. In Study 1, compared to a control condition, MS increased anxious responding to spider-related stimuli, but only for participants who met criteria for specific phobia. In Study 2, compared to an aversive control condition, MS increased time spent washing hands, but only for those scoring high on a measure of compulsive hand washing (CHW). In Study 3, compared to a different aversive control condition, MS increased avoidance of a social interaction, but only for those scoring high on a measure of social interaction anxiety. The relevance of TMT in anxious responding is discussed.

Looking away from death: Defensive attention as a form of terror management

“…It is important to note that the findings of Study 2 are somewhat different than those of Strachan et al (2007). In their study MS led spider-phobic individuals to decrease the time images of spiders appeared on the screen, whereas in our study death primes led participants to spend more time looking at threatening images.…”

“…The method used in Strachan et al (2007) study provides a useful, yet crude measure of gaze duration for each image as this method cannot determine where participants gaze was directed vis-à-vis the target image on the screen. Thus, participants could have looked directly at the anxiety-provoking image, or they might have looked at the periphery of the screen, or maybe they directed their gaze away from the screen.…”

“…Thus, participants could have looked directly at the anxiety-provoking image, or they might have looked at the periphery of the screen, or maybe they directed their gaze away from the screen. The reaction time method used by Strachan et al (2007) cannot account for these possibilities. In the current research we employed an eye-tracking methodology to examine more precisely where participants shift their gaze following subliminal death primes.…”

A framework for examining leadership in extreme contexts

“…For example, if members have beliefs in their team's potency and efficacy, they tend to experience greater strength in numbers (Hinsz, 2008) and would be expected to respond more affirmatively in an extreme context. Indeed, higher levels of group identification can even mitigate fear of death, but as noted above, decrease the chances of the leader being challenged by followers (Strachan et al, 2007).…”

“…Group identification, for example, has been shown to buffer one's fear of death (Strachan et al, 2007). This suggests that such social "resources" would likely need to be built prior to an extreme event.…”