Terror Management Theory and Self-Esteem
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What is the primary motivation behind the human need for self-esteem, according to Terror Management Theory?

  • Fear of death and the need for meaning
  • Need for a positive self-image to protect against anxiety (correct)
  • Desire for social comparison and self-serving biases
  • Intrinsic desire for self-improvement and self-actualization

    • According to Becker, what is the root cause of anxiety in humans?

  • Social pressures and expectations
  • Fear of failure and rejection
  • Lack of self-esteem and confidence
  • Awareness of vulnerability and inevitable death (correct)

    • What is the role of parents in the development of self-esteem, according to TMT?

  • They teach children to be independent and self-sufficient
  • They provide love and protection, which helps internalize standards (correct)
  • They focus on building social skills and empathy
  • They foster competition and rivalry among siblings

    • What is the term used to describe the increase in the need for faith in one's worldview in response to mortality reminders?

    <p>Mortality salience effect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary criticism of Terror Management Theory?

    <p>It is too broad and lacks specificity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who proposed that humans' intellectual abilities lead to awareness of vulnerability and inevitable death?

    <p>Becker</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the link between self-esteem and protection from anxiety?

    <p>Buffering effect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the result of increasing self-esteem, according to Greenberg's study?

    <p>Reduced anxiety and defensiveness</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an alternative explanation to mortality salience for the effects of Mortality Salience (MS)?

    <p>Motives for uncertainty reduction</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is stigma defined as?

    <p>A characteristic that marks a person for social devaluation</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What can be a consequence of stigma?

    <p>Anger, anxiety, low self-esteem</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a coping strategy used by stigmatised individuals?

    <p>Attributing negative outcomes to prejudice</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the 'Social Cure'?

    <p>A source of support through group identification</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT) assume?

    <p>If the interests of two groups coincide, then relations between groups will be relatively harmonious</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What has been linked to intergroup violence?

    <p>Economic competition</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a criticism of Sherif's studies on RCT?

    <p>The complexity of the camp setting</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What can attribution of negative outcomes to prejudice lead to?

    <p>Lower perceived control</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What can group identification lead to?

    <p>Reduced depression and increased control</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary difference between genocide and mass killing?

    <p>Genocide is an attempt to exterminate a group, while mass killing is killing group members without intending to eliminate the whole group</p> Signup and view all the answers

    According to Ervin Staub, what are the three major factors that contribute to genocide?

    <p>Difficult life conditions, certain cultural-societal characteristics, and a continuum of destruction</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a consequence of the way we attempt to resolve the problem of genocide?

    <p>We turn against outgroups to enhance our self-esteem</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic of cultural-societal characteristics that contribute to genocide?

    <p>Cultural devaluation of a subgroup</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the role of bystanders in genocide?

    <p>They can either be passive or active, and their actions can either contribute to or prevent genocide</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the function of the continuum of destruction in genocide?

    <p>It is a gradual process of increasing harm and decreasing motivation to stop harm</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a psychological consequence of genocide?

    <p>Threat to self-concept and feelings of disorganization and anxiety</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is an example of how people can learn to harm others, as demonstrated by Zimbardo's experiment?

    <p>Through participation and gradual escalation of harm</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a way in which bystanders can reduce their empathetic suffering during genocide?

    <p>By distancing themselves from the victims and devaluing them</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a characteristic of the Nazi's treatment of inmates in concentration camps during the Holocaust?

    <p>They isolated them from the rest of society and treated them poorly</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a potential limitation of the studies that confirmed Sherif's ideas?

    <p>They were set up to confirm rather than disagree with Sherif's ideas</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a condition necessary for the Contact Hypothesis to be effective?

    <p>Support of authorities law or custom, but only if it goes against the rules</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a criticism of the Contact Hypothesis?

    <p>It assumes that contact reduces prejudice through reduced ignorance</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the outcome of the protest in front of the deportation centre during the Holocaust?

    <p>The men were all freed and defined as 'privileged persons'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the characteristic of external bystanders?

    <p>They are passive and accept the violence</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the primary assumption of Social Identity Theory (SIT)?

    <p>Individuals engage in social categorization to simplify the complex social world</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the effect of comparisons favoring the outgroup on social identity and self-esteem, according to SIT?

    <p>It leads to a negative social identity and poor self-esteem</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the strategies used by individuals to maintain a positive social identity, according to SIT?

    <p>Self-esteem enhancement strategies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the characteristic of social mobility strategies, according to SIT?

    <p>They involve leaving one group to join another</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the criticism of SIT in terms of the relationship between self-esteem and intergroup discrimination?

    <p>The relationship is too simplistic</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the term used to describe the process of finding new comparison dimensions, redefining negative attributes, or comparing with a different outgroup, according to SIT?

    <p>Social creativity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the outcome when group boundaries are impermeable, according to SIT?

    <p>Individuals use social creativity strategies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the criticism of SIT in terms of its predictions?

    <p>The theory's predictions do not hold in all contexts</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Terror Management Theory (TMT)

    • Proposed by Solomon et al. (1991) to explain the human need for self-esteem
    • People are motivated to maintain a positive self-image because self-esteem protects them from anxiety
    • Self-esteem serves as a buffer against death anxiety
    • TMT proposes that the link between self-esteem and protection from anxiety develops in early childhood through interactions with parents
    • Parent's love and protection can show goodness and value, which can help children internalize these standards
    • Meeting these internalized standards (self-esteem) becomes associated with feelings of safety and security

    Research Supporting TMT

    • Greenberg's study: increasing self-esteem reduces anxiety and defensiveness in response to threatening stimuli
    • Study: mortality salience (MS) increases the need for faith in one's worldview

    Criticisms of TMT

    • Questioning whether fear of death is a universal motivating force
    • Alternate explanations for MS effects, such as motives for uncertainty reduction, meaning, and belonging
    • MS can lead to opposing effects

    Stigma and Well-being

    • Stigma: any characteristic that marks a person for social devaluation
    • Stigma can lead to negative experiences, including anger, anxiety, low self-esteem, stress, and shame
    • Coping strategies: restricting comparisons to within-group members, disengaging from dimensions, and attributing negative outcomes to the prejudice of others
    • Attributing negative outcomes to prejudice can help maintain self-esteem, but may not always be protective
    • The Social Cure: group identification can be an important source of support and help protect against negative experiences

    Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)

    • Proposed by Campbell: people's attitudes towards ingroup and outgroup members reflect the objective interests of the ingroup
    • RCT assumes that:
      • If interests of two groups coincide, relations between groups will be relatively harmonious
      • If there is conflict between the two groups, relations between groups will become hostile
    • Evidence Supporting RCT:
      • Explains various conflicts, such as those between men and women, Palestinians and Israelis, Catholics and Protestants, and racial groups
      • Economic competition has been linked to intergroup violence
      • RCT can account for historical specificity of prejudice
    • Criticisms and Limitations:
      • Methodological issues with Sherif's studies
      • RCT may oversimplify the causes of intergroup conflict
      • Assumes conflict is always perceived as a zero-sum game

    The Contact Hypothesis

    • Proposed by Allport (1954): intergroup conflict can be reduced by bringing groups into contact under certain conditions
    • Conditions:
      • Equal status
      • Common goals
      • Intergroup cooperation
      • Support of authorities
      • Acquaintance or friendship potential
    • Evidence Supporting the Contact Hypothesis:
      • Early evidence: desegregation of the merchant marine in 1948
      • Studies of white housewives in desegregated housing projects
      • Recent evidence from various groups
      • Meta-analysis: significant effect size across 714 independent samples and 250,000 people
    • Evidence:
      • Extended contact, vicarious contact, and imagined contact have also been shown to reduce prejudice
      • The Secondary Transfer Effect: contact between two groups can lead to reduced prejudice towards other ethnic minorities
    • Criticisms and Limitations:
      • Assumption that contact reduces prejudice through reduced ignorance has been questioned
      • Generalization of effects has been a concern
      • Typicality of outgroup members in contact situations is important for generalization
      • Debate about the psychological processes involved in contact

    Genocide and the Holocaust

    • Genocide: an attempt to exterminate a group by creating conditions that lead to the group's destruction
    • Mass killing: killing group members without the intention to eliminate the whole group
    • Holocaust: 6 million Jews killed, 5 million others killed
    • Factors contributing to genocide:
      • Difficult life conditions
      • Certain cultural-societal characteristics
      • Continuum of destruction
    • Psychological consequences:
      • Threat to self-concept
      • Feeling disorganized and anxious
    • Resolving the problem of genocide can lead to turning against outgroups
    • Bystanders:
      • Can change as a result of their actions
      • Can distance themselves from the victim and think they deserve their fate
      • Help prop up the system and allow genocide to happen
      • Internal and external bystanders

    Social Identity Theory (SIT)

    • Developed by Tajfel and Turner: aims to explain intergroup behavior and discrimination
    • Key assumptions and processes:
      • Social categorization to simplify the complex social world
      • Formation of a 'social identity' or 'social self'
      • Inherent need to evaluate the self positively
      • Comparisons with relevant outgroups lead to a positive social identity and self-esteem
    • Evidence Supporting SIT:
      • Studies provide support for SIT's predictions regarding the link between social identity and intergroup discrimination
    • Criticisms and Limitations:
      • Relationship between self-esteem and intergroup discrimination is more complex than initially proposed
      • SIT does not always predict intergroup discrimination as a means of enhancing self-esteem
      • Theory's predictions may not hold in all contexts

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    Description

    This quiz assesses the key aspects of Terror Management Theory, including its relation to self-esteem and anxiety, and evaluates the supporting evidence and criticisms.

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