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According to TMT, humans' intellectual abilities lead to awareness of invincibility and eternal life, causing potential for debilitating anxiety
False
Self-esteem is linked to various psychological and behavioural outcomes.
True
TMT proposes that the link between self-esteem and protection from anxiety develops in adolescence.
False
Research has shown that increasing self-esteem increases anxiety and defensiveness in response to threatening stimuli.
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Mortality salience has been found to decrease the need for faith in one's worldview.
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Self-esteem is not related to self-serving biases and social comparisons.
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People often adopt cultural worldviews that provide a sense of meaning and disorder.
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TMT has no criticisms despite a lot of research supporting it.
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According to the mortality salience hypothesis, people's reactions to mortality are always negative.
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Stigma always leads to negative outcomes, including low self-esteem and anxiety.
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Attributing negative outcomes to prejudice is always a protective strategy for self-esteem.
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Group identification has been linked to increased depression and poor health.
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Realistic Conflict Theory assumes that people's attitudes towards ingroup and outgroup members are based on irrational prejudice.
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Economic competition has been linked to intergroup cooperation.
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Sherif's classic field experiments provided no empirical support for Realistic Conflict Theory.
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Criticisms of Sherif's studies have only focused on the methodology, not ethical concerns.
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Realistic Conflict Theory can only explain conflicts between racial groups.
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RCT assumes that the interests of two groups always conflict.
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The Contact Hypothesis was proposed by Sherif in 1954.
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RCTs can oversimplify the causes of intergroup conflict.
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According to the Contact Hypothesis, equal status is not a necessary condition for reducing intergroup conflict.
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The desegregation of the merchant marine in 1948 showed that increased contact led to more negative racial attitudes.
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A meta-analysis by Pettigrew & Tropp (2006) found a highly significant effect size (r = .23) across 714 independent samples and 250,000 people.
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The Secondary Transfer Effect suggests that contact between two groups can lead to increased prejudice towards other ethnic minorities.
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The assumption that contact reduces prejudice through reduced ignorance has been widely accepted.
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The typicality of outgroup members in contact situations is not important for generalization.
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Positive contact is more potent than negative contact.
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Genocide or the Holocaust is inevitable according to the Contact Hypothesis.
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Genocide refers to the act of killing group members of a group with the intention to eliminate the whole group.
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Mass killing is a type of genocide.
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The Holocaust resulted in the death of 6 million Jews and 10 million others.
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Ervin Staub's theory on genocide involves four major factors.
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Genocide can occur in the absence of difficult life conditions.
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Cultural devaluation of a subgroup is a necessary condition for genocide to occur.
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The motivation to harm and kill people increases over time during genocide.
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Bystanders are always passive during genocide.
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Internal bystanders are always external to the victimized group.
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Genocide can be prevented by the actions of internal bystanders.
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Nazi's were concerned about the reaction from the population to their anti-jewish measures, and they expected a strong reaction.
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Social Identity Theory predicts that individuals always engage in social competition to enhance their self-esteem.
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The theory of Social Identity was developed by Hunter and Turner.
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External bystanders usually intervene to stop the violence.
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Devaluing the outgroup is a way to decrease self-esteem.
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Social categorization is a neutral process.
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The relationship between self-esteem and intergroup discrimination is always simple and straightforward.
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SIT proposes that social mobility is a strategy used when group boundaries are impermeable.
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Social Identity Theory always predicts intergroup discrimination as a means of enhancing self-esteem.
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The Holocaust was widely reported in the media and sparked widespread outrage.
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Study Notes
Terror Management Theory (TMT)
- Proposed by Solomon et al. (1991) to explain the human need for self-esteem
- Suggests that self-esteem protects individuals from anxiety, particularly death anxiety
- According to Becker, humans' intellectual abilities lead to awareness of vulnerability and inevitable death, causing potential debilitating anxiety
- To manage this anxiety, people often adopt cultural worldviews that provide a sense of meaning and order
- Self-esteem serves as a buffer against death anxiety, and its development in early childhood is influenced by interactions with parents
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 the universality of fear of death as a motivating force
- Alternative 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
- Consequences of stigma: negative experiences, including harmful comments, exclusion, and abuse
- Coping strategies: restricting comparisons to within-group members, disengaging from dimensions, and attributing negative outcomes to prejudice
- The Social Cure: group identification can be a source of support and reduce depression, increase control, and improve well-being
Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)
- Defined by Campbell: people's attitudes towards ingroup and outgroup members reflect the objective interests of the ingroup
- Assumptions: coinciding interests lead to harmonious relations, conflicting interests lead to hostile relations
- Evidence supporting RCT: explains various conflicts, including economic competition and historical specificity of prejudice
- Criticisms and limitations: methodological issues, oversimplification of causes of intergroup conflict, and assumption of conflict 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, and acquaintance or friendship potential
- Evidence supporting the Contact Hypothesis: early and recent studies, including meta-analysis, show reduced prejudice through contact
- Criticisms and limitations: assumption of reduced ignorance, generalization of effects, typicality of outgroup members, and negative contact
Genocide and the Holocaust
- Genocide: attempt to exterminate a group by creating conditions leading to its destruction
- Mass killing: killing group members without intention to eliminate the whole group
- Holocaust: 6 million Jews and 5 million others killed
- Factors contributing to genocide: difficult life conditions, certain cultural-societal characteristics, and a continuum of destruction
- Psychological consequences: threat to self-concept, disorganization, and anxiety
Social Identity Theory (SIT)
- Developed by Tajfel and Turner: explains intergroup behavior and discrimination
- Key assumptions: social categorization, formation of social identity, and inherent need to evaluate the self positively
- Evidence supporting SIT: studies show link between social identity and intergroup discrimination
- Criticisms and limitations: complex relationship between self-esteem and intergroup discrimination, alternative strategies, and context-dependent predictions
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Description
This quiz examines the key aspects of Terror Management Theory, evidence supporting the theory, and criticisms. It explores how self-esteem protects individuals from anxiety and its impact on psychological and behavioral outcomes.
