Terror Management Theory (TMT) and Self-Esteem
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Questions and Answers

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.

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

Mortality salience has been found to decrease the need for faith in one's worldview.

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

Self-esteem is not related to self-serving biases and social comparisons.

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

People often adopt cultural worldviews that provide a sense of meaning and disorder.

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

TMT has no criticisms despite a lot of research supporting it.

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

According to the mortality salience hypothesis, people's reactions to mortality are always negative.

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

Stigma always leads to negative outcomes, including low self-esteem and anxiety.

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

Attributing negative outcomes to prejudice is always a protective strategy for self-esteem.

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

Group identification has been linked to increased depression and poor health.

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

Realistic Conflict Theory assumes that people's attitudes towards ingroup and outgroup members are based on irrational prejudice.

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

Economic competition has been linked to intergroup cooperation.

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

Sherif's classic field experiments provided no empirical support for Realistic Conflict Theory.

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

Criticisms of Sherif's studies have only focused on the methodology, not ethical concerns.

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

Realistic Conflict Theory can only explain conflicts between racial groups.

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

RCT assumes that the interests of two groups always conflict.

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

The Contact Hypothesis was proposed by Sherif in 1954.

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

RCTs can oversimplify the causes of intergroup conflict.

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

According to the Contact Hypothesis, equal status is not a necessary condition for reducing intergroup conflict.

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

The desegregation of the merchant marine in 1948 showed that increased contact led to more negative racial attitudes.

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

A meta-analysis by Pettigrew & Tropp (2006) found a highly significant effect size (r = .23) across 714 independent samples and 250,000 people.

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

The Secondary Transfer Effect suggests that contact between two groups can lead to increased prejudice towards other ethnic minorities.

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

The assumption that contact reduces prejudice through reduced ignorance has been widely accepted.

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

The typicality of outgroup members in contact situations is not important for generalization.

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

Positive contact is more potent than negative contact.

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

Genocide or the Holocaust is inevitable according to the Contact Hypothesis.

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

Genocide refers to the act of killing group members of a group with the intention to eliminate the whole group.

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

Mass killing is a type of genocide.

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

The Holocaust resulted in the death of 6 million Jews and 10 million others.

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

Ervin Staub's theory on genocide involves four major factors.

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

Genocide can occur in the absence of difficult life conditions.

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

Cultural devaluation of a subgroup is a necessary condition for genocide to occur.

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

The motivation to harm and kill people increases over time during genocide.

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

Bystanders are always passive during genocide.

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

Internal bystanders are always external to the victimized group.

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

Genocide can be prevented by the actions of internal bystanders.

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

Nazi's were concerned about the reaction from the population to their anti-jewish measures, and they expected a strong reaction.

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

Social Identity Theory predicts that individuals always engage in social competition to enhance their self-esteem.

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

The theory of Social Identity was developed by Hunter and Turner.

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

External bystanders usually intervene to stop the violence.

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

Devaluing the outgroup is a way to decrease self-esteem.

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

Social categorization is a neutral process.

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

The relationship between self-esteem and intergroup discrimination is always simple and straightforward.

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

SIT proposes that social mobility is a strategy used when group boundaries are impermeable.

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

Social Identity Theory always predicts intergroup discrimination as a means of enhancing self-esteem.

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

The Holocaust was widely reported in the media and sparked widespread outrage.

<p>False</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
  • 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.

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