Summary
Terror management theory proposes that people cope with knowing they will die by holding to cultural worldviews that give life meaning, and by seeking self-esteem within them. It was developed by psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon and Tom Pyszczynski, building on the anthropologist Ernest Becker’s ‘The Denial of Death’ (1973), in which the fear of death “haunts the human animal like nothing else”.
Its experiments remind people of their mortality, then measure their reactions. In a 1990 study, Christian participants reminded of death rated fellow Christians more favourably and Jewish students less so. Critics say such results are hard to replicate and may reflect fear of uncertainty more than death.
Rationale
This theory offers one mechanism for Part 1’s worry that “a climate intervention carrying scarcity-and-threat framing” might strengthen a pull towards borders and authoritarian control: people reminded of death defend the worldview they hold.