The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory

Built upon the idea that human beings, as the only species whose members are aware of their own consciousness and future death, have to come up with a system to deal with this awareness, Terror Management theory aims to shed light on the mechanisms that human beings have developed in order to avoid...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Volkan Koc, Gulnihal Kafa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar 2019-03-01
Series:Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.psikguncel.org/archives/vol11/no1/cap_11_01_10_en.pdf
_version_ 1797333762569142272
author Volkan Koc
Gulnihal Kafa
author_facet Volkan Koc
Gulnihal Kafa
author_sort Volkan Koc
collection DOAJ
description Built upon the idea that human beings, as the only species whose members are aware of their own consciousness and future death, have to come up with a system to deal with this awareness, Terror Management theory aims to shed light on the mechanisms that human beings have developed in order to avoid the cold fact of death. According to Terror Management Theory, culture serves as an anxiety buffer against death by offering either a literal or symbolic immortality. The sense of protection and safety provided by the parental care in childhood is sought in the worldview in adulthood; just like a child acting in a way to please her/his parents to maintain their affection and care, an adult attains the sense of safety by acting in compliance to her/his worldview. At this point, self-esteem comes into the equation; individuals with high self-esteem experience more sense of compliance with their worldview than those with low self-esteem, and they feel less anxiety when their mortality is reminded to them. Recent research links these with attachment styles. Relationships with the environment and the primary caregiver in early childhood can be determinative on self-esteem. In this study, it is aimed to review the ideas presented here and developed within the framework of Terror Management Theory, and to discuss the benefits that can be drawn from their findings, especially in regards to clinical applications.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T08:09:47Z
format Article
id doaj.art-a65ca955e3a7448d91fbbcfb02031589
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1309-0674
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T08:09:47Z
publishDate 2019-03-01
publisher Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar
record_format Article
series Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar
spelling doaj.art-a65ca955e3a7448d91fbbcfb020315892024-02-02T09:37:12ZengPsikiyatride Güncel YaklaşımlarPsikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar1309-06742019-03-0111112913910.18863/pgy.419330419330The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management TheoryVolkan KocGulnihal KafaBuilt upon the idea that human beings, as the only species whose members are aware of their own consciousness and future death, have to come up with a system to deal with this awareness, Terror Management theory aims to shed light on the mechanisms that human beings have developed in order to avoid the cold fact of death. According to Terror Management Theory, culture serves as an anxiety buffer against death by offering either a literal or symbolic immortality. The sense of protection and safety provided by the parental care in childhood is sought in the worldview in adulthood; just like a child acting in a way to please her/his parents to maintain their affection and care, an adult attains the sense of safety by acting in compliance to her/his worldview. At this point, self-esteem comes into the equation; individuals with high self-esteem experience more sense of compliance with their worldview than those with low self-esteem, and they feel less anxiety when their mortality is reminded to them. Recent research links these with attachment styles. Relationships with the environment and the primary caregiver in early childhood can be determinative on self-esteem. In this study, it is aimed to review the ideas presented here and developed within the framework of Terror Management Theory, and to discuss the benefits that can be drawn from their findings, especially in regards to clinical applications.http://www.psikguncel.org/archives/vol11/no1/cap_11_01_10_en.pdfterror managementattachmentself-esteem
spellingShingle Volkan Koc
Gulnihal Kafa
The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory
Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar
terror management
attachment
self-esteem
title The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory
title_full The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory
title_fullStr The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory
title_full_unstemmed The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory
title_short The Roles of Self-Esteem and Attachment within the Framework of Terror Management Theory
title_sort roles of self esteem and attachment within the framework of terror management theory
topic terror management
attachment
self-esteem
url http://www.psikguncel.org/archives/vol11/no1/cap_11_01_10_en.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT volkankoc therolesofselfesteemandattachmentwithintheframeworkofterrormanagementtheory
AT gulnihalkafa therolesofselfesteemandattachmentwithintheframeworkofterrormanagementtheory
AT volkankoc rolesofselfesteemandattachmentwithintheframeworkofterrormanagementtheory
AT gulnihalkafa rolesofselfesteemandattachmentwithintheframeworkofterrormanagementtheory