PSYCH 238 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Terror Management Theory
1 Mar 2017
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We are afraid of nonbeing and so we shrivel up our being (may, 1991) Encouraged people to grow and be responsible for their lives: we must control our own lives. Living authentically means not conforming to others or to society"s expectations but living by own value system. Society misunderstands love and will: love is falsely associated with sex this makes it temporary, will is seen as determination ( will power ) Sex: biological function that can be satisfied, temporary. Eros: psychological desire to seek creation through untion with another, permanent. Philia: intimate, nonsexual friendship, prerequisite for enduing union between people. Humans" awareness of death poses a psychological dilemma. Awareness of death has the potential to cause terrifying anxiety. Yet do not experience constant death anxiety because people have psychological structures to buffer the adverse effects. Cultural worldviews and self-esteem serve to defend against thoughts of death by providing meaning.
