Terror management theory (TMT) attempts to describe how humans can use a specific form of thinking and conduct that is associated with their cognizance and fear of death. The emergence and thus, use of TMT can be traced to the work of Ernest Becker. Becker (1971) debated that people are primarily inspired to gain and uphold self-esteem by matching or surpassing cultural principles of value ( Solomon, 2011 ). The theory thus is founded on the notion that anxiety in human beings is an ultimate exhibition of fear of death. Through anxiety, the capability of death to haunt humans supersedes anything else in the universe. Principally, TMT posits that the juxtaposition of the need to remain alive with the intellectual capacity of humans can help them be aware of their vulnerabilities. According to TMT, it follows that death unsurprisingly creates the potential to paralyze terror ( Solomon, 2011 ). Through death awareness, the cultural mechanism of self-esteem thus can assist humans to accept death eventualities. Apprehension due to death motivates people to embrace viewpoints that safeguard their value and sustainability. Cultural viewpoints enable individuals to have the perception that they have a critical role in a meaningful society. TMT permits humans to conclude that the groups that they subscribe to are more superior to those that are subscribed to by other people. Such conclusions arise for the benefit of survival instincts of humans and their need to fortify cultural importance when faced by death.
Terror Management Theory: The Case of Orlando Shootings Terrorist Attack (2016)
Terrorism is a constant threat that is affecting people from all walks of life. Mostly, terrorists are driven by extremist believes that t have no place for divergent views or customs. The world over terrorist activities have claimed countless lives, and it is a general belief that the attacks will only persist, which effectively increases fear of falling victim to the vice ( Gregory et al., 2019 ). In the past, the US has severally fallen victim to terror attacks, with the Orlando shooting being among the most recent ones. The 2016 attack that took place in a LGBTQ nightclub is classified as the second most-deadliest attack in the history of the US. The attack is also categorized as the country’s worst terror attack post 9/11. The Orlando shootings claimed 49 people and left tens of others wounded ( Zambelich & Hurt, 2016 ). The projection and continued cautioning the masses to be vigilant of any terrorist attacks in the countries have only helped to stoke fear among the citizenry. Survivors of attacks such as Orlando shootings are often left with skewed perceptions of death and survival, an aspect which is influenced by different factors. Such factors include cognitive, cultural, social, and intellectual conditions that presently define their lives. TMT can be used to explain why the above factors warp the survivors' perception of death and survival, which ultimately affect their behavioral outcomes.
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Terror attacks impair the cognitive abilities of survivors concerning death and their ability to survive similar incidents. Survivors of such shootings are extraordinarily aware of their surroundings. A trivial thought about a similar environment often raises the level of their cautiousness, which borders fear and denial. For example, Ramone Rivera notes that he always have nightmares while Terry DeCarlo developed post-traumatic stress disorder ( Welch, 2016 ). Such victims internalized the events of the fateful day, and they became entrenched in their cognitive faculties. The terror attacks block a need for sense-making of their situation, which is triggered by the fear of death. TMT provides a framework that explains how people react within the context of terrorism ( Fischer et al., 2018 ). For example, for the above two victims, it is evident that the internalization of the terrorist events came about automatically. Their minds are registered to have an intense fear of death. Cognitive impacts of terrorism events correlate with anxiety, which affects the outcome of patient care and safety ( Gregory et al., 2019 ). Examining how a victim understand their environment concerning the attack will help the caregivers to personalize their services. The caregiving efforts should be tailored in such a way that the survivor does not fear death but accepts that it is unavoidable.
Anxiety and PTSD symptoms that develop after terrorist attacks affect the social life of the victims. Since the shootings targeted a queer space, the survivors’ ability to socialize was affected ( Stolberg & Pérez-Peña, 2016 ). Such spaces provide the LGBT community with an opportunity to have a sense of belonging away from the prejudiced society. A patron who frequents such a place will always relate it to life-threatening scenes. Also, they will perceive people who share similar cultural views with the shooter as enemies. They will distance themselves from such groups and social places. Denial and fear of death are the tenets of TMT framework. From the principles of TMT, a survivor will form a cocoon around themselves. Such an individual will feel that their life might be threatened while they are in certain places or around certain groups of people ( Stolberg & Pérez-Peña, 2016 ). Examining the social factor will enable one to understand how one perceives social places and other groups of people. Poor behavioral health outcomes are related to sudden social changes (“ Mental health: strengthening our response," 2018 ). Rejecting that death is inevitable regardless of one‘s experiences and perceptions on social life based past life events is detrimental to the healing process. The social factor should be examined while assessing the impact of terror attacks such as Orlando shooting since it affects the outcome of behavioral health interventions. Poor mental health is linked to rapid social change. When a person has PTSD or anxiety due to a terror attack, they will always relate certain circumstances with the ordeal (“ Mental health: strengthening our response," 2018 ). Dealing with the social repercussions of a terror attack by aligning the principles of TMT to the treatment process is thus critical.
Regarding culture, TMT posits that concerns over mortality can trigger the impetus of people rejecting other foreign cultures. With the US society being highly multicultural, the citizens are exposed to a diversity of cultural perspectives. Exposure to diverse worldviews can result in an existential concern, which will consequently trigger defensive responses. The responses will, in turn, alleviate the anxiety. The Orlando shootings had cultural undertones, especially regarding religious extremism ( Tjew-A-Sin & Koole, 2018 ). The shootings which were executed by a Muslim were a form of protest by the trend of the US society to entrench liberalism and diversity, especially concerning the LGBTQ community. The shooter was remonstrating against the culture of homosexuality, which contravenes Muslim teachings. TMT allows human beings to employ cultural worldviews and self-esteem to protect themselves from deep-rooted anxiety ( Tjew-A-Sin & Koole, 2018 ). Following the attack in Orlando, it is survivors of the atrocious event to have negative perceptions of religious extremism. With the increased resentment of those who hold extreme religious positions, the survivors will gradually overcome the anxiety associated with mortality salience. The cultural aspect of TMT indeed has a crucial impact on behavioral health outcomes in terror attack survivors. The survivors will want to remain guarded in their worldviews of those who attacked them.
Terror attacks have far-reaching impacts on survivors, which also touch on their intellectual capacities. Intellectualism is a factor of an individual’s mental status being at optimal conditions. A terror event can induce dire mental health problems post-exposure due to repeated accounts of the events ( Gregory et al., 2019 ). The aspect of human beings being aware of death as posited by the TMT implies that intellectual faculties of an individual are in play. Thus, in instances where humans are threatened with death, they will engage their highly developed intellectual abilities to raise their self-esteem, thus being able to deal with the associated anxiety. Such intellectual abilities include capacities to abstract and self-reflective thought. Through these abilities, the underlying TMT principle provides that humans have a substantial advantage in terms of flexible and advanced behaviors ( Landau et al., 2007 ). Flexible and advanced behaviors allow humans to adapt to their social and physical environments. Survivors of the Orlando shootings can thus use their intellectual conditions to instigate the recovery process. They are warier of death, and they can analyze their physical and social surroundings.
There are several theories that provide a different perspective from that provided by TMT, which is founded on the unintentional defense mechanisms. In TMT, the defense strategies are directed at anxieties instead of an analytical decision to work toward death recognition. One such theory that has a different perspective on TMT is the meaning management theory (MMT). MMT is founded on how humans manage to seek, make, and to reconstruct meaning with a view to enhance survival and to flourish of human life. MMT centers on acceptance and self-regulation of inner human life ( Wong, 2007 ). Seeking meaning regards managing the meaning of life as core value and motivation while mean-making concerns being content with the meaning of one's life.
From the above analysis, MMT is more appropriate than TMT. MMT advocates acceptance for the inevitable death, while TMT is driven by denial of the same. Indeed, human behavior cannot solely be motivated by fear and denial of death when faced with life-threatening scenarios. Accepting that death is inevitable, it will be easier for a person to go through life without unnecessary burdens of anxieties. TMT is built on unintended defense approaches against the fear of death instead of a deliberate resolution that aims at accepting the eventuality of death as posited by MMT.
In conclusion, there are several factors that might influence a person’s understanding of death and survival. TMT is based on strategies to deny the inevitability of death, where one tends to defend their anxieties when their life is threatened. After the terror attack in Orlando, survivors have undergone through a cycle defined by the above influencing factors. All these factors have had a negative impact on the expected outcomes of the healing processes. Differently, MMT is founded on the principle of acceptance that one cannot escape from death through rational decision making. The acceptance aspect of MMT makes it a more reasonable theory than TMT, which is based on denying that death is inescapable.
References
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Gregory, J., de Lepinau, J., de Buyer, A., Delanoy, N., Mir, O., & Gaillard, R. (2019). The impact of the Paris terrorist attacks on the mental health of resident physicians. BMC psychiatry , 19 (1), 79.
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