2.2 Existential Social Psych Flashcards
What is existentialism?
The existential fear that comes with our own mortality, thinking about our own deaths
We are frightened of our own demise
What is the concept that researchers refer to as terror?
The existential fear of our own mortality
What did Ernest Becker say about existentialism?
The idea that we can v clearly imagine that future exists without us and we are no longer present
That idea creates strong terror that somehow we have to deal with it in order to function
Is a cucumber better than you?
It has a basic instinct to self-preservation
It exists but it cannot imagine its own death like humans
In this way, it may have an advantage over humans because existential terror does not occur
What are humans capable of thinking that other organisms cannot?
Humans are capable individuals who can think of abstract things and imagine things that are yet to happen
We know we are going to fail in self-preservation as we have to die and we won’t be able to avoid it - this is daunting
How do humans redefine the existential terror problem?
Use their intellectual abilities to redefine the problem
Solve the existential problem of death this way because we can think in abstract and symbolic ways
What did Becker think was important and why?
Becker thought culture was important:
Culture provides meaning and a sense of security in an unsure world
Death is an enormous fear in every culture
Cultures have ways of coping with this fear through diff arrangements
What psychologists does Terror Management Theory (TMT) draw from?
Freud and Becker
What 2 mechanisms does TMT offer that helps to deal with thoughts about our own death?
Proximal mechanisms & distal mechanisms
What do proximal mechanisms do?
Address the debilitating anxiety when it is cognition:
Deny vulnerability
Distract yourself from the thoughts
This mechanism moves the thoughts to the unconscious where we become less aware of them
What does the distal mechanism do?
World-view defence
Self-esteem
These 2 relate as a lot of self esteem comes from us being good members in our culture as it makes you feel good about yourself
According to Becker, how does culture work as a distal mechanism through defending the world view?
The real world is too terrible to admit however culture makes the man feel important - this is vital and can create a sense of immortality
“I may die but what I represent is more than just my life…”
Host of elements and practices that will live long after I die
Culture providing a legacy for man - virtual immortality
What elements play a role to construct world view?
Ingroup/outgroup perceptions Values Practices Gender roles Social Structure Symbols Reputation
Culture constructs world view
Who was used as Ps in Rosenblad et al’s experiment and why did they use this constructed situation?
Got real judges and magistrates to evaluate a fake case for prostitution
Using the idea that morality is an intricate part of our culture and world view
Like to think of ourselves as individuals with decent morals
Prostitution is thought of as a violation of morality
With this violation and thinking about their own death, it will affect the punishment decisions
What did P’s have to do in Rosenblad et al’s study?
Judges were asked to think about their own deaths or a TV show they liked depending on condition
Then had a filler exercises to distract themselves to move the thoughts to their subconscious
Judges were asked to evaluate the case after
What were the findings of Rosenblad et al’s study?
Judges sent 9x more the bail if they were in the condition where they thought about their own death before
Was a v strong effect size - rare to see this much
What was the independent variable in Greenberg et al’s study?
Ps read a one-page interview in which the interviewee evaluated the US political system
2 conditions:
1 condition: praised America and its politics highly
1 condition: v negative American political view
Ps were made to think about their death (mortality salience)
What were the results of Greenberg et al’s study?
With the MS condition, you evaluate the +ve condition much more highly than control
Opposite effect happens when they evaluate someone who is v critical of their world view
MS condition evaluated -ve condition much more -vly than control
What does Greenberg et al’s experiment show?
How world view has an effect on existential anxiety
What does gathering material goods do regarding death?
Pushes away death
Use it to feel better about ourselves
Our world view is strongly related to materialistic tendencies
Our practices are based off things like what kind of house we live in in which area
What was Dar-Nimrod’s experiment investigation?
What happens when people encounter TV shows that feature death and really make you think about your own?
Does this kind of experience affect their desire for elements represented in the commercial?
What was the independent variable in Dar-Nimrod’s study?
The TV show: death scene vs no death scene
Ad was shown after the scene
What was the DV in Dar-Nimrod’s experiment?
How appealing the products in the ad seemed after watching the TV show
What were the results of Dar-Nimrod’s study?
Evaluation differed significantly depending on what clip they saw:
Following the death condition, the products were much more appealing
Viewing death on the TV increases the appeal of advertised products
What happened when Ps in Dar-Nimrod’s study completed a word completion task after watching the TV shows?
Could complete them with death related words or not
Idea was that if shown death they will use more death related words
Ps who had watched the “death” TV clip had more death related words completed
Is the world view a monolith construct?
No - we have values that can collide
e.g appreciating security and freedom at the same time
