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Terror management theory (TMT) is a theory that explains how people's fear of death affects their behavior and thinking. It was developed by Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon, and Tom Pyszczynski.
TMT suggests that people use a variety of defenses to manage their anxiety about death, including:
Faith in cultural worldviews: People may hold onto cultural worldviews that give them a sense of significance and meaning in a world that continues beyond death.
Self-esteem: People may use self-esteem as an anxiety buffer to cope with their fears.
Close relationships: People may develop close relationships with others in their cultural group to convince themselves that they will live on after death.
Leaving a legacy: People may try to leave a legacy that will make them immortal.
Acting with kindness: People may take positive steps to act with kindness.
TMT can be applied to different fields, including political science and climate change mitigation. For example, TMT can help explain the polarization of political ideologies. It can also suggest that reminding people of the effects of climate change may make them less likely to take action to mitigate it.
