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Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon. Terror Management Theory proposes that we create or use beliefs that are convenient at allowing us to manage or ignore terror.

As a hypothetical, imagine the following folk philosophy story:

You need to go to the river to collect water but there is a good chance the journey would result in death (as evidenced by your friend that was killed recently during the journey). Eventually you would need to find a way to overcome your fear if you want to survive.

How would someone convince themselves to be brave?

TMT says that by creating a story or using one they were told which convinces them not to worry, would allow for the life sustaining activity to take place. Before the story, the person's fear barred them from performing the necessary activity, to take place.

Believing they have protection from the tribal leader, from a ritual, or from a spirit, they can now survive the extensional terror that life brings, and make proper decisions. Or even if they are killed, the belief that a backup of them will be restored into an exciting new afterlife, can provide a person with increased evolutionary fitness.

This is especially powerful as a tool to a person living in an ancient pre-scientific society to manage the insane amount (seemingly random) ways people would be killed or die. Sleep always brought death.

Today many people still use cultural rituals in place of scientific methods to predict or abate danger, and in many instances to increase their safety. Evidenced by the demographic that responds best to fear based marketing.

I'll be ok as long as I build a doomsday shelter before Haley's comet returns...

And lo and behold, sometimes that doomsday shelter kept them alive after all.

Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon. Terror Management Theory proposes that we create or use beliefs that are convenient at allowing us to manage or ignore terror.

As a hypothetical, imagine the following folk philosophy story:

You need to go to the river to collect water but there is a good chance the journey would result in death (as evidenced by your friend that was killed recently during the journey). Eventually you would need to find a way to overcome your fear if you are to survive.

How would someone convince themselves to be brave?

TMT says that by creating a story or using one they were told which convinces them not to worry, would allow for the life sustaining activity to take place. Before the story, the person's fear barred them from performing the necessary activity, to take place.

Believing they have protection from the tribal leader, from a ritual, or from a spirit, they can now survive the extensional terror that life brings, and make proper decisions. Or even if they are killed, the belief that a backup of them will be restored into an exciting new afterlife, can provide a person with increased evolutionary fitness.

This is especially powerful as a tool to a person living in an ancient pre-scientific society to manage the insane amount (seemingly random) ways people would be killed or die. Sleep always brought death. And these tools would be passed down to their children as stories and traditions.

Today many people still use cultural rituals in place of scientific methods to predict or abate danger, and in many instances to increase their safety. Evidenced by the demographic that responds best to fear based marketing.

I'll be ok as long as I carry a rabbits foot or build a doomsday shelter before Haley's comet returns...

And lo and behold, sometimes that doomsday shelter kept great great granddaddy alive after all.

Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon. Terror Management Theory proposes that we create or use beliefs that are convenient at allowing us to manage or ignore terror.

As a hypothetical, imagine the following folk philosophy story:

You need to go to the river to collect water but there is a good chance the journey would result in death (as evidenced by your friend that was killed recently during the journey). Eventually you would need to find a way to overcome your fear if you want to survive.

How would someone convince themselves to be brave?

TMT says that by creating a story or using one they were told which convinces them not to worry would allow for the life sustaining activity that they were previously barred from performing to take place. Believing they have protection from the tribal leader, from a ritual, or from a spirit, they can now survive the extensional terror that life brings and make proper decisions. Or even if they are killed, the belief that a backup of them will be restored into an exciting new afterlife, can provide a person with increased evolutionary fitness.

This is especially powerful as a tool to a person living in an ancient pre-scientific society to manage the insane amount (seemingly random) ways people would be killed or die. Sleep always brought death.

Today many people still use cultural rituals in place of scientific methods to predict or abate danger and increase safety. Evidenced by the demographic that responds best to fear based marketing.

I'll be ok as long as I build a doomsday shelter before Haley's comet returns...

And lo and behold, sometimes that doomsday shelter kept them alive after all.

Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon. Terror Management Theory proposes that we create or use beliefs that are convenient at allowing us to manage or ignore terror.

As a hypothetical, imagine the following folk philosophy story:

You need to go to the river to collect water but there is a good chance the journey would result in death (as evidenced by your friend that was killed recently during the journey). Eventually you would need to find a way to overcome your fear if you want to survive.

How would someone convince themselves to be brave?

TMT says that by creating a story or using one they were told which convinces them not to worry, would allow for the life sustaining activity to take place. Before the story, the person's fear barred them from performing the necessary activity, to take place. 

Believing they have protection from the tribal leader, from a ritual, or from a spirit, they can now survive the extensional terror that life brings, and make proper decisions. Or even if they are killed, the belief that a backup of them will be restored into an exciting new afterlife, can provide a person with increased evolutionary fitness.

This is especially powerful as a tool to a person living in an ancient pre-scientific society to manage the insane amount (seemingly random) ways people would be killed or die. Sleep always brought death.

Today many people still use cultural rituals in place of scientific methods to predict or abate danger, and in many instances to increase their safety. Evidenced by the demographic that responds best to fear based marketing.

I'll be ok as long as I build a doomsday shelter before Haley's comet returns...

And lo and behold, sometimes that doomsday shelter kept them alive after all.

Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon. Terror Management Theory proposes that we create or use beliefs that are convenient at allowing us to manage or ignore terror.

As a hypothetical, imagine the following folk philosophy story:

You need to go to the river to collect water but there is a good chance the journey would result in death (as evidenced by your friend that was killed recently during the journey). Eventually you would need to find a way to overcome your fear if you want to survive.

How would someone convince themselves to be brave?

TMT says that by creating a story or using one they were told which convinces them not to worry would allow for the life sustaining activity that they were previously barred from performing to take place. Believing they have protection from the tribal leader, from a ritual, or from a spirit, they can now survive the extensional terror that life brings and make proper decisions. Or even if they are killed, the belief that a backup of them will be restored into an exciting new afterlife, can provide a person with increased evolutionary fitness.

This is especially powerful as a tool to a person living in an ancient pre-scientific society to manage the insane amount (seemingly random) ways people would be killed or die. Sleep always brought death.

Today many people still use cultural rituals to predict or abate danger and increase safety. "I'll be ok if I build a doomsday shelter before Haley's comet returns..."

Terror Management Theory (TMT) was proposed in 1986 by social psychologists Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, and Sheldon Solomon. Terror Management Theory proposes that we create or use beliefs that are convenient at allowing us to manage or ignore terror.

As a hypothetical, imagine the following folk philosophy story:

You need to go to the river to collect water but there is a good chance the journey would result in death (as evidenced by your friend that was killed recently during the journey). Eventually you would need to find a way to overcome your fear if you want to survive.

How would someone convince themselves to be brave?

TMT says that by creating a story or using one they were told which convinces them not to worry would allow for the life sustaining activity that they were previously barred from performing to take place. Believing they have protection from the tribal leader, from a ritual, or from a spirit, they can now survive the extensional terror that life brings and make proper decisions. Or even if they are killed, the belief that a backup of them will be restored into an exciting new afterlife, can provide a person with increased evolutionary fitness.

This is especially powerful as a tool to a person living in an ancient pre-scientific society to manage the insane amount (seemingly random) ways people would be killed or die. Sleep always brought death.

Today many people still use cultural rituals in place of scientific methods to predict or abate danger and increase safety. Evidenced by the demographic that responds best to fear based marketing.

I'll be ok as long as I build a doomsday shelter before Haley's comet returns...

And lo and behold, sometimes that doomsday shelter kept them alive after all.