Regulation of the terror of death: Emotion regulation strategies and social consequences

Abstract

Over the past twenty-five years, terror management theory has become one of the most influential frameworks for understanding the emotion regulation strategies individuals use to manage the fear of personal death, and the associated social consequences of these strategies. Terror management theory proposes that individuals engage in defensive strategies to regulate emotion arising from the terror of death. Unfortunately, the ways in which people regulate death anxiety can lead to a wide range of negative social consequences, including heightened aggression toward worldview dissenters, and prejudice. In this chapter we begin by reviewing the emotion regulation strategies individuals use to defend against the terror of death, and outline the negative social consequences of these strategies. We then discuss the proposition that death anxiety management does not necessarily need to be associated with negative social outcomes. Drawing from attachment theory, we propose that attachment security is one individual difference factor that provides individuals with the necessary emotion regulation strategies to effectively regulate the terror of death without the associated negative social consequences. We review evidence suggesting that attachment security may be protective in regulating death anxiety, and provide suggestions for future research directions.