Handbook of Terror Management Theory

Dr. Routledge is a leading expert in existential psychology. His work examines how the need for meaning and related psychological motives influence and are influenced by cognitive, affective, and self-regulatory proccesses, individual differences, momentous life expericnes, personal and professional goals, social relationships, spirituality and religiosity, entrepreneurship, innovation, prosocial behavior, and attitudes about the future. He is an award-winning scholar who has published over 100 academic papers and co-edited three books. He is the author of two books, Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource and Supernatural: Death, Meaning, and the Power of the Invisible World, and the TED-Ed animated lesson Why Do We Feel Nostalgia? Dr. Matthew Vess is a social psychologist and assistant professor of Psychological Science at Montana State University. His research broadly focuses on the basic processes underlying the pursuit for self-relevant meaning and value. He has published over 25 papers in some of the very best journals in social psychology (e.g., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology), many of which are directly relevant to and/or inspired by TMT. Dr. Vess has also taught graduate level courses on existential experimental psychology and includes a dedication section to TMT in his undergraduate social psychology courses.

• Section 1: Testing the Contours of the Theory1. A Consideration of 3 Critical Hypotheses 2. Distinguishing Proximal and Distal Responses to Death-Thoughts 3. Controversies and Alternative Theories4. TMT Toolbox: A Guide to Doing TMT Research Section 2: How TMT Helps us Understand5. The Need to Structure the World 6. Our Relationship with Nature 7. The Self 8. The Self in Time: Nostalgia  9. Human Concerns about Sex, the Body, and Animality 10. Attachment and Romantic Relationships 11. Group Identification 12. Religion 13. Secular Cultural Worldviews 14. Affect, Meaning, and Well-Being 15. Psychological Growth, Creativity, and Exploration16. Existential Neuroscience: Terror Management and the BrainSection 3: Applications17. Health Attitudes and Behavior 18. Aging and Coping with Mortality 19. Psychopathology  20. Terrorism, War, and Peace-Making 21. Consumerism 22. The Legal System 23. Art and Media 24. Death and Risk Taking 25. Communication Theory and Terror Management