Destined to die but not to wage war: How existential threat can contribute to escalation or de-escalation of violent intergroup conflict.

Abstract

War means threat to people's lives. Research derived from terror management theory (TMT) illustrates that the awareness of death leads people to defend cultural ingroups and their worldviews to attain a sense of symbolic immortality and thereby buffer existential anxiety. This can result in hostile effects of mortality salience (MS), such as derogation of outgroup members, prejudice, stereotyping, aggression, and racism, which, in turn, can lead to the escalation of violent intergroup conflict and, thus, the escalation of war. Yet, escalation of destructive conflict following MS is not automatic. Instead, research on TMT suggests that MS does not necessarily result in conflict and intolerance but can also foster positive tendencies, such as intergroup fairness or approval of pacifism, depending on how existential threat is perceived, whether the need for symbolic self-transcendence is satisfied, which social norms are salient, and how social situations are interpreted. In the present article, we review current TMT research with the aim of reconciling the seemingly contradictory findings of hostile and peaceful reactions to reminders of death. We present a terror management model of escalation and de-escalation of violent intergroup conflicts, which takes into account the interaction between threat salience and features of the social situation. We also discuss possible intervention strategies to override detrimental consequences of existential threat and argue that war is not the inevitable consequence of threat.

The Great Recession and Group‐Based Control: Converting Personal Helplessness into Social Class In‐Group Trust and Collective Action

“…However, interventions may foster productive and societally beneficial consequences of these processes, while preventing their downsides. Prior work (Fritsche et al., ; Jonas & Fritsche, ) suggests three possible points of contact: reducing the threat, providing appropriate in‐groups, and communicating prosocial norms.…”

Between the Lines of Us and Them: Identity Threat, Anxious Uncertainty, and Reactive In-Group Affirmation: How Can Antisocial Outcomes be Prevented?

“…As mentioned by Jonas and Fritsche ( 2013 ), people can differ in how they appraise a potentially threatening situation. For instance, in wealthier countries, many might be threatened by the fact the infl ux of thousands of refugees seeking asylum whereas others may not be affected at all or even see it as an opportunity (e.g.…”

The Influence of Existential Threat and Tolerance Salience on Anti‐Islamic Attitudes in American Politics

“…Research is consistent with these ideas (Jonas & Fritsche, 2013); existential threat can fuel Westerners' derogation toward, aggression toward, and support for the annihilation of those who harbor different political beliefs and values (e.g., H. A. McGregor et al, 1998;Pyszczynski et al, 2006).…”

“…Research is consistent with these ideas (Jonas & Fritsche, ); existential threat can fuel Westerners’ derogation toward, aggression toward, and support for the annihilation of those who harbor different political beliefs and values (e.g., H. A. McGregor et al, ; Pyszczynski et al, ). Regarding anti‐Islamic prejudice, specifically, MS has been found to increase Americans’ implicit anti‐Arab prejudice and explicit negative attitudes toward immigrants (Motyl et al, ) and Canadians’ desire to restrict the civil rights of people with anti‐Western/pro‐Islamic beliefs (Norenzayan, Dar‐Nimrod, Hansen, & Proulx, ), and Westerners found existential comfort in news that a plane‐full of Muslims had been killed (Hayes, Schimel, & Williams, ).…”