Beyond terror: Toward a paradigm shift in the study of threat and culture

Abstract

In this article we review the basic assumptions and findings of terror management theory. Then we discuss some problems with those assumptions and findings. We note, for example, that the theory is not falsifiable, that theorists have not done a good job of integrating conflicting empirical findings, and that attempts to explain all of human behaviour in terms of a single core motive have been counterproductive. Then we briefly discuss other theoretical explanations of the relations between threat and culture. Finally we make recommendations for what theorists and researchers can do to advance thinking in this area. The goal of the article is to stimulate a new generation of theory and research not based on the assumption that there is a single, core motive that can be used to address all of the relations among threat and culture.