A dual-process model of defense against conscious and unconscious death-related thoughts: An extension of terror management theory

In the citing paper

“TMT provides a theoretical framework to explain how people cope with anxiety resulting from the awareness that death is inevitable (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“Proximal defenses are threat-focused and function to push these thoughts out of consciousness, either by addressing them in adaptive ways or engaging in cognitive distortions. These entail either rational problem-solving responses that reduce actual risk or defensive responses such as the denial of vulnerability and biased processing of personally relevant threatening information (Croyle et al., 1”

In the citing paper

“Thus, these promote behaviors that seemingly bear no logical relationship with mortality awareness but serve anxiety-buffering functions, such as defenses of one's worldview, actions that boost self-esteem, and commitments to close relationships (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“According to TMT, death-related thoughts can be managed by employing two types of defense strategies: proximal defenses, which are activated against conscious awareness of death-related concerns, and distal defenses, which are activated when these thoughts are not one's focal concern (Greenberg et al., 2000; Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“Self-esteem serves as a buffer against mortality concerns based on the belief that one is a valuable contributor to the world (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“this study found two types of defense strategies, proximal defenses and distal defenses, from tweets in the three target countries.”

In the citing paper

“This can be considered a form of worldview defenses, as previous studies demonstrate that mortality salience leads to more favorable evaluations of those who live up to the moral standards and hasher evaluations of moral transgressors (Florian & Mikulincer, 1997; Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“Empirical TMT studies have organized these behavioral patterns in a dual-process defense model (Pyszczynski et al., 1999) that distinguishes between proximal and distal cognitive phases (Figure 1).”

In the citing paper

“Distal defenses, on the other hand, are unconscious and symbolic, including strategies to protect the symbolic self, such as upholding cultural worldviews, building relationships that enhance self-worth, and promoting personal significance (Abeyta et al., 2014;Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“Proximal defenses are conscious and threat-focused, including suppression of death thoughts, denial of vulnerability to mortality, and strategies to promote optimum health (Abeyta et al., 2014;Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“People cope with unconscious death‐related thoughts with increased defense of their cultural worldview (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“Conscious thoughts of death are defended against with proximal defenses, which entail active suppression of such thoughts (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“In response to death reminders, proximal defenses activate to 1) suppress death-thoughts that creep into focal attention, and 2) shift unwanted death-thoughts out of focal attention by rationalizing away, distracting from, or denying one's vulnerabilities (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“This increased delay use may be because all review studies were published after the dual-process model was established as necessary for research design and the need for delays to access distal defenses had been recognized (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“Death‐related thoughts produce different effects on cognition and behavior when they are in current focal attention (i.e., conscious proximal defense) and when they are on the fringes of consciousness (i.e., unconscious distal defense) (Pyszczynski et al., 1999, 2000).”

In the citing paper

“Distraction tasks are a common method in mortality salience research, aimed at mitigating transient emotional responses by relegating thoughts of death to an unconscious level [28].”

In the citing paper

“A conscious reminder of death - experimentally induced with a manipulation of mortality salience -- sets in motion proximal defenses , where the individual, at least in the short-term, takes rational steps to deal with the problem, or, alternatively, denies vulnerability to danger.”

In the citing paper

“TMT hypotheses primarily receive support when a delay ensues between the manipulation of mortality salience and measurement of the dependent variable.”

In the citing paper

“Likewise, subgroups of studies that adhered most closely to the underlying theoretical arguments of the effect (longer delays enhance the effect; Pyszczynski et al., 1999), revealed significant and adequate evidential value by the p-curve”

In the citing paper

“Pyszczynski et al. (1999) extended the terror management theory (TMT) framework by proposing a Dual-Process Defense Model that includes proximal and distal defenses.”

In the citing paper

“Terror Management Theory argues that humans who are aware of their own death, consciously or not, use a variety of proximal and distal defenses to protect themselves from these realized and unrealized fears of death (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“practices such as thought suppression and loyalty to one's beliefs and culture are thought to act as protective factors against death anxiety and death-related thoughts (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“The different time course observed for the effects of MS vs. meaning/certainty threats on worldview defense can be explained using TMT's dual defense model (Pyszczynski et al., 1999).”

In the citing paper

“However, with the passage of time these defenses relax, which allows death thoughts to rebound and then linger just outside consciousness. Accessible death thoughts then trigger distal defenses to push suchthoughtsfarther from awareness, reducing their potential to become conscious.”

In the citing paper

“According to this model, DTA and worldview defense should be low for a brief time following MS because individuals employ proximal defenses to remove thoughts and concerns about death from consciousness.”

In the citing paper

“Worldview defense is therefore most pronounced when death-thoughts are outside current focal awareness,yethighlyaccessible.”

In the citing paper

“Once death thoughts move out of focal awareness, these pseudorational management efforts are relaxed.”

In the citing paper

“From this perspective, conscious thoughts of death trigger pseudorational efforts to cope with one's vulnerability to mortality and thus push the topic out of focal awareness.”