Mortality salience

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mortality-salience

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the theoretical foundation?Terror Management Theory (TMT), developed by Greenberg, Solomon, and Pyszczynski
2. What is the primary psychological consequence?Existential anxiety, a fundamental human response to the awareness of death
3. What does "mortality salience" mean?Mortality salience is when we notice that we will one day die and that life has a limit. It reminds us that our time is precious.
4. Why do people feel scared when they think about death?Thinking about death can make us feel worried because it reminds us that life can end. To feel safe, we often look for meaning and purpose.

Mortality Salience: The conscious and often unsettling awareness that one's life is finite and death is an inevitable outcome.
Terror Management Theory (TMT): A psychological theory proposing that humans manage the anxiety of death by adopting cultural beliefs and seeking self-esteem.
Existential Anxiety: A profound sense of unease arising from contemplating fundamental questions of existence, meaning, and mortality.
Cultural Worldview: A shared system of beliefs, values, and norms that provides meaning, order, and a sense of permanence to life.