Normative Bias and Adaptive Challenges: A Relational Approach to Coalitional Psychology and a Critique of Terror Management Theory

By C. David Navarrete, Daniel M.T. Fessler. 2005

132 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Adherence to ingroup ideology increases after exposure to death-related stimuli, a reaction that proponents of terror management theory (TMT) explain as a psychological defense against the uniquely human existential fear of death. We argue that existential concerns are not the relevant issue; rather, such concepts can be subsumed under a larger category of adaptive challenges that prime coalitional thinking. We suggest that increases in adherence to ingroup ideology in response to adaptive challenges are manifestations of normative mental representations emanating from psychological systems designed to enhance coordination and membership in social groups. In providing an alternative to TMT, we (1) explain why the theory is inconsistent with contemporary evolutionary biology, (2) demonstrate that mortality-salience does not have the unique evocative powers ascribed to it by TMT advocates, and (3) discuss our approach to coalitional psychology, a framework consistent with modern evolutionary theory and informed by a broad understanding of cultural variation, can be employed to help account for both the corpus of results in TMT research and the growing body of findings inconsistent with TMT's predictions.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2aa97ebe58eb9bd4b74333003ad98fb869a64fac

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Citations in the corpus

On the Unique Psychological Import of the Human Awareness of Mortality: Theme and Variations (2006, background): “Do Navarrete and Fessler (2005) really believe that humans do not fear death?”
Reports of My Death Anxiety Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: A Critique of Terror Management Theory from an Evolutionary Perspective (2006, unknown): “(For a more thorough discussion, see Navarrete, 2005; Navarrete & Fessler, 2005; Navarrete, Kurzban, Fessler, & Kirkpatrick, 2004).”
The People Paradox: Self-Esteem Striving, Immortality Ideologies, and Human Response to Climate Change (2009, unknown): “Although not universally accepted (Navarrete and Fessler 2005), TMT is supported by evidence from more than 300 empirical studies testing a wide range of predictions with Western and indigenous societies in various parts of the globe (Pyszczynski et al. 2006).”
The Social Functions of Group Rituals (2016, background): “In general, implied threats to fitness (e.g., strangers, social exclusion, contamination) result in stronger adherence to in-group normative ideologies (Navarrete & Fessler, 2005).”