@article{ref1,
title="A terror management analysis of self-awareness and anxiety: The hierarchy of terror",
journal="Anxiety research",
year="1990",
author="Pyszczynski, Tom and Greenberg, Jeff and Solomon, Sheldon and Hamilton, James",
volume="2",
number="3",
pages="177-195",
abstract="Abstract In this article, we apply terror management theory to the operation of self-awareness processes. According to the theory, self-esteem consists of accepting a cultural conception of reality and believing that one is living up to the standards of value inherent in that conception. The function of self-esteem is to buffer the anxiety that results from the awareness of human vulnerability and mortality that results from our capacity for self-awareness. We argue that self-awareness leads to comparisons with standards, and to behavior aimed at reducing any discrepancies that are detected, because of the potential for existential terror that self-awareness creates. Existential terror is seen as the emotional manifestation of the instinct for self-preservation. Management of this terror is conceptualized as the superordinate goal in a hierarchy of standards through which behavior is regulated. A hierarchical terror management model is proposed. This structure provides a unique analysis of the self-system and its relationship to other attitudes, values, and beliefs. The theory posits several dynamic principles that specify how self-awareness and disruptions determine the movement of conscious attention through various levels of the hierarchy. The implications of this analysis for unresolved theoretical questions about self-awareness processes, unconscius sources of motivation, and clinical problems are discussed.<p />",
language="",
issn="0891-7779",
doi="10.1080/08917779008249335",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08917779008249335"
}