skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

How Death Anxiety Plays a Role in Politics

play audio
Play

Monday, October 24, 2022   

CLARIFICATION: Ernest Becker did not create the Terror Management Theory, although it was based on his ideas and research. (2:00 a.m. MDT, Oct. 28, 2022)

It's the political season and Washingtonians are being flooded with messages ahead of the midterm elections.

Curiously, our anxiety over death could play a big role in how we react to those messages, and even in whom we vote for.

Brian Burke, psychology professor at Fort Lewis College, said the Seattle-based Ernest Becker Foundation has analyzed how the so-called Terror Management Theory explains our political motivations. The theory indicates most of our political decisions are not made with the rational parts of our brains, but are instead more emotionally-based.

"When we're reminded of our own death, our preferences tend to change," Burke pointed out. "We might support different candidates based on death anxiety than we would have had we not been triggered, or reminded of, our own death."

Burke said this can play out a few different ways in elections. For instance, traumatic world events such as September 11th have been shown to cause people to tend toward more conservative leaders, often for their messages on law and order.

Other research has shown even the thought of immigrants moving into someone's neighborhood can cause them to think more about death, and thus take a harder stance on immigration.

Burke noted Terror Management Theory, which was developed based on Ernest Becker's research on death anxiety, finds people who are unconsciously thinking about death are more motivated to want to fit in with their peers or some larger group.

He added there is a way to push back against the ways the fear of death affects our decision-making.

"We can slow down and consciously and explicitly make more rational decisions about things," Burke advised. "It involves doing just that: reflecting on it and thinking through our opinions on an issue and taking some deep breaths and thinking, 'Ok, how do I really feel about this?'"

Burke suggests if you are so inclined, you can analyze how politicians might be using the fear of death this campaign season.

"When you're inundated, as you will be, with radio and television and other YouTube ads for political candidates, really think about what are they trying to get at in you here?" Burke recommended. "What message are they trying to send?"



get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021