The terror management underpinnings of risky behavior

Orit Taubman-Ben-Ari, Vera Skvirsky

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Risky behaviors, such as substance abuse, heavy alcohol consumption, unprotected sexual intercourse, reckless driving, or extreme sports are considered potential threats to health, or even life. Although most individuals have the ability to perceive risks accurately, they do not necessarily weigh them when deciding whether or not to engage in risky behavior. Many explanations of why people engage in such behaviors have been suggested over the years. The present chapter explores the tendency to take risks through the lens of terror management theory (TMT). Moreover, through a review of studies conducted in this field, we highlight the moderating role of personality characteristics, gender, and especially self-esteem. The chapter shows that, beyond the critical role of global self-esteem in TMT dynamics, specific aspects of self-esteem play a critical role in the motivation for risky behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHandbook of Terror Management Theory
PublisherElsevier
Pages559-576
Number of pages18
ISBN (Electronic)9780128118443
ISBN (Print)9780128118450
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Risk taking
  • Self-esteem
  • Terror management theory

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