Death-based explanations were initially rejected by mainstream psychology
Evidence
Brimming with youthful enthusiasm, we were excited to share Becker’s ideas with fellow social psychologists at the 1984 meeting of the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. There we introduced what we dubbed terror management theory in order to build on Becker’s claim that people strive for meaningful and significant lives largely to manage the fear of death. The audience started drifting away as soon as we mentioned that our theory was influenced by sociology, anthropology, existential philosophy, and psychoanalysis. When we got to the ideas of Marx, Kierkegaard, Freud, and Becker, renowned psychologists were storming the conference room exits. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 24
Categorization
- CANDY: Renowned psychologists ‘storming the conference room exits’ over a theory’s influences is a fun anecdote.
- SEED: The reception history of terror management theory, from conference mockery to broad acceptance, is a nice essay on scientific paradigm resistance.