fei75766_ch11_345-376.indd 366  02/06/20 12:38 PM
Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories366
grown Philip, namely, thefearofabandonment. “Little Philip” became Philip’s friendly 
companion andhelped himovercome hisloneliness andallayhisjealousy ofNicole.
Attheendoftherapy, Philip didnotbecome anewperson, buthedidbecome 
more conscious ofapartofhimself thathadbeen there allthetime. Anawareness 
ofnewpossibilities allowed himtomove inthedirection ofpersonal freedom. For
Philip, theendoftherapy wasthebeginning of“theuniting ofhimself withthatearly 
selfthathehadhadtolockupinadungeon inorder tosurvive when lifewasnot
happy butthreatening” (May, 1981, p.41).
Related Research
Rollo May’s existential theory hasbeen moderately influential asamethod ofpsycho -
therapy, butithassparked almost nodirect empirical research. Thisstateofaffairs is
nodoubt related tothecritical stance thatMayadopted toward objective andquanti -
tative measurement. Anytheory thatemphasizes theconnection between thesubject 
andtheobject andtheuniqueness ofeachindividual willnotbeconducive tolarge 
sample research withexperimental orquestionnaire design. Infact,Mayargued that
modern science istoorationalistic, tooobjective, andthatanewscience isneeded in
order tograsp thetotal, living person. 
Oneexistential topic toreceive some empirical attention hasbeenexistential anxi-
ety.May(1967) defined anxiety as“theapprehension cuedoffbyathreat tosome value 
which theindividual holds essential tohis[orher]existence asaself”(p.72).When 
events threaten ourphysical orpsychological existence, weexperience existential anxi-
ety,andstrongest among thethreats toourexistence isdeath. Indeed, MayandYalom 
(1989) argued that“amajor developmental taskistodealwiththeterror ofoblitera -
tion” (p.367). Inasense, lifeistheprocess ofcoping withandconfronting death. 
Anexistential approach tothestudy ofterror anddeath hascarried overinto
“terror management,” amodern experimental offshoot ofexistential psychology. A
conceptual bridge between existential psychology andterror management theory 
(TMT) wasprovided bytheAmerican psychiatrist Ernest Becker, whowasinspired 
byKierkegaard andOttoRank. Abasic argument ofthese existentialists (aswellas
writers suchasCamus andSartre) isthathumans arefirstandforemost motivated 
byfearofdeath. Moreover, many ofthese thinkers seehuman creativity, culture, and
meaning asunconscious defenses against mortality. Thework ofBecker, inparticular, 
hasbeen amajor source ofinspiration forterror management theorists.
Threats in the Umwelt:  Mortality Salience and Denial of Our 
Animal Nature
Terror management theory hastaken thisbasic assumption andtested itbyconduct -
ingsome ofthemore clever andwell-designed experimental studies inrecent social 
andpersonality psychology. 
Although humans arepartoftheanimal kingdom andhence mortal, theyare
unique inunderstanding oftheworld andunique inrealizing theirownuniqueness. 
Humans havelongbelieved thattheyaremore thanjustbodies—they haveasoul,a
spirit, andamind.Final PDF to printer