ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the process of conducting a Terror management theory (TMT) experiment. The field experiment described here is one that was completed at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS). TMT is the social psychological study of the predictable attitudes and behaviors associated with existential anxiety. People seek out a relief to this anxiety by relying on their cultural worldview (CWV), which is built on things like religion, family, and culture. The proximal defense mechanism is immediate after the onset of death anxiety. TMT research tends to focus on distal defense and the associated psychological coping strategies. The planning for a TMT field experiment in such a high-security location takes a lot of preplanning and negotiation between the lead researcher, the airport administration, and Homeland Security. The bulk of empirical evidence for mortality salience comes from laboratory research people considers the need to support laboratory findings with field research as especially important for mortality salience.
