1 THE AUTONOMIC PHYSIOLOGY OF TERROR MANAGEMENT ...

measure of state self-esteem, consistently found significant correlations between lower
state self-esteem and threat-related emotions such as anxiety, hostility, and depression.
To more precisely test the predicted causal relationship between state self-esteem
and anxiety/threat, however, Greenberg et al. (1992) manipulated people’s sense of self-
worth by giving them very positive or neutral feedback about their personality.
Participants then watched either a video of death-related footage such as an autopsy and
electrocution, or of neutral nature-related footage. Those who received the neutral
feedback and viewed the death footage reported heightened anxiety. Those who received
the positive feedback, the self-esteem boost, did not report this increase in anxiety.
In a conceptual replication (Greenberg et al., 1992), control participants showed
heightened skin conductance, a measure of sympathetic nervous system arousal that in
response to threat is generally taken to indicate anxiety, in anticipation of an electric
shock. However, those who received positive intelligence feedback, and thus a boost to
self-esteem, did not show this increase in skin conductance. Further, follow-up showed
that the effects of this self-esteem boost on inhibited skin conductance did not appear
mediated by self-reported positive mood. Thus, these studies provided strong evidence
that high state (manipulated) self-esteem buffers people from the experience of anxiety.
Security of self-esteem and protection from threat
In addition to the mere level of state self-esteem, we should also predict that the
security of self-esteem serves to buffer from threat and anxiety. Even a person with high
state self-esteem, if it is fragile and insecure, may be prone to heightened anxiety and
threat responding. People may feel momentarily good about themselves, but with a
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