عنوان

Communicating Death to Potential Military Recruits: A Terror Management Theory Approach

Number

TL52098

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

Communicating Death to Potential Military Recruits: A Terror Management Theory Approach

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Augustine, Amanda

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

Wigley, Shelley

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

The University of Texas at Arlington

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2019

Text of Note

82 p.

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

M.A.

Body granting the degree

The University of Texas at Arlington

Text preceding or following the note

2019

Text of Note

Efforts to encourage more citizens to join the military is a prominent duty within a military organization. In order to maintain force strength, military recruiters and marketing teams need to persuade the population to join. This study used Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the relationship between the fear of mortality and its effect on motivation toward volunteering for military service in the United States. TMT is a theory that explains how the human psyche combats the fear of mortality, and this study sought to answer how mortality salience affects an individual's motivation to join the military. TMT's explanation of defense mechanisms can be partnered with components of Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) in order to refine marketing strategies and increase predictability in the effects of communicating death to potential recruits. Replicating Orit Taubman-Ben-Ari and Liora Findler's experiment conducted in Israel (2006), this study used an updated motivation scale and a different sample group: American university students instead of Israeli high school males. Although there are differing demographic and cultural variables, it was expected that results would have underlying similarities and contribute to our body of knowledge about the theory. Although the original hypotheses that were tested did not produce significant findings, the general trend revealed that participants who were made aware of their mortality had lower motivation to join the military, enlist as a noncommissioned officer, or pursue a commission as an officer than participants who were not made aware of their mortality. With additional testing, there were two significant findings within the female participant sample. First, females who were not made aware of their mortality were more motivated to enlist in the military than those who were made aware of their mortality. Second, non-service member female participants not made aware of their mortality were more motivated to enlist in the military than non-service member female participants who were made aware of their mortality.

Subject Term

Behavioral psychology

Subject Term

Mass communications

Subject Term

Military studies

Augustine, Amanda

Wigley, Shelley

The University of Texas at Arlington

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y