2026 invited Speaker:Tom Pyszczynski, PhD

Presentation: Fear vs. Freedom: Interacting Forces in the Psychology of Human Growth and Self-Expansion

We humans have the capacity to creatively construct our own selves, opening the possibility of living relatively free and self-determined lives. Unfortunately, this potential is only rarely fulfilled. In order to actively create a self-determined self, one must first control the myriad anxieties inherent in life, the most potent of which is the existential anxiety that results from human awareness of the inevitability of death. Terror management theory (TMT; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1991), inspired by the writings of cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker along with those of many other existential thinkers, posits that people control death-related anxiety by maintaining faith in a cultural worldview, and stiving to achieve self-esteem by living up to the standards and values of that worldview. The default mode of maintaining the anxiety-buffering effectiveness of one’s worldview and self-esteem entails statically clinging to existing beliefs, values, and conceptions of self. Unfortunately, this is antithetical to the openness to experience and change that is necessary for growth and self-expansion. Ironically, whereas self-expansive growth requires effectively managing anxiety, when such growth begins to occur it undermines the protection from anxiety necessary for self-expansive growth. The implications of this analysis of the dialectic interplay of defensive and self-expansive motives will be discussed.

MT focuses on the how people manage the potential for overwhelming anxiety that results from awareness of the inevitability of death by maintaining faith in their cultural worldviews, pursuing self-esteem, and maintaining close relationships with others. SDT focuses on the pursuit of freedom, authenticity, and living a life of one’s own design. Some have suggested that whereas TMT focuses on the dark side of life, SDT focuses on the bright side. I will focus on the dynamic interplay between the defensive and self-expansive aspects of life.

Tom Pyszczynski, PhD, is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He received his PhD in psychology from the University of Kansas in 1980. With his colleagues, Jeff Greenberg and Sheldon Solomon, he developed Terror Management Theory, which explores the role of death in life and suggests that cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and close personal relationships function to manage the potential for existential terror that results from the uniquely human awareness of the inevitability of death. Research supporting the central propositions of the theory has been conducted in diverse cultures and over 35 countries. He has also conducted research on clinical problems such as anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Tom is co-author or co-editor of several books, including The Worm at the Core: The Role of Death in Life (2015), In the Wake of 9/11: The Psychology of Terror (2003), the Handbook of Experimental Existential Psychology (2003; Guilford Press), and Hanging on and Letting Go: Understanding the Onset, Progression, and Remission of Depression (1994). He received lifetime achievement awards from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the International Society for Self and Identity, the International Society for the Science of Existential Psychology, and the Rocky Mountain Humanistic Counseling and Psychology Association.