a Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, Centre Regional Knowledge Development , Leiden University , The Hague , The Netherlands.
b Department of Psychology , Princeton University , Princeton , NJ , USA.
Cogn Emot. 2019 May;33(3):492-511. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2018.1460322. Epub 2018 Apr 11.
Building on Google's efforts to scan millions of books, this article introduces methodology using a database of annual word frequencies of the 40,000 most frequently occurring words in the American literature between 1800 and 2009. The current paper uses this methodology to replicate and identify terror management processes in historical context. Variation in frequencies of word usage of constructs relevant to terror management theory (e.g. death, worldview, self-esteem, relationships) are investigated over a time period of 209 years. Study 1 corroborated previous TMT findings and demonstrated that word use of constructs related to death and of constructs related to patriotism and romantic relationships significantly co-vary over time. Study 2 showed that the use of the word "death" most strongly co-varies over time with the use of medical constructs, but also co-varies with the use of constructs related to violence, relationships, religion, positive sentiment, and negative sentiment. Study 3 found that a change in the use of death related words is associated with an increase in the use of fear related words, but not in anxiety related words. Results indicate that the described methodology generates valuable insights regarding terror management theory and provide new perspectives for theoretical advances.
基于谷歌扫描数百万本书籍的努力，本文介绍了一种使用数据库的方法，该数据库包含了 1800 年至 2009 年间美国文学中最常出现的 40,000 个单词的年度词汇频率。本研究使用这种方法在历史背景下复制和识别恐惧管理过程。研究调查了与恐惧管理理论相关的结构（如死亡、世界观、自尊、关系）的词汇使用频率在 209 年时间跨度内的变化。研究 1 证实了之前 TMT 的发现，并表明与死亡相关的结构和与爱国主义和浪漫关系相关的结构的词汇使用随时间显著共变。研究 2 表明，“死亡”一词的使用随时间的推移与医学结构的使用最强烈地共变，但也与与暴力、关系、宗教、积极情绪和消极情绪相关的结构的使用共变。研究 3 发现，与死亡相关的词汇使用的变化与与恐惧相关的词汇使用的增加有关，但与焦虑相关的词汇使用无关。结果表明，所描述的方法为恐惧管理理论提供了有价值的见解，并为理论进展提供了新的视角。
