Terror Management Theory: Promoting Tolerance in Campus Safety Campaigns

Abstract

Some of the most extreme acts of school violence like the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings have raised awareness of the threats academic settings face. And yet, students continually believe their campus is safer than other campuses across the country. This study places rampage school shootings in the context of terrorism and examines campus safety campaigns through the lens of terror management theory. An analysis of sample campus safety campaign tactics demonstrates the potential for campus safety campaigns to actually decrease safety by spurring attacks on others as a protection mechanism. School violence and terror management literature is reviewed, the phenomenon of optimistic bias is described, and campus safety campaigns are analyzed to make recommendations for future research and campaign development.