Ronnie Janoff-Bulman’s Shattered Assumptions, discusses how trauma occurs when external events may pierce into our core assumptions which in turn causes great stress and threat our existence. In chapter one, Janoff-Bulman introduces these assumptions as “The world is benevolent, The world is meaningful, The self is worthy,” (Janoff-Bulman, 6). Although these assumptions are a belief system created and sustained by human’s worldviews, when reading this chapter, I viewed this section to have additional supporting of terror management and attachment figures. Specifically, how attachment figures create and sustain the core assumptions and how these help sustain anxiety buffers towards existential fears, particularly death. In my opinion the three core assumptions from Janoff-Bulman’s work establishes a positive and all knowing attitude based on attachment figures at infancy and as young children. The book discusses only a little of John Bowlby’s view on attachment figures and how positive, responsive, and empathetic caregivers strengthens a child’s self-esteem and foster independence in the world (Janoff-Bulman, 14 and 17). Attachment figures…show more content… Becker’s work is also apparent in Terror Management Theory (TMT). This theory implies with humans heighted sense of self, we become aware of vulnerabilities, like mortality and death, which causes terror. This terror is masked by cultural worldviews (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 128). With this TMT in mind, my perspective is that children are taught the core assumptions reinforced by attachment figures, which in turn develops a world view that adults adhere to for existing in the world, and also as anxiety buffers. If world views are shattered, then an overwhelming and uncontrollable amount of fear is rattled by the self, which in my opinion arises
