How do individuals who engage in high-risk work deal with the existential threats that are part and parcel of their daily activities? Based on a qualitative study of fighter pilots, we find that experiences and responses to existential threats are shaped by three intersubjective processes, that is, socially constructed and accepted patterns of interactions by which individuals come to view existential threats as one of several challenges of their work, something that is common yet unremarkable. These processes draw from and impinge upon cherished social identities to inculcate in individuals: (1) a preoccupation with performance as a precondition for continued membership, thereby crowding out death anxiety; (2) a willingness to withstand no-holds barred collective scrutiny, thereby keeping their egos under check, and enhancing learning and safety; and (3) a view of death as a commonplace and therefore unremarkable facet of their activities. The contribution of our study is to illuminate the intersubjective processes implicated in the development of social identities that enable individuals in high-risk work to function effectively despite the existential threats they face.

中文翻译：

---

“进入危险地带”：植根于社会身份的主体间过程如何塑造对存在威胁的反应

从事高风险工作的个人如何应对日常活动中的生存威胁？基于对战斗机飞行员的定性研究，我们发现，对存在威胁的经历和反应是由三个主体间过程形成的，即社会构建和接受的互动模式，通过这种模式，个人开始将存在威胁视为其生存的几个挑战之一。工作，是一件很平常却又不起眼的事情。这些过程借鉴并冲击了珍视的社会身份，向个人灌输：（1）对表现的关注是继续成为会员的先决条件，从而排除了死亡焦虑；(2) 愿意承受无条件的集体审查，从而抑制自我，增强学习和安全；(3) 将死亡视为司空见惯，因此在他们的活动中并不引人注目。我们研究的贡献是阐明社会身份发展所涉及的主体间过程，这些过程使从事高风险工作的个人能够在面临生存威胁的情况下有效地发挥作用。