week 6: meaning in life

meaning in life = the extent to which people comprehend/see significance in their lives next to the degree to which they see themselves as having a purpose/aim in life

noogenic neurosis = complete emptiness of purpose in life (existential vacuum)

• meaning in life comes from self transcendence - creative/experiential/attitudinal

components of meaning:

• affective (emotions of fulfillment)

• cognitive (sense of order/coherence)

• motivational (drive to act in certain ways)

meaning and personality

• extroversion/openness - meaning comes from:

  • fun/challenge/freedom/self knowledge

• conscientiousness

  • care/morality/health/generativity

• neuroticism

  • spirituality/love/harmony

• low disagreeableness

  • social commitment/community

baumeister’s basic needs for meaning

• purpose

  • life activities are connected/related to future events

• value

  • thoughts and behaviours are right/justifiable

• efficacy

  • feeling a sense of control over events

• self worth

  • a desire to feel positive about yourself

see slides for steger quote

king and hicks - meaning in life

• purpose - reasons for what we do in life

• coherence

• existential significance

maslow’s hierarchy of needs as standard

purpose in life questionnaire = clinical assessment of noogenic neurosis

• low pil = correlated w/ depression/anxiety/drug use

• high pil = correlated w/ acceptance, sense of wellbeing etc

• common sense

meaning as coming from goals

• goal directed behaviour forms basis of lots of psychological theories of motivation

  • achievement motivation (to develop competence and mastery in relation to important skills)

• self determination theory

  • 3 basic psychological needs - autonomy/competence/relatedness

  • focuses on intrinsic motivation

• flow theory

  • enjoyment/fulfilment come from being immersed in activities at the right level of difficulty

• everyday goals/personal strivings = consciously accessible and personally meaningful objectives pursued in everyday life

  • eg new year’s resolutions

meaning as coming from coherence

• understanding what happens in life with overarching explanation

  • family - social bonds are central to meaning and particularly important in emerging adulthood

  • religion and spirituality

    • religion has a positive effect on wellbeing

    • social integration and support

    • establishment of a personal relationship with a divine other

    • provision of systems of meaning and coherence

    • promotes specific patterns of organisation and lifestyle

  • science - atheism

    • low commitment athiests = lots of crises of meaning

    • broad commitment athiests = high level of meaning and less crises

    • self actualisation = crises of meaning are absent

  • identity = evolving narrative of self, allows us to reconstruct and integrate past into a sense of purpose for the present/future

meaning and the lifespan

• aging process is formed from transformative and traumatic events

• satisfaction in life increases with old age

• existential mattering - we want to feel that our existence matters to other people and the universe

meaning in life associated with:

• better self reported health

• longer life

• slower cognitive decline with age

• lower incidence of mental health problems

• increased happiness

searching for meaning is important because there is no longer universal meaning

meaning in life for coping

• reevaluation of traumatic events as positive

• why did something happen, why me etc

• cancer diagnoses lead to different coping strategies relating to a broader search for meaning:

  • acceptance/positive reinterpretation

  • active coping/social support

  • religious coping

  • denial/avoidance