目的:引入Steger等编制的生命意义感量表(the Meaning in Life Questionnaire,MLQ),检验其在中国大学生群体中应用的信度和效度.方法:方便选取北京大学学生307名,随机分为两部分,一部分 (n=150)进行探索性因素分析,另一部分(n=157)进行验证性因素分析.用社会期望量表(Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale,MCSD)、未来取向应对量表(Future-oriented Coping Inventory,FCI)、正性负性情绪量表(Positive and Negative Affect Scale,PANAS)、自评抑郁量表(Self-Rating Depression Scale,SDS)、自尊量表(Self-Esteem Scale,SES)、总体幸福感量表(General Well-Being Schedule,GWB)检验MLQ中文版的效标效度.结果:(1)探索性因子分析提取了2个因子,分别是生命意义感(MLQ-P)和寻求意义感 (MLQ-S),累计贡献率为57.22%,项目负荷在0.579～0.829之间.验证性因素分析检验了结构的有效性 (χ2=43.81,GFI=0.94,AGFI=0.90,NFI=0.93,CFI=0.97,IFI=0.97,RMSEA=0.066).(2) 总量表的Cronbach α系数为0.71,2个分量表的α系数分别为0.81和0.72.(3)MLQ-P与SES、GWB、正性情绪、预先应对、预防应对、MCSD呈正相关 (r=0.19～0.59,均P＜0.01),而与SDS、负性情绪呈负相关(r=-0.50,-0.18,均P＜0.01);MLQ-S与预先应对、预 防应对和正性情绪正相关(r=0.20,0.31,0.15,均P＜0.01).结论:生命意义感量表中文版在大学生中的信、效度较好,但仍需扩大样本进 一步深入检验.

Terror management theory regards worldview, self-esteem and close relationship as the basic three defensive mechanisms of terror management. The author introduces some researches on these mechanisms first and then reviews several new interpretations on mortality salience effect from perspective of cognitive closure, meaning pursuit, offensive defense, coalitional and control motivation. After that, the author presents his own idea, which differentiates terror management strategy into two categories: approach and avoidance. The approach strategy aims to control the uncertain death and transcendent the inevitable demise, the avoidance strategy indicates that individuals react to the potential reminder of death negatively. Meanwhile, the author points that TMT probably misinterprets the function of the cultural worldview. Additionally, some recommendations on terror management research in china are proposed.

创业意向是指将创业者的注意力、精力和行为引向某个特定目标的一种心理状态，它是创业行为的最好预测指标。个人背号、人格特质和外界环境等都会影响创业意向。计划行为理论和创业事件模型是公认的两个创业意向理论框架。目前将创业意向作为因变量是主流研究，而作为自变量和控制变量则是未来研究趋势。

目的:在高中生中探讨生命意义寻求和生命意义体验的关系.方法:采用生命意义问卷,对1659名高中生进 行横断研究,对84名高中生进行三次追踪测查.结果:同时测量的生命意义寻求和体验之间呈正相关,但是在控制干扰变量后,后测体验只受前测体验的影响,与 前测寻求没有关系,后测寻求只受前测寻求的影响,与前测体验也没关系.结论:生命意义寻求和体验具有较高的稳定性,两维度之间不相互影响,而是各自预测本 维度的发展.

生命意义感体验对个体身心健康有重要的影响，其相关研究也已开始受到心理学各个领域的广泛关注。生命意义感获得与维持的理论研究主要是包括意义感层次模型、意义感构建模型及意义感维持与流动模型。大五人格、心理模拟、积极／消极情绪和亲社会行为是影响个体生命意义感体验的主要因素。未来研究要进一步探讨生命意义感产生的影响因素，完善相关的理论模型，并要从时间序列的角度探讨意义感的产生过程，并对生命意义感获得及维持的跨文化差异进行探讨。

Meaning Maintenance Model (MMM) is a well-received social psychology theory in recent years, which claims meaning maintenance to be human most fundamental social motivation. Meaning violations evoke an aversive arousal, and relieving this feeling provides power to meaning maintenance which motivates compensation efforts to restore the meaning system. In a sense, MMM integrates theories like cognitive dissonance theory and has high explanation strengths. The process of meaning maintenance, including meaning violation, aversive arousal and compensation behavior, is well corroborated by expanded theoretical discussions and a large body of empirical studies. Nevertheless, there are certain problems of MMM, like vague conceptions, inadequate evidence for aversive arousal as a mediator and an alternative explanation of priming against compensation et al. Future researches should test the process of meaning maintenance. Besides, researches can focus the operation of compensation behavior and a positive process of meaning maintenance.

Goals and related constructs are ubiquitous in psychological research and span the history of psychology. Research on goals has accumulated sporadically through research programs in cognition, personality, and motivation. Goals are defined as internal representations of desired states. In this article, the authors review the theoretical development of the structure and properties of goals, goal establishment and striving processes, and goal-content taxonomies. They discuss affect as antecedent, consequence, and content of goals and argue for integrating across psychological content areas to study goal-directed cognition and action more efficiently. They emphasize the structural and dynamic aspects of pursuing multiple goals, parallel processing, and the parsimony provided by the goal construct. Finally, they advocate construct validation of a taxonomy of goals.

The current work examines the connection between attachment theory and meaning in life (MIL) across adulthood, by inspecting attachment style differences on two dimensions of MIL: presence of meaning (PML) and search for meaning (SML). MIL and attachment measures were collected from 992 participants of three age-groups, young adults (21–30), established adults (31–49), and older adults (50–65). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that older adults scored higher on PML, while younger adults reported more SML. In general, securely attached individuals demonstrated more PML and less SML than participants with insecure attachment styles, and individuals with a fearful attachment style displayed more SML than other attachment styles. Age interacted with attachment, as dismissive young adults displayed less SML, and gender differences were revealed in PML among established adults with regard to the preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. Finally, a three-way interaction of attachment02×02age02×02gender was found for PML, as in the established adults, both preoccupied men and fearful women reported a decline in PML, while older women with secure attachment reported higher levels of PML. While in accordance with the developing literature in the field of positive psychology, the current findings shed light on the manner by which the connections between attachment styles, age and gender are associated with the presence and the search for MIL.

The present study investigated naturally occurring profiles based on two dimensions of meaning in life: Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster analysis was used to examine meaning-in-life profiles, and subsequent analyses identified different patterns in psychosocial functioning for each profile. A sample of 8,492 American emerging adults (72.5% women) from 30 colleges and universities completed measures on meaning in life, and positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Results provided support for five meaningful yet distinguishable profiles. A strong generalizability of the cluster solution was found across age, and partial generalizability was found across gender and ethnicity. Furthermore, the five profiles showed specific patterns in relation to positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Specifically, respondents with profiles high on Presence of Meaning showed the most adaptive psychosocial functioning, whereas respondents with profiles where meaning was largely absent showed maladaptive psychosocial functioning. The present study provided additional evidence for prior research concerning the complex relationship between Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and their relation with psychosocial functioning. Our results offer a partial clarification of the nature of the Search for Meaning process by distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive searching for meaning in life.

Despite a long tradition of residential mobility in the United States and a growing trend of international mobility, the impact of frequent moving has only recently become a topic of scientific inquir

Abstract Nothing is so insufferable to man as to be completely at rest, without passions, without business, without diversion, without effort. Then he feels his nothingness, his forlornness, his insufficiency, his weakness, his emptiness. (Pascal, The Pensees, 1660/1950, p. 57). As far as we know humans are the only meaning-seeking species on the planet. Meaning-making is an activity that is distinctly human, a function of how the human brain is organized. The many ways in which humans conceptualize, create, and search for meaning has become a recent focus of behavioral science research on quality of life and subjective well-being. This chapter will review the recent literature on meaning-making in the context of personal goals and life purpose. My intention will be to document how meaningful living, expressed as the pursuit of personally significant goals, contributes to positive experience and to a positive life. THE CENTRALITY OF GOALS IN HUMAN FUNCTIONING Since the mid-1980s, considerable progress has been made in under-standing how goals contribute to long-term levels of well-being. Goals have been identified as key integrative and analytic units in the study of human Preparation of this chapter was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. I would like to express my gratitude to Corey Lee Keyes and Jon Haidt for the helpful comments on an earlier draft of this chapter.

Abstract To advance meaning in life (MIL) research, it is crucial to integrate it with the broader meaning literature, which includes important additional concepts (e.g., meaning frameworks) and principles (e.g., terror management). A tripartite view, which conceptualizes MIL as consisting of 3 subconstructs—comprehension, purpose, and mattering—may facilitate such integration. Here, we outline how a tripartite view may relate to key concepts from within MIL research (e.g., MIL judgments and feelings) and within the broader meaning research (e.g., meaning frameworks, meaning making). On the basis of this framework, we review the broader meaning literature to derive a theoretical context within which to understand and conduct further research on comprehension, purpose, and mattering. We highlight how future research may examine the interrelationships among the 3 MIL subconstructs, MIL judgments and feelings, and meaning frameworks.

Abstract To address conceptual difficulties and advance research on meaning in life (MIL), it may be useful to adopt a tripartite view of meaning as consisting of comprehension, purpose, and mattering. This paper discusses the development of the Multidimensional Existential Meaning Scale (MEMS), which explicitly assesses these three subconstructs. Results from three samples of undergraduates showed the MEMS to have favorable psychometric properties (e.g. good factor structure and reliability) and demonstrated that it can effectively differentiate the three subconstructs of meaning. Regression and relative importance analyses showed that each MEMS subscale carried predictive power for relevant variables and other meaning measures. Additionally, the MEMS subscales demonstrated theoretically consistent, differential associations with other variables (e.g. dogmatism, behavioral activation, and spirituality). Overall, results suggest that the MEMS may offer more conceptual precision than existing measures, and it may open new avenues of research and facilitate a more nuanced understanding of MIL.

61Social exclusion leads to endorsement of superstitious and conspiratorial beliefs.61Search for meaning mediates between social exclusion and superstitious thinking.61Social inclusion could be used as a means of counteracting conspiratorial beliefs.

Meaning in life is widely considered a cornerstone of human functioning, but relatively little is known about the factors that influence judgments of meaning in life. Four studies examined positive affect (PA) and social relatedness as sources of information for meaning in life judgments. Study 1 (N = 150) showed that relatedness need satisfaction (RNS) and PA each shared strong independent links to meaning in life. In Study 2 (N = 63), loneliness moderated the effects of a positive mood induction on meaning in life ratings. In Study 3 (N = 65), priming positive social relationships reduced the contribution of PA to subsequent judgments of meaning in life. In Study 4 (N = 95), relationship primes decreased reliance on PA and increased reliance on RNS compared to dessert primes. Results are discussed in terms of the value of integrating judgment processes in studies of meaning in life.

Meaning in life has long been recognized as a central dilemma of human life. In this article, we review some of the challenges of studying meaning in life from the perspective of social psychology. We draw on the diary of Etty Hillesum, a young woman who was killed in Auschwitz, to argue for the relevance of current empirical approaches to meaning in life. We review evidence suggesting that meaning in life is an important variable in the psychology of human functioning while also acknowledging that there is no consensus definition for the construct. Drawing on Hillesum's diary and our research, we argue for the importance of considering meaning in life as the outcome of a subjective judgment process. We then review research showing the strong relationship between positive mood and meaning in life and suggest that such a relationship is born out in the phenomenology of meaning in life.

react-text: 140 Introduction: People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are more likely to smoke cigarettes than are individuals in the general population. The health implications of tobacco use are substantially more dire among PLWHA than among otherwise healthy smokers, including higher rates of various cancers, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and lung infections. Efficacious behavioral and medication... /react-text react-text: 141 /react-text [Show full abstract]

Terror management theory asserts that attaining self-esteem by adhering to the standards of meaning-providing worldviews helps manage death concerns. Research has shown that mortality salience (MS) increases worldview defense, however, there are conflicting results concerning how trait self-esteem moderates this effect. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that MS increases worldview defense for high, but not low, trait self-esteem individuals. These studies raised the question as to whether those with low trait self-esteem engage in efforts to find meaning in response to MS. Study 3 showed that MS increased the search for meaning for low, but not high, trait self-esteem individuals.

Recent acceptance-and mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral interventions explicitly target the clarification and commitment to a purpose in life. Yet, scant empirical evidence exists on the value of purpose as a mechanism relevant to psychopathology or well-being. The present research explored daily (within-person) fluctuations in purposeful pursuits and well-being in a community sample of 84 adults with (n = 41) and without (n = 43) the generalized subtype of social anxiety disorder (SAD). After completing an idiographic measure of purpose in life, participants monitored their effort and progress toward this purpose, along with their well-being each day. Across 2 weeks of daily reports, we found that healthy controls reported increased self-esteem, meaning in life, positive emotions, and decreased negative emotions. People with SAD experienced substantial boosts in well-being indicators on days characterized by significant effort or progress toward their life purpose. We found no evidence for the reverse direction (with well-being boosting the amount of effort or progress that people with SAD devote to their purpose), and effects could not be attributed to comorbid mood or anxiety disorders. Results provide evidence for how commitment to a purpose in life enriches the daily existence of people with SAD. The current study supports principles that underlie what many clinicians are already doing with clients for SAD.

In this paper we present a prototype approach to awe. We suggest that two appraisals are central and are present in all clear cases of awe: perceived vastness, and a need for accommodation, defined as an inability to assimilate an experience into current mental structures. Five additional appraisals account for variation in the hedonic tone of awe experiences: threat, beauty, exceptional ability, virtue, and the supernatural. We derive this perspective from a review of what has been written about awe in religion, philosophy, sociology, and psychology, and then we apply this perspective to an analysis of awe and related states such as admiration, elevation, and the epiphanic experience.

Three studies examined the meaning ascribed to events varying in intensity and valence and how meaning detection and construction relate to the experience of meaning in life events. In Study 1, participants were more likely to expect meaning to emerge from major life events particularly if they are negative, while trivial events were expected to be meaningful if they were positive. Study 2 showed that constructed meaning was more likely to occur in response to negative events while detected meaning was more likely to be associated with positive events. Study 3 showed that this ‘match’ between valence and meaning strategy predicted enhanced experience of meaning in those events. These studies suggest that the more subtle experience of meaning detection may provide a way to understand the meaning that emerges from positive events and experiences.

A worldview (or “world view”) is a set of assumptions about physical and social reality that may have powerful effects on cognition and behavior. Lacking a comprehensive model or formal theory up to now, the construct has been underused. This article advances theory by addressing these gaps. Worldview is defined. Major approaches to worldview are critically reviewed. Lines of evidence are described regarding worldview as a justifiable construct in psychology. Worldviews are distinguished from schemas. A collated model of a worldview's component dimensions is described. An integrated theory of worldview function is outlined, relating worldview to personality traits, motivation, affect, cognition, behavior, and culture. A worldview research agenda is outlined for personality and social psychology (including positive and peace psychology).

This study describes the prevalence and patterns of searching for meaning in the aftermath of breast cancer and asks how the search relates to made meaning and emotional adjustment. Women ( = 72) reported their level of searching for meaning, made meaning and negative affect at multiple time points in the first 18 months after breast cancer treatment. Over time, four search for meaning patterns emerged: continuous (44%), exiguous (28%), delayed (15%) and resolved (13%). Just over half of the participants reported having made meaning at early and late time points. A higher level of searching for meaning was unrelated to made meaning, but was associated with a higher level of negative affect in longitudinal analyses controlling for baseline levels. Women who engaged in an ongoing, unresolved search for meaning from baseline to follow-up also had a significantly higher level of negative affect at follow-up than women who infrequently or never engaged in a search for meaning over time. These analyses reveal that: a) there is great variability in the prevalence and pattern of searching for meaning in the aftermath of breast cancer, and b) searching for meaning may be both futile and distressing.

Despite growing interest in meaning in life, many have voiced their concern over the conceptual refinement of the construct itself. Researchers seem to have two main ways to understand what meaning in life means: coherence and purpose, with a third way, significance, gaining increasing attention. Coherence means a sense of comprehensibility and one's life making sense. Purpose means a sense of core goals, aims, and direction in life. Significance is about a sense of life's inherent value and having a life worth living. Although some researchers have already noted this trichotomy, the present article provides the first comprehensible theoretical overview that aims to define and pinpoint the differences and connections between these three facets of meaning. By arguing that the time is ripe to move from indiscriminate understanding of meaning into looking at these three facets separately, the article points toward a new future for research on meaning in life.

Abstract Identity formation in adolescence is closely linked to searching for and acquiring meaning in one's life. To date little is known about the manner in which these 2 constructs may be related in this developmental stage. In order to shed more light on their longitudinal links, we conducted a 3-wave longitudinal study, investigating how identity processes and meaning in life dimensions are interconnected across time, testing the moderating effects of gender and age. Participants were 1,062 adolescents (59.4% female), who filled in measures of identity and meaning in life at 3 measurement waves during 1 school year. Cross-lagged models highlighted positive reciprocal associations between (a) commitment processes and presence of meaning and (b) exploration processes and search for meaning. These results were not moderated by adolescents' gender or age. Strong identification with present commitments and reduced ruminative exploration helped adolescents in having a clear sense of meaning in their lives. We also highlighted the dual nature of search for meaning. This dimension was sustained by exploration in breadth and ruminative exploration, and it positively predicted all exploration processes. We clarified the potential for a strong sense of meaning to support identity commitments and that the process of seeking life meaning sustains identity exploration across time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Interest in meaning and meaning making in the context of stressful life events continues to grow, but research is hampered by conceptual and methodological limitations. Drawing on current theories, the author first presents an integrated model of meaning making. This model distinguishes between the constructs of global and situational meaning and between "meaning-making efforts" and "meaning made," and it elaborates subconstructs within these constructs. Using this model, the author reviews the empirical research regarding meaning in the context of adjustment to stressful events, outlining what has been established to date and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current empirical work. Results suggest that theory on meaning and meaning making has developed apace, but empirical research has failed to keep up with these developments, creating a significant gap between the rich but abstract theories and empirical tests of them. Given current empirical findings, some aspects of the meaning-making model appear to be well supported but others are not, and the quality of meaning-making efforts and meanings made may be at least as important as their quantity. This article concludes with specific suggestions for future research.

People perceive their life as meaningful when they find coherence in the environment. Given that meaning of life is tied to making sense of life events, people who lack meaning would be more threatened by stressful life events than those with a strong sense of meaning in life. Four studies demonstrated links between perceptions of life meaningfulness and perceived levels of stress. In Study 1, participants with lower levels of meaning in life reported greater stress than those who reported higher meaning in life. In Study 2 and Study 3, participants whose meaning in life had been threatened experienced greater stress than those whose meaning in life had been left intact. In Study 4, anticipation of future stress caused participants to rate themselves higher on the quest for meaning in life. These findings suggest that perceiving life as meaningful functions as a buffer against stressors.

Theory and research on meaning has proliferated in recent years, focusing on both global meaning and processes of making meaning from difficult life events such as trauma and serious illness. However, the measurement of meaning constructs lags behind theoretical conceptualizations, hindering empirical progress. In this paper, we first delineate a meaning-making framework that integrates current theorizing about meaning and meaning making. From the vantage of this framework, we then describe and evaluate current approaches to assessing meaning-related phenomena, including global meaning and situational meaning constructs. We conclude with suggestions for an integrative approach to assessing meaning-related constructs in future research.

Across eras and literatures, multiple theories have converged on a broad psychological phenomenon: the common compensation behaviors that follow from violations of our committed understandings. The meaning maintenance model (MMM) offers an integrated account of these behaviors, as well as the overlapping perspectives that address specific aspects of this inconsistency compensation process. According to the MMM, all meaning violations may bottleneck at neurocognitive and psychophysiological systems that detect and react to the experience of inconsistency, which in turn motivates compensatory behaviors. From this perspective, compensation behaviors are understood as palliative efforts to relieve the aversive arousal that follows from any experience that is inconsistent with expected relationships hether the meaning violation involves a perceptual anomaly or an awareness of a finite human existence. In what follows, we summarize these efforts, the assimilation, accommodation, affirmation, abstraction and assembly behaviors that variously manifest in every corner of our discipline, and academics, more generally.

It has been repeatedly shown that, when people have experiences that are inconsistent with their expectations, they engage in a variety of compensatory efforts. Although there have been many superficially different accounts for these behaviors, a potentially unifying inconsistency compensation perspective is currently coalescing. Following from a common prediction error/conflict monitoring mechanism, any given inconsistency is understood as evoking a common syndrome of aversive arousal. In turn, this aversive arousal is understood to motivate palliative efforts, which manifest as the analogous compensation behaviors reported within different psychological literatures. Based on this perspective, compensation efforts following both ‘high-level’ (e.g., attitudinal dissonance) and ‘low-level’ (e.g., Stroop task color/word mismatches) inconsistencies can now be understood in terms of a common motivational account.

This study’s primary purpose was to examine the factor structure of the 20-item Seeking of Noetic Goals (SONG) test via exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic procedures. An additional objective was to report on the measure’s incremental validity in comparison to the Search scale of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), an alternative measure of search for meaning. This study utilized data from three samples of American undergraduates ( N 02=02908) from a medium-sized southern university. Factor analysis supported a two-factor model of the SONG, with patterns of correlation further suggesting the measure assesses distinct constructs. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated similar scale structure and item answering in terms of gender. Overall, the first factor yielded reliable scores that correlated significantly and in the expected direction with measures of well-being and psychological distress. The second factor did not yield reliable scores nor did it correlate significantly with many of the other measures administered. However, both factors were shown to significantly predict scores from measures of depression and general psychological distress after controlling for MLQ Search scale scores. We consider the data with respect to SONG scoring and interpretation, and discuss implications of these data for future research.

Researchers have recently begun to challenge long-standing views of grief and have called for new approaches to help understand the phenomenon. In this vein, the present study examined the impact of bereavement on people's basic assumptions about themselves and their world. Three categories of assumptions were explored: Benevolence of the World, Meaningfulness of the World, and Self-Worth. Twenty-one undergraduates who had recently lost a parent and 21 matched controls were compared on a series of objective measures; in addition, the bereaved sample also participated in lengthy semistructured clinical interviews. Assumptions about meaning emerged as an important variable, both in distinguishing between the bereaved and control samples and also in accounting for differences in the grief responses of the bereaved. Compared with matched controls, the bereaved subjects were significantly less likely to believe in a meaningful world. Further, within the bereaved sample, the greater the subjects' ability to fin...

How would you know if you found something if you never have been looking for it? Why would you look for something you already have? Questions such as these capture the two poles that psychological ideas about meaning in life have been drawn to over the past century or so. One idea about meaning in life blends the effort with the outcome, mingling seeking and finding, pursuing and experiencing. The search for meaning and the presence of meaning whirl around each other in the uniquely human navigation of existential tides. The other idea about meaning in life separates the two, as if seeking meaning was like eating and experiencing meaning was like the rest of life. Most of the time, people are satiated, content, full enough of meaning that it is out of their awareness. On the one hand, the process of seeking meaning is the structure of experiencing meaning. On the other hand, we seek only when we hunger and our previous stores of meaning have been depleted. The search for meaning straddles this duality. It is easy to see it as a natural, ongoing mental process. We make meaning all of the time. It is also easy to see it as a process that normally slumbers, waiting for when it is needed. We appreciate homeostasis. This chapter explores the dual nature of the search for meaning in life and examines some of the research that supports this perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)

Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.

Meaning in life and life satisfaction are both important variables in well-being research. Whereas an appreciable body of work suggests that life satisfaction is fairly stable over long periods of time, little research has investigated the stability of meaning in life ratings. In addition, it is unknown whether these highly correlated variables change independent of each other over time. Eighty-two participants (mean age02=0219.302years, SD 1.4; 76% female; 84% European-American) completed measures of the presence of meaning in life, the search for meaning in life, and life satisfaction an average of 1302months apart (SD02=022.302months). Moderate stability was found for presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, and life satisfaction. Multiple regressions demonstrated specificity in predicting change among these measures. Support for validity and reliability of these variables is discussed.

Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.

ABSTRACT Although several theories assert that understanding the search for meaning in life is important, empirical research on this construct is sparse. Three studies provide the first extensive effort to understand the correlates of the search for meaning in a multistudy research program. Assessed were relations between search for meaning and well-being, cognitive style, and the Big Five, Big Three, Approach/Avoidance, and Interest models of personality, with a particular emphasis on understanding the correlates of search for meaning that are independent of presence of meaning. Conceptual models of the relation between search and presence were tested. Findings suggest that people lacking meaning search for it; the search for meaning did not appear to lead to its presence. Study 3 found that basic motive dispositions moderated relations between search for meaning and its presence. Results highlight the importance of basic personality dispositions in understanding the search for meaning and its correlates.

Culture supplies people with the provisions to derive meaning from life. However, no research has examined cultural variation in the two principal dimensions of meaning in life, presence of meaning and search for meaning. The present investigation adapted theories of self-concept and cognitive styles to develop a dialectical model of meaning in life, which predicted cultural differences in the tendency to experience search for meaning as opposed to, or harmonious with, presence of meaning. Using data from American (02=021183) and Japanese (02=02982) young adults, mean levels and correlates of presence of meaning and search for meaning were examined. As predicted, Americans reported greater presence of meaning; Japanese reported greater search for meaning. In accordance with the model, search for meaning was negatively related to presence of meaning and well-being in the United States (opposed) and positively related to these variables in Japan (harmonious). Thus, the search for meaning appears to be influenced by culture, and search for meaning appears to moderate cultural influences on presence of meaning.

Meaning in life is thought to be important to well-being throughout the human life span. We assessed the structure, levels, and correlates of the presence of meaning in life, and the search for meaning, within four life stage groups: emerging adulthood, young adulthood, middle-age adulthood, and older adulthood. Results from a sample of Internet users (N = 8756) demonstrated the structural invariance of the meaning measure used across life stages. Those at later life stages generally reported a greater presence of meaning in their lives, whereas those at earlier life stages reported higher levels of searching for meaning. Correlations revealed that the presence of meaning has similar relations to well-being across life stages, whereas searching for meaning is more strongly associated with well-being deficits at later life stages.

The human quality of self-awareness makes individuals aware of their inventible death. How does this knowledge influence meaning in life and is influenced by it? Four studies examined the association between meaning in life and awareness of death, through a Terror Management Theory perspective. Study 1 assessed the effects of a mortality reminder on self-reports of meaning in life, while exploring the moderating role of self-esteem. The findings indicate a trend in which after a mortality salience induction, high self-esteem individuals tend to view their lives as more meaningful. Studies 2 and 3 examined the effect of thinking about the meaning of life on death-thought accessibility, and found it to be higher in both the mortality and meaning salience conditions, as compared to a control condition. Study 4 sought to discover whether reminders of one’s meaning in life would yield cultural worldview validation, and indeed revealed a more severe perception of social transgressions following both mortality and meaning salience. Findings highlight the understanding that meaning in life is a basic existential concept closely related to awareness of death’s inevitability.

ABSTRACT Proposes a theory of cognitive adaptation to threatening events. It is argued that the adjustment process centers around 3 themes: A search for meaning in the experience, an attempt to regain mastery over the event in particular and over life more generally, and an effort to restore self-esteem through self-enhancing evaluations. These themes are discussed with reference to cancer patients' coping efforts. It is maintained that successful adjustment depends, in a large part, on the ability to sustain and modify illusions that buffer not only against present threats but also against possible future setbacks. (84 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Predictions from cognitive theories of adjustment to victimization were tested in two groups: stroke patients and their caregivers. Consistent with these approaches, a substantial proportion of respondents reported searching for a cause, asking themselves "Why me?" and finding meaning in the event. Multiple regression analysis revealed that, even when the effects of the severity of the stroke were controlled for, finding meaning had the positive effects proposed by a cognitive approach. A concern with the selective incidence of the event was associated with poorer adjustment, but being able to identify a cause was related to more positive outcomes. Those who held themselves responsible for the stroke were more poorly adjusted when the effects of severity of the stroke were controlled for. The results suggest that future researchers make a careful distinction between causal attributions for a negative event, selective incidence attributions ("Why me?"), and responsibility attributions. They appear to have different implications for adjustment following a traumatic event.

The ability to make sense of events in one's life has held a central role in theories of adaptation to adversity. However, there are few rigorous studies on the role of meaning in adjustment, and those that have been conducted have focused predominantly on direct personal trauma. The authors examined the predictors and long-term consequences of Americans' searching for and finding meaning in a widespread cultural upheaval-the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001-among a national probability sample of U.S. adults (N = 931). Searching for meaning at 2 months post-9/11 was predicted by demographics and high acute stress response. In contrast, finding meaning was predicted primarily by demographics and specific early coping strategies. Whereas searching for meaning predicted greater posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms across the following 2 years, finding meaning predicted lower PTS symptoms, even after controlling for pre-9/11 mental health, exposure to 9/11, and acute stress response. Mediation analyses suggest that finding meaning supported adjustment by reducing fears of future terrorism. Results highlight the role of meaning in adjustment following collective traumas that shatter people's fundamental assumptions about security and invulnerability. 2008 American Psychological Association.

The study examined the psychological impact of perinatal bereavement on 108 women, from a dual attachment and meaning-making perspective, both descriptively and predictively. The study hypothesized that grief acuity is a function of both attachment security (operationalized by A. Antonovsky's 1979 Sense of Coherence [SOC] scale), and the ongoing search for meaning. Controlling for time post-loss, psychological distress and intrusive thoughts; sense of coherence and search for meaning significantly predicted current grief acuity. The findings supported the conceptualization of grief as an interpretive phenomenon, elicited by the loss of a primary attachment figure, thereby shattering core life purposes, and implicating the need to reinstate meaning.

The main purpose of this chapter is to introduce Viktor Frankl logotherapy to the twenty-first century, especially to positive psychologists interested in meaning research and applications. Frankl radically positive message of re-humanizing psychotherapy is much needed in the current technological culture. More specifically, I explain the basic assumptions of logotherapy and translate them into a testable meaning-seeking model to facilitate meaning research and intervention. This model consists of five hypotheses: (1) The Self-Transcendence Hypothesis: The will to meaning is a spiritual and primary motivation for self-transcendence; thus, it predicts that spiritual pathways (e.g., spiritual care, self-transcendence) will enhance meaning in life and well-being, even when other pathways to well-being are not available. (2) The Ultimate Meaning Hypothesis: It predicts that belief in the intrinsic meaning and value of life, regardless of circumstances, is more functional than alternative global beliefs. It also predicts that belief in ultimate meaning facilitates the discovery of meaning of the moment. (3) The Meaning Mindset Hypothesis: A meaning mindset, as compared to the success mindset, leads to greater meaningfulness, compassion, moral excellence, eudaemonic happiness, and resilience. (4) The Freedom of Will Hypothesis: People who believe in the inherent human capacity for freedom and responsibility, regardless of circumstances, will show higher autonomy and authenticity than those without such beliefs. (5) The Value Hypothesis of Discovering Meaning: Meaning is more likely to be discovered through creative, experiential, and attitudinal values that are motivated by self-transcendence rather than by self-interest. Together, they capture the complexity and centrality of meaning seeking in healing and well-being. In sum, Viktor Frankl emphasizes the need for a radical shift from self-focus to meaning-focus as the most promising way to lift up individuals from the dark pit of despair to a higher ground of flourishing. This chapter outlines the differences between logotherapy and positive psychology and suggests future research to bridge these two parallel fields of study for the benefit of psychology and society.