Motivation and emotion/Book/2026/Life purpose and well-being
How does a sense of purpose contribute to well-being and how can it be cultivated?
Overview
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Daniel is a 20-year-old university student in his third year. He is doing well in his studies, and his life looks normal from the outside, like doing assignments, listening to lectures, having a part-time job and friends. But lately Daniel has started feeling restrained by all of it. He watches other students studying, socialising, and planning careers, and wonders, "What is everyone doing this for?" Occasionally, it drifts into bigger questions about why anything matters at all. Daniel is not in crisis. He attends his class and completes his work. But somehow there is a feeling that nothing of this is tied to something meaningful to him personally. Alongside this disconnection, Daniel realised that he has become quite a passive and unmotivated person, doing everything out of routine rather than engagement. |
While psychology is not able to resolve all of the questions brought up by Daniel from a philosophical perspective, it is able to tackle another question that is closely related and more realistic: Why do some individuals feel that they have meaning in their lives and other individuals, such as Daniel, feel that they lack direction in life? This chapter explores life purpose as one psychological answer to that question, and how it might be cultivated.
- Purpose in life entails having personally meaningful goals oriented towards the future that offer direction; otherwise, the individual's daily tasks might appear arbitrary or random, even when they are performing normally externally (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).
- Existential questioning of the sort implies the individual is involved in psychological "search for meaning"; although different from clinical problems, persistent unrelieved search is associated with poor wellbeing.
- This kind of drifting happens commonly among young adults, an age group characterized by active creation and exploration of one's identity and direction in life (Hill et al., 2016).
- Purpose doesn't mean finding answers to the metaphysical questions; it is about finding personally meaningful and self-endorsed direction in one's life (Damon, Menon, & Bronk, 2003).
- Purpose and identity are interrelated but separate resources at this phase of development; both of them independently are predictors of subjective well-being in university students, thus it could be assumed that the drifting that Daniel faces relates to the lack of purpose but not identity (Sumner, Burrow, & Hill, 2015).
- A greater sense of purpose might make one more energized, connected, and happy about his or her everyday life, whereas a lesser sense of purpose might cause one’s everyday experiences to seem dull and uninteresting, despite the lack of anything being wrong.
- This chapter uses Ryff's (1989) model of psychological well-being and self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) to explain how a sense of purpose can develop even amid existential uncertainty, and how it may support well-being.
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Focus questions
What is life purpose, and how does it differ from simply having short-term goals or feeling generally content? How does having a strong sense of life purpose affect a person's psychological well-being? Why do some people develop a clear sense of purpose while others experience drift or disconnection? How do Ryff's model of psychological well-being and self-determination theory explain the relationship between life purpose and well-being? Does cultivating purpose reliably improve well-being, or are there limits to how much it can help? |
What is life purpose?
[edit | edit source]- Purpose is described as "a central, self-organizing life aim that organizes and inspires goals, directs behavior, and gives a feeling of purposefulness" (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009, p. 242).
- Purpose is central, which means that it becomes the major theme of one's identity, and self-organizing, which means that it serves as an organizational framework for smaller goals.
- As opposed to short-term goals, such as completing an assignment, purpose is long-lasting and future-directed, helping organize numerous smaller goals (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).
- At the same time, it does not mean that one has to have the sense of direction at any given moment. One can be happy or calm but not know where one's life is going, as Daniel was.
Purpose vs Meaning
[edit | edit source]- The concept of meaning of life is broader: "the way the world is perceived or understood in its nature and existence" (Steger et al., 2006, p. 81).
- A purpose is more specific than meaning and presupposes an intent that aims at something and is driven by the desire to have an impact on others (Damon, Menon, & Bronk, 2003).
- While Daniel’s questions about meaning in his life are associated with a search for the meaning of life on the general level, the purpose concept is focused on a more tangible direction of life.
Purpose vs identity and short-term goals
[edit | edit source]- Purpose and identity are linked concepts, but they are not the same thing because identity is a wider concept about who one is, whereas purpose is an individual objective that directs one’s identity.
- A short-term goal like achieving a degree is not necessarily a purpose in itself unless it carries some personal significance and transcends oneself (Damon et al., 2003).
- This is particularly relevant to the situation of Daniel because achieving his degree would not solve his problem of feeling directionless unless it holds personal significance for him.
How does having a strong sense of life purpose affect a person's psychological well-being?
[edit | edit source]- Purpose is more than just a nice sensation; it is proposed to act as a psychological resource to facilitate continuous involvement and goal-directed behavior.
- Higher levels of purpose have been found to be correlated with increased positive affect and decreased depressive symptoms, which implies that purpose plays an instrumental role in emotional aspects of well-being and is not merely a manifestation of those.
- Purpose is also related to various other measures of well-being, including decreased psychological distress and increased social well-being throughout adulthood (Kim et al., 2022).
Emotional and psychological benefits
[edit | edit source]- People with a greater purpose in life are more likely to have high levels of life satisfaction, happiness and experience positive moods in their daily lives because they know what they are doing is meaningful to the goal they want to achieve, rather than being something they just do (Hill et al., 2016).
- Purpose may help people navigate tough times by motivating them when they hit obstacles, rather than stopping them from experiencing adversity in the first place. In the case of Daniel, this means that purpose will not necessarily make Daniel's life certain, but can make it less boring for him.
Social and behavioural benefits
[edit | edit source]- Purpose has also been linked to higher social well-being, such as positive social connections and an increased feeling of connection to other people due to the fact that the goals that individuals set for themselves through their purpose can be quite community-oriented (Kim et al., 2022).
- In terms of behavior, being able to define oneself by a sense of purpose increases persistence when it comes to achieving goals in the long run since all actions taken every day have more meaning.
- Most of the research has been conducted using either correlational or short-term longitudinal designs, which does not provide enough evidence for claiming the direct impact of purpose on well-being (Hill et al., 2016).
Why do some people develop a clear sense of purpose while others experience drift or disconnection?
[edit | edit source]- Not all individuals have a purpose at the same pace or manner: while some individuals discover their direction in life sooner, others, such as Daniel, continue feeling confused despite having a stable environment in which they find themselves.
- Differences in individual personality seem to affect the results: it was found that the correlation between the presence of purpose and a more adaptive type of personality is rather high, implying higher conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, openness to experience, and emotional stability (Hill & Burrow, 2012).
Antecedents linked to purpose development
[edit | edit source]- In a big longitudinal study conducted on more than 13,000 adults during a period of four years, it was seen that antecedents for having an increase in purpose include physical health, positive emotions, optimism, few emotional problems, and social relations including contact with friends and doing volunteer work (Nakamura et al., 2022).
- Those individuals who do not have a purpose in life are psychologically vulnerable; studies have shown that people who do not have a clear purpose in their lives suffer from depression, boredom, loneliness, and anxiety more than those who have purpose in their lives (Bigler, Neimeyer, & Brown, 2001).
- This can possibly be one reason why Daniel seems to be drifting since, lacking in social connection and clear self-endorsed purpose, he might not have had all the necessary elements which lead to development of purpose.
The search process itself can be difficult
[edit | edit source]- The quest for purpose is never a simple or an easy process as a study about "purpose anxiety" indicates, whereby most people desire to have a sense of purpose but suffer psychologically in the process of seeking it.
- It indicates that the process of seeking purpose adversely affects the well-being of individuals, whereby it makes people suffer psychologically even when they have not been able to attain it.
- To Daniel, this means that his current uneasiness can be as a result of the challenge he is facing in the search process itself. This normalizes Daniel's feelings but points towards the importance of cultivation strategies discussed later in this chapter.
Linking theory to purpose and well-being
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Ryff's model of psychological well-being
[edit | edit source]- According to the theory developed by Ryff (1989), purpose in life is among the six basic psychological dimensions of psychological well-being that include autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance.
- According to this theory, a person having high purpose in life will have clear goals and will feel that his/her present and past lives have meaning. Also, he/she will have beliefs that can provide direction in life.
- It should be noted that according to the theory developed by Ryff (1989), these six psychological dimensions are relatively independent in the sense that a person might have good relationships or self-acceptance but lack purpose in life.
Self-determination theory
[edit | edit source]- According to self-determination theory (SDT), humans have three essential psychological needs; that is, autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
- By autonomy, we refer to the sense of self-endorsed actions as opposed to actions being externally controlled. Competence implies feeling able and efficacious while relatedness implies feeling a real connection with other people.
- When these needs are fulfilled, it is more likely that individuals will incorporate goals into their lives as internally important goals as opposed to extrinsically motivated goals (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
How the two frameworks explain purpose and well-being together
[edit | edit source]- In Ryff’s model, purpose represents one of the outcomes; one component of a larger picture of well-being whereas, in the case of SDT, the preconditions necessary for purpose to become possible are provided.
- There is an area of direct overlap between the two models in the concept of autonomy; autonomy is viewed by Ryff as one of the dimensions of well-being whereas, in the case of SDT, autonomy is one of the basic human needs allowing one to pursue self-endorsed goals thus representing a common link of the two models.
- According to SDT, the satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness allows people to internalize their goals and make them personally significant, which creates the basis for developing a purpose (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
- Self-endorsed purpose thus becomes one of the factors that reinforce other dimensions of well-being.
- Regarding Daniel, his lack of direction can be considered a reflection of psychological needs that have not been satisfied, especially autonomy and/or relatedness.
Does cultivating purpose reliably improve well-being, or are there limits to how much it can help?
[edit | edit source]- However, interventions are not created equal; one intervention conducted via an online platform for six weeks found that participants did not show any improvements in meaning in life compared to the control group.
- In a review of 33 randomized controlled studies, researchers have shown that increasing meaning in life is indeed possible through interventions, but with some variance in the type of effect based on the methods used; in particular, mindfulness-based interventions led to the greatest increase in meaning in life compared to passive controls, and narrative writing interventions performed best when compared to active controls (Manco & Hamby, 2021).
Why benefits are inconsistent
[edit | edit source]- However, since most of the empirical evidence utilizes self-report measures and correlational designs, even though the relationship between purpose and well-being is constant, it does not fully support that having a sense of purpose is the causative agent for long-term well-being (Hill et al., 2016).
- The search for meaning and purpose can also lead to distress instead of benefitting people directly; studies on "purpose anxiety" revealed that although the majority of individuals seek meaning and purpose in life, they undergo psychological distress in the process, which in turn decreases well-being (Rainey, 2014).
A more realistic view of cultivation
[edit | edit source]- Purpose will not be "discovered" by a method or achieved for good by a single solution; rather, a mixture of approaches aimed at supporting autonomy, competence development, and relatedness seems to be more in line with the empirical data currently available than any one specific approach.
- For a person such as Daniel, this implies that cultivation strategies can actually assist in reducing drift and increasing engagement, but this needs to be seen as a long and gradual process, not a surefire one.
Figures
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- For the book chapter, use several figures to illustrate concepts, add interest, and to serve as examples
- For the topic development, use at least one figure (even if not ideal) to show that you know how to embed, caption, and cite a figure
- Figures can show any kind of media such as photos, diagrams, graphs, video, audio, and so on
- Embed figures throughout the chapter, starting with the scenario in the Overview section
- Provide descriptive figure captions (use Figure # and explain the relevance of the image to the text)
- Images must be embedded from Wikimedia Commons
- Images can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons if they are openly licensed
- Cite each figure at least once in the main text (e.g., see Figure 2)
Learning features
[edit | edit source]Learning features help to bring book chapters to life and can be embedded throughout the chapter. Here are some options:
- Scenarios
- Scenarios, case studies, or examples that illustrate concepts in action
- Present using feature boxes; can be split into multiple boxes throughout a chapter (e.g., to illustrate different theories or stages)
- Can be real or fictional; if real, provide citation(s)
- Feature boxes
- Highlight key content using feature boxes, but don't overuse, otherwise they lose their effect
- Consider using feature boxes for:
- Scenarios, case studies, or examples
- Focus questions
- Tips
- Quiz questions
- Take-home messages
- Embedded links
- When key words are introduced, use interwiki links to:
- Wikipedia articles (e.g., "An early psychological view dreams) of dreams was provided by Sigmund Freud") or
- Related book chapters (e.g., "If you're feeling stuck, check out the chapter about writer's block")
- Tables
- Use tables to organise and summarise information
- Cite each table at least once in the main text (e.g., see Table 1)
- Tables should be captioned
- More example tables which can be adapted
Table 1
A Descriptive Caption Explains The Table Contents and its Relevance to the Text e.g.,
The 2 x 2 Johari Window Model Showing the Relationship Between Known/Unknown and Self/Other
| Known to self | Not known to self | |
|---|---|---|
| Known to others | Open area | Blind spot |
| Not known to others | Hidden area | Unknown |
- Quizzes
- One or two quiz questions for each main section is better than a long quiz at the end
- Quiz conceptual understanding, rather than trivia. Ask about important information such as the take-home messages
- Ask easy rather than hard questions
- Different types of quiz questions are possible; see Quiz
Example simple quiz questions. Choose your answers and click "Submit":
Conclusion
[edit | edit source]- Arguably the most important section
- Provide at least three bullet-points for this section even at the topic development stage, based on preliminary thinking
- For the book chapter, develop clear take-home message(s) that address the focus questions based on psychological theory and research
- Together, the Overview and Conclusion should summarise the problem, its significance, and how psychological science contributes to understanding and addressing this problem
- Recommended length: 150 to 330 words
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See also
[edit | edit source]Internal (wiki) links to the most relevant Wikiversity pages (esp. related motivation and emotion book chapters) and Wikipedia articles. Use sentence casing and alphabetical order. For example:
- Collaborative authoring using wiki (Wikiversity)
- Light triad (Book chapter, 2021)
- Self determination theory (Wikipedia)
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References
[edit | edit source]Damon, W., Menon, J., & Bronk, K. C. (2003). The development of purpose during adolescence. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532480XADS0703_2
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Hill, P. L., & Burrow, A. L. (2012). Viewing purpose through an Eriksonian lens. Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research, 12(1), 74–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2012.632394
Hill, P. L., Edmonds, G. W., Peterson, M., Luyckx, K., & Andrews, J. A. (2016). Purpose in life in emerging adulthood: Development and validation of a new brief measure. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(3), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1048817
Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Nakamura, J. S., Ryff, C. D., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2022). Sense of purpose in life and subsequent physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health: An outcome-wide approach. American Journal of Health Promotion, 36(1), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171211038545
Manco, N., & Hamby, S. (2021). A meta-analytic review of interventions that promote meaning in life. American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(6), 866–873. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117121995736
McKnight, P. E., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory. Review of General Psychology, 13(3), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017152
Nakamura, J. S., Chen, Y., VanderWeele, T. J., & Kim, E. S. (2022). What makes life purposeful? Identifying the antecedents of a sense of purpose in life using a lagged exposure-wide approach. SSM - Mental Health, 2, Article 100097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100097
Rainey, C. (2014). The search for purpose in life: An exploration of purpose, the search process, and purpose anxiety [Master's thesis, University of Pennsylvania]. ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/entities/publication/ab91e367-b853-4835-8afe-63df0e2958d6
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80
Sumner, R., Burrow, A. L., & Hill, P. L. (2015). Identity and purpose as predictors of subjective well-being in emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 3(1), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696814532796
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