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Abstract

Theoretically, purpose serves as a basic dimension of healthy psychological functioning and an important protective factor from psychopathology. Theory alone, however, is insufficient to answer critical questions about human behavior and functioning; we require empirical evidence that explores the parameters of purpose with respect to measurement, prediction, and modification. Here, we provide empirically supported insights about how purpose can operate as a beneficial outcome (e.g., marker of well-being), a predictor or mechanism that accounts for benefits that a person derives (such as from an intervention), or a moderator that offers insight into when benefits arise. Advancing the study of purpose requires careful consideration of how purpose is conceptualized, manipulated, and measured across the lifespan. Our aim is to help scientists understand, specify, and conduct high-quality studies of purpose in life.
Purpose in Life: A Resolution on the Denition, Conceptual
Model, and Optimal Measurement
Todd B. Kashdan
1
, Fallon R. Goodman
2
, Patrick E. McKnight
1
, Bradley Brown
3
, and Ruba Rum
3
1
Department of Psychology, George Mason University
2
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University
3
Department of Psychology, University of South Florida
Theoretically, purpose serves as a basic dimension of healthy psychological functioning and an
important protective factor from psychopathology. Theory alone, however, is insufcient to
answer critical questions about human behavior and functioning; we require empirical evidence
that explores the parameters of purpose with respect to measurement, prediction, and
modication. Here, we provide empirically supported insights about how purpose can operate
as a benecial outcome (e.g., marker of well-being), a predictor or mechanism that accounts for
benets that a person derives (such as from an intervention), or a moderator that offers insight
into when benets arise. Advancing the study of purpose requires careful consideration of how
purpose is conceptualized, manipulated, and measured across the lifespan. Our aim is to help
scientists understand, specify, and conduct high-quality studies of purpose in life.
Public Signicance Statement
This article reviews and synthesizes what is known about the nature and benets of human
beings possessing and working toward a purpose in life. We detail the various ways that a
purpose can serve a person and the specic ways that psychologists and other mental health
professionals can study and target this highly desirable psychological resource.
Keywords: purpose in life, meaning in life, goals, well-being, resilience
Supplemental materials: https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001223.supp
There are unique psychological and physical benets
afforded by the possession and strength of a purpose in life.
Purpose in life gures prominently in how people cope with
negative life events, whether major stressors or daily hassles
(e.g., Hill et al., 2018;Kim et al., 2019). People with a
stronger life purpose tend to live longer (R. Cohen et al.,
2016) and show evidence of greater physiological health 10
years later (e.g., resting cardiovascular activity, metabolism,
inammation; Zilioli et al., 2015). Notably, these ndings
cannot be accounted for by demographics (race, sex, age,
socioeconomic status) or indicators of subjective well-being
(positive affect, negative affect, social relationship quality).
Research on purpose in life grew exponentially since the late
1990s (Wong, 2012), with a variety of theories, constructs,
and research methodologies. This variety, however, pro-
duced a fragmented body of evidence.
In the past decade, purpose researchers made signicant
methodological improvements that affect not only their area
of inquiry but also the broader study of purposeespecially
on methodology issues that improve the strength, stability,
and generalizability of effects (e.g., priming purpose;
Burrow & Hill, 2013;rened assessment approaches;
Martela & Steger, 2023; multivariate examinations of
predictors; Nakamura et al., 2022; preregistered hypothesis
tests; Ratner et al., 2022). Below, we discuss advances in
research and practice with respect to dening, modeling,
and testing purpose in life. Our aim is to help others
contribute to a burgeoning area of inquiry with vast,
untapped potential.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
This article was published Online First November 20, 2023.
Todd B. Kashdan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6438-0485
The authors have no conicts of interest. The authors thank Kerry Kelso,
Anthony Burrow, Jonathan Adler, Eiko Fried, and members of their research
labs for constructive feedback.
Todd B. Kashdan played a lead role in conceptualization, formal analysis,
investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, writing
original draft, and writingreview and editing. Fallon R. Goodman played a
supporting role in writingoriginal draft and writingreview and editing and
an equal role in conceptualization. Patrick E. McKnight played a supporting
role in writingoriginal draft and writingreview and editing. Bradley Brown
played a supporting role in writingreview and editing. Ruba Rum played a
supporting role in writingreview and editing.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Todd B.
Kashdan, Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Mail Stop
3F5, Fairfax, VA 22030, United States. Email: todd@toddkashdan.com
American Psychologist
© 2023 American Psychological Association 2024, Vol. 79, No. 6, 838853
ISSN: 0003-066X https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001223
838
... Through engaging and expanding on aspects of life identified as purposeful, these areas become integral to the person's identity, reinforcing an enduring sense of purpose over time (Bronk, 2011;Hill et al., 2023). In turn, having a constant sense of purpose in life provides a constant lens to encourage self-preservation and to guide personal development (Kashdan & Goodman, 2023;Lewis, 2020;. ...
... Despite the progressions in purpose in life theory, there remains limited understanding of the particular processes involved in its development, maintenance, and association with wellbeing (Kashdan et al., 2022;Hill et al., 2023;Pfund & Lewis, 2020). These gaps in the understanding of purpose in life have hindered developments of precise measurements and effective interventions targeting this construct (Kashdan et al., 2023;Kazdin, 2007;Park et al., 2019). Kashdan et al., (2022) criticised existing purpose in life measures for being unable to distinguish it from related lower-level constructs that are associated with similar outcomes (e.g., motivation, illusory sense of purpose) and do not capture the complexity and breadth of purpose in life's influence. ...
... Self-reflection, curiosity, and the focus on self-improvement may be involved in expanding on feelings of purpose . Additionally, CAMs such as perseverance, emotional regulation, adaptive coping, and self-confidence could contribute to the relationship between purpose in life and positive wellbeing (Bronk, 2011;Kashdan & Goodman, 2023;Hill et al., 2023;Pfund & Lewis, 2020). ...
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Purpose in life is a well-established contributor to positive well-being. However, for a more comprehensive understanding of purpose in life, further exploration is needed about the processes implicated in purpose from a cognitive and affective perspective. This scoping review aims to identify the cognitive and/or affective mechanisms (CAMs) correlating with purpose in life and to examine these relationships based on relevant existing literature. Using search terms related to CAMs and purpose in life, we conducted a comprehensive search across five databases (Web of Science, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, and psycinfo) to identify those examining the relationship between these constructs. Ninety-nine manuscripts were selected for inclusion. Within these studies, 33 CAMs showed predominantly positive and significant associations with purpose in life. Our findings highlighted the cams empirically and theoretically implicated in purpose development, maintenance, and its association to positive wellbeing. We identified several gaps in current research including issues related to suboptimal measurement of purpose in life, and a lack of longitudinal and intervention studies. Overall, this study represents a foundational step in advancing an understanding CAMs implicated in purpose in life. This scoping review usefully informs the development and validation of future purpose in life measures, and the design of interventions aimed at enhancing purpose in life and wellbeing.
... Purpose in life refers to the extent to which individuals perceive their existence as being meaningful, motivated, and driven by valued personal goals (Kashdan et al., 2023). In general, people who report higher levels of purpose in life often express more positive emotions, are highly satisfied with their social relationships, and have a betterfunctioning immune system and fewer physical and mental health problems (Kashdan et al., 2023). ...
... Purpose in life refers to the extent to which individuals perceive their existence as being meaningful, motivated, and driven by valued personal goals (Kashdan et al., 2023). In general, people who report higher levels of purpose in life often express more positive emotions, are highly satisfied with their social relationships, and have a betterfunctioning immune system and fewer physical and mental health problems (Kashdan et al., 2023). Heightened purpose in life has also been shown to boost psychological resilience and promote the use of more adaptive coping strategies, such as seeking benefits in difficult situations, using humour, turning to spiritual/religious coping, and avoiding emotional suppression (Ward et al., 2023). ...
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... We speculate though, too, that differences in the directionality of effects may be driven by differences in how 'sense of purpose' is being defined and measured (Kashdan et al., 2023). For example, purpose as a conscious, changeable motivator (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009) reflects a range of goals, desires, or definable pathways and may promote self-beliefs and behaviors that protect against cognitive impairment. ...
... Indeed, the single-item measure embedded in the NHATS dataset refers to both meaning and purpose, limiting differentiation of these constructs in this work. Building off of calls for purpose to be better defined and examined in individuals facing difficult life events (Kashdan et al., 2023;Sharma & Bluck, 2022), we assert that an important future direction is the distinction between dimensions of sense of purpose for persons living with ADRD. This distinction may help sharpen the focus of purpose-based interventions in this illness context. ...
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Objectives: Sense of purpose serves as a psychological resource for late-life health. Limited research has examined how purpose changes across chronic illness diagnoses, including a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Method: This study leverages data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS; N = 831) to establish trajectories of purpose across ADRD diagnosis using three-year (pre-diagnosis, year of diagnosis, post-diagnosis) timespans and two comparison groups (heart disease diagnosis, no diagnosis). Results: We observed a longitudinal decrease in purpose in the ADRD diagnosis group, t = 3.85, p = .003, d = −0.258. This contrasts with heart disease diagnosis and no diagnosis groups, where purpose did not change over time. Discussion: Older adults who receive an ADRD diagnosis may be vulnerable to a decreasing sense of purpose across their diagnosis experience. We consider social, psychological, and clinical antecedents for this trend.
... The intentionality and selfdirectedness that characterize a sense of purpose are common to both content and sense definitions, allowing us to incorporate both bodies of literature into our review. With conceptual issues in purpose only recently being discussed in the academic literature (e.g., Burrow et al., 2021;Kashdan et al., 2024), such a compromise is necessary to describe purpose development in childhood and adolescence. Nevertheless, in recognition that we may one day find important differences across these conceptualizations, we do our best to state explicitly when the alternative conceptualization, beyond-the-self purpose, was the target of investigation in the review that follows. ...
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Purpose offers several important benefits to youth. Thus, it is necessary to understand how a sense of purpose develops in supportive contexts and what psychological resources can help. From 2021 to 2022, this study investigated purpose change among 321 youth ( M age = 16.4 years; 71% female; 25.9% Black, 33.3% Asian, 15.6% Hispanic/Latinx, 13.4% White, 9.7% multiracial) participating in GripTape , a ~10‐week self‐driven learning program. Many youth started with high initial purpose that increased throughout enrollment ( Strengthening ), whereas others began with slightly lower purpose that remained stable ( Maintaining ). For each unit increase in baseline agency, youth were 1.6x more likely to be classified as Strengthening . As such, agency may be a resource that helps youth capitalize on certain types of environments.
... "I see this too under the sun," writes Ecclesiastes (9: 11-12) 2 , "the race does not go to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; there is no bread for the wise, wealth for the intelligent, 1 The purpose literature typically understands eudaimonia or what it means to flourish by reference to various psychological dimensions of well-being (e.g., Ryff & Singer, 2008;Kashdan et al., 2023). Has well-being served the purpose literature well? ...
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Rationale Despite the clear public health significance of herd immunity to COVID-19, a host of individual differences influence willingness to get vaccinated. One factor likely to motivate individuals is the extent they have a sense of purpose in life, based on the health correlates of purpose and purposeful individuals’ desire to return to their pre-pandemic environments. Objective The current study examined sense of purpose as a predictor of COVID-19 vaccination willingness in the United States immediately following the initial approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States in 2020. Methods A nationwide sample of U. S. adults (N = 2009) completed a poll including information on their sense of purpose in life, demographic factors, and depressive symptoms, immediately following the initial approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States in 2020. In addition, they reported on how willing they would be to get the vaccine, assuming that the costs would be covered, as well as their motivations to get the vaccine. Results Multiple regression analyses found that sense of purpose predicted greater willingness to get vaccinated, even when accounting for demographic factors, political affiliation, and psychological wellbeing. Adults higher on sense of purpose reported greater importance of getting the vaccine for personal health, the health of others, and to return to regular activities. Exploratory analyses also suggest that purpose may provide a stronger impetus to vaccinate among those in age groups associated with lower risk for severe COVID-19 complications. Conclusions: Although cross-sectional in nature, the current findings suggest sense of purpose in life may be an important factor in encouraging vaccination. Implications are discussed regarding how purposeful messaging may yield greater vaccination rates among individuals who otherwise may be less motivated due to health concerns.