Life Is Pretty Meaningful

The human experience of meaning in life is widely viewed as a cornerstone of well-being and a central human motivation. Self-reports of meaning in life relate to a host of important functional outcomes. Psychologists have portrayed meaning in life as simultaneously chronically lacking in human life...

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Veröffentlicht in:	The American psychologist 2014-09, Vol.69 (6), p.561-574
Hauptverfasser:	Heintzelman, Samantha J, King, Laura A
Format:	Artikel
Sprache:	eng
Schlagworte:	Adaptation, Psychological Epidemiology Human Humans Interpersonal Relations Life Meaning Motivation Personal Satisfaction Positive Psychology Psychologists Quality of Life Research methods Social psychology Well Being
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container_title	The American psychologist
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creator	Heintzelman, Samantha J King, Laura A
description	The human experience of meaning in life is widely viewed as a cornerstone of well-being and a central human motivation. Self-reports of meaning in life relate to a host of important functional outcomes. Psychologists have portrayed meaning in life as simultaneously chronically lacking in human life as well as playing an important role in survival. Examining the growing literature on meaning in life, we address the question "How meaningful is life, in general?" We review possible answers from various psychological sources, some of which anticipate that meaning in life should be low and others that it should be high. Summaries of epidemiological data and research using two self-report measures of meaning in life suggest that life is pretty meaningful. Diverse samples rate themselves significantly above the midpoint on self-reports of meaning in life. We suggest that if meaning in life plays a role in adaptation, it must be commonplace, as our analysis suggests.
doi_str_mv	10.1037/a0035049
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source	Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA); MEDLINE; EBSCOhost APA PsycARTICLES
subjects	Adaptation, Psychological Epidemiology Human Humans Interpersonal Relations Life Meaning Motivation Personal Satisfaction Positive Psychology Psychologists Quality of Life Research methods Social psychology Well Being
title	Life Is Pretty Meaningful
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