Understanding the search for meaning in life: personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning.

By M. Steger, T. Kashdan, B. Sullivan, Danielle Lorentz. Journal of Personality, 2008

939 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Subfields: Applied Psychology, Social Psychology, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9e357982ad7c06af21a432078d5fbede7b354c53

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Applied Psychology

In Social Psychology

In Sociology and Political Science

Citations in the corpus

Meaning in Life and Posttraumatic Growth (2011, background): “Research that does exist shows that while the presence of meaning is associated with fewer depressive symptoms and less neuroticism, searching for meaning is associated with greater depressive symptoms and higher neuroticism (Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler, 2004 ; Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan, & Lore”
Experiencing meaning in life: Optimal functioning at the nexus of well-being, psychopathology, and spirituality. (2012, background): “…adult samples (e.g., Bonebright, Clay, & Ankenmann, 2000; Garfield, 1973; Reker, 1990; Reker, Peacock, & Wong, 1987; Scannell, Allen, & Burton, 2002; Steger et al., 2008; Wong, 1998a; Zika & Chamberlain, 1987; Zika & Chamberlain, 1992), as well as among Chinese adults (Shek, 1995), Korean…”
Meaning in life and adjustment to daily stressors (2017, background): “These findings were consistent with the previous work by Steger et al. (2008), which found that presence of meaning in life was more strongly linked to stress reactions than was search for meaning.”
New Well-being Measures: Short Scales to Assess Flourishing and Positive and Negative Feelings (2010, background): “Seligman (2002), Ryff (1989), Ryff and Singer (1998), and Steger et al. (2008) present arguments and data supporting the notion that purpose and meaning are beneficial to human functioning.”
Character strengths and well-being among volunteers and employees: Toward an integrative model (2010, result): “Rather, our older sample reported higher levels of meaning in life, which is consistent with previous research (eg, Steger et al, 2009 ).”
Reliability and Validity of Japanese Versions of the Flourishing Scale and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (2013, background): “Both theoretical and empirical studies have supported the importance of meaning and purpose in life in the pursuit of well-being (Seligman 2002; Ryff 1989; Ryff and Singer 1998; Steger et al. 2008).”