Research Brief May 2018

MeaninginModernAmericabyClayRoutledge

Meaningisafundamentalpsychologicalneed.Peoplewhoperceivetheirlivesasfullofmeaningarephysicallyandpsychologicallyhealthierthanthosewholackmeaning.Alackofmeaningisariskfactorformentalillness,suicide,andawiderangeofunhealthybehaviors.Whenpeoplearefacingmajorlifestressorsandtraumas,itisthosewhohaveastrongsenseofpurposeandmeaningwhoarethemostresilient.Individualswhoviewtheirlivesasmeaningfulalsolivelonger.Ingeneral,meaningmotivatesheathy,long-termgoalpursuitandpromotespsychologicalwellbeing.1Relationshipsandreligionhavelongbeenrecognizedastwoparticularlypowerfulsourcesofmeaninginlife.Peoplewhofeelconnectedtoandsupportedbyothersreportgreatermeaningthanthosewhofeeldisconnected,ostracized,orlonely.2Experimentalstudiesconfirmthislinkbydemonstratingthatexperiencesofsocialexclusiondecreasemeaning3whereasexperiencesthatengenderfeelingsofsocialsupportincreasemeaning.4Concerningreligion,believersandthosewhohighlyidentifyasreligioustendtoreportgreaterperceptionsofmeaningthannonbelieversandthosewhobelievebutarenotparticularlyreligious.5Religionhasfurtherbeenfoundtobeapotentresourcefordefendingagainstmeaningthreats;believersturntotheirfaithwhenconfrontedwithsituationsthatundermineasenseofmeaning,anddoingsohelpsprotectpsychologicalhealth.6Americancultureischanginginanumberofwaysthathavepotentiallypowerfulimplicationsforpeople’seffortstofindandmaintainmeaninginlife.Americansarewaitinglongertogetmarriedandhavechildren,andarehavingfewerchildren.7Feelingsofsocialdisconnectionandlonelinessareontherise,evenaspeopleareincreasingly“connected”viasocialmedia.8Americansaredecreasinglyreligiousbothintermsofpersonalfaithand

1Hicks,J.&Routledge,C.(Eds)(2013).Theexperienceofmeaninginlife:Classicalperspectives,emergingthemes,andcontroversies.NewYork:SpringerPress.2Lambert,N.M.,Stillman,T.F.,Hicks,J.A.,Kamble,S.,Baumeister,R.F.,&Fincham,F.D.(2013).Tobelongistomatter:Senseofbelongingenhancesmeaninginlife.PersonalityandSocialPsychologyBulletin,39,1418-1427.3Stillman,T.F.,Baumeister,R.F.,Lambert,N.M.,Crescioni,A.,DeWall,N.,Fincham,F.D.(2009).Aloneandwithoutpurpose:Lifelosesmeaningfollowingsocialexclusion.JournalofExperimentalSocialPsychology,45,68-694.4RoutledgeC.,Arndt,J.,Wildschut,T.,Sedikides,C.,Hart,C.,Juhl,J.,Vingerhoets,A.J.,&Scholtz,W.(2011).Thepastmakesthepresentmeaningful:Nostalgiaasanexistentialresource.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology,101,638-652.5Abeyta,A.&Routledge,C.(2018).Theneedformeaningandreligiosity:Anindividualdifferencesapproachtoassessingexistentialneedsandtherelationwithreligiouscommitment,beliefs,andexperiences.PersonalityandIndividualDifferences,123,6-13.6Koenig,H.G.,McCullough,M.E.,&Larson,D.B.(2001).Handbookofreligionandhealth.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.7https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/p20-579.pdf8http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/08/lonely-die.aspx

involvementinreligiousorganizations(e.g.,churchattendance).9ConsideringthechanginglandscapeofAmericanculture,Iwantedtoexplorepeople’scurrentviewsonwhatgivestheirlivesmeaningandhowtheseviewsmaybesimilaranddistinctasafunctionoffactorsrelevanttobothsocialandreligiouslife.Tothisend,myresearchteamconductedtwosurveys.Tostart,wewantedtoallowindividualstoarticulate,withaslittledirectionaspossible,whatgivestheirlivesmeaning.So,werecruitedasampleofadultsandprovidedthemasimple-meaningwritingprompt.Webelievedthiswouldhelpusbettercapturepeople’snaturalviewsbecausewewouldnotbeorientingthemtowardsanyspecificsourceofmeaning.SinceAmericancultureisbecomingincreasinglysecular,wewereparticularlyinterestedincomparingtheistswithatheists.WeusedthethemesthatemergedinStudy1todesignasecondsurveythatallowedustofurtherexplorehowdifferentpeopleapproachmeaningaswellastheextenttowhichtheybelievetheirlivesaremeaningful.Below,Idescribeeachstudyandwhatwefound.

Study1:WhataretheMostProminentSourcesofMeaninginLife?Participantsweregivenasimpleprompttodetailinwritingwhatgivestheirlivesmeaning.Specifically,weutilizedanonlinelabormarket(AmazonMechanicalTurk)torecruitasampleofadultatheistsandtheists.Werecruitedatotalof404participants(226femalesand178males,withanagerangeof18to88andameanageof34.27).Oursampleconsistedof217atheistsand187theists,was75%white,6.7%black,6.2%Hispanic,and9.2%Asian,and3%non-specified.WespecificallyrecruitedatheistsbecauseAmericancultureisbecomingincreasinglysecular,buttherehasbeenlittleresearchfocusedonsimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenbelieversandnonbelieversinthestudyofmeaninginlife.Roughly10%identifiedahighschooldiplomaastheirhighestlevelofeducationand5%indicatedhavingtrainingfromatradeschool.Justover25%indicatedhavingsomecollege.Nearly45%reportedhavinganassociatesorbachelor’sdegree,andabout10%reportedhavingagraduateorprofessionaldegree.Ourstudybeganwiththefollowingprompt:

Weareinterestedinidentifyingthedifferentwayspeoplefindasenseofpersonalmeaninginlife.Usingthespacebelow,forthenextfewminutes,pleasedescribewhatmakesyourlifefeelmeaningful.

Uponcompletionofdatacollection,ourlabdevelopedacontentquantificationprotocolinwhichwehadtrainedresearchassistantscoderesponsestothewritingprompt.Specifically,basedonpastresearchandanexaminationofarandomsampleofthenarratives,wegeneratedalistof13meaningthemes.Threetrainedresearchassistantsweregiventhelistof13themesandaskedtoratetheextenttowhicheachparticipants’writtenresponsetothemeaningpromptfocusedoneachofthesethemesusingascaleof1(notatall)to4(quiteabit).Theresearchassistantscompletedtheirratingsindependentlyanddidnothaveaccesstoanyinformationabouttheparticipants.9http://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/

The13themeswere:socialrelationships,parenting,personalgoals/self-improvement,religion,spirituality,helpingothers,legacy,pursuitofknowledge,hobbies,travel,career,nature,andnomeaning/uncertainty.Aftertheresearchassistantscompletedalloftheirratings,wefoundthat4ofthethemeswegeneratedwereratedasbeingabsentfrommostofthenarratives,sowedidnotconsiderthemfurtherinouranalyses(spirituality,legacy,hobbies,andtravel).Itispossiblethattheseandotherthemescontributetomeaning,butitwasdifficultforourassistantstoidentifytheminthenarratives.Wefoundhighinter-raterreliabilityacrosstheremaining9themesandthuscreatedasinglescoreforeachparticipantoneachthemebyaveragingtheratingsacrossraters.Meaningisfoundinsocialconnectionsforall,butthereareanumberofdifferencesbetweentheistsandatheists,andbetweenmenandwomen.Ascanbeseenfromthefigurebelow,socialrelationshipsstandoutasthemostprominentlymentionedsourceofmeaninginlifeforallparticipants.Thisisnotsurprisingassocialbondsarecriticalforsurvivalandhaveamajorinfluenceonphysicalandpsychologicalhealth.ConsistentwithsurveysshowingmajordeclinesinAmericans’religiosity,religiondidnotemergeasaprominenttheme.

SincemanystudieshavelinkedreligiousfaithtomeaningandtraditionalreligionisindeclineintheUnitedStates,wewantedtospecificallyfocusonsimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheistsandatheists.Onmanyofthethemes,weobservednosignificantdifferencesbetweenthesegroups.However,wedidfindanumberofsignificantdifferences.Theistsfocusedsignificantlymoreonrelationships,parenting,and,notsurprisingly,religion,thanatheists.Atheistsweremoreinclinedtodescribelifeashavingnomeaningorfeelinguncertainaboutlife’smeaning.10Wealsoobservedanumberofstatisticallysignificantsexdifferences.Womenfocusedsignificantlymoreonrelationships,parenting,religion,helpingothers,andnaturethanmales.Malesfocusedsignificantlymoreonpersonalgoals/self-improvementthanwomen.Femaletheistsstandapartinviewingparentingasasourceofmeaning.Wetestedpossibleinteractionsbetweentheism/atheismandsexoneachtheme.Theonlystatisticallysignificantinteractionwasonparenting,suchthattheistwomenstoodapartcomparedtoallothersonparentingasasourceofmeaning.Sincerelationshipsemergedastheprominentthemeandparentingwasidentifiedasadistinctsocialdomainofmeaning,inStudy2weaskedanumberofadditionalquestions(e.g.,maritalstatus,parentalstatus)andexaminedmorespecificsocialthemestoallowforadeeperexaminationoftheconnectionbetweenfamilylifeandmeaning.

10Theseeffectsremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingforsex.

Study2:ADeeperInvestigationofMeaningStudy1allowedpeopletodescribe,withoutdirection,whatgivestheirlivesmeaning.Sinceboththeism/atheismandsexwererelatedtospecificsocialthemessuchasparenting,weconductedafollow-upstudyforadeeperinvestigationofhowdifferentpeoplefindmeaning.Inaddition,wetestedwhetherpeople’soverallperceptionsofmeaninginlifevariedbasedontheism/atheismandsex,andalsomaritalandparentalstatus.Werecruitedanonlinesampleof502adultparticipants(219femalesand283males,aged19to71,withameanageof33.75).Oursampleconsistedof165atheistsand337theists,was70.3%white,12.5%black,6.4%Hispanic,8%Asian,.6%AmericanIndian,.6%PacificIslander,and1.6%non-specified.Roughly11%identifiedahighschooldiplomaastheirhighestlevelofeducationand2.4%indicatedhavingtrainingfromatradeschool.About25%indicatedhavingsomecollege.Nearly50%reportedhavinganassociatesorbachelor’sdegreeandabout12%reportedhavingagraduateorprofessionaldegree.Therewere225parentswithanaverageof1.76children(range1to5),and228participantsweresingle(nevermarried),240weremarried,27divorced,4widowed,and3currentlyseparated.First,participantscompletedaquestionnairethatassessedtheextenttowhichtheyperceivetheirlivesasmeaningful.11Next,insteadofgeneratingtheirownmeaningthemes,participantsrespondedtothefollowingstatements(largelybasedonthethemesdocumentedinStudy1)byindicatingtheimportanceofeachdomaintotheirsenseofmeaningonascaleof1(notimportantorrelevant)to5(veryimportant).ThoughinStudy1thespiritualitythemewasdroppedfromanalysesbecauseitwasnotwelldetectedbycoders,weuseditasadomaininStudy2becausespiritualexperiencesandpracticesarewidelyconsideredtobeassociatedwiththemeaningmotive.

• Howimportantisyourromanticpartner(e.g.,spouse,girl/boyfriend,etc.)toyoursenseofmeaninginlife?

• Howimportantisyourfamilytoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantareyourfriendstoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisraisingchildren(eithernoworinthefuture)toyour

senseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantishelpingotherstoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisnaturetoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisspiritualitytoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisreligiontoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisobtainingknowledgetoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisyourcareertoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?• Howimportantisself-improvementtoyoursenseofmeaninginlife?

11Steger, 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, 80-93. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80

Theistsviewfaithandfamilyasmoreimportanttomeaningthanatheists.Weexaminedtheextenttowhichpeoplerateddifferentdomainsoflifeasimportanttotheirsenseofmeaninginlife.ThefigurebelowpresentsresultsdividedbythesamegroupofdefinitionsusedinStudy1.UnlikeStudy1,however,anumberofnon-social(oratleastnotexplicitlysocial)domainswereratedashighlyimportanttomeaning.Thissuggeststhatwhenpeoplearepresentedwithdomainsofmeaningandaskedtoratethem,theyresponddifferentlythanwhentheygeneratetheirownmeaningthemes.

However,asinStudy1,withineachdomain,therewereanumberofdistinctionsbetweengroups.Theists,comparedtoatheists,ratedfamily,raisingchildren,spirituality,andreligionassignificantlymoreimportanttomeaning.Atheistsratedfriendsassignificantlymoreimportantthantheists.12Womenratedfamilyandspiritualitysignificantlyhigherthanmen.However,thesesexdifferenceswerenotstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheism.

12Theeffectsoftheism/atheismremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingforsex,maritalstatus,andparentalstatus.

Marriedpeopleviewfaithandfamilyasmoreimportanttomeaningthansinglepeople.ToexpanduponStudy1,wealsoexaminedpotentialdifferencesbetweenmarriedandsinglepeople.Becauseofthesmallnumberofwidowed,divorced,andseparatedpeopleinoursample,werestrictedouranalysestosingle(never-married)andcurrentlymarried.Weobservedanumberofstatisticallysignificantdifferences.Marriedpeopleratedtheirpartner,family,raisingchildren,spirituality,andreligionasmoreimportanttomeaningthansinglepeople.However,theeffectofmaritalstatusonraisingchildrenwasnon-significantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheism.Singlepeopleratedself-improvementasmoreimportanttomeaningthanmarriedpeople.13

13Theseeffectsremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheism,sex,andparentalstatus.

Marriedwomenarelesslikelytoviewacareerasasourceofmeaning.Thepreviouslyreporteddifferencesbetweenmarriedandsinglepeopledidnotdifferasafunctionofsex.However,withinthedomainofcareer,therewasasignificantinteractionbetweenmaritalstatusandsex.14Amongsinglepeople,menandwomendidnotsignificantlydifferontheimportanceoftheircareerstotheirsenseofmeaninginlife.However,amongmarriedpeople,menratedcareersignificantlyhigherthanwomen.Lookedatdifferently,marriedwomenratedcareersignificantlylowerthansinglewomen.Marriedmenratedcareerasmoreimportantthansinglemen,butthisdifferencewasnotquitestatisticallysignificant.

14Theinteractionremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheismandparentalstatus.

Parentsviewfaith,family,andhelpingothersasmoreimportanttomeaningthannon-parents.Therewereanumberofstatisticallysignificantdifferencesbetweenthosewhodoanddonothavechildren.Comparedtonon-parents,parentsratedtheirpartners,family,raisingchildren,helpingothers,spirituality,andreligionasmoreimportanttomeaning.15

15Whencontrollingformaritalstatus,theeffectonpartnerbecamenon-significant.However,allothereffectsremainedsignificantwhencontrollingforatheism/theism,sex,andmaritalstatus.

Mothersareespeciallyinclinedtoviewfamilyandraisingchildrenasimportanttomeaning.Whenexamininghowtheratingsofdomainsofmeaningdifferbetweenthosewhodoanddonothavechildren,wealsoobservedacoupleofsignificantinteractionsinvolvingsex.16Comparedtomen,womenratedfamilyandraisingchildrenasmoreimportanttomeaningiftheywereparents.Fornon-parents,therewasasexdifferencesuchthatmenratedraisingchildrenasmoreimportantthanwomen.

16Theseinteractionsremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheismandmaritalstatus.

Atheistwomenperceivelifeaslessmeaningfulthanatheistmenandtheistmenandwomen.Afterexploringhowpeopleviewtheimportanceofdifferentlifedomainstofindingmeaning,weexaminedpotentialdifferencesbetweengroupsintheiroverallperceptionsoflifeasmeaningful.Weobservedasignificantinteractionbetweentheism/atheismandsex.17Ascanbeseenbelow,atheistwomenreportedlowermeaningthanallothergroups.

Itshouldbenotedthatofthe219femalesinthestudy,only57(26%)wereatheist,comparedto108(38%)ofthe283males.Womenarelessinclinedtobeatheists,andthosewhoarereportlowermeaninginlife.

17Theinteractionremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingformaritalstatusandparentingstatus.

Marriedpeoplehaveameaningadvantageandsinglewomenperceivelifeaslessmeaningfulthanmarriedwomenandmarriedorsinglemen.Sinceweobserveddifferencesbetweensingleandmarriedindividualsontheimportanceoffamily-relateddomainsofmeaning,wealsoexploredwhetherthesegroupsdifferedonoverallperceptionsofmeaning.Asthebelowfigureillustrates,marriedpeoplehadameaningadvantagecomparedtosinglepeople.However,therewasalsoasignificantinteractionbetweenmaritalstatusandsexsuchthatsinglewomenreportedlowermeaningthanallothergroups.18

18Themainandinteractioneffectsremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheismandparentalstatus.

Parentshaveameaningadvantageandwomenwithoutchildrenperceivelifeaslessmeaningfulthanwomenwithchildrenandmenwithorwithoutchildren.Sinceweobservedanumberofdifferencesinvolvingsexandparentalstatusontheimportanceoffamily-relateddomainsofmeaning,wealsoexploredwhethermenandwomenwhoareandarenotparentsdifferonperceptionsoflifeasmeaningful.Asthefigureshows,parentshavethemeaningadvantage.Thisdifferencebetweenparentsandnon-parentswasstatisticallysignificant.Butagain,therewasastatisticallysignificantinteractioninthatwomenwithoutchildrenreportedlowermeaningcomparedtoothergroups.19

FamilyandFaithPlayaPowerfulRoleinFindingMeaningBecauseperceptionsofmeaninghaveawiderangeofphysical,social,andmentalhealthconsequences,itiscriticaltoexaminehowpeopleapproachthepursuitofmeaningandhowthechangingsocialandreligiouslandscapeofAmericanculturemayinfluencepeople’sabilitytofindandmaintainmeaning.Interestingly—andperhapsspeakingtothegeneraldeclineofreligiouslifeintheUnitedStates—whenparticipantswerepromptedtodescribewhatgivestheirlivesmeaning(Study1),religiousfaithdidnotemergeasadominanttheme.Thatbeingsaid,theresultsfromoursurveysindicatepeopleoffaitharemoreheavilyinvestedinthefamilyrelationshipsthataremoststronglyassociatedwithmeaning.Thissuggeststhatthoughitisdecliningaccordingtomanymetrics,religionorsomepsychologicalorsocialcomponent19Theinteractionremainedstatisticallysignificantwhencontrollingfortheism/atheismandmaritalstatus.

ofitcontinuestoplayanimportantroleinmeaning-making.Forinstance,inarecentseriesofstudies,mycolleaguesandIfoundthattheneedformeaningisauniquepredictorofbeliefinGodandreligiouscommitmentandthatreligiousinvolvementisassociatedwithgreaterperceptionsofmeaning.20Inotherstudies,wealsofoundthatthosewhodonotidentifyasreligioustendtobemoreattractedtofringebeliefssuchasbeliefinintelligentextraterrestrialbeingswhensearchingformeaninginlife.21Thedeclineoftraditionalreligionatthesocietalleveltellsuslittleaboutthepotentiallyinherentreligiousproclivitiesofhumansorhowtheseproclivitiesconnecttoothermeaning-providingsocialpursuits.Forwomen,familylifeappearstobeespeciallyrelevanttomeaning.However,theextenttowhichwomenviewedfamilyandraisingchildrenassourcesofmeaningvarieddependingonparentalstatus.Specifically,motherswereparticularlyinclinedtoviewfamilyandraisingchildrenasimportanttomeaning.Moreover,withinthedomainofraisingchildren,itwaswomenwithoutchildren,comparedtowomenwithchildrenandmenwithandwithoutchildren,whowereleastinclinedtoviewraisingchildrenasimportantformeaning.Thesetrendsmayhavesignificanceforperceptionsofmeaningassinglewomenandwomenwithoutchildrenviewedtheirlivesaslessmeaningfulthanmarriedwomenandmothersrespectively.Inaddition,marriedwomenwerelesslikelytoviewtheircareersasimportanttomeaningthanmarriedmenorsinglewomen.Formen,therewassomeevidencethatcareersandrelatedgoalsmayplayanimportantroleinfindingmeaning.InStudy1,menweremorelikelytodiscusspersonalandself-improvementgoals(whichcouldincludeprofessionalgoals)asimportanttomeaning.InStudy2,thoughsinglemenandwomendidnotdifferintheimportanceplacedoncareers,marriedmenplacedmoreimportanceoncareersthanmarriedwomen.Critically,thoughsomeeffectsrelatedtofamilywerestrongestforwomen,marriedmenandfathersalsoviewedfamilylifeasimportantformeaningcomparedtosinglemenandmenwithoutchildren.Andmarriedpeopleandparents,regardlessofsex,haveameaningadvantageovertheirsingleandchildlesscounterparts.Thetake-homemessageforalladults—regardlessofgroupdistinction—isthatclosesocialbonds,particularlythosethatinvolvemarriageandfamily,appeartoplayapowerfulroleinfindingmeaninginlife.Thedatafromthesesurveyscannotanswerimportantquestionsregardingcausalrelationships,andthereareundoubtedlymanyotherfactorsthatinfluencehowpeoplefindandmaintainmeaninginlife.Moreresearchiscertainlyneeded.However,thesestudiesofferanimportantsteptowardabetterunderstandingofmeaninginmodernAmerica.Dr.ClayRoutledgeisaprofessorofpsychologyatNorthDakotaStateUniversity.Heisaleadingexpertonthepsychologyofmeaning.Youcanfindoutmoreabouthisworkatclayroutledge.com.

20Abeyta,A.&Routledge,C.(2018).Theneedformeaningandreligiosity:Anindividualdifferencesapproachtoassessingexistentialneedsandtherelationwithreligiouscommitment,beliefs,andexperiences.PersonalityandIndividualDifferences,123,6-13.21Routledge,C.,Abeyta,A.A.,&Roylance,C.(2017).Wearenotalone:Themeaningmotive,religiosity,andbeliefinextraterrestrial

intelligence.MotivationandEmotion,41,135-146.