Purpose in Life as a System that Creates and Sustains Health and Well-Being: An Integrative, Testable Theory

“In those situations, remaining task focused, thinking about how to overcome the obstacles leads to successful pursuit of that purpose (S. C. Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006; Segerstrom, 2005); emotional instability interferes with goal pursuit (Berenbaum, Raghavan, Le, Vernon, & Gomez, 2003; Johnson, 2005;…”

“And both Mcknight and Kashdan (2009) and George and Park (2013) argue that it should be explicitly separated from a general sense of meaning in life, and have started empirical efforts to do precisely that.”

“The relevant literature suggests that purpose conveys important information about individuals’ underlying goal hierarchies, and this information may have significant implications for phenomena such as goal adjustment, health, and well-being (Carver & Scheier, 1998; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“…a purpose suggests that one has committed to a set of clear goals for life (e.g., Hill, Burrow, Brandenberger, Lapsley, & Quaranto, 2010; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009), and the content or character of people’s goals differs with age and the amount of time perceived to be remaining in life (e.g.,…”

“The essence of life purpose, as described by McKnight and Kashdan (3), is a self-organizing life aim that stimulates goals, manages behavior, and provides a sense of meaning.”

“The purpose subconstruct refers to the degree to which individuals experience their lives as being directed and motivated by valued life goals (Battista & Almond, 1973; Klinger, 1998; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Thus, talents (or strengths) are not enough in themselves, they interact with a person's interests and values (Kashdan & McKnight, 2009 ; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009 ).”

“Second, meaning has been linked to well-being (Brunstein, Schultheiss, & Grässmann, 1998; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999; Keyes, 2007; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Self- reported meaning in life (MIL) has been linked to healthier eating, more physical activity, higher life satisfaction and lower depression (e.g., Brassai, Piko, & Steger, 2015; Steger, Oishi, & Kashdan, 2009; Zika & Chamberlain, 1992).”

“And given the goal-oriented nature of purpose as a construct (McKnight and Kashdan, 2009), it is about advancing these broader values through one’s actions.”

“However, in a more specific sense, purpose refers to behavioral engagement in life goals and valued activities (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“…striving assessment approaches that go beyond a single day to capture what a person’s general life revolves around led to findings showing that the PPFI predicted the pursuit of strivings that reflect a purpose in life, defined by McKnight and Kashdan (2009) as a central, self-organizing life aim.”

“goals.(11,48,49) Purpose in life is related to aspects of psychological health, including happiness, satisfaction, personal growth, and better sleep,(14,17,18,50) and associations between purpose in life and aspects of personality (ie, neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness), as well as depressive symptoms,h…”

“Our interest in purpose stems from its potential to enhance developmental opportunities and capacity for adaptation across the lifespan (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“…a lack of effort and progress toward personally meaningful goals is often the cause of reductions in emotional well-being – less positive emotions and more negative emotions (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Little, Salemla-Aro, & Phillips, 2007; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009) across the globe (Sheldon et al., 2004).”

“A sense of PIL is motivational because it stimulates goals and influences behavior (McKnight and Kashdan, 2009).”

“Reducing anxiety and living a fulfilling and meaningful life are two sides of the same coin, since having a purpose in life gives people the idea that their life will continue to have meaning, even after their death (Ryan and Deci, 2004; McKnight and Kashdan, 2009).”

“…and possible futures, and “the intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self” (Damon, Menon, & Bronk, 2003, p. 121) otherwise known as purpose in life (Kashdan & McKnight, 2009; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009; Steger, 2009).”

“Purpose has been defined as ‘a central, self-organizing life aim that organizes and stimulates goals, manages behaviors, and provides a sense of meaning’ (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Having meaning in life may counter the anhedonia common in depression and sustain intrinsically motivated behavior (McKnight and Kashdan 2009).”

“McKnight and Kashdan (2009) extend this motivational concept and label purpose as the umbrella concept capable of stimulating goals and their defined terminal outcomes.”

“Having goals to which one is committed (purpose), likely generates a sense of significance [32], ‘stim-ulate(s) behavioral consistency’ [83, p. 248] contributing to a sense of coherence, as well as provides an indication of whether one’s actions feel right.”

“Other theorists also advocate for the relevance of achieving important life goals (Klinger, 1977) and perceiving a clear sense of purpose for a meaningful life (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“…purpose 404 The International Journal of Aging and Human Development 85(4) may also enhance well-being by promoting emotional and behavioral consistency and resilience in response to unpredictable, uncontrollable, or stressful events (Burrow, Sumner, & Ong, 2014; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“In his writing about meaning in life, Frankl (1963) extended Nietzsche’s claim that ‘he [sic] who has a why can endure any how,’ to argue that finding a meaningful purpose for our existence gives us the psychological resources and motivation to persevere through hardship (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“In contrast, purpose is the subjective experience of possessing a system of overarching goals that provide a sense of direction in life (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Purpose, described as ‘‘a central, selforganizing life aim that organizes and stimulates goals, manages behaviors, and provides a sense of meaning’’ (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009, p. 242), answers the question ‘‘Where am I going in life?’’”

“Furthermore, purpose helps to guide individuals’ life goals and can promote engagement in health-protective behaviors (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“For instance, shel-ter-in-place mandates and job losses undermined many people ’ s ability to derive purpose through their work (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009), experience the intrinsic pleasure associated with positive in-person social interactions (Lambert et al., 2013), and impeded participation in…”

“Purpose in life generates approachoriented behaviors for which there is effort toward, not away from, purpose-related goals (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009; Sheldon & Houser-Marko, 2001).”

“A sense of purpose in life is one promising candidate; it is viewed as a central component of well-being and refers to the extent that people see their lives as having meaning, a sense of direction, and goals.(4,8-12) It is shaped by social structural factors and changing life circumstances, with ongoing work explorin…”

“Purpose is a referent within a dynamic psychological selfregulation system (Marken, 2002; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Moreover, it is important to consider that these characteristics may influence the routes by which individuals find those goals that imbue their lives with purpose (see e.g. Hill, Sumner, & Burrow, 2014; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Grit and gratitude are generally expected to enhance the strength and awareness of one’s purpose in life, which are proposed to be salient determinants of his/her resource allocation and behavioral flexibility, and in turn wellbeing [26].”

“…and direction for achieving their goals in life, a theme not only mentioned in all four definitions from past research (Damon et al., 2003; Kosine et al., 2008; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009; Ryff, 1989a) but also discussed frequently in related literatures (e.g., Emmons, 1999; Nurmi, 1991, 1993, 2001).”

“A recent review by McKnight and Kashdan (2009) described the construct as ‘‘a central, self-organizing life aim that organizes and stimulates goals, manages behaviors, and provides a sense of meaning’’ (p. 242).”

“McKnight and Kashdan also propose that the sense of meaning (significance) derived from the pursuit of purpose-directed goals is used to further refine and develop one’s purpose in life, which in turn creates further goals (McKnight and Kashdan 2009).”

“Such a perspective aligns with the theoretical work on having a purpose in life that suggests that purpose is best viewed as a multifaceted construct that influences both self-regulatory capacity and specific behaviors (McKnight and Kashdan, 2009).”

“Having a purpose in life entails having a clear long-term direction toward which to strive, that organizes one’s behaviors and sense of self (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009; Ryff, 1989).”

“Purpose also serves as a self-organizing principle that stimulates goals and manages behavior; it is imperative in guiding decisions about the use of finite resources and likely to lead to greater persistence (McKnight and Kashdan, 2009).”

“Life goals in particular can provide centrality to a person’s identity and give direction to chosen daily activities (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Furthermore, McKnight and Kashdan [51] concluded that a certain degree of abstract capacity, insight, and planning explains interindividual differences in purpose formation, such high-order cognitive processes having also been previously associated with CR estimates [57].”

“Just as ‘A person who is unable to grasp abstract concepts might find it difficult to generate a purpose since purpose requires insight, introspection and planning’ (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009, p. 243), it can be argued that some organizations may be as unable to generate and sustain a purpose.”

“Damon et al. [10] reviewed various definitions of PIL and MIL and proposed that PIL has a more specific role that is not captured in the broader definition of MIL.”

“To the extent that a person chooses values of how to live in a relationship for intrinsic reasons, a path toward sustainable well-being is more readily available (McKnight and Kashdan 2009; Wilson and Murrell 2004).”

“[50], which may result in lower levels of the stress hormones that are implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes [51].”

“In fact, as explained by McKnight and Kashdan (2009), purpose can be seen as ‘‘a central, self-organizing life aim that organizes and stimulates goals, manages behaviors, and provides a sense of meaning” (p. 242).”

“At the lowest level, there are goals—things people aim to accomplish; at an intermediate level, there are purposes which generate, organize, and prioritize goals (8).”

“Based on the extant literature (e.g. Kashdan & McKnight, 2009; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009), we generated a list of 28 potential items for the survey.”

“Life purpose is characterized by the extent to which one experiences life as being directed, organized, and motivated by important goals [12].”

“As presented, purpose in life is assumed to play a motivational role that prompt exposure to experience [7,15,18].”

“Yet, a sense of purpose, as a disposition and as a brief reflection, played a protective role, suggesting it is an asset for successfully navigating stressful experiences (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“These worthwhile goals or commitments can be defined as life purposes (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009), which are linked to what people can define as their sources of meaning (Schnell, 2009).”

“Purpose refers to overarching goals that have personal significance (George and Park 2013), that provide a framework for lower-level goals and actions, and motivate an individual to allocate personal resources toward their actualization (McKnight and Kashdan 2009).”

“Individuals with a higher sense of purpose tend to have more affective, cognitive, and behavioral engagement than individuals with less purpose (McKnight and Kashdan, 2009; Scheier et al., 2006).”

“By contrast, one’s purpose in life is a function of goals associated with core values, providing clearer direction in an environment replete with choices and resulting conflict (Hill, Edmonds, Peterson, Luyckx, & Andrews, 2016; Kashdan & McKnight, 2013; McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Purpose in life is a cognitive process that defines life goals and provides personal meaning (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009 ).”

“It is suggested that having a purpose in life pervades several aspects of life, insofar that it helps one to organize daily activities and goals around the pursuit of that life direction (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“For example, purpose in life refers to having a sense of meaning and direction in one’s life, which may guide goals and behaviors and permit redirection when goals are not met (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Furthermore, goals are difficult to achieve in general when social influences actively thwart their achievement, whereas social acceptance of purposes can reduce barriers (McKnight & Kashdan, 2009).”

“Purpose works as a guide that organises one’s life, and a purposeful life allows positive transformation (McKnight and Kashdan, 2009).”