The DOI matches its Crossref record; 164 of the 164 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Mental simulation and meaning in life.
Open accessAbstract
Mental simulation, the process of self-projection into alternate temporal, spatial, social, or hypothetical realities is a distinctively human capacity. Numerous lines of research also suggest that the tendency for mental simulation is associated with enhanced meaning. The present research tests this association specifically examining the relationship between two forms of simulation (temporal and spatial) and meaning in life. Study 1 uses neuroimaging to demonstrate that enhanced connectivity in the medial temporal lobe network, a subnetwork of the brain's default network implicated in prospection and retrospection, correlates with self-reported meaning in life. Study 2 demonstrates that experimentally inducing people to think about the past or future versus the present enhances self-reported meaning in life, through the generation of more meaningful events. Study 3 demonstrates that experimentally inducing people to think specifically versus generally about the past or future enhances self-reported meaning in life. Study 4 turns to spatial simulation to demonstrate that experimentally inducing people to think specifically about an alternate spatial location (from the present location) increases meaning derived from this simulation compared to thinking generally about another location or specifically about one's present location. Study 5 demonstrates that experimentally inducing people to think about an alternate spatial location versus one's present location enhances meaning in life, through meaning derived from this simulation. Study 6 demonstrates that simply asking people to imagine completing a measure of meaning in life in an alternate location compared with asking them to do so in their present location enhances reports of meaning. This research sheds light on an important determinant of meaning in life and suggests that undirected mental simulation benefits psychological well-being.
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The Science of Meaning in Life
King, L. A., & Hicks, J. A. (2020) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-072420-122921 · Cited by 633
Byrne, R. M. J. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033249 · Cited by 467
“F or p er so na l u se o nl y. PS67CH06-Byrne ARI 14 November 2015 8:47 Counterfactual explanations also imbue the past with personal meaning—a sense of purpose and coherence—by influencing judgments that certain pivotal events were “meant to be” (e.g., Kray et al. 2010, Waytz et al. 2015).”
BackgroundCohen, R., Bavishi, C., & Rozanski, A. (2016) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000274 · Cited by 447
“Although the literature suggests that life purpose is a component of meaning in life (12,13), for the purpose of this meta-analysis, we were interested in the net effect of purpose and meaning on important health outcomes.”
BackgroundProsocial behavior increases perceptions of meaning in life
Klein, N. (2016) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2016.1209541 · Cited by 364
Leisure reading and social cognition: A meta-analysis.
Mumper, M. L., & Gerrig, R. J. (2017) · Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts · doi:10.1037/aca0000089 · Cited by 249
Metadata
- Authors
- Waytz, A., Hershfield, H. E., & Tamir, D. I.
- Affiliations
- Northwestern University (US)
- Princeton University (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 2015-02
- Volume
- 108
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 336-355
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- PMC
- PMC4480924
- OpenAlex
- W2107411906
- Cited by
- 176
- References
- 164
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 18.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Keywords
- mental simulation, meaning in life, temporal simulation, spatial simulation, prospection, retrospection, default mode network, medial temporal lobe, self-projection, psychological well-being
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Arousal, Brain, Brain Mapping, Character, Female, Humans, Imagination, Individuality, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Mental Processes, Motivation, Nerve Net, Projection, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reality Testing, Social Environment, Statistics as Topic, Echo-Planar Imaging
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