The DOI matches its Crossref record; 26 of the 27 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life
Open accessAbstract
Being happy and finding life meaningful overlap, but there are important differences. A large survey revealed multiple differing predictors of happiness (controlling for meaning) and meaningfulness (controlling for happiness). Satisfying one’s needs and wants increased happiness but was largely irrelevant to meaningfulness. Happiness was largely present-oriented, whereas meaningfulness involves integrating past, present, and future. For example, thinking about future and past was associated with high meaningfulness but low happiness. Happiness was linked to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaningfulness went with being a giver rather than a taker. Higher levels of worry, stress, and anxiety were linked to higher meaningfulness but lower happiness. Concerns with personal identity and expressing the self-contributed to meaning but not happiness. We offer brief composite sketches of the unhappy but meaningful life and of the happy but meaningless life.
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“The more people devote time to thinking about the past and future, the more meaning they attribute to their life in general (Baumeister, Vohs, Aaker, & Garbinsky, 2013).”
From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Baumeister, Vohs, Aaker, & Garbinsky, 2013
Citations
Cites
Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohs, K. D. (2001) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/1089-2680.5.4.323 · Cited by 7,678
Self-citationA Survey Method for Characterizing Daily Life Experience: The Day Reconstruction Method
Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1103572 · Cited by 3,422
Know thyself and become what you are: a eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2008) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0 · Cited by 3,149
Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: an introduction
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1 · Cited by 2,187
What do people think they're doing? Action identification and human behavior.
Vallacher, R. R., & Wegner, D. M. (1987) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.94.1.3 · Cited by 1,802
Huta, V., & Ryan, R. M. (2010) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-009-9171-4 · Cited by 1,291
Parenthood and Marital Satisfaction: A Meta‐Analytic Review
Twenge, J. M., Campbell, W. K., & Foster, C. A. (2003) · Journal of Marriage and the Family · doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00574.x · Cited by 934
Personal projects, happiness, and meaning: On doing well and being yourself.
McGregor, I., & Little, B. R. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.2.494 · Cited by 890
Point-Counterpoints: Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Baumeister, R. F., & Tice, D. M. (1990) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.1990.9.2.165 · Cited by 743
Self-citationWaterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., & Conti, R. (2006) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9020-7 · Cited by 733
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Baumeister R. F., 1991, Meanings of life
- Cacioppo J. T., 2008, Loneliness
- Lyubomirsky S., 2008, The how of happiness
- Myers D. G., 1992, The pursuit of happiness
- Vallacher R. R., 1985, A theory of action identification
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Martin, L., White, M. P., Hunt, A., Richardson, M., Pahl, S., & Burt, J. (2020) · Journal of Environmental Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101389 · Cited by 928
Personality, Well-Being, and Health*
Friedman, H. S., & Kern, M. L. (2014) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115123 · Cited by 530
“Many scholars have argued persuasively that a meaningful life is not necessarily a happy one (Baumeister et al. 2013, King 2001, Ryff & Singer 2009).”
BackgroundA functional genomic perspective on human well-being
Fredrickson, B. L., Grewen, K. M., Coffey, K. A., Algoe, S. B., Firestine, A. M., Arevalo, J. M. G., Ma, J., & Cole, S. W. (2013) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1305419110 · Cited by 512
Happiness from Ordinary and Extraordinary Experiences
Bhattacharjee, A., & Mogilner, C. (2014) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/674724 · Cited by 380
Martela, F., Ryan, R. M., & Steger, M. F. (2018) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-017-9869-7 · Cited by 363
“While some see meaning in life and positive affect as relatively independent dimensions of human experience (e.g. Baumeister et al. 2013), here we join other researchers (e.g. Shrira et al. 2011) in examining how one might interact with the other.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J. L., & Garbinsky, E. N.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Baumeister, Roy F.
- Venue
- The Journal of Positive Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2013-11
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 505-516
- ISSN
- 1743-9760 (ISSN-L)
- 1743-9779
- OpenAlex
- W1519128814
- Cited by
- 1,006
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 42 · 2025: 98 · 2024: 98 · 2023: 101 · 2022: 82 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 124 · 2019: 81 · 2018: 66 · 2017: 66 · 2016: 96 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 13
- FWCI
- 86.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journal of Positive Psychology (publishedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Optimism, Hope, and Well-being
- Keywords
- happiness, meaningfulness, subjective well-being, predictors of happiness, need satisfaction, present orientation, stress, personal identity, self-expression
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