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Cited by 1,437Death Anxiety and Social ExclusionSocial and Intergroup PsychologyIdentity, Memory, and Therapy

The Meaning Maintenance Model: On the Coherence of Social Motivations

Heine, Steven J., Proulx, Travis, Vohs, Kathleen D.·2006·Personality and Social Psychology Review
DOI 10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1
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Abstract

The meaning maintenance model (MMM) proposes that people have a needfor meaning; that is, a need to perceive events through a prism of mental representations of expected relations that organizes their perceptions of the world. When people's sense of meaning is threatened, they reaffirm alternative representations as a way to regain meaning-a process termedfluid compensation. According to the model, people can reaffirm meaning in domains that are differentfrom the domain in which the threat occurred. Evidenceforfluid compensation can be observed following a variety of psychological threats, including most especially threats to the self, such as self-esteem threats, feelings of uncertainty, interpersonal rejection, and mortality salience. People respond to these diverse threats in highly similar ways, which suggests that a range of psychological motivations are expressions of a singular impulse to generate and maintain a sense of meaning.

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Crossref · 10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1

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185 of 185 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The creation and maintenance of meaning comprises a sense of self-continuity, a connection between the self, others and the environment, and the feeling that one's existence matters.

    “The creation and maintenance of meaning comprises a sense of self-continuity, a connection between the self, others and the environment (Baumeister and Vohs, 2002; Heine et al., 2006), and the feeling that one’s existence matters.”

    From Collective Trauma and the Social Construction of Meaning (2018) · cites this paper as Heine et al., 2006

  • When a sense of meaning is threatened, the individual may compensate for an inability to reach one set of goals by shifting effort toward another set (fluid compensation).

    “When a sense of meaning is threatened, the individual may compensate for an inability to reach one set of goals by shifting effort toward another set (known as fluid compensation; Heine et al., 2006; Proulx, 2012).”

    From Extension of the Transdiagnostic Model to Focus on Intolerance of Uncertainty: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Treatment (2014) · cites this paper as Heine et al., 2006

  • Heine, Proulx, and Vohs (2006) proposed that the superordinate goal of humans is to generate a life with meaning.

    “Heine, Proulx, and Vohs (2006) proposed that the superordinate goal of humans is to generate a life with meaning.”

    From Extension of the Transdiagnostic Model to Focus on Intolerance of Uncertainty: A Review of the Literature and Implications for Treatment (2014) · cites this paper as Heine, Proulx, and Vohs, 2006

  • Psychological models (uncertainty-identity theory, meaning maintenance model, compensatory control theory) elaborate how the defensive need to alleviate uncertainty leads to group identification, ideological inflexibility, and dogmatism.

    “Psychological models, such as the uncertainty-identity theory [156], meaning maintenance model [157], and compensatory control theory [158,159], have elaborated on how the defensive need to alleviate uncertainty leads to group identification, ideological inflexibility, and dogmatism.”

    From Impact of Media-Induced Uncertainty on Mental Health: Narrative-Based Perspective. (2025) · cites this paper as [157]

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Authors
Heine, S. J., Proulx, T., & Vohs, K. D.
Affiliations
  • University of British Columbia (CA)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
ORCID
Venue
Personality and Social Psychology Review
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2006-05
Volume
10
Issue
2
Pages
88-110
ISSN
  • 1088-8683 (ISSN-L)
  • 1532-7957
DOI
10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1
OpenAlex
W2156155183
Cited by
1,437
References
180
Citations by year
2026: 108 · 2025: 106 · 2024: 92 · 2023: 90 · 2022: 101 · 2021: 100 · 2020: 123 · 2019: 86 · 2018: 60 · 2017: 73 · 2016: 62 · 2015: 74 · 2014: 75 · 2013: 72 · 2012: 61
FWCI
2.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Personality and Social Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r01mh060155-04)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH060155-01A2)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
Keywords
need for meaning, psychological threat, self-esteem threat, uncertainty, interpersonal rejection, mortality salience, social motivation, meaning maintenance
MeSH terms
Humans, Motivation, Self Concept, Semantics, Social Behavior, Symbolism

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