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

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 181 of the 181 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Meaning Maintenance Model: On the Coherence of Social Motivations

Heine, Steven J., Proulx, Travis, Vohs, Kathleen D.·2006·Personality and Social Psychology Review

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

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.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1

Cites

181 of 181 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
Kuhn, T. S., & Schlegel, R. (1963) · Physics Today · doi:10.1063/1.3050879 · Cited by 35,538
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
Naegele, K. D., & Goffman, E. (1956) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2089106 · Cited by 26,049
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Festinger, L. (1957) · doi:10.1515/9781503620766 · Cited by 24,241
The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.117.3.497 · Cited by 23,245
Advances In Experimental Social Psychology
(2022) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/s0065-2601(22)x0002-6 · Cited by 22,559
Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.98.2.224 · Cited by 21,995
A theory of social comparison processes
Festinger, L. (1954) · Human Relations · doi:10.1177/001872675400700202 · Cited by 20,926
Untitled work
(1969) · Cited by 18,340
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Morvan, C., & O’Connor, A. (2017) · Macat Library eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781912282432 · Cited by 18,284
The psychology of interpersonal relations
Heider, F. (1958) · American Sociological Review · doi:10.2307/2089062 · Cited by 17,189

Show all 180 references

Research works printed but not linked: 30

Aristotle, 1987, De Anima
Aronson, E., 1968, The cognitive consistency theories: A source book, 5
Audy, J. R., 1980, The anatomy of loneliness, 111
Bartlett, F. C., 1932, Remembering
10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 · DOI · Paper page
Becker, E., 1973, The denial of death
Camus, A. (1955). An absurd reasoning. The myth of Sisyphus and other essays (pp. 3-49). New York: Vintage.
Creel, S. C., 2004, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 30, 1119
Dechesne, M., 2006, Individual differences in terrormanagement research: The case of needforclosure
Ellemers, N., 1999, Social identity
Epstein, S., 1981, Self-concept: Advances in theory of a theory and research, 27
Freud, S., 1930, Sigmund Freud: 12. Civilization, society, and religion, 245
Greenberg, J., 2004, Handbook of experimental existential psychology
Hart, J., Fifth Conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychologists
Heine, S. J., 2003, Nebraska symposium on motivation: Vol. 49. Cross-cultural differences in perspectives on the self, 101
Heine, S. J., 2005, Culture and Social Behavior: The Tenth Ontario Symposium, 115
Hogg, M. A., 2001, The social niind: Cognitive and motivational aspects of interpersonal behaviour, 323
James, W., 1997, The meaning of truth
Jost, J. T., 2004, Handbook of experimental existential psychology, 263
Kierkegaard, S., 1997, The essential Kierkegaard, 350
Lifton, R. J., 1976, The life of the self
McGregor, I., annual meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association
Miedema, J., 2006, The influence of ego threat on reactions to perceived fairness
Mikulincer, M., 2004, Handbook of experimental existential psychology, 287
Mischel, W., 2003, Handbook of self and identity, 15
Pinel, E. C., 2004, Handbook of experimental existential psychology, 352
Rank, O., 1941, Beyond psychology
10.1037/0022-3514.62.3.392 · DOI
Vaughan, D., 1986, Uncoupling
Webster, D. M. & Kruglanski, A. W. (1998). In W. Stroebe & M. Hewstone (Eds.), European Review of Social Psychology (Vol. 8, pp. 133-173). New York: Wiley.

Sorted by citations

Items 801–900 of 1,000

Social support and mental health of border dwellers in Southwest China: the role of psychological capital and meaning in life
Kai-peng, G., Kuang, J.-F., Yang, L.-L., Miao, J., & Ma, L.-A. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07832-w · Cited by 6
“According to the Meaning Maintenance Model, individuals restore their sense of meaning when faced with existential disruptions by constructing alternative frameworks, often by reconfig - uring social relationships to address threats to their original meaning system (Heine et al., 2006).”
The relationship between presence of meaning and life satisfaction among Chinese young adults: a moderated mediation model of perceived stress and hope
Zhang, Y., Jiang, B., Lei, T., & Yan, Y. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1610440 · Cited by 6
“Presence of meaning in life is a cognitive dimension that provides people with an overall framework for understanding themselves, the world, and the relationship between themselves and the world (39).”
Short video addiction and subjective well-being in adolescents: A chained mediation model of emotional deterioration and loss of life meaning
Liu, H., Li, H., Wáng, Q., Lan, Z., & Gou, W. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100852 · Cited by 6
Group meaningfulness and the causal direction of influence between the ingroup and the self or another individual: Evidence from the Induction-Deduction Paradigm
Cadinu, M., Carnaghi, A., & Guizzo, F. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0229321 · Cited by 6
“Social observers are active meaning-makers, namely they seek and build up coherent and unified relations among events [1].”
BackgroundInfluential
Physical Health as a Foundation for Well-Being: Exploring the RICH Theory of Happiness
Winter, E. L., Maykel, C., Bray, M. A., Levine-Schmitt, M., & Graves, M. (2022) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-8263-6_1 · Cited by 6
A Meaningful Synergy: The Integration of Character Strengths and the Three Types of Meaning in Life
Russo-Netzer, P., Tarrasch, R., & Niemiec, R. M. (2023) · The social science · doi:10.3390/socsci12090494 · Cited by 4
Psychedelic-assisted Psychotherapy in 3-D: Acceptance, Connectedness, and Defensiveness
Fischman, L. G. (2023) · Neuropsychoanalysis · doi:10.1080/15294145.2023.2255991 · Cited by 6
“Alternative theories include the meaning maintenance model, or MMM (Heine et al., 2006), which con-strues threat as arising whenever one experiences a disruption in one ’ s sense of expected relations between things, and therefore a loss of meaning; the expectancy violation model (Proulx et al., 2012), which cites vio…”
Background
The unique role of meaning in life in the relationships between trait awe, subjective well‐being, and prosocial tendency: A network analysis
Lv, Y., Xu, Q., Tang, Q., Tao, Y., Zhang, C., & Liu, X. (2024) · PsyCh Journal · doi:10.1002/pchj.733 · Cited by 7
“The meaning maintenance model (Heine et al., 2006) highlights that individuals ’ perception of meaning contributes directly to their SWB.”
Background
Connected to the future, life is more meaningful: the effect of future self-continuity on the presence of meaning
Xue, L., Fan, H., Yan, Y., Zhang, L., Jiang, Y., & Chen, L. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-06521-4 · Cited by 6
“First, within the framework of the meaning maintenance model, future self-continuity has been shown to positively influence the presence of meaning (Heine et al., 2006).”
Influential
Ambiguous by a paradoxical leader: How and when paradoxical leadership hinders employee proactive behavior
Xu, C., Zhang, M., Chen, C., Sun, J., Wang, Y., & Ma, K. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-07145-4 · Cited by 8
“When faced with ambiguity or uncertainty, employees try to make sense of their situation and influ - ence their work environment to reduce ambiguity (Ashford & Black, 1996 ; Heine et al., 2006 ).”
Exposure to Structured Service Environments as a Proactive Strategy for Handling Service Failures
Khenfer, J., & Trendel, O. (2025) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/10946705241307676 · Cited by 6
“The MMM posits that meaning is what connects the people, places, and things around oneself in expected and predictable ways (Heine, Proulx, and Vohs 2006).”
Influential
Entrepreneurial identity formation in family firms: the transgenerational impact of parents’ fear of failure
Bagherian, S. S., Strano, S. M., Soleimanof, S., Carr, J. C., & Feyzbakhsh, A. (2025) · Journal of Small Business Management · doi:10.1080/00472778.2025.2480840 · Cited by 6
“As a result, offspring often strive to develop their EI to cultivate a stronger sense of belonging within their family business (Heine et al., 2006).”
What’s Death Got to Do With It? Controversies and Alternative Theories
Hart, J. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811844-3.00003-2 · Cited by 6
The Review of Terror Management Theory
傅, 明. (2021) · Advances in Psychology · doi:10.12677/ap.2021.1110257 · Cited by 6
Consumption to compensate for the feeling of “loss of ownership of self” Women’s journeys through the liminal transitions of marriage
Ranjitha, G. P., Unnithan, A. B., & Belk, R. W. (2021) · International Journal of Consumer Studies · doi:10.1111/ijcs.12766 · Cited by 7
What Motives Do People Most Want to Know About When Meeting Another Person? An Investigation Into Prioritization of Information About Seven Fundamental Motives
Billet, M. I., McCall, H. C., & Schaller, M. (2022) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/01461672211069468 · Cited by 6
“…on human motivation identifies many other motives too—includ ing motives pertaining to constructs as conceptually diverse as food (Anselme & Güntürkün, 2019), power (McClelland, 1985), autonomy (Deci & Ryan, 2008), cognitive closure (Kruglanski et al., 2010), and meaning (Heine et al., 2006).”
Background
When Good People Break Bad: Moral Impression Violations in Everyday Life
Guan, K., & Heine, S. J. (2022) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506221076685 · Cited by 6
“The present research provides an explanation of how these experiences affect percei-vers, grounded in the meaning maintenance model (Heine et al., 2006) and social perception literature (Goodwin et al., 2014).”
Self-citation
How Religious Attitudes Are Associated with Depression in Turkish Society during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Meaning in Life
Koçak, O. (2022) · Religions · doi:10.3390/rel13100956 · Cited by 6
What makes a self-deprecating advertisement more persuasive? The role of self-uncertainty
Liu, C., & Gao, J. (2023) · Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics · doi:10.1108/apjml-06-2022-0514 · Cited by 6
Nostalgia Bolsters Perceptions of a Meaningful Self in a Meaningful World
Juhl, J., & Routledge, C. D. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6527-6_17 · Cited by 6
Exploring pre-service student-teachers' commitment to community engagement in the second year of training
Human-Vogel, S., & Dippenaar, H. (2012) · Higher Education Research & Development · doi:10.1080/07294360.2012.678307 · Cited by 6
“In addition, based on Lieberman's (1998) analysis of identity processes in commitment and the acknowledgement that meaning is a basic human need required for personal wellbeing (Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006 ; Steger & Kashdan, 2007 ), we wanted to investigate Meaningfulness as an additional possible explanatory factor…”
Method
Barriers to Transforming Hostile Relations: Why Friendly Gestures Can Backfire
Menon, T., Sheldon, O. J., & Galinsky, A. D. (2014) · Negotiation and Conflict Management Research · doi:10.1111/ncmr.12023 · Cited by 6
Identity Concerns or Functional Concerns? High vs Low Identifiers Reaction to Brand Identity Change
Illia, L., & van Rekom, J. (2012) · Corporate Reputation Review · doi:10.1057/crr.2011.26 · Cited by 6
Ethos of Conflict: A System Justification Perspective
Jost, J. T., Stern, C., & Sterling, J. L. (2015) · Peace psychology book series · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-17861-5_4 · Cited by 8
Connecting the dots from a distance: Does mentally traveling through space and time increase searching for life’s meaning?
Vazeou‐Nieuwenhuis, A. (2016) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2016.1257047 · Cited by 6
“Encountering events that are unpredictable or otherwise uncertain, then, is likely to threaten our carefully organized mental frameworks, thereby leading people to question the meaningfulness of their formerly held beliefs including the meaningfulness of their lives as a whole (Heine et al., 2006).”
Background
Initiatives that diminish the biases of recruiters against people who disclose or demonstrate a diagnosed mental disorder
Moss, S. A., Vemuri, S. R., Hedley, D., & Uljarević, M. (2017) · Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal · doi:10.1108/edi-05-2016-0037 · Cited by 6
Can workplaces foster an openness to diversity surreptitiously?
Moss, S. A., Ennis, G., Zander, K. K., Bartram, T., & Hedley, D. (2018) · Equality Diversity and Inclusion An International Journal · doi:10.1108/edi-11-2017-0260 · Cited by 6
Meaning-Making, Communication, and Terror Management Processes
Miller, C. H., & Massey, Z. B. (2019) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811844-3.00024-x · Cited by 6
Talking to the Dead in the Classroom: How a Supposedly Psychic Event Impacts Beliefs and Feelings
Lesaffre, L., Kuhn, G., Jopp, D. S., Mantzouranis, G., Diouf, C., Rochat, D., & Möhr, C. (2020) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294120961068 · Cited by 6
“For instance, PBs provided explanations for the unknown (Heine et al., 2006; Wyer & Albarrac ın, 2005), a sense of control (Boden & Gross, 2013), or helped to manage one’s stress (Keinan, 2002; Mascaro & Rosen, 2006; Tuck et al.”
BackgroundResult
The need for sense-making as a personal resource: conceptualization and scale development
Cantarero, K., van Tilburg, W. A. P., Gąsiorowska, A., & Wojciszke, B. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-01637-3 · Cited by 10
“Also the Meaning Maintenance Model posits that people have a fundamental need for meaning (Heine et al., 2006; Proulx, 2013; Proulx & Inzlicht, 2012).”
Background
Experimentally testing the impact of status threat on heterosexual men’s use of anti-gay slurs: A precarious manhood and coalitional value perspective
Brown, T. L., & Smith, N. G. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-021-02489-7 · Cited by 6
“Future research on status threat may also incorporate additional cognitive and motivational perspectives from the threat-defense literature, specifically the Meaning Maintenance Model (MMM; Heine et al., 2006).”
Background
Creating a model of cross-task motivation — A meta-narrative review of the literature on dynamic motivation
Feyer, F. K. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1193186 · Cited by 5
“This hypothesis is quite similar to the restoration hypothesis, stating that loss of meaning in a task may elicit a response where the individual seeks to find meaning in another event/task, increasing their motivation for that task (Heine et al., 2006).”
Result
The Moral Origins of God: Darwin, Durkheim, and the Homo Duplex Theory of Theogenesis
Marshall, D. A. (2016) · Frontiers in Sociology · doi:10.3389/fsoc.2016.00013 · Cited by 6
“But such success, and the very value of consciousness as an adaptive trait, is contingent upon the individual’s possession of, and confidence in, an intact nomos (Berger and Luckmann, 1967; Heine et al., 2006).”
Background
The true self and existential structure? Unexpected effects of mortality salience and personal need for structure on belief in a true self
Christy, A., Sanders, C. S., Vess, M., Routledge, C., & Schlegel, R. J. (2017) · Self and Identity · doi:10.1080/15298868.2016.1269669 · Cited by 8
An interpretation of meta-analytical evidence for the link between collective narcissism and conspiracy theoriesPreprint
de Zavala, A. G., Bierwiaczonek, K., & Ciesielski, P. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/2rku3 · Cited by 6
Meaning and Heroism
Igou, E. R. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-48129-1_321 · Cited by 9
Mediating roles of psychological entitlement and presence of meaning in the associations between parental measures (rejection and overprotection) and adolescent internet addiction
Kong, F., Wei, W., Xia, Y., Xie, D., Xue, K., Wang, W., & Potenza, M. N. (2025) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2025.04.131 · Cited by 6
Identifying childhood correlates of adult purpose and meaning across 22 countries (Global Flourishing Study)
Kim, E. S., Bradshaw, M., Padgett, R. N., Chen, Y., Shiba, K., Ritchie‐Dunham, J. L., Case, B. W., Johnson, B. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2025) · npj Mental Health Research · doi:10.1038/s44184-025-00127-9 · Cited by 10
Investigating the conceptual link between appearance-related self-discrepancies and retail therapy shopping behavior through motivational routes
Lee, J., & Sadachar, A. (2023) · Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management · doi:10.1108/jfmm-07-2022-0160 · Cited by 4
Meaningfulness and attachment: what dreams, psychosis and psychedelic states tell us about our need for connection
Fischman, L. G. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1413111 · Cited by 5
“The MMM, while not a mathematical model, is built around similar dynamics and motivational underpinnings.”
Influential
Mortality salience and helping intentions: mediating role of search for meaning and moderating role of negotiable fate
Chang, B., Cheng, J., Fang, J., & Lyu, Z. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1507212 · Cited by 6
Let’s take back control: Disentangling and integrating group-based and certainty-based social responses to threatened personal control
Fritsche, I., Lautenbacher, J. M., & Masson, T. (2025) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2025.2509465 · Cited by 8
The facets of meaningful experiences: An examination of purpose and coherence in meaningful and meaningless events
Tov, W., Ng, S. H., & Kang, S. (2019) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2019.1689426 · Cited by 5
“Previous theories emphasized how conflicts with beliefs and expectations posed threats to meaning (e.g., Heine et al., 2006).”
Background
Air Force Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Programs and Services: Contribution to Airman and Family Resilience and Readiness
Meadows, S. O., Holliday, S. B., Chan, W. Y., Wrabel, S. L., Tankard, M. E., Schultz, D. J., Busque, C. M., Knutson, F., Payne, L., & Miller, L. L. (2019) · RAND Corporation eBooks · doi:10.7249/rr2670 · Cited by 5
Evaluating Academic and Work-Related Factors in Working Community College Students With and Without Children
Brauer, M. C., & Foust, M. S. (2020) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn25.3.291 · Cited by 5
Meaning-Making Activity in the Emotional Experience of Borderline Personalities
Ferrarello, S. (2021) · Psychopathology · doi:10.1159/000517932 · Cited by 5
When out-groups are perceived as out of place: urban disorder sensitivity and environmental distance
Jaśkiewicz, M., & Sobiecki, J. (2021) · Current Issues in Personality Psychology · doi:10.5114/cipp.2021.110842 · Cited by 5
“…illustrate that prejudice, stereotypes, or a heightened need to structure the social world can be motivated by a need to avoid chaos and uncertainty and to make sense of and to give meaning to reality (Dechesne & Kruglan-ski, 2004; Heine et al., 2006; Jost et al., 2003; Landau et al., 2004).”
Background
Psychological Approaches to Life’s Meaning
Baumeister, R. F. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190063504.013.23 · Cited by 5
Exploring School Principals’ Experiences During the First Four Months of the Pandemic as a Way to Reimagine Inclusive Education
Anderson, D. J., MacCormack, J. W. H., & Sider, S. (2022) · Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy · doi:10.7202/1092706ar · Cited by 5
“In addition, this framework can help evaluate the transformative power of such incidents by evaluating the extent to which leadership development reflects a reinterpretation, revision, or reaffirmation of educational paradigms (Heine et al., 2006).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Synchronized Scheduling: Choosing to Experience Different Events in Different Places at the Same Time as Others
Shaddy, F., Tu, Y., & Fishbach, A. (2022) · Journal of the Association for Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/723741 · Cited by 5
“Feelings of connection and belonging are a vital source of happiness and meaning in daily life (Baumeister and Leary 1995; Diener and Seligman 2002; Heine, Proulx, and Vohs 2006).”
Background
Electrophysiological evidence for sensitization effects elicited by concurrent social threats
Niedeggen, M., Fang, X., Yang, Y., & Kerschreiter, R. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-39456-0 · Cited by 5
Identifying points for therapeutic intervention from the lived experiences of people seeking help for retroactive jealousy
Blayney, R., & Burgess, M. (2023) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.12697 · Cited by 5
Construction of an instrument to measure effectiveness of placement settings and experiences
Sturre, V. L., Keele, S. M., von Treuer, K. M., Moss, S. A., McLeod, J., & Macfarlane, S. (2012) · Cited by 5
The Mechanism of New Generation Employees’ Suicide Ideation
Yuxin, L. I. U., ZHANG, J., ZHANG, X., Chengquan, W. A. N. G., & Zhang, J. (2013) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2013.01150 · Cited by 6
The impact of a limited time perspective on information distortion
Chaxel, A., Wiggins, C., & Xie, V. (2018) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.09.001 · Cited by 5
Une explication instrumentale et relationnelle de la réaction du témoin d’une injustice interactionnelle au travail. Le cas du dénigrement entre pairs
Biétry, F., & Creusier, J. (2018) · M n gement · doi:10.3917/mana.213.0967 · Cited by 5
Strength of socio-political attitudes moderates electrophysiological responses to perceptual anomalies
Reiß, S., Klackl, J., Proulx, T., & Jonas, E. (2019) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0220732 · Cited by 5
Self-citation
Max Weber e la secolarizzazione oggi
Belardinelli, S. (2020) · Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) · doi:10.19272/202000701002 · Cited by 5
The moderating role of mystical-type experiences on the relationship between existential isolation and meaning in life
Sielaff, A., Horner, D. E., & Greenberg, J. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111347 · Cited by 5
Japanese Dictionary for Sentiment Analysis of Counselling Text
Nakayama, M., Hatanakaka, C., Konakawa, H., Suzuki, Y., Koh, A. H. Q., Sugihara, Y., & Kawai, T. (2021) · International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI) · doi:10.1145/3472307.3484663 · Cited by 6
Self-determined immortality: Testing the role of autonomy in promoting perceptions of symbolic immortality and well-being
Horner, D. E., Sielaff, A., & Greenberg, J. (2022) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-022-09944-3 · Cited by 5
“The reviewer posited this alternative model would fit the meaning maintenance model (Heine et al., 2006), which, much like cognitive dissonance theory, proposes that people strive to sustain expected connections among their cognitions, and when cognitions do not fit, people compensate by increasing…”
Building Bridges, Forging New Frontiers: Meaning-Making in Action
Russo‐Netzer, P. (2023) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci12100574 · Cited by 6
Economic Insecurity and Health
D’Ambrosio, C., & Clark, A. E. (2023) · Revista Hacienda Pública Española · doi:10.7866/hpe-rpe.23.4.3 · Cited by 5
“Economic insecurity has also been argued to cause ill health, and in particular has been shown to impair mental health by altering cognitive functioning (Mani et al ., 2013), damaging self-esteem (Heine et al ., 2006) and triggering psychological disorders (Menéndez-Espina et al .,2019).”
Background
The Experience of Meaning
Zwicky, J. (2017) · Mathematics, culture, and the arts · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-53385-8_8 · Cited by 5
Exploring How to Diagnose Members’ Concerns About Changes in Core Elements of Organizations
Illia, L. (2009) · The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science · doi:10.1177/0021886309346142 · Cited by 4
Which Cognitive Biases can Exacerbate our Workload?
Moss, S. A., Wilson, S. G., & Davis, J. M. (2016) · Australasian Journal of Organisational Psychology · doi:10.1017/orp.2016.1 · Cited by 5
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? Mortality Salience, Death-Thought Accessibility, and Self-Forgiveness
McConnell, J. R. (2018) · Basic and Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/01973533.2018.1513361 · Cited by 5
Structure and Goal Pursuit: Individual and Cultural Differences
Laurin, K., Kay, A. C., & Landau, M. J. (2018) · Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2515245918797130 · Cited by 5
Death, ideology, and worldview: Evidence of death anxiety but not mortality salience effects on political ideology and worldviewPreprint
Nilsson, A., & Sinclair, S. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/anh8v · Cited by 5
The relation between mindset, social comparison, and academic engagement
Yasuda, Y., & Goegan, L. D. (2025) · Social Psychology of Education · doi:10.1007/s11218-025-10018-8 · Cited by 7
“Beliefs related to how the world works extensively shape individuals’ psychologi - cal patterns in various settings (Heine et al., 2006), and this is applicable to aca - demic settings.”
Psychological distress, quality of life, needs, and resources among informal caregivers in specialist palliative home care
Ullrich, A., Wortberg, E., Bokemeyer, C., & Oechsle, K. (2025) · Supportive Care in Cancer · doi:10.1007/s00520-025-10072-0 · Cited by 4
“It has been suggested that a broader range of important sources might be protective, as the impact of compromised meaning in one domain can be mitigated by others [42].”
Blind Spots in Abortion Attitudes: Investigating the Nuance of UK Women’s Pro-Choice Perspectives
Lozano, N. M., Adair, L., Baker, J., Shrestha, A., & Kayser, S. (2023) · Women s Reproductive Health · doi:10.1080/23293691.2023.2206388 · Cited by 4
The influence of fear on consumers' experiential consumption preferences during public health crises: Testing multiple mediation models
Yin, Y., Zhao, H., & Xu, S.-H. (2024) · The international journal of tourism research · doi:10.1002/jtr.2706 · Cited by 4
Voice for ourselves or myself in times of crisis: When and how crisis‐related uncertainty motivates employee voices
Wang, X., Duan, J., Xu, Y. Q., Shi, L., & Qian, C. (2025) · Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology · doi:10.1111/joop.70007 · Cited by 4
Learned Helplessness and Meaning in Life in Emerging Adults: The Serial Mediating Role of Free Will and Agency.
Arslan, G., & Uzun, K. (2025) · Scandinavian Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/sjop.70018 · Cited by 4
“If only I had” versus “If only I had not”: Mental deletions, mental additions, and perceptions of meaning in life events
Choi, H., & Markman, K. D. (2018) · Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2018.1545040 · Cited by 6
“A wealth of prior research suggests that individuals are motivated to maintain and enhance current levels of meaning in their lives (see Heine et al., 2006, for a review).”
Background
Pandemic impact on patients with advanced non-COVID-19 illness and their family carers receiving specialised palliative home care: a qualitative study
Nyblom, S., Benkel, I., Carling, L., Löfdahl, E., Molander, U., & Öhlén, J. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059577 · Cited by 4
Regulatory Emotional Self-efficacy and Prosocial Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model
Li, L., Zhang, J., He, X., Hu, F., Liu, X., Huang, L. J., & Liu, H. (2023) · SAGE Open · doi:10.1177/21582440231152407 · Cited by 6
“According to MMM (Heine et al., 2006), once meaning in life is threatened, individuals are more likely to compensate by engaging in prosocial behavior (Fang & Chang, 2019).”
Background
Ecological introspection resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic: The threat perception of the pandemic was positively related to pro-environmental behaviors
Zuo, S., Wang, F., Hong, Y., Chan, H., Chiu, C. P., & Wang, X. (2023) · The Journal of Positive Psychology · doi:10.1080/17439760.2023.2190923 · Cited by 4
“During this process, epistemological changes could be activated by negative feelings (Heine et al., 2006).”
Background
The effects of perceived COVID‐19 threat on compensatory conviction, thought reliance, and attitudes
Moreno, L., Paredes, B., Horcajo, J., Briñol, P., See, Y. H. M., DeMarree, K. G., & Petty, R. E. (2023) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2976 · Cited by 4
“These findings are consistent with prior research on compensatory conviction and psychological models of compensation from threat, such as the Meaning Maintenance Model (Heine et al., 2006), the Uncertainty Management Model (van den Bos & Lind, 2002), and the General Process Model of Threat and Defence (Jonas et al.,…”
Method
Relationship between Psychological Richness and Subjective Well-Being in College Students: The Chain Mediating Role of Self-Esteem and Meaning in Life
李, 雨. (2023) · Advances in Psychology · doi:10.12677/ap.2023.137336 · Cited by 4
An examination of specialness meaning framework threat in reactive and retroactive romantic jealousy experiences
Frampton, J. R. (2023) · Personal Relationships · doi:10.1111/pere.12526 · Cited by 5
An Integrated Investigation Into the Impact of Workplace Shocks on Employee Turnover
Yang, C., Chen, Y., Zhao, X., Miao, L., Leong, A. M. W., & Cui, Z. (2023) · Cornell Hospitality Quarterly · doi:10.1177/19389655231214713 · Cited by 6
“As highlighted earlier, when existing meaning frameworks are threatened or disrupted, individuals often reconstruct or devise new ones (Heine et al., 2006).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Oops!… I waited until the last minute again: The role of fresh start nudges in task completion
Min, K. S., Min, D., Tadesse, A. F., & Kemp, E. (2024) · Applied Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1002/acp.4237 · Cited by 4
Unlocking Coherence: The Lock-and-Key Metaphor in the Psychology of Place
Krause, A., Meagher, B. R., & Weisberg, S. M. (2024) · Ecological Psychology · doi:10.1080/10407413.2024.2397772 · Cited by 4
“This drive leads to the maintenance of personal coherence—a sense of order and integration in our experiences, beliefs, and self-identity (Costin & Vignoles, 2020; Heine et al., 2006; Heintzelman & King, 2014; Martela & Steger, 2016).”
Worldviews From Within: A Qualitative Investigation of Metaphysical and Ethical Beliefs Among European Long-Term Buddhist Practitioners and Novice Mindfulness Practitioners
Poletti, S., Bauer, P. R., & Antoine Lutz, A. (2024) · Mindfulness · doi:10.1007/s12671-024-02448-w · Cited by 4
“…theories about the nature of reality provide a common frame of reference, enabling shared understanding and connection among individuals (Jost et al., 2008) fulfilling the basic need to develop functional beliefs and values to live in a sociocultural system (Heine et al., 2006; Kelly, 1991).”
The evolution of meaning and the rise of religion and ideology
Rafiei, S. K. S., & Anar, M. A. (2025) · Discover Psychology · doi:10.1007/s44202-025-00442-4 · Cited by 9
“The absence of such structures correlates with identity disturbance and heightened depressive symptoms [92].”
Identity Fusion and Status of the Evaluator as Moderators of Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification at the Group Level of Self-Description
Besta, T., Kaźmierczak, M., & Błażek, M. (2013) · Polish Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.2478/ppb-2013-0040 · Cited by 4
Taboo desires, creativity, and career choice
Hudson, N. W., & Cohen, D. (2016) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-016-9540-3 · Cited by 4
“The prime was supposed to induce participants to think about their overarching life goals (perhaps through long-term thinking about priorities or through meaning maintenance or terror management defenses; Heine et al. 2006; Landau et al. 2009).”
Background
Online Interactions as a Terror Management Mechanism: How Death Anxiety Affects Facebook Use
Partouche‐Sebban, J. (2016) · International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction · doi:10.4018/ijthi.2016100103 · Cited by 3
Leading against gender stereotypes: the positively deviant effect of female leaders’ personal need for structure on average team member performance
Wang, Z., Mao, J.-Y., Zhang, Y., & Liu, S. (2021) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01227-9 · Cited by 3
The Price of Predictability: Estimating Inconsistency Premiums in Social Interactions
Gerten, J., Zürn, M., & Topolinski, S. (2021) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167221998533 · Cited by 4
“…1980) and is processed as rewarding by the brain (e.g., Braem & Trapp, 2019; Trapp et al., 2015), unpredictability is experienced as aversive (e.g., Heine et al., 2006; Proulx et al., 2012; Schubert et al., 2017; Topolinski & Strack, 2015) and increases stress and physiological arousal (e.g., de…”
Background
Compensatory control in public emergencies
Tingting, R. A. O., Xiaowen, Z. H. U., Shenlong, Y. A. N. G., & Bai, J. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2022.01119 · Cited by 4
The role of vividness of imagery in metaphor generation
Stephan, E., Shidlovski, D., Shanetzki, M., Agajany, K., & Mashal, N. (2022) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2898 · Cited by 6
Meaning and blame: Meaning threats increase victim blaming, but profession and art can diminish it
Martens, J. P., Ayaz, S., Ayaz, S., & Dearn, G. (2023) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12916 · Cited by 4
The development of elementary teachers’ personal meanings of problem-solving through engaging in open-ended tasks
Sevinç, Ş., Francis, D. C., Hudson, R. A., & Liu, J. (2024) · Mathematics Education Research Journal · doi:10.1007/s13394-024-00493-1 · Cited by 4
“Therefore, personal meanings and affective constructs such as beliefs, interest, and motivation are related, and their distinctiveness may not be visible in most cases (Heine et al., 2006).”
Virtue and the organizational shadow: Exploring false innocence and the paradoxes of power.
O'Hara, M. M., & Omer, A. (2012) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/13941-009 · Cited by 4
Schooling the Enemy Within: Politics and Pedagogy
Ahmed, K. (2017) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/978-1-137-56921-9_8 · Cited by 4
Mortality Salience and Uncertainty Threat Among Younger vs. Older Adults
Ma-Kellams, C., Harrison, R., & Nguyen, M. N. (2020) · GeroPsych · doi:10.1024/1662-9647/a000246 · Cited by 4
The effect of financial anxiety on the insurance behavior of Russians in the context of the 2019-nCoV Pandemic
Medyanik, O. (2020) · Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Серия 12. Социология · doi:10.21638/spbu12.2020.401 · Cited by 7

Authors: Heine, S. J., Proulx, T., & Vohs, K. D.
Affiliations: University of British Columbia (CA)
University of Minnesota (US)
ORCID: Heine, Steven J.
Proulx, Travis
Vohs, Kathleen D.
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

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

The Meaning Maintenance Model: On the Coherence of Social Motivations

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks