The Nature and Functions of the Meaningfulness of Life
Main Article Content
Abstract
The paper deals with the construct of the meaningfulness of life. After reviewing major theoretical and methodological approaches a new definition of meaningfulness of life is presented, grounded in the theory of meaning. Five different meaning-based assessment methods of meaningfulness of life are presented, each with a definition, major findings, advantages and disadvantages: the subject’s meaning profile, an open-ended examination of the meaning of the meaningfulness of life, overall rating scale of the meaning of the meaningfulness of life, a dimensional questionnaire of the meaningfulness of life, and the four anchors of the meaningfulness of life. The interrelations of the five measures and the manner in which they complement one another in exploring the meaningfulness of life are described. The relations of meaningfulness of life with the individual’s cognitive, emotional and personality tendencies are presented. A special section presents findings in a sample of cancer patients. The conclusions concern the nature and the psychological role of meaningfulness of life.
Keywords:
Meaningfulness of life, meaning, quality of life, stress, health
Article Details
How to Cite
KREITLER, Shulamith.
The Nature and Functions of the Meaningfulness of Life.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 10, n. 10, oct. 2022.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/3187>. Date accessed: 19 apr. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v10i10.3187.
Section
Research Articles
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
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2. Landau I. Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2017.
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11. Schnell T. (2009). The sources of meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being. J Pos Psychol. 2009; 4:483 – 499.
12. Kreitler S. The Construct of Meaning. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers; 2022.
13. Kreitler S. Spheres of Meaning. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers; 2022.
14. Kreitler S, Kreitler H. Cognitive Foundations of Personality Traits. New York: Plenum; 1990.
15. Kreitler S. Meaning and its manifestations: The meaning system. In: Kreitler S, Urbanek T. eds. Conceptions of Meaning. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Publishers; 2014:3-32.
16. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life: Is it meaning? Paper presented at: 2nd International Conference on Logotherapy and Existential Analysis: The Future of Logotherapy, Vienna Medical Society; May 15-18, 2014; Vienna, Austria.
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19. Kreitler S. The meaningfulness of life in cancer patients. Paper presented at: International Convention of Psychological Science ICPS; March 7-9, 2019; Paris, France.
20. Kreitler S. The meaningfulness of life and its correlates. Paper presented at: 16th European Congress of Psychology; July 2-5 2019; Moscow, Russia.
21. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and meaning of life: Note the differences. Paper presented at: 3rd Viktor Frankl International Congress on The Future of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis; September 22-25, 2016; Vienna, Austria.
22. Kreitler S, Badarnee M. Covid-19 impact on meaningfulness of life, quality of life, and psychological immunity. In: Pracana C, Wang M. eds. Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon, Portugal: InScience Press; 2022:32-36.
23. Kreitler S. The cognitive guidance of behavior. In: Jost, JT, Banaji MR, Prentice DA. eds. Perspectivism in Social Psychology: The Yin and Yang of Scientific Progress. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004:113-126.
24. Kreitler S. (2014). Changing attitudes and beliefs. In: Pracana C. ed. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon: Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2014: 99-102.
25. Kreitler H, & Kreitler S. The theory of cognitive orientation: Widening the scope of behavior prediction. In: Maher B , Maher WB. eds. Progress in Experimental Personality Research (Vol. 11). New York, NY: Academic Press; 1982: 101-169.
26. Kreitler S, Barak F, Toren A. (2014). Stress vulnerability and quality of life in health-care workers. In: Pracana C. ed. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon: Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2014: 361-363.
27. Kreitler S. The relation of the big five factors with stress vulnerability and specific stressors. In: Moore KA, Buchwald P. eds. Stress and Anxiety: Coping and Resilience.Berlin, Germany: Logos Verlag; 2017.
28. Kreitler S. Meanings of meaningfulness of life. In: Batthyany A. ed. Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (Vol. 1) (pp. 95-106). Vienna, Austria: Springer; 2016: 95-106.
29. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and its correlates. Paper resented at: ICPS 2017. International Convention of Psychological Science; March 23-25, 2017; Vienna, Austria.
30. Kreitler S. Personality traits as patterns of meaning assignment tendencies. 2018; J Pers. 86(1): 55-68.
31. Kreitler H, Kreitler S. Personality traits: The cognitive revolution. In: Palenzuela DL, Barros AM, eds. Modern Trends in Personality Theory and Research. Porto, Portugal: 1993: 47-63.
32. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and its impact on quality of life. In: Pracana C, Wang M, eds. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon, Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2016: 392-394.
33. Kreitler S, Kreitler MM. Multidimensional quality of life: A new measure of quality of life in adults. Soc Indic Res. 2006; 76: 5-33.
34. Kreitler S. Personality traits and meaningfulness of life. Paper presented at: European Conference on Personality (ECP 19); 17-21 July 2018; Zadar, Croatia.
35. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life: Its nature and reconstruction. Paper presented at 10th Biennial International Meaning Conference, “Courage, Faith, and Meaning: Existential Positive Psychology’s Response to Adversity”; 2-5 August, 2018; Vancouver, Canada.
36. Aftab A, Lee, EE, Klaus F, et al. Meaning in life and its relationship with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: a study of 1,042 community-dwelling adults across the lifespan. J Clin Psychiatry, 2019 10;81(1):19m13064. doi: 10.4088/JCP.19m13064. PMID: 31846240; PMCID: PMC7138140.
37. Mulahalilović A, Hasanović M, Pajević I, Jakovljević M. Meaning and the sense of meaning in life from a health perspective. Psychiatr. Danub, 2021; 33(Suppl 4):1025-1031.
38. Steptoe A, Fancourt D. (2020). An outcome-wide analysis of bidirectional associations between changes in meaningfulness of life and health, emotional, behavioural, and social factors. Sci Rep.2020;10, 6463.
39. Kreitler S. The cognitive orientation for health: A tool for assessing health-proneness. In: Schwarzer R. ed. Advances in Health Psychology Research (CD-ROM). Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin; 1999.
40. Kreitler S. The motivation for health: What is it and how to assess it. In: Pracana C, Wang M. eds. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon, Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2016:172-176.
41. Kreitler S, Richkov V. Cognitive orientation of health as a moderator of side effects of chemotherapeutic treatment. Psycho-Oncol. 2015; 24, 267.
42. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and existential distress. Adv Clin Exp Psychol. 2018; 1: 1-10.
43. Gravier AL, Shamieh O, Paiva CE. et al. Meaning in life in patients with advanced cancer: a multinational study. Support. Care Cancer. (2020); 28: 3927– 3934.
44. Hassankhani H, Soheili A, Hosseinpour I, Eivazi Ziaei J, Nahamin MA. Comparative study on the meaning in life of patients with cancer and their family members. J. Caring Sci. 2017; 6(4): 325-333.
45. Krok D, Telka E. (2018). Meaning in life in cancer patients: relationships with illness perception and global meaning changes. Health Psychol. Rep. 2018; 6:171-182.
46. Thompson SC, Pitts J. Factors relating to a person's ability to find meaning after a diagnosis of cancer. J Psychosoc Oncol.1993;11(3):1-21.
47. Lo C, Panday T, Zeppieri J, Rydall A, Murphy‐Kane P, Zimmermann C, Rodin G. Preliminary psychometrics of the Existential Distress Scale in patients with advanced cancer. Eur J Cancer. 2016; 26(6).
48. Kreitler S. The meaningfulness of life in cancer patients. Paper presented at: 7th International Cancer Study & Therapy Conference; December 2, 2021; Charlotte, USA
2. Landau I. Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2017.
3. Maeta JA. An individualist theory of meaning. J Value Inq. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-021-09803-3
4. Blessing KA. Atheism and the meaningfulness of life. In: Bullivant S, Ruse M, eds. Oxford handbook of atheism. London, UK: Oxford University Press; 2013:104-118.
5. Cohen R, Bavishi C, Rozanski A. Purpose in life and its relationship to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events. Psychosom Med. 2016;78(2):122-133.
6. Czekierda K, Banik A, Park CL, Luszczynska A. Meaning in life and physical health: systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychol Rev.2017; 11(4): 387–418.
7. Crumbaugh JC, Maholick LT. An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl’s concept of noogenic neurosis. J Clin Psychol. 1964;20:200-207.
8. Ryff C. Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1989; 57:1069–1081.
9. Steger MF, Frazier P, Oishi S, Kaler M. The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. J Couns Psychol. 2006; 53: 80-93.
10. Antonovsky A. Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 1987.
11. Schnell T. (2009). The sources of meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being. J Pos Psychol. 2009; 4:483 – 499.
12. Kreitler S. The Construct of Meaning. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers; 2022.
13. Kreitler S. Spheres of Meaning. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers; 2022.
14. Kreitler S, Kreitler H. Cognitive Foundations of Personality Traits. New York: Plenum; 1990.
15. Kreitler S. Meaning and its manifestations: The meaning system. In: Kreitler S, Urbanek T. eds. Conceptions of Meaning. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Publishers; 2014:3-32.
16. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life: Is it meaning? Paper presented at: 2nd International Conference on Logotherapy and Existential Analysis: The Future of Logotherapy, Vienna Medical Society; May 15-18, 2014; Vienna, Austria.
17. Kreitler S. (2010). The Kreitler Meaning System. Version 3. (website) http://kreitlermeaningsystem.com/
18. Kreitler S. Consciousness and meaning. In: Singer J, Salovey P, eds. At Play in the Fields of Consciousness: Essays in Honor of Jerome L. Singer. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; 1999: 175-206.
19. Kreitler S. The meaningfulness of life in cancer patients. Paper presented at: International Convention of Psychological Science ICPS; March 7-9, 2019; Paris, France.
20. Kreitler S. The meaningfulness of life and its correlates. Paper presented at: 16th European Congress of Psychology; July 2-5 2019; Moscow, Russia.
21. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and meaning of life: Note the differences. Paper presented at: 3rd Viktor Frankl International Congress on The Future of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis; September 22-25, 2016; Vienna, Austria.
22. Kreitler S, Badarnee M. Covid-19 impact on meaningfulness of life, quality of life, and psychological immunity. In: Pracana C, Wang M. eds. Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon, Portugal: InScience Press; 2022:32-36.
23. Kreitler S. The cognitive guidance of behavior. In: Jost, JT, Banaji MR, Prentice DA. eds. Perspectivism in Social Psychology: The Yin and Yang of Scientific Progress. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2004:113-126.
24. Kreitler S. (2014). Changing attitudes and beliefs. In: Pracana C. ed. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon: Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2014: 99-102.
25. Kreitler H, & Kreitler S. The theory of cognitive orientation: Widening the scope of behavior prediction. In: Maher B , Maher WB. eds. Progress in Experimental Personality Research (Vol. 11). New York, NY: Academic Press; 1982: 101-169.
26. Kreitler S, Barak F, Toren A. (2014). Stress vulnerability and quality of life in health-care workers. In: Pracana C. ed. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon: Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2014: 361-363.
27. Kreitler S. The relation of the big five factors with stress vulnerability and specific stressors. In: Moore KA, Buchwald P. eds. Stress and Anxiety: Coping and Resilience.Berlin, Germany: Logos Verlag; 2017.
28. Kreitler S. Meanings of meaningfulness of life. In: Batthyany A. ed. Logotherapy and Existential Analysis (Vol. 1) (pp. 95-106). Vienna, Austria: Springer; 2016: 95-106.
29. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and its correlates. Paper resented at: ICPS 2017. International Convention of Psychological Science; March 23-25, 2017; Vienna, Austria.
30. Kreitler S. Personality traits as patterns of meaning assignment tendencies. 2018; J Pers. 86(1): 55-68.
31. Kreitler H, Kreitler S. Personality traits: The cognitive revolution. In: Palenzuela DL, Barros AM, eds. Modern Trends in Personality Theory and Research. Porto, Portugal: 1993: 47-63.
32. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and its impact on quality of life. In: Pracana C, Wang M, eds. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon, Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2016: 392-394.
33. Kreitler S, Kreitler MM. Multidimensional quality of life: A new measure of quality of life in adults. Soc Indic Res. 2006; 76: 5-33.
34. Kreitler S. Personality traits and meaningfulness of life. Paper presented at: European Conference on Personality (ECP 19); 17-21 July 2018; Zadar, Croatia.
35. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life: Its nature and reconstruction. Paper presented at 10th Biennial International Meaning Conference, “Courage, Faith, and Meaning: Existential Positive Psychology’s Response to Adversity”; 2-5 August, 2018; Vancouver, Canada.
36. Aftab A, Lee, EE, Klaus F, et al. Meaning in life and its relationship with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: a study of 1,042 community-dwelling adults across the lifespan. J Clin Psychiatry, 2019 10;81(1):19m13064. doi: 10.4088/JCP.19m13064. PMID: 31846240; PMCID: PMC7138140.
37. Mulahalilović A, Hasanović M, Pajević I, Jakovljević M. Meaning and the sense of meaning in life from a health perspective. Psychiatr. Danub, 2021; 33(Suppl 4):1025-1031.
38. Steptoe A, Fancourt D. (2020). An outcome-wide analysis of bidirectional associations between changes in meaningfulness of life and health, emotional, behavioural, and social factors. Sci Rep.2020;10, 6463.
39. Kreitler S. The cognitive orientation for health: A tool for assessing health-proneness. In: Schwarzer R. ed. Advances in Health Psychology Research (CD-ROM). Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin; 1999.
40. Kreitler S. The motivation for health: What is it and how to assess it. In: Pracana C, Wang M. eds. International Psychological Applications and Trends. Lisbon, Portugal: World Institute for Advanced Research and Science (WIARS); 2016:172-176.
41. Kreitler S, Richkov V. Cognitive orientation of health as a moderator of side effects of chemotherapeutic treatment. Psycho-Oncol. 2015; 24, 267.
42. Kreitler S. Meaningfulness of life and existential distress. Adv Clin Exp Psychol. 2018; 1: 1-10.
43. Gravier AL, Shamieh O, Paiva CE. et al. Meaning in life in patients with advanced cancer: a multinational study. Support. Care Cancer. (2020); 28: 3927– 3934.
44. Hassankhani H, Soheili A, Hosseinpour I, Eivazi Ziaei J, Nahamin MA. Comparative study on the meaning in life of patients with cancer and their family members. J. Caring Sci. 2017; 6(4): 325-333.
45. Krok D, Telka E. (2018). Meaning in life in cancer patients: relationships with illness perception and global meaning changes. Health Psychol. Rep. 2018; 6:171-182.
46. Thompson SC, Pitts J. Factors relating to a person's ability to find meaning after a diagnosis of cancer. J Psychosoc Oncol.1993;11(3):1-21.
47. Lo C, Panday T, Zeppieri J, Rydall A, Murphy‐Kane P, Zimmermann C, Rodin G. Preliminary psychometrics of the Existential Distress Scale in patients with advanced cancer. Eur J Cancer. 2016; 26(6).
48. Kreitler S. The meaningfulness of life in cancer patients. Paper presented at: 7th International Cancer Study & Therapy Conference; December 2, 2021; Charlotte, USA