This document summarizes current research in existential psychology. It discusses key existential philosophers and psychologists who studied concepts like meaning, purpose, and responsibility. It outlines theories on the relationship between meaning-seeking and meaning-having. Research is presented on how meaning, goals, values, and personality traits are related. Studies examine instruments like the Meaning in Life Questionnaire and how its presence and search scales correlate with other measures. The implications of these relationships and directions for further research are discussed.

1. Current Research in
Existential Psychology
Nick Stauner
Personality Assessment Lab
UC Riverside

2. Outline
1. Intro to existentialism & existential psychology
2. Relationship of meaning-seeking to meaning-having
3. Theories of sources of meaning
 Goals & values
4. Relationship of meaning (and seeking) to goals & values
5. Relationships of meaning & seeking to personality traits
6. Implications for theory and research
7. Directions to Nirvana

3. Nausea
Sartre (1965). “Existentialism is a Humanism”
“Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first
principle of existentialism.”
“Thus, existentialism’s first move is to make every man aware of what
he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him.
And when we say that a man is responsible for himself, we do not only
mean that he is responsible for his own individuality, but that he is
responsible for all men.”
“The existentialists say at once that man is anguish…Of course, there
are many people who are not anxious; but we claim that they are
hiding their anxiety, that they are fleeing from it.”

4. The life worth living
 Socrates (469-399 BCE)
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
 Plato
 Thought it humanity’s duty to seek knowledge of the good and
true.
 Believed in objective forms of perfection
 Kierkegaard (1835)
“The thing is to understand myself, to see what God really wishes me
to do: the thing is to find a truth which is true for me, to find the
idea for which I can live and die.”
 James (1870)
 “My first act of free will is to believe in free will.”

5. Existential Psychology
 Maslow (1943). “A Theory of Human Motivation”
 Beyond self-actualization: the desires to know & understand
 May (1959). Existential Psychology
 Frankl (1963). Man’s Search for Meaning
 The “will to meaning” is “the primary motivational force”
 Klinger (1977). Meaning and Void
 Yalom (1981). Existential Psychotherapy
 Baumeister (1991). Meanings of Life
 Reker (2000). “Theoretical perspective, dimensions, and
measurement of existential meaning”
 Meaning promotes psychological AND physical wellness, adaptation
 Absence relates to neurosis, depression, suicidality, substance abuse

6. Presence & search
 The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ)
 Steger, Frazier, Oishi, & Kaler (2006). Journal of Counseling Psych, 53.
 5 statements assessing presence of meaning
E.g., “My life has no clear purpose.”
 5 statements assessing search for meaning
E.g., “I am searching for meaning in my life.”
 Steger, Kashdan, Sullivan, & Lorentz (2008)
 “People lacking meaning search for it.” (r = -.16 to -.20)
 Correlation varies across samples from -.01* to -.39 †
 Relation moderated by basic motive dispositions
(+) More positive r when high: BAS, autonomy, openness, & rumination
(- ) More negative r when high: BIS & relatedness
*Steger & Kashdan (2007) †Kashdan & Steger (2007)

7. A closer look
 Stauner, Stimson, & Boudreaux (2010)
 238 undergraduates mean age = 18.8 years 74% female
 Table 1. Simple statistics of MLQ subscales
Subscale Mean (7 pt. index) St. Dev. Cronbach’s α
Presence 4.80 1.33 .88
Search 4.58 1.38 .84
 Weak negative correlation (r = -.22, p = .0005)
 Table 2. Regression statistics predicting Search from Presence
Variable Estimate SEE β p r
Intercept 4.87 .11 .21
Presence -.33 .07 -.31 <.0001 -.22
Presence² -.16 .04 -.21 <.0001 -.19
 Adjusted R = .34. Tolerance = .90. Presence is centered.

8. The Curve of the Quest
Figure 1.
Quadratic regression of presence of meaning predicting search for meaning
Search for Meaning
Presence of Meaning
Fit Method: Loess Regression

9. Implications of the curve
1. Those lacking meaning don’t necessarily seek it.
 Motivation may be suppressed by depression (r = -.48)1,
alienation (r = -.24)2, or cognitive overload due to life problems
 Rock-bottom meaning = existential cynicism / apathy / naivety?
2. Those possessing meaning really don’t seek it.
 Satiety / complacency may diminish motivation
 Life satisfaction has divergent relationships with meaning (r = .30 to .56)
vs. search (r = -.22 to -.38)1
 Daily pleasure decreases daily search for meaning (Kashdan & Steger, 2007)
 Sky-high meaning = ego identity foreclosure?
 Divergent correlations with presence vs. search:2
1. Dogmatism = .43 / -.21 2. Intrinsic Religiosity = .42/ -.17
3. Right-Wing Authoritarianism = .35 / -.14 4. Religious Quest = -.18/ .26
1 Steger et al. (2006) 2 Steger et al. (2008)

10. Meanings of Life
 Yalom (1981). Existential Psychotherapy
 Death, freedom, isolation, & meaninglessness
 Frankl (1963). Man’s Search for Meaning
 Sources of meaning: creative, experiential, attitudinal
 Klinger (1977). Meaning & Void
 Incentive -> affect -> value -> goal striving -> progress ≈ meaning
 Baumeister (1991). Meanings of Life
 “Existential Shopping List”: purpose, value, efficacy, & self-worth
 Reker & Chamberlain (2000). Exploring Existential Meaning
 Cognitive, motivational, & affective components
 Levels of depth: hedonism, self-actualization, service, transcendence

11. Purpose particles
 Klinger (1977). Meaning & Void
 Friends, communicating, understanding, family, faith, education,
spouse, leisure, nature, happiness, security, “things in general,” job,
responsibility, success, helping, loving, exploring, growth, goals/plans
 Reker & Chamberlain (2000). Exploring Existential Meaning
“Most common sources of meaning cited in literature”:
 Relationships, religious/creative/leisure/hedonistic activities, altruism,
growth, meeting needs, financial security, achievement, legacy,
values/ideals, traditions/culture, causes, possessions, nature

12. Purpose particles
 May (1967). Psychology and the Human Dilemma
 Anxiety = “The apprehension cued off by a threat to some value
which the individual holds essential to his existence as a self.”
 Reker & Chamberlain (2000). Exploring Existential Meaning
“Values and beliefs are the bedrock for sources of meaning.”
 Schwartz (1992):
“It may be that answering the question of ultimate meaning in life is a
basic human need that finds expression in a set of values.
However…people may find meaning through the pursuit of other
types of values.”

13. Purpose particles
 Klinger (1998). In The Human Quest for Meaning
“The degree and kind of meaning a person finds in life derives from
the emotionally compelling qualities of the person’s goal pursuits.”
 Emmons (1999). The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns
“Goals appear to be prime constituents of the meaning-making
process. As motivational constructs, goals are an important source of
personal meaning and provide structure, unity, and purpose to
people’s lives…Goals are used to construct meaning.”

14. The structure of goals
 The Personal Goal Questionnaire*
 65 items based on a comprehensive taxonomy of undergrads’ goals
 Importance ratings summed into 20 parcel scores by goal theme†
 Parcel structure: 3 bipolar factors
1. Spirituality vs. Finance
(+) Religious, moral, and community presence goals
(- ) Immediate financial goals
2. Intimacy vs. Self-Enablement
(+) Romantic, immediate financial, and family-building goals
(- ) Self-assertion and negative affect control goals
3. Achievement vs. Enjoyment
(+) Academic and long-term financial goals
(- ) Friendship and enjoyment-seeking goals
*Howell, Hershey, Markey, & Ozer (2001) †Stauner, Stimson, & Ozer (2009)

15. The structure of values
 The Values Q-Set*
 25 items based on value, goal, and meaning measures
 Sorted by relative importance into 5 groups of 5 each
 3 bipolar principal components
1. Spirituality vs. Secularism
(+) Religious observation & exploration, helping others, morality
(- ) Financial security, pleasure, careerism, independence, and health
2. Competence vs. Intimacy
(+) Creativity, skill, nature, and knowledge & wisdom
(- ) Romantic love, family, and raising children
3. Individualism vs. Collectivism
(+) Fame or popularity, respect or power, and legacy or impact
(- ) Understanding people, cultural heritage, and friendships
*Stauner, Boudreaux, & Ozer (2010)

16. Goals, values, & meaning
 Stauner & Ozer (2010)
 149 undergraduates mean age = 19.3 71% female

17. GARGOYLE OF ROCK
 Stauner & Ozer (2010)
 149 undergraduates mean age = 19.3 71% female
tongue
axe

18. Goals, values, & meaning
 Stauner & Ozer (2010)
 149 undergraduates mean age = 19.3 71% female
 Table 3. Correlations of Presence with Importance Ratings
Goal Parcel Meaning r Value item Meaning r
 Spirituality vs. Finance .30 Spiritualism vs. Secularism .26
Religious .28 Living in accordance with religion .26
Moral .17 Explore/reinforce religious identity .19
Community presence .13 Helping people .11
Immediate finances -.09 Financial security -.20
Having a pleasurable life -.25
Choosing and pursuing a career .00
 Self-assertion -.22 Being or becoming independent -.13
Being healthy and energetic .09
 Friendship -.16 Gaining / maintaining friendships -.18

19. Goals, values, & search
 Table 4. Correlations of Search with Importance Ratings
Goal Parcel Search r Value item Search r
Find direction in life .52 Competence vs. Intimacy -.17
Religious -.18 Experience/appreciate nature -.24
Independence .16 Individualism vs. Collectivism .17
Interpersonal skills .14 Fame, popularity, & renown .19
Becoming respected & powerful .18
Leaving a legacy/having an impact .09
Gaining or maintaining friendships .07
Understanding cultural heritage -.10
Understanding people & culture -.17
Immediate finance .05 Financial security .06

20. Too busy to bother?
 Klinger (1998). In The Human Quest for Meaning
“[The meaning of life] is not a problem for people who for any
other reason find themselves persistently engaged in striving for valued
goals. The more introspective among them, especially when someone
else raises the issue, may well be inclined to formulate for themselves
one or more consistent life purposes, but probably most would not
otherwise be bothered.
“On the other hand, when people find themselves spending
inordinate amounts of time in activities that they do not value, or find
themselves suffering for no immediately evident good purpose, they
are likely to raise the question: What for? On anecdotal grounds, it
appears that this commonly occurs when people are induced to work
largely to avoid punishment rather than for appetitive reasons (as in
concentration camps), or when they are working for appetitive goals
whose value is extrinsic (as in working largely to earn money)...”

21. Personality measures
 Age-Universal I/E-R (I/E-R; Gorsuch & McPherson, 1989)
 Intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity
 Sub-subscales: Extrinsic social and extrinsic personal
 Religious Quest (RQ; Batson & Schoenrade, 1991)
 Belief in Afterlife (BA; Osarchuk & Tatz, 1973)
 Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS; Piedmont, 1999)
 Prayer fulfillment
 Universality
 Connectedness
 Spiritual Transcendence Index (STI; Seidlitz et al., 2002)
 Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991)
 Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985)

22. Table 5.
Correlations of personality measures with MLQ
Variable Measure Presence Search
Intrinsic religiosity I/E-R .30 -.03
Extrinsic religiosity I/E-R .10 .12
Extrinsic personal I/E-R .22 .05
Extrinsic social I/E-R -.10 .16
Belief in an afterlife BA .27 .20
Religious quest RQ -.01 .30
Spiritual transcendence index STI .38 -.09
Prayer fulfillment STS .34 .06
Connectedness STS .29 .32
Universality STS .30 .31
Extraversion BFI .20 -.09
Agreeableness BFI .12 -.00
Conscientiousness BFI .35 -.06
Neuroticism BFI -.22 .16
Openness to experience BFI .17 .13
Life satisfaction SWLS .42 -.07
*Correlations significant at p < .01 level bolded. N = 145-149 (BFI / SWLS N = 237)

23. Predictors of presence
Table 6a. Regression predicting presence from personality
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept 2.64 .43 .08
Spiritual trans. (STI) .33 .07 .36 <.0001 .91 .38
Life satisfaction .33 .07 .32 <.0001 .96 .42
Extrinsic social -.26 .12 -.17 .0242 .94 -.10
 Adjusted R = .52
Table 6b. Correlations of MLQ-P, SWLS, I/E Extrinsic social, & STI
Variable Presence Life satisfaction Extrinsic social
Life satisfaction .39
Extrinsic social -.10 -.04
Spiritual trans. (STI) .38 .19 .22
*Correlations significant at p < .025 level bolded. N = 149

24. Meaning moderators
 Presence correlation with friendship goals/values
moderated by spiritual connectedness
 Upper 50% in connectedness: r = -.02
 Lower 50% in connectedness: r = -.26 / -.29
 Connectedness more significant than goals/values in regression
 Value interaction term insignificant
 Goal parcel insignificant; goal interaction term significant
 Correlation w/ religious goals/values moderated by religion
 Insufficient ns for NHSTs in non-Christian affiliations
 Participants’ religious affiliations:
1. 50% Christian 2. 28% Atheist / agnostic / irreligious
3. 12% Buddhist 4. 6% Muslim 5. 4% Other

25. Moderations by religion
Table 7. Presence of meaning correlations by religious affiliation
Variable correlated with presence r (Christians) r (non-Christians)
Spirituality vs. Finance .35 .18
Religious goals .30 .16
Immediate financial goals -.27 .02
Self-assertion goals -.12 -.31
Friendship goals -.06 -.24
Spiritualism vs. Secularism .32 .11
Living in accordance with religion .33 .09
Explore/reinforce religious identity .14 .13
Having a pleasurable life -.37 >* -.03
Gaining and maintaining friendships -.06 -.26
Intrinsic religiosity .35 .15
Religious quest -.31 <* .21
Bolded correlations significant (p < .05) n = 72-75 n = 71-74

26. Predictors of the search
Table 8a. Correlations of MLQ, BA, and intrinsic religiosity*
Variable Presence Search Belief in afterlife
Search for meaning -.17
Belief in an afterlife .27 .20
Intrinsic religiosity .30 -.04 .55
Table 8b. Regression predicting search from presence & BA
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept 3.65 .46 .24
Presence -.33 .08 -.32 .0001 .81 -.17
Presence² -.13 .04 -.17 .0019 .83 -.17
Belief in an afterlife .36 .12 .23 .0042 .91 .20
*Correlations significant at p < .025 level bolded. N = 145-149

27. Predictors of the search
Table 9a. Correlations of MLQ & STS-Connectedness*
Variable Presence Search
Search -.17
Connectedness .29 .32
Table 9b. Regression predicting search from MLQ-P & STS-C
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept 2.49 .53 .24
Presence -.35 .08 -.34 <.0001 .82 -.17
Presence² -.13 .04 -.17 .0012 .85 -.17
Connectedness .72 .15 .35 <.0001 .90 .32
*Correlations significant at p < .025 level bolded. N = 148-149

28. Predictors of the search
Table 10a. Correlations of MLQ & openness to experience*
Variable Presence Search
Search -.22
Openness .17 .14
Table 10b. Regression predicting search from MLQ-P & BFI-O
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept 3.30 .50 .22
Presence -.37 .07 -.35 <.0001 .87 -.22
Presence² -.17 .04 -.22 <.0001 .90 -.19
Openness .46 .14 .20 .0016 .97 .14
*Correlations significant at p < .04 level bolded. N = 237-238

29. Predictors of the search
Table 11a. Correlations of MLQ & neuroticism*
Variable Presence Search
Search -.22
Neuroticism -.22 .16
Table 11b. Regression predicting search from MLQ-P & BFI-N
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept 4.31 .36 .20
Presence -.30 .07 -.29 <.0001 .85 -.22
Presence² -.16 .04 -.20 <.0001 .90 -.19
Neuroticism .18 .11 .10 .1057 .95 .16
*Correlations significant at p < .015 level bolded. N = 237-238

30. Predictors of the search
Table 12. Regression predicting search from MLQ, STS, BA, & BFI
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept .60 .77 .16
Presence -.43 .08 -.41 <.0001 .76 -.17
Presence² -.13 .04 -.17 .0011 .81 -.17
Belief in afterlife .30 .12 .19 .0091 .91 .20
Connectedness .63 .15 .31 <.0001 .86 .32
Openness .33 .16 .14 .0425 .90 .14
 Adjusted R = .51

31. What does it all mean?
 Supportive evidence for many existential theories
 Regarding presence
 Levels of meaning (Reker, 2000)
 The post-religious “value gap” (Baumeister, 1991)
 Existential threats of death & isolation (Yalom, 1981)
 Regarding search
 Connectedness --(?)--> responsibility ------> “anguish” (Sartre, 1965)
 Yalom’s threats of freedom, & meaninglessness
 Challenges to others
 Meaning via goals and values complicated by depth of meaning
 “Will to meaning” is not explicitly universal, nor situational
 Search ≠ neuroticism

32. Future Research
 Validation of Values Q-Set
 Open-ended listing approach to values assessment
 New populations: community, internet, criterion, experimental?
 Tests of convergent validity with sources of meaning measures
 Tests of predictive validity with goal concordance & life satisfaction
 Disentangling life meaningfulness from life satisfaction
 Criterion groups
 Religious leaders, philosophy faculty, volunteers, activists, elderly
 Longitudinal experiments
 Meaning manipulation: log daily work toward purpose
• Nostalgia, life narratives, uncertainty, cultural worldview defense, PA, etc.?
• Isolation? Freedom? Meaninglessness?
 Quasi-experiment: new parents-to-be

33. Credits
 Dan Ozer
 The RAs
 Tanya Selvam
 Andrew Stimmler
 Elizabeth Castaneda
 Rachel Cheong
 Christian Lorenzo
 My friends and my folks
 And for you, as promised…

35. Future Research
 Validation of Values Q-Set
 Open-ended listing approach to values assessment
 New populations: community, internet, criterion, experimental?
 Tests of convergent validity with sources of meaning measures
 Tests of predictive validity with goal concordance & life satisfaction
 Disentangling life meaningfulness from life satisfaction
 Criterion groups
 Religious leaders, philosophy faculty, volunteers, activists, elderly
 Longitudinal experiments
 Meaning manipulation: log daily work toward purpose
• Nostalgia, life narratives, uncertainty, cultural worldview defense, PA, etc.?
• Isolation? Freedom? Meaninglessness?
 Quasi-experiment: new parents-to-be

36. Predictors of the search
 Stauner & Ozer (2011)
Table 5. Regression predicting search from cognitive traits
Variable Estimate SEE β p Tolerance r
Intercept -1.23 .85 .16 .1494
Presence -.32 .08 -.33 .0002 .62 -.17
Presence² -.13 .04 -.17 .0012 .75 -.17
Belief in afterlife .57 .13 .37 <.0001 .64 .20
Connectedness (C) .59 .15 .30 <.0001 .82 .32
Openness .41 .15 .19 .0211 .88 .14
Religious goals (R) -.43 .12 -.31 .0003 .66 -.18
C x R interaction .41 .16 .20 .0093 .89 .08
Neuroticism .19 .12 .11 .1180 .87 .20
 Adjusted R = .59