Stauner, N., & Ozer, D. J. (2010). The motive content of meaningful (and meaningless) lives. Poster presented at the 15th convention of the European Association of Personality Psychology, Brno, Czech Republic.

1. Introduction
Meaning in life: “The sense made of, and the significance felt regarding,
“the nature of one’s being and existence” (Steger et al., 2006).
UCRIVE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA
References
Byrd, K. R., Hageman, A., & Belle Isle, D. (2007).
Intrinsic motivation and subjective well-being: The
Modern research on psychological well-being asks participants to quantify their sense of unique contribution of intrinsic religious
life’s meaningfulness or meaninglessness by rating their agreement with
questionnaire statements such as, “I understand my life’s meaning.”
Motive researchers have claimed a person’s goals (Klinger, 1977; Emmons, 1999;
RSIDE Results
motivation. International Journal for the Psychology of
Religion, 17(2), 141-156.
Emmons, R. A. (1999). The Psychology of Ultimate
Table 1. Correlations of Presence of Meaning with Goal & Value Importance Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality.
Reker & Wong, 1988) and values (Schwartz, 1992) are sources of personal meaning.
New York: Guilford.
Is meaning in life derived from all kinds of goals and values regardless of their content? Goals Meaning r Howell, R. T., Hershey, J. W., Markey, P. M. & Ozer, D. J.
(2001). Comparing operant and respondent measures of
Steger et al. (2006) only found a marginally significant relationship between
meaning and Schwartz’ Traditionalism value scale.
Spirituality vs. Finance (goal parcel factor) .30 personal goals. Poster presented at the 109th annual
convention of the American Psychological
Research on goals is largely divided by focus on different themes of goal content. - Religious parcel .28 Association, San Francisco, CA.
In theory, religious goals are particularly linked to meaning (Emmons, 1999). Observe religious tenets, Maintain/strengthen faith/beliefs, Experience spiritual growth Klinger, E. (1977). Meaning and void. Minneapolis, MN:
- Moral parcel .17 University of Minnesota Press.
Does meaning in life relate to religiousness at all levels of personality? Reker, G. T., & Wong, P. T. P. (1988). Aging as an
Be a better (more ethical or moral) person; Do good for my community
Cognitive level – belief in afterlife (r = .32; Steger et al., in press) individual process: Toward a theory of personal
Behavioral level – daily religious behaviors (γ = .20; Steger & Frazier, 2005) - Community Presence parcel .13 meaning. In J. E. Birren & V. L. Bengtson (Eds.),
Trait level – intrinsic religiousness (r = .36; Byrd, Hageman, & Belle Isle, 2007) Participate in my social community; Be respected or well-known in my community Emergent theories of aging (pp. 214-246). New York:
Motivational level – this study - Immediate Finance parcel -.09 Springer.
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and
Improve finances, Budget better, Increase income, Find/improve job, Afford item
Byrd, Hageman, & Belle Isle argue that the Age-Universal I-E Scale measures a structure of values: Theoretical advances and
religious motive rather than a trait. This study employs measures of goals and Self-Assertion parcel -.22 empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in
values from a comprehensive taxonomy of motive domains, including religion. Be less dependent on or influenced by others; Be more assertive, self confident Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-64.
Spiritual themes oppose secular, materialistic, or financial themes in goals and values Friendship parcel -.16 Stauner, N., Stimson, T. S., & Ozer, D. J. (2009). The
(Stauner, Stimson, & Ozer, 2009; Stauner, 2010). Materialistic pursuits may also be Factor Structure of Personal Goals in an Undergraduate
Make new friends, Maintain/improve my relationship with friends, Help my friend(s)
Population. Poster presented at the 10th annual
especially prone to habituation and affective disengagement (Klinger, 1977).
Values Meaning r convention of the Society for Personality & Social
Psychology, Tampa, FL.
Hypothesis 1:
Meaning in life will relate positively to the importance of religious goals & values.
Spiritualism vs. Secularism (values factor) .26 Stauner, N. (2010). The Values Q-Set. Presentation in
the Proseminar for Current Research in Social &
Hypothesis 2: - Living in accordance with my religious beliefs .26 Personality Psychology at the University of
Meaning in life will relate negatively to the importance of materialistic goals & values.
- Exploring or strengthening my religious identity .19 California, Riverside, January 21. [upload and add
link to website?]
- Helping people .11 Steger, M. F., & Frazier, P. (2005). Meaning in life: One
Method link in the chain from religiousness to well-being.
Participants: 149 undergraduates at the University of California, Riverside
- Being or becoming financially secure -.20
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52(4), 574-582.
Age: mean = 19.3, SD = 1.8 71% female - Having a pleasurable life -.25 Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006).
- Choosing and pursuing a career .00 The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the
42% East Asian 17% Hispanic 14% Caucasian presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of
10% African 9% South Asian 9% Other / Mixed - Being or becoming independent -.13 Counseling Psychology, 53, 80–93.
- Being healthy and energetic .09 Steger, M. F., Pickering, N., Adams, E., Burnett, J., Shin,
50% Christian 28% Atheist/Agnostic/Irreligious J. Y., & Stauner, N. (In press). The quest for
12% Buddhist 6% Muslim 4% Other Gaining or maintaining friendships -.18 meaning: Religious affiliation differences in the
Note. Correlations significant at p < .05 bolded for emphasis. N = 138-149. correlates of religious quest and search for meaning
Measures: in life. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Presence subscale (Steger et al., 2006) –
5 items assessing the subjective presence of meaning and purpose in life (alpha = .88). Discussion
Example item: “My life has no clear purpose.” (Reverse scored). Rated for agreement. Meaning in life relates most strongly and positively to religious goals and values.
• Establishes the last link between religiousness and meaning in life through traits, cognitions, behaviors, and motives.
Personal Goals Questionnaire (Howell, Hershey, Markey, & Ozer, 2001) – • Reveals the exceptionally strong connection to meaning in life exhibited by religious motives when measured relative to other motives.
65 normatively phrased goals that comprehensively represent thousands of students’
self-reported goals collected over a decade of research. Rated for importance on a Meaning in life relates negatively to valuation of financial security and pleasure, but not necessarily to financial or hedonistic goals.
5-point Likert scale. Standardized within participants to produce differential • Fits existential theory that places concerns for pleasure & property on a lower level of meaning than spirituality (Reker & Wong, 1988).
importance ratings. Goals of similar themes summed to form parcel scores. Parcels • Provides predictive evidence that materialistic and hedonistic values diverge from spiritual values.
combined into unit-weighted factor scores (Stauner, Stimson, & Ozer, 2009). • The relationship between meaning in life and financial goals was negative as hypothesized, but insignificant.
• Financial goals may reflect a temporary, circumstantial need for money, rather than a personal identification with material pursuits.
Values Q-Set (Stauner, 2010) – 25 values based on existing measures, sorted by relative • Conversely, goals reflecting a need to assert oneself may imply meaning-threatening circumstances, unlike independence values.
importance into 5 groups of 5. Has demonstrated convergent validity with the • Prioritization of friendship themes in values and goals may also relate negatively to meaning, despite theories suggesting otherwise.
Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992). Eliminates ceiling effect due to acquiescence. • Friendship is a commonly volunteered source of meaning (Klinger, 1977), and of the second highest order (Reker & Wong, 1988).