Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction and Definition

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Purpose in Life

  • 2197 Accesses

Abstract

Historically, definitions of purpose have varied. Philosophers, religious leaders, lay people, and psychological researchers have all posited influential definitions. Typically these definitions share three components, including commitment, goal-directedness, and personal meaningfulness. In short, a purpose in life represents a personally meaningful commitment to a long-term aspiration. Recently a new definition of the construct was proposed to reflect the growing consensus around what a purpose was, to align with lay conceptions of the construct, and to differentiate the construct from meaning in life. This definition includes a critical beyond-the-self component. Individuals who strive for a purpose in life hold aspirations that are not merely self-serving, but instead are meaningful in part because they allow the individual to make a personally meaningful difference in the broader world. This beyond-the-self definition has been widely used in more recent research on the construct. In addition to explaining this definition more completely, Chap. 1 also discusses philosophers’ and historical conceptions of the construct and the integral role of purpose in varied frameworks and theories of optimal human functioning. Finally, Chap. 1 concludes with a chapter-by-chapter outline of the book’s aims and content.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Frankl consulted with Crumbaugh and Maholick on this paper, and according to Crumbaugh and Maholick, this definition aligns with Frankl’s conception.

References

  • Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aristotle. (1962). Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Martin Ostwald. Indianapolis: The Library of Liberal Arts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. (1991). Meanings of life. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benard, B. (1991). Fostering resiliency in kids: Protective factors in the family, school, and community. San Francisco: Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P. L. (2006). All kids are our kids: What communities must do to raise caring and responsible children and adolescents (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, B. (2009). Purpose-driven life. American Scholar, 78(2), 24–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Barnes, L. L., James, B. D., & Bennett, D. A. (2010). Association between life space and risk of mortality in advanced age. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 58(10), 1925–1930.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronk, K. C. (2011). Portraits of purpose: The role of purpose in identity formation. A special issue on Instructing for and Supporting Youth Purpose in New Directions in Youth Development, 132, 31–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronk, K. C. (2012). A grounded theory of youth purpose. Journal of Adolescent Research, 27, 78–109. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0743558411412958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronk, K. C., & Finch, W. H. (2010). Adolescent characteristics by type of long-term aim in life. Applied Developmental Science, 14(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronk, K. C., Menon, J. L., & Damon, W. (2004). Youth purpose: Conclusions from a working conference of leading scholars. West Conshohocken: John Templeton Foundation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bundick, M. J., Yeager, D. S., King, P. E., & Damon, W. (2010). Thriving across the lifespan. In R. M. Lerner, M. E. Lamb, A. M. Freund, & W. F. Overton (Eds.), Handbook of life-span development, vol. 1: Cognition, biology and methods (pp. 882–923). Hoboken: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, D. (2005). Life and meaning. Ratio, 18, 125–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crumbaugh, J. C. (1968). Cross-validation of Purpose in Life Test based on Frankl’s concepts. Journal of Individual Psychology, 24, 74–81.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crumbaugh, J. C. (1971). Frankl’s logotherapy: A new orientation to counseling. Journal of Religion and Health, 10, 373–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crumbaugh, J. C. (1977). Manual of instructions for the Seeking of Noetic Goals test. Munster: Psychometric Affiliates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crumbaugh, J. C. & Henrion R. (2001). How to find meaning and purpose in life for the third millennium. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 24(1), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholick, L. T. (1964). An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl’s concept of noogenic neurosis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 20, 589–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholick, L. T. (1967). An experimental study in existentialism: The psychometric approach to Frankl’s concept of Noogenic Neurosis. Psychotherapy and existentialism (pp. 183–197). New York: Washington Square Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damon, W. (2003). Noble purpose: The joy of living a meaningful life. Radnor: Templeton Foundation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damon, W. (2004). What is positive youth development? Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 13–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Damon, W. (2008). The path to purpose: How young people find their calling in life. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damon, W., Menon, J., & Bronk, K. C. (2003). The development of purpose during adolescence. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 119–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Deurzen-Smith, E. (1997). Everyday mysteries: Existential dimensions of psychotherapy. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (1999). The psychology of ultimate concerns: Motivation and spirituality in personality. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emmons, R. A. (2005). Striving for the sacred: Personal goals, life meaning, and religion. Journal of Social Issues, 61(4), 731–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity youth and crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle (paperback). New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fabry, J. (1988). Guideposts to meaning: Discovering what really matters. Oakland: Harbinger Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (1979). The unheard cry for meaning: Psychotherapy and humanism. New York: Touchstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankl, V. E. (1984). Man’s search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy, revised and updated. Boston: Beacon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fry, P. S. (1998). The development of personal meaning and wisdom in adolescence: A reexamination of moderating and consolidating factors an influences. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical application (2nd ed., (pp. 91–110). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gillham, J., Adams-Deutsch, Z., Werner, J., Rievich, K., Coulter-Heindl, V., Linkins, M., Winder, B., Peterson, C., Park, N., Abenavoli, R., Contero, A., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Character strengths predict subjective well-being during adolescence. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(1), 31–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, P. L., Burrow, A., O’Dell, A. C., & Thornton, M. A. (2012). Classifying adolescents’ conceptions of purpose in life. Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(6), 466–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klinger, E. (1998). The search for meaning in evolutionary perspective. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning (pp. 27–50). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kobasa, S. C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Korotkov, D. (1998). The sense of coherence: Making sense out of chaos. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning (pp. 51–70). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M. (2003). Developmental assets and asset building communities: A view of the issues. In R. M. Lerner & P. L. Benson (Eds.), Developmental assets and asset-building communities: Implications for research, policy, and practice. New York: Kluwer Academic, Plenum Publishers.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. (2004). Liberty: Thriving and civic engagement among America’s youth. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Dowling, E. M., & Anderson, P. M. (2003). Positive youth development: Thriving as the basis of personhood and civil society. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 172–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., Phelps, E., Getsdottir, S., Naudeau, S., Leicic, H., Alberts, A., Ma, L., Smith, L. M., Bobek, D. L., Richman-Raphael, D., & Simpson, I. (2005). Positive youth development, participation in community youth development programs, and community contributions of fifth-grade adolescents: Findings from the first wave of the 4-H study of positive youth development. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 17–71. doi:10.1177/0272431604272461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Little, B. R. (2006). Personal project pursuit: Goals, action, and human functioning. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maddi, S. R. (1998). Creating meaning through making decisions. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning (pp. 3–26). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariano, J. M., & Vaillant, G. (2012). Youth purpose among the ‘Greatest Generation.’ Journal of Positive Psychology. doi:10.1080/17439760.2012.686624.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKnight, P. E., & Kashdan, T. B. (2009). Purpose in life as a system that creates and sustains health and well-being: An integrative, testable theory. Review of General Psychology, 13(3), 242–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melton, A. M. A., Schulenberg, S. E. (2008). On the measurement of meaning: Logotherapy’s empirical contributions to humanist psychology. The Humanist Psychologist, 36, 31–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metz, T. (2007). The meaning of life. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Stanford: Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/life-meaning/. Accessed 13 May 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nozick, R. (1981). Philosophical explanations. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nozick, R. (1989). The examined life. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2006). Moral competence and character strengths among adolescents: The development and validation of the values in action inventory of strengths for youth. Journal of Adolescence, 29, 891–909.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parks, S. D. (2011). Big questions, worthy dreams: Mentoring emerging adults in their search for meaning, purpose, and faith (Revised 10th anniversary ed.). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press; Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reker, G. T., & Wong, P. T. P. (1988). Towards a theory of personal meaning. In J. E. Birren & V. L. Bengston (Eds.), Emergent theories of aging (pp. 214–246). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989a). Beyond Ponce de Leon and life satisfaction: New directions in the quest for successful aging. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 12, 35–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989b). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069–1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1996). Psychological well-being: Meaning, measurement, and implications for psychotherapy research. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 65, 14–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 19, 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2002). From social structure to biology: Integrative science in pursuit of human health and well-being. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 541–554). Oxford: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 13–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., Singer, B., & Love, G. D. (2004). Positive health: Connecting well-being with biology. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society London B, Biological Sciences, 359, 1383–1394. doi:10.1098/rstb.2004.1521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulenberg, S. (2004). A psychometric investigation of logotherapy measures and the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45.2). North American Journal of Psychology, 6(3), 477–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon, K. M., & King, L. A. (2001). Why positive psychology is necessary. American Psychologist, 56, 216–217.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tillich, P. (1952). The courage to be. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyke, C. J., & Elias, M. J. (2007). How forgiveness, purpose, and religiosity are related to the mental health and well-being of youth: A review of the literature. Mental Health, Religion, & Culture, 10(4), 395–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, R. (2002). The purpose-driven life: What on earth am I here for? Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werner, E., & Smith, R. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High-risk children from birth to adulthood. New York: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P. T. P. (in press). The positive psychology of meaning in life and well-being. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Encyclopedia of quality of life research. Boston: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ball State University, Muncie, USA

    Kendall Cotton Bronk

Authors
  1. Kendall Cotton Bronk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kendall Cotton Bronk .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bronk, K.C. (2014). Introduction and Definition. In: Purpose in Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7491-9_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation