Broadening the Structure of Meaning in Life: Experiential Appreciation as an Indicator of Existential Meaning

Abstract

There is a growing consensus that perceptions of coherence, purpose, and mattering represent primary indicators of the subjective experience of meaning in life (MIL; Costin & Vignoles, 2019). While these variables are supported by recent empirical research, it is unclear whether they encompass all information people consider when judging the meaningfulness of their lives. Based on the ideas of classic (Frankl, 1986) and contemporary (Martella & Steger, 2016) meaning in life scholars, the current research examines whether valuing one’s life experiences, or experiential appreciation (EA), constitutes another unique indicator of MIL. Study 1 provided support for this idea showing that a theorized hub of meaning, generativity, was uniquely associated with purpose, mattering, and EA. Studies 2-4 used cross sectional and daily diary methodology to directly support the claim that EA predicted global evaluation of MIL above and beyond the contribution of coherence, purpose, mattering. Finally, Studies 5 & 6 experimentally influenced EA by exposing participants stimuli high in intrinsic value (awe inspiring videos), and showed that the EA manipulation indirectly influenced MIL. Importantly, in both studies, these indirect effects were not found though other indicators of MIL. Overall, these findings support Frankl’s argument that valuing one’s experiences is uniquely tied to perceptions of meaning. Implications for the incorporation of EA as a primary indicator of MIL are discussed. This manuscript has not yet been published

What do people find most meaningful? How representations of the self and the world provide meaning in life

“…We also aimed to test whether our pattern of results would remain after controlling for a recently proposed fourth dimension of MIL: experiential appreciation (EA)—describing the extent to which one finds value and enjoyment in one's experiences (Flanagan et al., 2019). Experiential appreciation has been found to contribute to between‐person sense of MIL independently of the other three dimensions.…”

“…Moreover, complex mental representations, such as beliefs, values, attitudes, and identities, may be better at simultaneously providing coherence, purpose, and existential mattering, and, therefore, may be most relevant to a sense of MIL. For instance, successfully identifying a piece of furniture as a “chair” may not make one's life more meaningful, whereas believing that people have free will is more likely to do so (Bergner & Ramon, 2013; Crescioni et al., 2015).…”