Purpose Should Be in the Eye of the Holder, Not the Researcher

Abstract

Researchers have discussed how best to define and measure purpose in life for decades, and this debate has been reinvigorated by recent work by Burrow et al. (2021), in their discussion of how to capture purpose development within a broader ecological context. However, in their commentary, Bronk and Damon (2021) have suggested that researchers also need to consider whether the individual's stated purpose in life merits development. We suggest here that multiple concerns present whenever researchers are placed in the seat of making decisions regarding whether an individual's purpose is "worthwhile," and how in turn this strategy may do more harm than good.

Activist purpose orientation: Definition and predictors

“…Greta Thunberg has attended conferences, given speeches, participated in strikes, and much more, all with the goal of fostering awareness and action oriented at combatting climate change. These actions may fail to be seen as purely prosocial in nature, in part because people bring different perspectives on how and whether purposeful aims are positive influences on others (Hill & Pfund, 2022). Additional behaviors indicative of an activist purpose would include attending rallies, donating to causes, or sharing information on social media related to their causes of interest; again, while donation may be a commonly viewed action toward a prosocial purpose, the others are less prototypic of prosocial or helping behaviors.…”

Beyond Finding Purpose: Motivating a Translational Science of Purpose Acquisition

“…In addition, the literature on purpose has long tolerated bifurcated lines of inquiry of the same overarching concept: with one branch focusing on sense of purpose—the perceptible feeling that one has overarching life aims and worthwhile engagements, and another focusing on purpose in life—the specific content of one’s ultimate aspirations. Though the confusions caused by this divergence have been elaborated elsewhere [ 42 , 43 ], it is worth noting that associations between purpose and indicators health, wellbeing, and positive adjustment are almost exclusively documented within studies assessing sense of purpose, and not the disclosure of its content. To the extent this issue presses on issues of finding purpose, a question arises: which form of purpose should individuals find—a greater sense of it or the capacity to articulate its content?…”

Scientific and Ethical Mandates in the Study of Purpose

“…We appreciate the letter by Hill and Pfund (2022) about our commentary and the opportunity to respond to it. It is exactly this type of interchange that advances understanding and clarity of communication in the scholarly community.…”

“…Despite the shared focus of the original article and our commentary, this letter's authors drift into the definition question when they make the claim that "Bronk and Damon (2021) fail to note that none of the studies they reference on the promise of purpose evaluated purpose using the definition or approach proffered by the authors" (Hill & Pfund, 2022). This is true, for important reasons that the letter does not mention, but it is irrelevant to the question under discussion -which, to repeat, is what makes a purpose worthwhile, not how to define purpose or assess whether a particular set of acts constitutes a purpose.…”

“…We hope that parents, teachers, and counselors might find useful insights in the work that we do, but how they apply such insights to the individual youth they serve must be left to them to work out. The letter makes note of the "positionality" of researchers (Hill & Pfund, 2022). We believe that no researcher is in a position to understand enough about individual participants to make recommendations for their consequential personal life choices.…”