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Purpose in life as a guiding framework for goal engagement and motivation
Author(s) -
Lewis Nathan A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
social and personality psychology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.699
H-Index - 53
ISSN - 1751-9004
DOI - 10.1111/spc3.12567
Subject(s) - goal pursuit , psychology , relevance (law) , goal setting , feeling , goal orientation , process (computing) , cognition , cognitive psychology , hierarchy , selection (genetic algorithm) , social psychology , meaningful life , applied psychology , computer science , neuroscience , artificial intelligence , political science , economics , law , market economy , operating system
One of the biggest challenges for research on goal pursuit and self‐regulation has been to understand factors that drive one's goals over the long‐term as well as day‐to‐day. Purpose in life, a component of psychological wellbeing has received increased interest in the health sciences for its ability to predict a myriad of health behaviours. The present work integrates the literature on purpose in life with goal organization and pursuit and posits that purpose in life represents a higher‐order cognitive process which reciprocally stimulates goal selection and long‐term goal maintenance and is itself promoted by such goal pursuits. Purpose in life may influence goal selection consciously through a top‐down hierarchy of goal pursuits as well as unconsciously through direction of nonconscious attentional processes. Goal pursuit may reciprocally promote feelings of purpose in life when individuals are able to continually make strides towards goals of personal relevance to their major life aims. This study aims to present a model of purpose in life and goal pursuit that will serve to guide future work in the fields of motivation, positive psychology, and health and lifespan development.