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Experiential appreciation as a pathway to meaning in life

Nature Human Behaviour volume 6, pages 677–690 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

A key research program within the meaning in life (MIL) literature aims to identify the key contributors to MIL. The experience of existential mattering, purpose in life and a sense of coherence are currently posited as three primary contributors to MIL. However, it is unclear whether they encompass all information people consider when judging MIL. Based on the ideas of classic and contemporary MIL scholars, the current research examines whether valuing one’s life experiences, or experiential appreciation, constitutes another unique contributor to MIL. Across seven studies, we find support for the idea that experiential appreciation uniquely predicts subjective judgements of MIL, even after accounting for the contribution of mattering, purpose and coherence to these types of evaluations. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that valuing one’s experiences is uniquely tied to perceptions of meaning. Implications for the incorporation of experiential appreciation as a fundamental antecedent of MIL are discussed.

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Fig. 1: SEM depicting the contributors to meaning in study 2 with sample A.
Fig. 2: SEM depicting the contributors to meaning in study 2 with sample B.

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Data availability

Data, full materials and supplementary analyses for studies 2–7 can be found in Open Science Framework (OSF) at https://osf.io/4yx9p/. See notes in OSF for access information for materials and data in study 1, as well as information about another large sample adult study (see ‘MIDUS Study’).

Code availability

As for data availability, all statistical code files including SPSS, Mplus and HLM are available in OSF at https://osf.io/4yx9p/.

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Acknowledgements

None of these studies were supported by funding sources. We thank B. Schmeichel, M. Vess and K. McLean for comments on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Sogang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Jinhyung Kim

  2. Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Patricia Holte, Colin Shanahan, Rebecca J. Schlegel & Joshua A. Hicks

  3. Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland

    Frank Martela

  4. Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Zhanhong Li

  5. Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

    Hong Zhang

  6. Department of Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain

    Nikolett Eisenbeck

  7. Department of Psychology, Universidad de Almería, Almería, Spain

    David F. Carreno

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Contributions

J.A.H., P.H., Z.L., R.J.S., J.K. and F.M. contributed to the conception of the core research idea and at least one study design. J.A.H., P.H., R.J.S., J.K. and C.S. performed analysis and interpreted data. J.A.H., P.H., R.J.S., J.K., C.S. and F.M. prepared the manuscript. N.E. and D.F.C. collected and preprocessed the data from study 1. H.Z. collected and preprocessed the data from study 2, sample B. All authors approved the final version of this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Joshua A. Hicks.

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Nature Human Behaviour thanks Vlad Costin and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Meaning relevant coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic predicting global meaning in life in Study 1.

LA = Life appreciation.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Exploratory factor analysis: Rotated pattern matrix of experiential appreciation scale in Study 2.

Sample A: n = 469.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Bivariate correlations among study variables in Study 2.

MIL = meaning in life. EA = experiential appreciation. PA = positive affect. NA = negative affect. Correlation coefficients and descriptive statistics below the diagonal represent Sample A; those above the diagonal represent Sample B. All correlation coefficients are statistically significant at p < .001, except for the correlations between COVID-19-related stress and purpose at p = .006, and PA at p = .001 and the correlation between EA and NA at p = .032 for Sample B.

Extended Data Fig. 4 Within-person correlations between study variables in Study 3.

MIL = meaning in life. EA = experiential appreciation. PA = positive affect. NA = negative affect.

Extended Data Fig. 5

Examples of meaningful experiences rated high in experiential appreciation and relatively low in mattering, purpose, and coherence in Study 4.

Extended Data Fig. 6 Bivariate correlations among key variables in Study 5.

MIL = meaning in life. EA = experiential appreciation. PA = positive affect. NA = negative affect. All correlation coefficients are statistically significant at p < .001, except for the correlation between small self and global MIL at p < .01, and the non-significant correlation between PA and small self.

Extended Data Fig. 7 Conceptual model for indirect effects of awe induction on meaning in life.

a, Experiential aprreciation, small Self, and positive affect as mediators. b, Experiential aprreciation and tripartite components of meaning as mediators. The latter model and its modified one were used in Studies 5 and 6.

Extended Data Fig. 8 Bivariate correlations among key variables in Study 6.

MIL = meaning in life. EA = experiential appreciation. PA = positive affect. All correlation coefficients are statistically significant at p < .001, except for the correlation between small self and global MIL, small self and mattering, and small self and purpose at p < .01, and the non-significant correlations between small self and EA and PA and small self.

Extended Data Fig. 9 Bivariate correlations among key variables in Study 7.

MIL = meaning in life. EA = experiential appreciation. PA = positive affect. NA = negative affect. All correlation coefficients are statistically significant at p < .001, except for the correlation between NA and mattering, vividness and EA, and vividness and PA at p < .01, the correlation between vividness and mattering at p < .05, and the non-significant correlation between NA and EA.

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Kim, J., Holte, P., Martela, F. et al. Experiential appreciation as a pathway to meaning in life. Nat Hum Behav 6, 677–690 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01283-6

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