Content uploaded by Gabrielle N. Pfund
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Gabrielle N. Pfund on Oct 06, 2020
Content may be subject to copyright.
!
1
Pfund, G. N., & Hill, P. L. (2018). The multifaceted benefits of purpose in life.
The International Forum for Logotherapy, 41, 11 journal pages.
THE MULTIFACETED BENEFITS OF PURPOSE IN LIFE
Gabrielle N. Pfund and Patrick L. Hill
Abstract: The current review systematically addresses our ongoing research
into the impact of finding purpose, considering its importance from a
developmental lens. Regarding psychological well-being, our past work has
shown that higher sense of purpose levels relates to greater life satisfaction,
positive affect, grit, and hope. When considering health, we have found that a
higher sense of purpose relates to fewer negative daily symptoms, predicts
greater longevity, and predicts more beneficial cognitive outcomes. Sense of
purpose also appears connected to greater comfort with and openness to
diversity. Finally, having a higher sense of purpose level also predicts both
greater net worth and income over time. In each section, directions for future
research are discussed, specifically emphasizing purpose exploration and
commitment from a lifespan perspective.
Purpose in life can be defined by
a commitment to a clear set of aims
or causes that direct actions while
also leading to the sense that life is
meaningful (McKnight & Kashdan,
2009; Ryff, 1989). Purpose in life
can be understood as having three main components: a) its scope, or the
reach a purpose has throughout all aspects of life, b) strength, or the power
with which purpose influences those aforementioned life aspects, and c)
awareness, or a person’s ability to explain their purpose (McKnight &
Kashdan, 2009). As one heads toward their purpose in life, purpose
simultaneously shapes the path they follow and the way they follow it.
Purpose, however, is not always where people place their focus, as for
instance, individuals often instead focus on the pursuit of happiness.
Ironically, the search for happiness can sometimes have contradictory effects
where people searching for happiness may end up being less happy (Mauss,
Tamir, Anderson, & Savino, 2011).
Before discussing the various benefits of sensing a purpose in life, it is
worth distinguishing sense of purpose from an associated construct, namely
!
!
27-37.
!
2
subjective well-being. Subjective well-being, defined with respect to life
satisfaction, happiness, and/or positive affect, is consistently found to be
correlated with purpose (Hill, Sin, Turiano, Burrow, & Almeida, 2018;
Sumner, Burrow, & Hill, 2015), but purpose can exist without a positive
well-being and positive well-being can exist without purpose (Baumeister &
Vohs, 2013). In fact, scales have been intentionally developed to assess
purpose without confounding it with life satisfaction or contentment (Scheier
et al., 2006). Moreover, recent work has demonstrated that bi-factor models
can distinguish the variance unique to purpose from that specific to life
satisfaction (Hill, Schultz, Jackson, & Andrews, in press). As such, it is
important to consider the evidence for sense of purpose as a promoter of
adaptive development, rather than simply considering it as synonymous with
the existing support for promoting subjective well-being.
Psychological Benefits of Purpose
Purpose and its pursuit have important implications for mental health and
well-being. One important developmental context for studying purpose
development is during emerging adulthood and university, when individuals
often begin to explore their broad life aims. From the identity development
literature, exploration can be defined as “re-thinking, sorting through, and
trying out various roles and life plans” while commitment can be defined as
“the degree of personal investment the individual expressed in a course of
action or belief” (Kroger & Marcia, 2011, pp. 33-34). In one study of
emerging adults, purpose exploration and commitment were evaluated in
regard to life satisfaction and affect (Sumner et al., 2015). Within that
sample, purpose commitment was positively associated with life satisfaction
and positive affect and negatively associated with negative affect. Another
study also found that purpose commitment was found to be positively
associated with life satisfaction in adolescents, emerging adults, and adults
(Bronk, Hill, Lapsley, Talib, & Finch, 2009).
When understanding the importance of purpose for adolescents and
emerging adults, it is worth considering how being committed to a purpose
may associate with higher levels of grit. Grit is defined as not only a passion
for one’s goal, but a perseverance to continue to pursue one’s passion
(Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelley, 2007). In one study
investigating the predictors of grit over a period of time, initial levels of
purpose predicted changes in grit across the semester (Hill, Burrow, &
Bronk, 2016), even when accounting for students’ positive affect. Paired with
work with adults showing that purposeful individuals exhibit more adaptive
!
3
responses to daily stressors (Hill, Sin, Turiano, Burrow, & Almeida, 2018),
people who have a greater sense of purpose may recognize that small daily
frustrations will happen, but they are less fazed and more perseverant in
overcoming them.
While the benefits of purpose commitment are clear, purpose exploration
has conflicting results. For example, within adolescent samples, one study
found that both purpose exploration and purpose commitment were
positively associated with life satisfaction (Bronk et al., 2009) while another
found no relation with positive affect (Burrow, O’Dell, & Hill, 2010). In the
latter study, four purpose exploration and commitment groups were created
based on Marcia’s (1980) identity model: (a) achieved, marked by high
exploration and high commitment, (b) foreclosed, marked by low exploration
and high commitment, (c) uncommitted, marked by high exploration and low
commitment, and (d) diffused, marked by low exploration and low
commitment. Using this classification, it appears that purpose exploration
may hold different associations based on the individual’s level of
commitment (Burrow et al., 2010). For instance, the purpose achieved group
reported significantly higher positive affect than both the uncommitted and
disclosed groups. However, the uncommitted group had the lowest positive
affect scores. Moreover, the foreclosed group actually had the second highest
positive affect scores. As such, during adolescence, the associations between
exploration and well-being remain unclear, which may reflect the fact that
this period is one of profound exploration.
With respect to emerging adulthood, one study found that searching for
purpose was positively associated with life satisfaction (Bronk et al., 2009),
while another found that purpose exploration was negatively associated with
life satisfaction, positively associated with negative affect, and unrelated to
positive affect (Sumner et al., 2015). However, in an adult sample, purpose
exploration also appears negatively associated with life satisfaction (Bronk et
al., 2009). These studies point to important developmental differences in
searching for purpose: adolescence may be a comfortable and encouraging
time to search for purpose, searching for purpose during emerging adulthood
can have mixed results, while having yet to be committed to a purpose during
adulthood can harm one’s satisfaction with their life. Dissimilarities within
the purpose exploration and commitment process thus can be further
understood by taking a lifespan perspective to purpose development.
One factor that shows distinct relationships when considering purpose
exploration and purpose commitment is hope. Hope can be operationalized as
having two components: pathways, which is the belief that there is a means
!
4
to reach one’s goal, and agency, which is the belief that one has the
necessary motivation to utilize those pathways to reach one’s goal (Snyder,
Rand, & Sigmon, 2005). When evaluating the associations between these
constructs and purpose, research with adolescents and emerging adults
showed similar correlations: purpose exploration and purpose commitment
were both positively related to pathways and agency (Bronk et al., 2009). For
the adult sample, purpose commitment shared these same positive
relationships, but purpose exploration did not relate to pathways and it
negatively related to agency. If one has reached adulthood, and has yet to
develop a purpose, then they may not have the motivation to accomplish
tasks set before them!–!especially if they do not have an ultimate aim toward
which they are working. Furthermore, searching for purpose and pathways
most likely do not relate since the individuals do not need pathways without
an overarching goal to reach. Purpose exploration and purpose commitment
both have unique connections to hope aspects at different developmental
stages.
While having a purpose appears to hold consistent benefits for
psychological health and well-being, moving forward, research should
further evaluate the role of purpose exploration during adolescence and
emerging adulthood considering the mixed implications. When considering
the different developmental findings for purpose exploration (Bronk et al.,
2009; Burrow et al., 2010; Sumner et al., 2015), we should take earlier
advice to perceive purpose as a lifespan developmental construct (Hill,
Turiano, Spiro, & Mroczek, 2015), and further delineate at which points
during the lifespan purpose exploration and purpose commitment are more or
less favorable for well-being. Moreover, the ways by which purpose brings
about these psychological benefits is still not fully known. Toward this end,
it may be valuable to consider some of the mechanisms recently addressed
within the literature on purpose and physical health.
Physical Benefits of Purpose
The role of purpose on health outcomes has been alluded to frequently,
given the suggestion that having a purpose should help people deal better
with stress and feel a greater sense of personal control (McKnight &
Kashdan, 2009). Having a broader life direction and purpose to follow
provides one with both a reason to continue forward and, accordingly,
purpose has been defined with respect to greater life engagement (Scheier et
al., 2006). Even if one’s specific purpose is not health-focused, it should be
!
5
expected that having a purpose may benefit one with respect to promoting
health relative to individuals who feel more aimless.
Purpose is valuable for health in the short- and long-term. In one study,
adults who reported a higher sense of purpose also reported significantly
fewer daily physical symptoms than those with a lower sense of purpose
(Hill et al., 2018). Purpose also plays an important role across the lifespan.
When observing young, middle-aged, and older adults, greater initial levels
of purpose predicted lower mortality risk over a 14-year period (Hill &
Turiano, 2014). Even when controlling for mortality covariates such as
psychological and affective well-being, people who reported greater life
purpose were more likely to live longer than their counterparts. From the
day-to-day to the rest of one’s life, purpose offers valuable benefits.
Perhaps one reason why purpose is connected to both fewer daily
ailments and a longer lifespan is its positive association with health
behaviors. Having a purpose in life has been positively associated with better
self-rated health (Hill, Edmonds, & Hampson, 2017; Scheier et al., 2006). In
addition, sense of purpose was also positively related to various health
behaviors, such as amount of vegetable intake, flossing, sleep quality, and
moderate through vigorous levels of physical activity (Hill et al., 2017).
Furthermore, when considering these health behaviors, vigorous activity and
sleep quality were both found to mediate the relationship between purpose
and self-rated health. Therefore, a greater sense of purpose leads to greater
health behaviors, which, in turn, promotes better health.
These findings bring up the question, what is it about having a sense of
purpose that aligns with engagement in healthy behaviors? When considering
purpose’s positive relationship with the pathways and agency models of hope
(Bronk et al., 2009; Burrow, O’Dell, & Hill, 2010), perhaps people with
greater purpose are able to recognize the necessary actions to live a healthy
lifestyle (pathways) and also feel more capable of doing so (agency), which
promotes the practice of healthy behaviors. Furthermore, the individual’s
purpose in life should also be considered. If someone’s purpose is directly
related to healthful activities, such as an athletic coach or a personal trainer,
then the relationship between purpose and health is more clearly understood.
However, if the relationship continues to hold regardless of one’s line of
work or particular purpose, then such findings would point to a particularly
strong and consistent positive influence of purpose on health outcomes.
!
6
Social Benefits of Purpose
Though well-being and health may be more obvious outcomes from
having a purpose in life, our research also shows that purpose may have an
important role in enhancing positive connections beyond the social ingroup.
For instance, research has examined the role that sense of purpose plays with
respect to momentary anxiety and distress when on a public transport train,
depending on the racial and ethnic composition of the train (Burrow & Hill,
2013). All participants regardless of ethnicity reported greater negative mood
when they were the ethnic minority on a train, but this negative mood was
buffered when participants reported greater life purpose, pointing to an
unexplained connection between purpose and this important comfort.
Further research evaluated how purpose related to feeling comfortable
with diversity using self-reports and different experimental scenarios
(Burrow, Stanley, Sumner, & Hill, 2014). Over three different studies,
researchers found that sense of purpose was positively related with comfort
with diversity and negatively associated with perceived threat toward ethnic
majority status among White participants. In Study 1, participants who
reported a higher sense of purpose also reported greater comfort with
diversity. In Study 2, White participants reported on their sense of purpose
before being assigned to two separate conditions in which pie charts depicted
the ethnic breakdown in 2015 and in 2050; in the first condition Whites
remained the majority in both periods of time, but the second condition
showed Whites would lose their majority status in 2050, illustrating a future
shift toward greater heterogeneity. Participants in the latter condition who
reported a higher sense of purpose were less likely to report feeling
threatened by having their majority status changed. In Study 3, participants
were given the choice of moving to a White-majority neighborhood or an
ethnically diverse neighborhood. While most of the sample chose to live in
the homogenous neighborhood, Whites who participated in a pre-survey
intervention where they wrote about their purpose in life were more likely to
choose to live in ethnically diverse neighborhoods. These results remained
after controlling for covariates, such as gender, age, neuroticism, openness,
and colorblind attitudes. These findings speak to the ability of purpose
actually to enhance comfort with ethnically diverse populations, not for
purposeful people simply to ignore them.
Due to the goal-driven nature of having a purpose in life (Bronk et al.,
2009), purpose may have kept participants’ focus on their life direction, and
thus ethnic diversity may have not registered as a potential stressor for those
who reported a greater sense of purpose or participated in the purpose
!
7
activity. Conversely, purposeful individuals may better appreciate having
others around from different perspectives and see the benefits of a more
heterogeneous group. Moreover, given that individuals with a purpose in life
are more likely to feel settled in an identity (Hill & Burrow, 2012), maybe
they are less likely to be as perturbed or feel discomfort from those whose
identity is unlike their own. Future research could evaluate stress-tolerance
among those with higher levels of purpose in order to understand the various
levels and types of social discomfort purposeful people can experience and
remain unaffected.
Other Benefits for Adult Development
Though less frequently examined, having a sense of purpose appears to
be associated with additional benefits outside the realms of psychological
well-being, physical health, and social connections. For instance, studies
have linked sense of purpose to cognitive aging outcomes. In one study,
higher sense of purpose was positively related to objective measures of
executive functioning and episodic memory (Lewis, Turiano, Payne, & Hill,
2017). Purpose continued to significantly predict these aspects of cognitive
functioning when accounting for self-rated health, gender, and education.
Moreover, research suggests that sense of purpose even predicts reduced risk
for later Alzheimer’s disease and pathological cognitive function among
older adults (Boyle, Buchman, Barnes, & Bennett, 2010; Boyle et al., 2012).
The question then remains why might sense of purpose predict greater
cognitive resilience, which may be linked again to the tendency for
purposeful individuals to be more engaged with their lives (Scheier et al.,
2006).
Moreover, though research is limited, one study also suggests that sense
of purpose may concurrently and longitudinally predict financial outcomes
(Hill, Turiano, Mroczek, & Burrow, 2016). Following up a sample of young-
to-older adults nearly a decade after the initial survey, financial outcomes
were considered in relation to self-reported sense of purpose and personal
wealth. First, sense of purpose was positively related to household income
and net worth levels. Second, sense of purpose also prospectively predicted
positive changes in household income and net worth over the nine years.
Third, gender was not a significant moderator for the relationship between
purpose and net worth, but age was a significant moderator for one analysis;
specifically, the relationship between purpose and net worth was stronger for
older than younger adults over the nine-year period. In sum, purpose
!
8
significantly predicted both household income and net worth levels both
concurrently and over time.
While there is less literature on the financial benefits of purpose,
previous purpose research may give context to these findings. Given that
sense of purpose moderates the associations between daily stressors and daily
well-being (Hill et al., 2018), people with higher sense of purpose could
potentially be able to function in their jobs more effectively, and not feel as
defeated by daily issues. Furthermore, because one’s purpose is directly
related to the pursuit and achievement of goals (McKnight & Kashdan,
2009), the purpose itself could promote success in the workplace, if pursuit
of purpose initiates productive and beneficial workplace behaviors. Also,
when considering the associations for purpose with both hope and grit,
purposeful people are more likely to know the pathways to accomplish a
goal, feel the motivation to do so, and have the passion and perseverance to
overcome what it takes to succeed (Bronk et al., 2009; Hill, Burrow, &
Bronk, 2016), which would most likely lead someone to be a hardworking
and more desirable employee in the workplace. Future research needs to
replicate these financial findings and delineate the aspects of purpose that
promote greater prosperity.
Conclusion
Purpose is powerful. It gives us a goal to pursue, reveals the paths to
pursue it, and encourages us when we doubt our abilities to reach it. Purpose
keeps us from sweating the small stuff and being hurt by the small things.
Purpose keeps our lives long and our minds sharp. Purpose opens doors to
enhanced interactions with those unlike ourselves and puts some extra cash
in our pockets. But how can we obtain this mighty and multifaceted entity?
Future research should investigate potential pathways to enhance sense of
purpose as well as assistance in the identification of one’s particular purpose
in life. Toward this end, it is important to realize that purpose development is
a lifespan process. With this in mind, certain purpose exploration and
commitment interventions could be enacted in high school or in college to
assist students through these vulnerable time periods in the purpose
development process. Further, when considering the difficulties associated
with being an adult stuck in the purpose exploration process, considerations
should also be given to later-in-life interventions to create and shape a sense
of purpose. These interventions would also be valuable amongst older adults
with their purposes shifting or being disoriented as they face retirement or
the loss of a spouse. Purpose truly is a powerful construct, and future
!
9
research avenues should focus on the ways in which we can help those who
do not have it in order that they may obtain it.
Gabrielle N. Pfund [gabrielle.pfund@wustl.edu; Washington University in
St. Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1125, St. Louis, MO 63130] is a
graduate student in the Purpose, Aging, Transitions, and Health (PATH) lab
at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research explores the way
relationships and purpose shape each other. Her current research focuses on
how romantic partners can help or hurt each other’s sense of purpose, and
how similarities between sense of purpose levels and life goals predict
relationship outcomes.
Patrick L. Hill, PhD [Patrick.hill@wustl.edu; Washington University in St.
Louis, 1 Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1125, St. Louis, MO 63130] is an
Associate Professor in the Psychological and Brain Sciences Department at
Washington University in St. Louis. His research focuses on understanding
individuals’ trajectories for sense of purpose across the lifespan, as well as
whether and how purposeful individuals experience better outcomes in
different life domains. Currently, his work focuses on helping older adults
find purposeful aims following retirement.
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2013). Recent empirical findings on
meaning and how it differs from happiness: A socially psychological
perspective. The International Forum for Logotherapy, 36, 87-94.
Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Barnes, L. L., & Bennett, D. A. (2010).
Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild
cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of
General Psychiatry, 67(3), 304-210.
doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.208
Boyle, P. A., Buchman, A. S., Wilson, R. S., Yu, L., Schneider, J. A., &
Bennett, D. A. (2012). Effect of purpose in life on the relation between
Alzheimer disease pathologic changes on cognitive function in advanced age.
Archives of General Psychiatry, 69(5), 499-504.
doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.1487
!
10
Bronk, K. C., Hill, P. L., Lapsley, D. K., Talib, T. L., & Finch, H.
(2009). Purpose, hope, and life satisfaction in three age groups. The Journal
of Positive Psychology, 4(6) 500-510. doi:10.1080/17439760903271439
Burrow, A. L., & Hill, P. L. (2013). Derailed by diversity? Purpose
buffers the relationship between ethnic composition on trains and passenger
negative mood. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 1610-1619.
doi:10.1177/0146167213499377
Burrow, A. L., O’Dell, A. C., & Hill, P. L. (2010). Profiles of a
developmental asset: Youth purpose as a context for hope and well-being.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1265-1273.
doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9481-1
Burrow, A. L., Stanley, M., Sumner, R., & Hill, P. L. (2014). Purpose in
life as a resource for increasing comfort with ethnic diversity. Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(11), 1507-1516.
doi:10.1177/0146167214549540
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007).
Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087
Hill, P. L., Burrow, A. L., & Bronk, K. C. (2016). Persevering with
positivity and purpose: An examination of purpose commitment and positive
affect as predictors of grit. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17(1), 257-269.
doi:10.1007/s10902-014-9593-5
Hill, P. L., Edmonds, G. W., & Hampson, S. E. (2017). A purposeful
lifestyle is a healthful lifestyle: Linking sense of purpose to self-rated health
through multiple health behaviors. Journal of Health Psychology.
doi:10.1177/1359105317708251
Hill, P. L., Schultz, L. H., Jackson, J. J., & Andrews, J. A. (in press).
Parent-child conflict during elementary school as a longitudinal predictor of
sense of purpose in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
Hill, P. L., Sin, N. L., Turiano, N. A., Burrow, A. L., & Almeida, D. M.
(2018). Sense of purpose moderates the associations between daily stressors
and daily well-being. Annals of Behavior Medicine, 52(8), 724-729.
doi.org/10.1093/abm/kax039
Hill, P. L., & Turiano, N. A. (2014). Purpose in life as a predictor of
mortality across adulthood. Psychological Science, 25(7), 1482-1486.
doi:10.1177/0956797614531799
!
11
Hill, P. L., Turiano, N. A., Mroczek, D. K., & Burrow, A. L. (2016). The
value of a purposeful life: Sense of purpose predicts greater income and net
worth. Journal of Research in Personality, 65, 38-42.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.07.003
Hill, P. L., Turiano, N. A., Spiro III, A., & Mroczek, D. K. (2015).
Understanding inter-individual variability in purpose: Longitudinal findings
from the VA Normative Aging Study. Psychology and Aging, 30(3), 529-
533. doi.org/10.1037/pag0000020
Kroger, J., & Marcia, J. E. (2001). The identity statuses: Origins,
meanings, and interpretations. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. Vignoles
(Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 31-53). New York:
Springer.
Lewis, N. A., Turiano, N. A., Payne, B. R., & Hill, P. L. (2017). Purpose
in life and cognitive functioning in adulthood. Aging, Neuropsychology, and
Cognition, 24(6), 662-671. doi:10.1080/13825585.2016.1251549
Marcia, J. E. (1980). Identity in adolescence. In J. Adelson (Ed.),
Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 159-187). New York: Wiley.
Mauss, I. B., Tamir, M., Anderson, C. L., Savino, N. S. (2011). Can
seeking happiness make people happy? Paradoxical effects of valuing
happiness. Emotion, 11(4), 807-815. doi.org/10.1037/a0022010
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.
doi.org/10.1037/a0017152
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the
meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.
Scheier, M. F., Wrosch, C., Baum, A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M.,
Matthews, K. A., … Zdaniuk, B. (2006). The Life Engagement Test:
Assessing purpose in Life. Journal of Behavior Medicine, 29(3), 291-298.
Snyder, C. R., Rand, K. L., & Sigmon, D. R. (2005). Hope theory: A
member of the positive psychology family. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez
(Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (257-276). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Sumner, R., Burrow, A. L, & Hill, P. L. (2015) Identity and purpose as
predictors of subjective well-being in emerging adulthood. Emerging
Adulthood, 3(1), 46-54. doi:10.1177/2167696814532796
