Encounters With Objective Coherence and the Experience of Meaning in Life

The experience of meaning is often conceptualized as involving reliable pattern or coherence. However, research has not addressed whether exposure to pattern or coherence influences the phenomenological experience of meaning in life. Four studies tested the prediction that exposure to objective cohe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological science 2013-06, Vol.24 (6), p.991-998
Main Authors: Heintzelman, Samantha J., Trent, Jason, King, Laura A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Adaptation, Physiological - physiology
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Breasts
Cognition
Cognitive psychology
Coherence
Concept Formation
Conceptualization
Emotion
Emotions
Environmental agencies
Evaluation
Experimental psychology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Life
Male
Manipulation
Meaning
Miscellaneous
Personality psychology
Personality. Affectivity
Phenomenology
Photography
Psychological effects
Psychological research
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychometrics
Random Allocation
Self reports
Social psychology
Trees
Triads
Young Adult
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Summary:The experience of meaning is often conceptualized as involving reliable pattern or coherence. However, research has not addressed whether exposure to pattern or coherence influences the phenomenological experience of meaning in life. Four studies tested the prediction that exposure to objective coherence (vs. incoherence) would lead to higher reports of meaning in life. In Studies 1 and 2 (combined N = 214), adults rated photographs of trees presented in patterns (organized around their seasonal content) or randomly. Participants in the pattern conditions reported higher meaning in life than those in the random conditions. Studies 3 and 4 (combined N = 229) yielded similar results when participants read coherent, as opposed to incoherent, linguistic triads. The manipulations did not influence explicit or implicit affect. Implications for understanding the human experience of meaning, the processes that support that experience, and its potential role in adaptation are discussed.
ISSN:0956-7976
1467-9280
DOI:10.1177/0956797612465878