Meaning-motivated community action: The need for meaning and prosocial goals and behavior

Abstract

Meaning in life is a fundamental human need and recent research has begun to explore how individual differences in the need for meaning relate to beliefs and behaviors, particularly those involving religion and spirituality. In the present studies, we expanded on recent research to examine the relation between the need for meaning and community-focused motivation and behavior. In Study 1 (N = 399), we explored the relation between need for meaning and a wide range of aspirations, finding that this need is associated with intrinsic, but not extrinsic, goals and especially community-focused goals. In Study 2 (N = 611), we tested the effects of need for meaning on indicators of community-focused prosocial motivation and behavior, controlling for religiosity and other variables. The need for meaning positively predicted most indicators of prosocial motivation and behavior. These findings, combined with previous research, suggest that the meaning motive orients people toward community.