Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2022
  • Article
  • Journal of Positive Psychology

The Ordinary Concept of a Meaningful Life: The Role of Subjective and Objective Factors in Third-Person Attributions of Meaning

By: Michael Prinzing, Julian De Freitas and Barbara L. Fredrickson
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:16
ShareBar

Abstract

The desire for a meaningful life is ubiquitous, yet the ordinary concept of a meaningful life is poorly understood. Across six experiments (total N = 2,539), we investigated whether third-person attributions of meaning depend on the psychological states an agent experiences (feelings of interest, engagement, and fulfillment), or on the objective conditions of their life (e.g., their effects on others). Studies 1a–b found that laypeople think subjective and objective factors contribute independently to the meaningfulness of a person’s life. Studies 2a–b found that positive mental states are thought to make a life more meaningful, even if derived from senseless activities (e.g., hand-copying the dictionary). Studies 3a–b found that agents engaged in morally bad activities are not thought to have meaningful lives, even if they feel fulfilled. In short, both an agents’ subjective mental states and objective impact on the world affect how meaningful their lives appear.

Keywords

Experimental Philosophy; Folk Theories; Meaning In Life; Moral Psychology; Positive Psychology; Moral Sensibility; Satisfaction

Citation

Prinzing, Michael, Julian De Freitas, and Barbara L. Fredrickson. "The Ordinary Concept of a Meaningful Life: The Role of Subjective and Objective Factors in Third-Person Attributions of Meaning." Journal of Positive Psychology 17, no. 5 (2022): 639–654.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now
  • Purchase

About The Author

Julian De Freitas

Marketing
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • Jul 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Keynote Speech

    By: Julian De Freitas
    • June 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Navya, Instructor Spreadsheet

    By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek
    • June 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Navya: Steering Toward a Driverless Future

    By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek
More from the Authors
  • Keynote Speech By: Julian De Freitas
  • Navya, Instructor Spreadsheet By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek
  • Navya: Steering Toward a Driverless Future By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College