Week 1: Meaning
Ways to categorize the world:
- Topographical: descriptive or objective categorization of information
- Functional: focusing on the relation within an element or between multiple elements
- Syndromal: information is organized into structures and categories of symptoms
o DSM 5
Transdiagnostic approach:
- Sees disorders as different expressions of a shared underlying process. This perspective suggest that
both the understanding of disorders origins and treatment strategies can transcend specific diagnoses,
offering two distinct explanatory viewpoints.
o Behavioral perspective: environmental events trigger symptoms, and the co-occurrence of
two or more stimuli further leads to more symptoms.
o Cognitive perspective: proposes that mental operations and representations trigger symptoms,
and that the expectancy that one symptom will trigger another lead to symptomatology.
Debats (1996). Meaning in life: Clinical relevance and predictive power.
Traditionally, psychology has primarily focused on the negative aspects of mental health, while positive aspects
were often overlooked. However, recent years have seen a shift towards recognizing the importance of positive
well-being, including factors such as meaning and purpose in life. Several influential theories suggest that having
a sense of meaning is essential for psychological well-being, whereas a lack of meaning may lead to distress.
This study aimed to evaluate the clinical relevance of meaning in life within the context of therapy, examining its
relationship with various dimensions of psychological well-being.
Results:
- Meaning in life is strongly associated with psychological well-being.
- Feeling fulfilled is closely linked to happiness and self-esteem.
- Having a framework for life is moderately correlated with both positive and negative well-being
measures.
- Fulfilment is a more critical determinant of psychological well-being than merely having life goals or
purpose.
- Therapy tends to positively impact fulfilment, but its effect on the framework aspect is limited.
- Patients with low pre-treatment levels of meaning in life show a lower probability of benefiting from
psychotherapy.
- This underscores the importance of tailored treatments that address existential concerns.
- The findings challenge the notion that issues related to meaning in life can be overlooked in therapy.
- Instead, they highlight the significant influence of meaningfulness or meaninglessness on overall mental
health and treatment outcomes.
Hirsh (2010). The weight of being: Psychological perspectives on the existential moment.
This paper integrates insights from psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience to understand personal meaning.
1. Prefrontal Cortex and Regulation of Behavior:
o The human brain's prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a crucial role in organizing thoughts,
behavior, and emotions to achieve goals.
o PFC allows for greater cognitive and behavioral flexibility, leading to a nuanced understanding
of subjective experiences.
2. Expanded Interpretation Horizon and Existential Ambiguity:
o The human nervous system allows for an expanded horizon of interpretation, leading to a
broader range of subjective meaning.
o However, this interpretive flexibility also introduces existential uncertainty.
3. Goal-Directed Behavior:
o Humans structure perception, cognition, emotion, and action around achieving different goals.
o High-level goals, described as 'being' goals, are central to an individual's identity and
experience of meaning.
4. Meaning & Neural Plasticity:
o Goal structures organize sensory information and engage arousal and exploratory systems in
the brain.
, o Neurochemically, bursts of dopamine, acetylcholine, and noradrenaline reinforce behaviors
related to goal attainment and promote neural plasticity.
5. The Weight of Being and Existential Relativity:
o The existential weight of a moment is determined by its relevance to an individual's highest-
level goal structures.
o Such moments have a stronger influence on an individual's behavioral and neural organization,
shaping their life trajectory.
6. Individual Differences:
o Individuals may interpret events differently based on their goal structures and personality
traits.
o Openness to Experience influences the perception of meaning in the environment.
7. Ethical Implications:
o Belief in determinism or the insignificance of one's actions can lead to reductions in morally
responsible behavior.
o Individuals with clear, broadly defined goals tend to feel a greater sense of meaning and
purpose in life.
8. Obsession and Addiction:
o Intense belief in one's goal structure can lead to obsession and addiction, where pursuit of the
goal becomes all-consuming.
o Dopaminergic circuitry is involved in incentivizing goal pursuit, which addictive drugs can
exploit.
9. Goal Conflict and Existential Angst:
o Competing goal systems can lead to conflicting interpretations of experiences, resulting in
existential uncertainty and anxiety.
o Clarifying goal structures can reduce existential uncertainty.
Overall, understanding the complex relationship between personal meaning, goal structures, and neural processes
can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life journey.
Ostafin et al. (2021). Fear of the unknown as a mechanism of the inverse relation between life meaning
and psychological distress.
This paper discusses the emerging evidence showing an inverse correlation between life meaning and
psychological distress. Life meaning is conceptualized as a sense of comprehension, purpose, and mattering.
Studies consistently show that higher life meaning is associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Interventions targeting meaning have been effective in reducing psychological distress. The authors explore the
concept of fear of the unknown as a potential mechanism underlying the relationship between life meaning and
psychological distress. Existential thinkers propose that facing the unknown induces anxiety, and research
supports the idea that fear of uncertainty plays a pivotal role in anxiety disorders. Life meaning may buffer
against the unknown by reducing uncertainty and diminishing the motivational salience of uncertainty.
Results:
- Study 1: Involving undergraduate students, it found an inverse correlation between life meaning and
anxiety/depression, mediated by fear of the unknown.
- Study 2: Utilizing a multidimensional measure of life meaning and a sample pre-screened for anxiety
symptoms, it confirmed the inverse relationship between life meaning and depression/anxiety, with fear
of the unknown mediating this relationship.
- Both studies support the hypothesis that life meaning is inversely related to psychological distress, with
fear of the unknown playing a mediating role.
- Addressing existential concerns like fear of uncertainty may be crucial in interventions targeting
psychological distress.
van Doornik et al. (2023). The effects of a meaning-centered intervention on meaning in life and eating
disorder symptoms in undergraduate women with high weight and shape concerns: A randomized
controlled trial.
Eating disorders have severe impacts on physical health, psychosocial functioning, and emotional well-being.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy-Enhanced (CBT-E) is effective, but access and benefits remain challenging for
many. Reduced meaning in life is linked to eating disorders, with those affected reporting lower levels compared
to others. This study explored Meaning-Centred Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders (MCP-ED), drawing from
its success in other populations. MCP-ED targets comprehension, purpose, and mattering in six weekly sessions.
, The trial aimed to increase meaning in life and assess its impact on eating disorder symptoms, distress, well-
being, and life satisfaction.
Ways to categorize the world:
- Topographical: descriptive or objective categorization of information
- Functional: focusing on the relation within an element or between multiple elements
- Syndromal: information is organized into structures and categories of symptoms
o DSM 5
Transdiagnostic approach:
- Sees disorders as different expressions of a shared underlying process. This perspective suggest that
both the understanding of disorders origins and treatment strategies can transcend specific diagnoses,
offering two distinct explanatory viewpoints.
o Behavioral perspective: environmental events trigger symptoms, and the co-occurrence of
two or more stimuli further leads to more symptoms.
o Cognitive perspective: proposes that mental operations and representations trigger symptoms,
and that the expectancy that one symptom will trigger another lead to symptomatology.
Debats (1996). Meaning in life: Clinical relevance and predictive power.
Traditionally, psychology has primarily focused on the negative aspects of mental health, while positive aspects
were often overlooked. However, recent years have seen a shift towards recognizing the importance of positive
well-being, including factors such as meaning and purpose in life. Several influential theories suggest that having
a sense of meaning is essential for psychological well-being, whereas a lack of meaning may lead to distress.
This study aimed to evaluate the clinical relevance of meaning in life within the context of therapy, examining its
relationship with various dimensions of psychological well-being.
Results:
- Meaning in life is strongly associated with psychological well-being.
- Feeling fulfilled is closely linked to happiness and self-esteem.
- Having a framework for life is moderately correlated with both positive and negative well-being
measures.
- Fulfilment is a more critical determinant of psychological well-being than merely having life goals or
purpose.
- Therapy tends to positively impact fulfilment, but its effect on the framework aspect is limited.
- Patients with low pre-treatment levels of meaning in life show a lower probability of benefiting from
psychotherapy.
- This underscores the importance of tailored treatments that address existential concerns.
- The findings challenge the notion that issues related to meaning in life can be overlooked in therapy.
- Instead, they highlight the significant influence of meaningfulness or meaninglessness on overall mental
health and treatment outcomes.
Hirsh (2010). The weight of being: Psychological perspectives on the existential moment.
This paper integrates insights from psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience to understand personal meaning.
1. Prefrontal Cortex and Regulation of Behavior:
o The human brain's prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a crucial role in organizing thoughts,
behavior, and emotions to achieve goals.
o PFC allows for greater cognitive and behavioral flexibility, leading to a nuanced understanding
of subjective experiences.
2. Expanded Interpretation Horizon and Existential Ambiguity:
o The human nervous system allows for an expanded horizon of interpretation, leading to a
broader range of subjective meaning.
o However, this interpretive flexibility also introduces existential uncertainty.
3. Goal-Directed Behavior:
o Humans structure perception, cognition, emotion, and action around achieving different goals.
o High-level goals, described as 'being' goals, are central to an individual's identity and
experience of meaning.
4. Meaning & Neural Plasticity:
o Goal structures organize sensory information and engage arousal and exploratory systems in
the brain.
, o Neurochemically, bursts of dopamine, acetylcholine, and noradrenaline reinforce behaviors
related to goal attainment and promote neural plasticity.
5. The Weight of Being and Existential Relativity:
o The existential weight of a moment is determined by its relevance to an individual's highest-
level goal structures.
o Such moments have a stronger influence on an individual's behavioral and neural organization,
shaping their life trajectory.
6. Individual Differences:
o Individuals may interpret events differently based on their goal structures and personality
traits.
o Openness to Experience influences the perception of meaning in the environment.
7. Ethical Implications:
o Belief in determinism or the insignificance of one's actions can lead to reductions in morally
responsible behavior.
o Individuals with clear, broadly defined goals tend to feel a greater sense of meaning and
purpose in life.
8. Obsession and Addiction:
o Intense belief in one's goal structure can lead to obsession and addiction, where pursuit of the
goal becomes all-consuming.
o Dopaminergic circuitry is involved in incentivizing goal pursuit, which addictive drugs can
exploit.
9. Goal Conflict and Existential Angst:
o Competing goal systems can lead to conflicting interpretations of experiences, resulting in
existential uncertainty and anxiety.
o Clarifying goal structures can reduce existential uncertainty.
Overall, understanding the complex relationship between personal meaning, goal structures, and neural processes
can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life journey.
Ostafin et al. (2021). Fear of the unknown as a mechanism of the inverse relation between life meaning
and psychological distress.
This paper discusses the emerging evidence showing an inverse correlation between life meaning and
psychological distress. Life meaning is conceptualized as a sense of comprehension, purpose, and mattering.
Studies consistently show that higher life meaning is associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Interventions targeting meaning have been effective in reducing psychological distress. The authors explore the
concept of fear of the unknown as a potential mechanism underlying the relationship between life meaning and
psychological distress. Existential thinkers propose that facing the unknown induces anxiety, and research
supports the idea that fear of uncertainty plays a pivotal role in anxiety disorders. Life meaning may buffer
against the unknown by reducing uncertainty and diminishing the motivational salience of uncertainty.
Results:
- Study 1: Involving undergraduate students, it found an inverse correlation between life meaning and
anxiety/depression, mediated by fear of the unknown.
- Study 2: Utilizing a multidimensional measure of life meaning and a sample pre-screened for anxiety
symptoms, it confirmed the inverse relationship between life meaning and depression/anxiety, with fear
of the unknown mediating this relationship.
- Both studies support the hypothesis that life meaning is inversely related to psychological distress, with
fear of the unknown playing a mediating role.
- Addressing existential concerns like fear of uncertainty may be crucial in interventions targeting
psychological distress.
van Doornik et al. (2023). The effects of a meaning-centered intervention on meaning in life and eating
disorder symptoms in undergraduate women with high weight and shape concerns: A randomized
controlled trial.
Eating disorders have severe impacts on physical health, psychosocial functioning, and emotional well-being.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy-Enhanced (CBT-E) is effective, but access and benefits remain challenging for
many. Reduced meaning in life is linked to eating disorders, with those affected reporting lower levels compared
to others. This study explored Meaning-Centred Psychotherapy for Eating Disorders (MCP-ED), drawing from
its success in other populations. MCP-ED targets comprehension, purpose, and mattering in six weekly sessions.
, The trial aimed to increase meaning in life and assess its impact on eating disorder symptoms, distress, well-
being, and life satisfaction.
