The Psychological Quest for Meaning

How do we transform scattered experiences into a coherent narrative? What drives us--consciously or unconsciously--to seek patterns, purpose, and understanding? This is the first volume explicitly devoted to the creation of psychological meaning, which has not been systematically defined and studied until recently. Leading authorities from multiple subdisciplines of psychology explore the mechanisms by which humans figure out the world around them, find direction in personal striving, and make sense of the self and one’s life. Cutting-edge theories, methods, and findings are clearly explained, as is the key role of meaning making in the functioning of both individuals and societies.

Kentaro Fujita, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at The Ohio State University (OSU), where he studies social psychology, decision making, and consumer behavior. His work seeks to help people achieve their goals to live a fuller, healthier, and more productive life. Dr. Fujita is an elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, and the Midwestern Psychological Association. He is a recipient of numerous awards for his research and mentoring/teaching, including the Sage Young Scholars Award from the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology and the Faculty Mentoring Award from OSU. Dr. Fujita has published 100 articles and chapters.

Ayelet Fishbach, PhD, is the Eric J. Gleacher Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Marketing at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, where she studies social psychology, management, and consumer behavior. She also studies self-control, intrinsic motivation, feedback, patience, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Fishbach’s work shows how people can live up to their highest aspirations. She is past president of the Society for the Science of Motivation and the International Social Cognition Network. Dr. Fishbach is a recipient of the Best Dissertation Award and the Career Trajectory Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for Consumer Psychology, and the Fulbright Educational Foundation Award.

Nira Liberman, PhD, is Professor of Social Psychology at Tel Aviv University in Israel and an International Faculty member in the area of Behavioral Economic Engineering and Social Cognition at the University of Cologne, Germany. She studies mental representation, motivation, self-control, decision making, and psychological distance. Dr. Liberman also studies obsessive-compulsive behavior, in particular how it may reflect deficient access to internal states. She is a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, from which she received the Career Trajectory Award. An elected member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Dr. Liberman is a recipient of the Kadar Family Award for Outstanding Research from Tel Aviv University and of the Rothschild Prize.