Traditionally, positive emotions and thoughts, strengths, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for belonging, competence, and autonomy have been seen as the cornerstones of psychological health. Without disputing their importance, these foci fail to capture many of the fluctuating, conflicting forces that are readily apparent when people navigate the environment and social world. In this paper, we review literature to offer evidence for the prominence of psychological flexibility in understanding psychological health. Thus far, the importance of psychological flexibility has been obscured by the isolation and disconnection of research conducted on this topic. Psychological flexibility spans a wide range of human abilities to: recognize and adapt to various situational demands; shift mindsets or behavioral repertoires when these strategies compromise personal or social functioning; maintain balance among important life domains; and be aware, open, and committed to behaviors that are congruent with deeply held values. In many forms of psychopathology, these flexibility processes are absent. In hopes of creating a more coherent understanding, we synthesize work in emotion regulation, mindfulness and acceptance, social and personality psychology, and neuropsychology. Basic research findings provide insight into the nature, correlates, and consequences of psychological flexibility and applied research provides details on promising interventions. Throughout, we emphasize dynamic approaches that might capture this fluid construct in the real-world.

Although several theories assert that understanding the search for meaning in life is important, empirical research on this construct is sparse. Three studies provide the first extensive effort to understand the correlates of the search for meaning in a multistudy research program. Assessed were relations between search for meaning and well-being, cognitive style, and the Big Five, Big Three, Approach/Avoidance, and Interest models of personality, with a particular emphasis on understanding the correlates of search for meaning that are independent of presence of meaning. Conceptual models of the relation between search and presence were tested. Findings suggest that people lacking meaning search for it; the search for meaning did not appear to lead to its presence. Study 3 found that basic motive dispositions moderated relations between search for meaning and its presence. Results highlight the importance of basic personality dispositions in understanding the search for meaning and its correlates.

No abstract

Purpose-a cognitive process that defines life goals and provides personal meaning-may help explain disparate empirical social science findings. Devoting effort and making progress toward life goals provides a significant, renewable source of engagement and meaning. Purpose offers a testable, causal system that synthesizes outcomes including life expectancy, satisfaction, and mental and physical health. These outcomes may be explained best by considering the motivation of the individual-a motivation that comes from having a purpose. We provide a detailed definition with specific hypotheses derived from a synthesis of relevant findings from social, behavioral, biological, and cognitive literatures. To illustrate the uniqueness of the purpose model, we compared purpose with competing contemporary models that offer similar predictions. Addressing the structural features unique to purpose opens opportunities to build upon existing causal models of "how and why" health and well-being develop and change over time.What do volunteer services, social support, pet care, and religious attendance have in common? Recent studies indicate that people participating in these activities live longer than those who do not. Volunteers had a 60% lower mortality rate compared with nonvolunteers (Oman, Thoresen, & McMahon, 1999). Providers of social support had a 50% lower mortality rate than those who neither received nor provided social support (S. Brown, Nesse, Vinokur, & Smith, 2003). Hypertensive people who owned pets had lower blood pressure and lived longer, as compared with non-pet owners (Allen, Shykoff, & Izzo, 2001). Finally, frequent religious service attendees had longer lifespans compared with nonattendees or infrequent attendees (Strawbridge, Cohen, Shema, & Kaplan, 1997). What these findings have in common appears to be longevity; however, purpose may link these behaviors. We hypothesize that purpose leads to longer life span, fewer health care problems, and greater life satisfaction. Purpose, from our perspective, is not something merely to attain, but rather is an important predictive variable of physical health and mental health. Furthermore, our conceptualization of purpose does not rule out other routes to healthy living. However, when present, purpose is central to a person's life narrative. Neglecting its presence can lead to erroneous conclusions about "how" and "why" people behave as they do. What Is Purpose?Purpose is a central, self-organizing life aim that organizes and stimulates goals, manages behaviors, and provides a sense of meaning. Purpose directs life goals and daily decisions by guiding the use of finite personal resources. Instead of governing behavior, purpose offers direction just as a compass offers direction to a navigator; following that compass (i.e., purpose) is optional. Living in accord with one's purpose, however, offers that person a self-sustaining source of meaning through goal pursuit and goal attainment. Furthermore, purpose is woven into a person's identity and behavior as a central,...

No abstract

No abstract

In an effort to expand research on curiosity, we elaborate on a theoretical model that informs research on the design of a new measure and the nomological network of curiosity. Curiosity was conceptualized as a positive emotional-motivational system associated with the recognition, pursuit, and self-regulation of novelty and challenge. Using 5 independent samples, we developed the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI) comprising 2 dimensions: exploration (appetitive strivings for novelty and challenge) and absorption (full engagement in specific activities). The CEI has good psychometric properties, is relatively unaffected by socially desirable responding, is relatively independent from positive affect, and has a nomological network consistent with our theoretical framework. Predicated on our personal growth facilitation model, we discuss the potential role of curiosity in advancing understanding of various psychological phenomena.

Given curiosity's fundamental role in motivation, learning, and well-being, we sought to refine the measurement of trait curiosity with an improved version of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI; Kashdan, Rose, & Fincham, 2004). A preliminary pool of 36 items was administered to 311 undergraduate students, who also completed measures of emotion, emotion regulation, personality, and well-being. Factor analyses indicated a two factor model-motivation to seek out knowledge and new experiences (Stretching; 5 items) and a willingness to embrace the novel, uncertain, and unpredictable nature of everyday life (Embracing; 5 items). In two additional samples (ns = 150 and 119), we cross-validated this factor structure and provided initial evidence for construct validity. This includes positive correlations with personal growth, openness to experience, autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, psychological flexibility, positive affect, and positive social relations, among others. Applying item response theory (IRT) to these samples (n = 578), we showed that the items have good discrimination and a desirable breadth of difficulty. The item information functions and test information function were centered near zero, indicating that the scale assesses the mid-range of the latent curiosity trait most reliably. The findings thus far provide good evidence for the psychometric properties of the 10-item CEI-II.Corresponding Author: Todd B. Kashdan, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, MS 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, Email: tkashdan@gmu.edu, Phone: 703-993-9486, Fax: 703-993-1359; website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~tkashdan. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Curiosity is a powerful facet of human motivation (Berlyne, 1960(Berlyne, , 1971Izard, 1977) and one of the fundamental strengths and personality traits studied by psychologists (Peterson & Seligman, 2004;Reiss, 2000). Out of 24 fundamental strengths studied by psychologists, curiosity was the most commonly endorsed by 12,439 adults in the United States and 445 adults in Switzerland (Peterson, Ruch, Beermann, Park, & Seligman, 2007). Sylvan Tomkins (1962), a seminal researcher of positive emotions, believed curiosity had benefits of profound evolutionary significance: "The importance of curiosity to thought and memory are so extensive that the absence…would jeopardize intellectual development no less than the destruction of brain tissue…there is no human competence which can be achieved in the absence of a sustaining interest" (p. 347). NIH Public AccessDespite being interesting to research...