Life is pretty meaningful and/or purposeful?: On conflations, contexts, and consequences

Abstract

Comments on the original article "Life is pretty meaningful," by S. J. Heintzelman and L. A. King (see record 2014-03265-001). Heintzelman and King condense descriptive data from numerous studies to conclude that individuals tend to see life as meaningful, because average scores on the meaning and purpose in life assessments fall above the midpoint. However, in so doing, they make two contentious assumptions. The first is the expectation that scale midpoints actually reflect an average score on that construct. However, one should not interpret this metric to suggest that people generally live meaningful lives without great caution and consideration of the second assumption: the conflation of purpose and meaning in life. In response, the current authors address this second assumption and the need to develop better questions and measures for both meaning and purpose.