The Need for Purpose: The Desire for Meaningful Direction as a Fundamental Human Motivation
Abstract
The present research investigated the hypothesis that humans have an innate and fundamental need for purpose. This need is defined as a pervasive drive for a sense of meaningful direction and the experience of progress toward associated objectives. First, theoretical development of the need for purpose is presented, along with a review of the existing research literature covering evidence for the need for purpose’s fulfillment of well-established criteria for evaluating needs. This review is followed by three empirical studies developing a measure assessing satisfaction and frustration of purpose, examining an initial nomological network of the construct, and testing whether purpose accounted for variance in well-being and work-specific outcomes beyond three established needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. In Study 1 (N = 237), the best-performing 4-item combinations were used to create the Satisfaction and Frustration of Purpose Scales (SFPS). The SFPS were found to have excellent psychometric properties and factor structure analyses with data from Studies 1-3 supported the expected structure and their distinctiveness from scales assessing the established needs. In Study 2 (N = 399), analyses indicated that satisfaction and frustration of purpose in life accounted for variance in positive (e.g., positive affect, life satisfaction) and negative (e.g., depression, physical complaints) indices of well-being beyond the corresponding scales for the established needs. In a work context, results from Study 3 (N = 484) replicated relations with well-being outcomes and revealed similar relations with work-specific outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, work motivation, turnover intentions) such that satisfaction and frustration of purpose accounted for variance in all outcomes beyond the existing needs. Contrary to expectations, no differences were found between the contribution of various work characteristics (e.g., task significance, social support) to the experience of purpose at work. The implications of the need for purpose for research and practice on well-being and at work are discussed.