Skip to main content

The Problem of Life’s Meaning

  • Chapter
Personality Psychology

Abstract

Some years ago I became interested in understanding the modern dilemma of identity: identity crisis, finding oneself, knowing oneself, being all that you can be—these phrases are so familiar that they have become clichés. I wanted to understand why our whole society, in general, and our social sciences, in particular, had become so concerned with the self.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Argyle, M. (1987). The psychology of happiness. London, England: Methuen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1986) Identity: Cultural change and the struggle for self. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1987) How the self became a problem: A psychological review of historical research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 163–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1988a). Masochism as escape from self. Journal of Sex Research, 25 (1), 28–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1988b). Gender differences in masochistic scripts. Journal of Sex Research, 25 (4), 478–499.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1988c). The optimal margin of illusion. Paper presented at the convention of the American Psychological Association, August, Atlanta, GA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1989a). Masochism and the Self. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (1989b). The optimal margin of illusion. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 8, 176–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F. (in press). Anxiety and deconstruction: On escaping the self. In J. Olson and M. Zanna (Eds.), Self-inference processes: The Ontario Symposium, Vol. 6. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R.F., and Scher, S.J. (1988). Self-defeating behavior patterns among normal individuals: Review and analysis of common self-destructive tendencies. Psychological Bulletin, 104, 3–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol 1. Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol 2. Separation anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braudy, L. (1986). The frenzy of renown: Fame and its history. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brehm, J. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantor, N., and Kihlstrom, J. (in press). Social intelligence. In R.S. Wyer and T.K. Stall (Eds.), Advances in social cognition: Vol. III. Social intelligence and cognitive assessments of personality Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freud, S. (1930). Civilization and its discontents. (J. Strachey, Trans.) New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habermas, J. (1973). Legitimation crisis. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Jones, E.E.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbett, R.E. (1971). The actor and the observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behavior. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klinger, E. (1977). Meaning and void: Inner experience and the incentives in people’s lives. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Langer, E. (1975). The illusion of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 311–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasch, C. (1978). The culture of narcissism. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, O. (1982). Slavery and social death. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raboteau, A. (1978). Slave religion. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, P. (1984). Words and values: Some leading words and where they lead us. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, L. (1977). The intuitive psychologist and his shortcomings: Distortions in the attribution process. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology: Vol 10. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J.R., and Snyder, S. (1982). Changing the world and changing the self: A two process model of perceived control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 5–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S.É. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, S.E., and Brown, J.D. (1988). Illusion and well-being: Some social psychological contributions to a theory of mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 193–210.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, R.W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66, 297–333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Baumeister, R.F. (1989). The Problem of Life’s Meaning. In: Buss, D.M., Cantor, N. (eds) Personality Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0634-4_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0634-4_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-0636-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-0634-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics