Anxiety and the Approach of Idealistic Meaning

Abstract

This chapter will provide an overview of some of our research on meaning-related motivational processes. We outline our Reactive Approach Motivation theory, which offers a goal-regulation perspective on anxiety and meaning regulation. We suggest that both day-to-day and significant life uncertainties exhibit their effects because they create motivational conflict, which leads to the undesirable experience of anxiety. Re-establishing an approach orientation toward one’s goals can eliminate this anxiety, and we can understand the search for meaning as a generalized, approach-motivated response to anxious uncertainty. We echo William James’ contention that “inner meaning can be complete and valid…only when the inner joy, courage, and endurance are joined with an ideal” (James 1899/2010, p. 177). More specifically, we show that idealistic goals are more reliable and more potent levers of approach than concrete goals, which is why people often fend off anxious uncertainties by engaging idealistic meanings and goals. We submit that this basic motivational model provides insight into the perennial human striving for idealistic meaning. Within the chapter, we will point out how our theoretical perspective draws heavily from humanistic-existential thought, while our research practices tend to align with mainstream scientific quantitative methodologies germane to positive psychologists. Though perhaps an uncomfortable alliance for some, we hold that multimethod research, inspired by humanistic premises, can help to capture and understand human experiential processes and provide a way forward for a mutually satisfying future of humanistic-existential and positive psychological fields.