The Psychology of Meaning

From moral philosophy and existentialism to the clinical realm of psychotherapy, The Psychology of Meaning explores the multifaceted nature of this highly subjective construct. The volume's contributors examine meaning along five dimensions — the architecture of meaning, responding to uncertainty, meaning from retrospection, compensating for meaning violations, and restoring meaning: physiological and neurocognitive mechanisms.

The editors of this groundbreaking work bring together top researchers and scholars to explore the crucial intersection of the psychological and philosophical dimensions of psychic life. Contributors to this sweeping survey examine not only the many phenomenological aspects of meaning, but also the clinical aspects of people's reactions to the loss of meaning, to uncertainty, and to meaning violations — when things that were once central to one's life no longer make much sense.

The book concludes with a scholarly, clinical survey of how psychotherapy can help restore meaning in the face of persistent meaning violations.

Written for scholars and students in introductory or advanced social psychology courses, The Psychology of Meaning will also appeal to clinicians specializing in existential–humanistic psychotherapy.