The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality

What gives meaning to life? Of all the goals that people strive for, which ones really matter? This volume makes a powerful case for the inclusion of ultimate concerns-- spiritual and religious themes in personal strivings-- in any attempt to build a motivational theory of personality. The book first reviews the growing body of empirical and clinical literature on goal seeking and its relationship to subjective well-being, life satisfaction, and personality description. Emmons then sets forth an innovative framework for the assessment and measurement of ultimate concerns. Topics covered include implications of spiritual strivings for mental health and treatment, conflicts between different kinds of goals, ways that ultimate concerns can foster personality integration, goal processes in stress and coping, and the concept of spiritual intelligence. Sample assessment materials are shown in the Appendix, illuminating the author's research methodology.