Social Support and a Sense of Purpose: The Role of Personal Growth Initiative and Academic Self-Efficacy

Objective: Studies have consistently found a positive relationship between social support and a sense of purpose; however, less is known about the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. The present study bridges this gap by proposing and testing a path model illustrating the mediating effects of personal growth initiative and academic self-efficacy on the linkage between social support and a sense of purpose.Method: A total of 2,085 Chinese college students completed the revised versions of the Social Support, Personal Growth Initiative, Academic Self-Efficacy, and Sense of Purpose Scales.Results: The results show that social support, personal growth initiative, and academic self-efficacy were all significantly associated with a sense of purpose. As predicted, personal growth initiative and academic self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social support and a sense of purpose, respectively. The results also support the hypothesized serial mediating effect.Conclusion: Individuals who feel more social support have a higher level of personal growth initiative, their academic self-efficacy is stronger, and their academic self-efficacy further enhances their sense of purpose. Additionally, comparisons among the three indirect effects indicated that the effect of personal growth initiative was significantly greater than those of the other two measures. Thus, it can be concluded that personal initiative plays a greater role in enhancing a sense of purpose. These findings not only help to understand how social support enhances the sense of purpose, but also provide insight into the underlying mechanism.

Is There a Link Between Corporate Purpose and Performance?

After 50 years of debate on this crucial question, the evidence is increasingly strong in favor of “yes”: companies can achieve better results if they incorporate practices that foster people’s sense of purpose. This relationship seems to be valid for very different types of industries and various business strategies within the cost-differentiation spectrum. However, causality between purpose and performance is not as linear as some literature and consultants seem to indicate. In this chapter, we discuss this relationship under the perspective of unity (the degree of mutual trust and commitment to the company experienced by people who contribute to fulfilling its purpose). Based on this perspective, we provide a framework that distinguishes four types of cultures: bureaucratic, paternalistic, aggressive and competent.

Missions-Driven Leadership

In this chapter, we present the leadership style required by management by missions (MBM). We first make a brief review of the different types of leadership that have been proposed in the past: transactional, transformational and transcendental leadership. And then, we propose the key competencies of missions-driven leadership (MDL) structured in four areas: commitment with purpose and missions, developing a culture of cooperation through a sense of purpose, ability to implement the changes required by the organization’s purpose and the struggle for control the personal ego.

Motives for Studying and Student Wellbeing: Validation of the Motivational Mindset Model

Research on the joint effect of multiple motives for studying was recently given a push in a new direction with the introduction of the motivational mindset model (MMM). This model contributes to a better understanding of study success and student wellbeing in higher education. The aim of the present study is to validate the newly developed model and the associated mindset classification tool (MCT). To this end, 662 first-year university students were classified in one of the four types of motivational mindset using the classification tool and three exploratory validation procedures were conducted through sense of purpose, study engagement, and students’ background characteristics in terms of gender and ethnicity. Both purpose and study engagement are central dimensions of student wellbeing and predictors of study success. The results show that (1) sense of purpose and study engagement differ across the four types of mindset, (2) students in the low-impact mindset show the least optimal pattern of study engagement and sense of purpose, (3) sense of purpose and study engagement are positively related and this relationship is consistent across mindsets, and (4) overall differences in purpose and study engagement between gender and ethnic subgroups stem from one specific type of motivational mindset. The results provide support for the validity of the MMM and the usefulness of the MCT. The implications of the findings are discussed as well as promising avenues for future research.

Sense of Purpose in Life Promotes Resilience to Memory Deficits Related to Depressive Symptomatology

Individuals higher in depressive symptoms commonly present with neuropsychological deficits including poorer memory performance. Sense of purpose in life, a component of psychological well-being, has been shown to promote resilience to cognitive impairment in older adulthood, but it is unclear whether it may also protect against cognitive deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. This study examined whether purpose in life moderated the effect of depressive symptoms on cognitive functioning in a large longitudinal study of 4599 American older adults (Mage = 74.33 years, range = 65–104 years, 56.84% female) across a 12-year follow-up period. Depressive symptomatology was assessed at each wave using the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multilevel models assessed the influence of depressive symptoms and the interaction with sense of purpose in life on changes in word recall and mental status. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with poorer recall at baseline, but not rate of change over time. A negative interaction was observed between sense of purpose in life and depressive symptoms such that individuals higher in purpose experienced a less negative impact of depressive symptoms on word recall. No significant interaction of sense of purpose and depressive symptoms was observed on mental status. Having a sense of purpose in life may help protect older adults from memory deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. The present findings underscore the potential for sense of purpose to promote cognitive reserve in older adulthood, allowing individuals to maintain cognitive performance in the face of accruing neuropsychological challenges.

Older Adults Place Greater Importance on a Purposeful Retirement

Sense of purpose is associated with desirable health and well-being measures in older adults. Unfortunately, existing research points to complexity in the connection between purpose and retirement: some but not all people decline in sense of purpose following retirement, and some view it as nonessential to maintain a purpose specifically during retirement. These findings suggest there may be individual differences both in the importance placed on being purposeful specifically during retirement, and that there may be a discrepancy in purpose importance before retirement and during retirement. In this study, we examined whether perceived purpose importance correlates with age and personality, as well as working status. Data were collected from a U.S sample (N = 2,009), aged18-93 (M =48.51). Participants completed a survey assessing the Big Five personality traits and were asked to rate the importance of purpose before and after retirement. Findings suggest that, overall, people believe it wasrbe important to have a purpose and direction during retirement (M = 3.86). Perceived purpose importance during retirement was greater among older, conscientious, and less neurotic adults, but working status did not appear to play a role. Moreover, when comparing perceptions of purpose importance before and during retirement, age was the distinguishing factor differentiating who perceives during-retirement purpose as more important than before-retirement purpose, such that older adults placed greater importance on sense of purpose during retirement. Results indicate that older adults do value having a purpose during retirement, suggesting that purpose-focused interventions may be well-received by this population.

Ageism in Hiring Decisions: Sense of Purpose as a Mitigating Strategy

Discrimination against older adults in the workplace is a pervasive issue that has important consequences for older adults, leading to lower well-being (Stokes & Moorman, 2020) and worse job outcomes (Macdonald & Levy, 2016). One area where discrimination manifests is in hiring practices, and thus research is needed to understand factors that impact willingness to hire older adults. One potential intervention target to reduce age discrimination in hiring is sense of purpose. Sense of purpose manipulations have previously been successful in increasing one’s comfort with diversity (Burrow & Hill, 2013), and thus may prove successful in combatting age discrimination in the workplace. Therefore, the current studies sought to understand whether sense of purpose was related to ageist attitudes and hiring decisions, and how a purpose manipulation might serve as a tool to combat discrimination in hiring. Across two studies (n = 594, MAge = 27.20), participants were shown the resumé of either an older adult applicant (62-years-old) or younger adult applicant (32-years-old), and were asked how hireable they would rate the applicant. The research found that the purpose manipulation did effectively increase individuals’ sense of purpose. In addition, the research found that sense of purpose was negatively related to ageist attitudes. However, the purpose manipulation was unsuccessful in reducing ageist attitudes, and had no effect on ageist discrimination in hiring. These results suggest that while sense of purpose is negatively related to ageist attitudes, manipulating purpose may not be an effective tool to reduce ageist attitudes or discrimination.