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Abstract
Having a purpose is a form of intrapersonal giftedness. An even rarer giftedness is motivation to positively change society or culture. This exploratory chi‐square and ANOVA study reports the prevalence, age distribution, stability over time, and characteristics of two change oriented aims in American adolescents. In a sample of 270, 12%, who tend to be older and more other‐oriented, have tolerant aspirations to bridge across group differences, focusing on peace, justice, racial unity, or immigrant inclusion to relieve suffering. Sixteen per cent, who tend to be more self‐oriented and spread across ages, have creative aspirations to introduce new ideas, primarily through arts and media. Both aims are difficult to maintain over time without connections to structure engagement with the aim.
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Acknowledgements
This work was conducted as part of the Youth Purpose Project at the Stanford Center on Adolescence, funded in part by the John Templeton Foundation and the Thrive Foundation for Youth. Thank you to Bill Damon (Principal Investigator) and to current and past project staff for their contributions: Matt Bundick, David Yeager, Karen Rathman, Heather Malin, Tim Reilly, Matt Andrews, Jim Sirianni, Amina Jones, Kendall Cotton Bronk, and Jenni Menon Mariano. Also thank you to Kirsi Tirri for her guidance, and to Lisa Staton and Elissa Hirsh for their ongoing support.
