Viewing Purpose Through an Eriksonian Lens

Abstract

One theme in Erik Erikson's work is the importance of finding a purpose for life. This article discusses the role of purpose in Erikson's writings and uses this review as a foundation for investigating Erikson's claims. Using a longitudinal sample of adolescents, Study 1 shows that identity and purpose development are intertwined processes insofar as increased commitment on one dimension corresponds to increased commitment on the other. Study 2 demonstrates that, although identity and purpose commitment are correlated, purpose commitment uniquely predicts Big Five personality trait levels, particularly for those traits related to maturity. Results are discussed as an impetus for future purpose development research and as support for largely unexamined Eriksonian claims.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Portions of this work were supported by a Youth Purpose Research Award from the Stanford Center on Adolescence. These awards are funded in part by the Templeton Foundation and the Thrive Foundation for Youth.

Notes

*p < .05.

*p < .05.

^t p < .10. *p < .05.

Note. Reported values are standardized betas for individual predictors. E, A, C, N, and O refer respectively to the Big Five traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness.

*p < .05.

¹Prior to these analyses, we sought empirical evidence that our identity commitment and purpose commitment measures were assessing different constructs. Indeed, a chi-square difference test found that a model with separate identity and purpose commitment factors fit the data significantly better than a single-factor model, χ²(1) = 139.02, p < .05.