Development of the situational momentary meaningfulness questionnaire (SMMQ)
Date
2022
Authors
Marsh, Dylan R., author
Dik, Bryan J., advisor
Steger, Michael F., advisor
Eakman, Aaron M., committee member
Tompkins, Sara, committee member
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Abstract
Meaning is widely considered an important component of well-being (Diener et al., 2010; Ryff, 1989; Seligman, 2012). Research on meaning has burgeoned within the social sciences with the preponderance of extant literature on the construct focused on individuals' senses of meaningfulness in their overall lives. This focus has led to a relative shortage of conceptual and empirical literature on meaningfulness as it may occur at more granular levels of subjective experience. In turn, there is a paucity of psychometrically sound instruments capable of measuring meaningfulness at more immediate levels of experience. The present research sought to help ameliorate these concerns by (1) presenting a framework delineating levels at which meaningfulness experiences may occur and (2) creating the Situational Momentary Meaningfulness Questionnaire (SMMQ), a scale designed to measure situational momentary meaningfulness (SM-Meaningfulness) across three interrelated dimensions: coherence, purpose, and significance. To develop the SMMQ, the present research involved conducting two studies, which were cross-sectional surveys administered to samples of undergraduate students. Study 1 was designed to establish an appropriate factor structure for the SMMQ using factor analytic methods, as well as examine psychometric qualities of reliability regarding the SMMQ and its dimensions. Study 2 was designed to (1) test the replication of the factor structure identified in Study 1 in a separate sample, (2) examine correlations between SMMQ scores and an array of criterion variables toward establishing validity evidence, and (3) use t-tests to discern if the SMMQ and its dimensions could detect differences between two situations which would be sensibly expected to significantly vary in their levels of SM-Meaningfulness. These studies resulted in establishing an SMMQ composed of factors of SM-Coherence, SM-Purpose, and SM-Significance, which demonstrated good fit across both studies. Study 2 showed preliminary evidence of construct validity through mostly expected correlations between SMMQ scores and other variables. Results of t-tests suggested that all dimensions of the SMMQ were significantly higher for self-reported meaningful situations in comparison to randomly selected prior-day situations. Directions for future research that could expand upon the preliminary findings presented herein are discussed.
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Embargo Expires: 01/09/2025
Subject
meaningfulness
scale development
meaning
SMMQ
purpose