Life Schemes: A Framework for Understanding the Search for Meaning

A conceptual framework is presented for understanding what is meant by “finding meaning.” It is proposed that individuals have life schemes that provide a sense of order and purpose in one's life. A life scheme is a cognitive representation of one's life, much like a story, which organizes one's perspectives on the world and oneself, goals one wishes to attain, and events that are relevant to those goals. Severely negative events can challenge parts of the life scheme, disrupting one's sense of order and/or purpose. Finding meaning is a process of changing the life scheme or one's perception of the event, so that feelings of order and purpose are restored. Ways in which meaning is found, the role of attributions in the search for meaning, and the effects of finding meaning on future victimization are discussed within the life scheme framework.