On Panksepp’s Primary Emotional Systems, Steger’s Meaning in Life and Diener’s Satisfaction with Life: A Study Attempt from India

The present study investigates satisfaction with life in the context of Panksepp’s primary emotional systems derived from affective neuroscience theory in a sample of n = 225 study participants (study 1) and a sample of n = 399 study participants (study 2). Of note, participants of the present study stem from a less studied population, namely, India. All participants filled in inventories to assess individual differences in primary emotional systems, meaning in life ( search / presence ) and satisfaction with life. In line with the preregistration, we observed inverse associations between higher FEAR/SADNESS and lower satisfaction with life in both samples. As also a meaning in life measure was administered, mediation models with meaning in life’s facets search for vs presence of could be tested. We observed that presence of meaning in life was a partial mediator for associations between FEAR and satisfaction with life in both samples. In other words, higher FEAR expressions might in part result in lower presence of meaning in life giving way to lower satisfaction with life. Of note, the present work is of cross-sectional nature and causality cannot be implied (only assumed against a theoretical framework provided in this work).