Varieties of Purpose: Different Types of Purpose Correlate With Self-Reported Happiness, Age, and Gender

This study aimed to operationalise a typology of purpose and to create a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure different varieties of purpose. Seven types of purpose were highlighted: “no purpose,” “survival,” “religious,” “personal-accumulative,” “altruistic,” “self-expansive,” and “transpersonal” purpose. Following two pilot studies, the questionnaire was completed by a sample of 528 participants. Construct validity was supported via confirmatory factor analysis on the two pilot study samples and main study data, both favouring the seven-factor solution. The questionnaire measured the correlation of different types of purpose with self-reported happiness, gender and age. The most prevalent types of purpose were found to be “self-expansive” and “altruistic.” “No purpose” was the strongest negative predictor of self-reported happiness, while “transpersonal purpose” was the most significant positive predictor of self-reported happiness. Transpersonal purpose was most strongly associated with women. Personal-accumulative purpose was negatively associated with increasing age, while transpersonal purpose was positively associated with increasing age. Qualitative data revealed rich descriptions of the different types of purpose, illustrating that varieties of purpose are distinguishable, and have different effects.