The role of purpose in the stress process: A homeostatic account

Abstract

The accumulation of evidence that having a sense of purpose contributes to greater health and well-being has vastly outpaced investigations into why this is so. Here, we offer a novel functional account for the demonstrated benefits of purpose by characterizing it as a resource that maintains psychological homeostasis. We posit that a sense of purpose recenters conscious attention toward prospective and overarching aims, thereby limiting the magnitude of disruption to well-being caused by the proximal stimuli. By attenuating reactivity to proximal events both stressful and uplifting, a sense of purpose facilitates greater stability in health and functioning over time. We leverage this mechanistic account with specific examples found across areas of psychological science and outline questions to guide future research.