(The feeling of) meaning-as-information

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The human desire for meaning is a fundamental motive, yet its adaptive function remains unclear.
• Existing theories often link meaning to affect, but this connection may be incomplete.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and test the meaning-as-information hypothesis, suggesting meaning signals environmental coherence.
• To differentiate the function of meaning from affect, particularly in relation to pattern detection.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing existing research on stimulus coherence and subjective meaning.
• Conducting experiments manipulating stimulus coherence and associative mindsets.
• Measuring subjective reports of meaning and affect.

Main Results:

• Manipulations of stimulus coherence influenced subjective meaning but not affect.
• Fostering an associative mindset enhanced the experience of meaning.
• Meaning appears linked to foundational cognitive processes like associative learning and perception.

Conclusions:

• The feeling of meaning serves an adaptive function by providing information about environmental reliability.
• This perspective challenges traditional views on meaning's motivational appeal and its inherent construction.
• Meaning is integrated within a network of basic cognitive and neural processes.