Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
Published on: September 27, 2020
Testing the Multilevel Personality-to-Purpose (MPP) framework: An experimental evaluation of an online self-help
P F Jonah Li1, Y Joel Wong2, Cathryn Cearing3
1Department of Social Sciences, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma.
None:
Grounded in the Multilevel Personality-to-Purpose Framework, a six-chapter online self-help workbook was developed to promote purpose in life (purpose) and evaluated in this study. Adult participants (N = 235) recruited from Prolific.ac were randomly assigned to either (a) an experimental condition (completing the workbook in 2 weeks; n = 118) or (b) a waitlist-control condition (n = 117). Assessments were administered on three occasions: preintervention (Time 1), postintervention (Time 2), and 4-week follow-up (Time 3). Linear mixed models partially supported the study hypothesis, indicating that participants in the experimental condition showed greater increases over time in global and state purpose, state meaning, and state hope, relative to the control condition, with small effect sizes. The intervention was also associated with improvements in several indicators of well-being and psychological symptoms; however, these effects were small and not consistently observed across all outcomes or time intervals. Specifically, some outcomes (e.g., state life satisfaction and state suicide ideation from Time 1 to Time 2, as well as state negative affect from Time 1 to Time 3) did not demonstrate Significant Time × Condition interactions. Study findings, along with limitations, future research directions, and practical implications, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
Related Concept Videos
Self-Report Tests of Personality
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Introduction to Personality Psychology
Early Theories of Personality
The study of personality dates...
Maslow's Humanistic Approach on Personality
Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
Carl Rogers' Humanistic Perspective on Personality
The organism refers to an individual's inherent blueprint, which Rogers saw as innately positive and directed toward helping others, unlike Freud's view of the id as driven by base impulses. The self is a person's...