The efficient measurement of individual differences in meaning motivation: The need for sense-making short form

Katarzyna Cantarero; Wijnand A P van Tilburg; Agata Gasiorowska; Eric R Igou

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.945692

The efficient measurement of individual differences in meaning motivation: The need for sense-making short form

Front Psychol. 2022 Aug 18:13:945692. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.945692. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Katarzyna Cantarero¹, Wijnand A P van Tilburg², Agata Gasiorowska³, Eric R Igou⁴

Affiliations

¹ Social Behavior Research Center, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wrocław, Poland.
² Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom.
³ Center for Research in Economic Behavior, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wrocław, Poland.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.

Abstract

People differ in the extent to which they express a need for sense-making (NSM), and these individual differences are important to understand in light of meaning-making processes. To quantify this important variable, we originally proposed a need for sense-making scale. We now propose a refined, similarly reliable short version of the scale (NSM-SF). The 7-item NSM-SF was validated across a series of four studies (combined N = 1,243). NSM-SF showed psychometric properties and correlations consistent with its longer forerunner. Additionally, results indicated that the need for sense-making was moderately positively related to the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness and competence), and it related negatively to the frustration of these needs. The research offers a useful, brief tool for assessing the NSM construct and broadens our understanding of basic psychological motivations.

Keywords: basic psychological needs; human motivation; individual differences; meaning; need for sense-making; scale development.