The Scale for Existential Thinking

Abstract

This study introduced the construct of existential thinking, which we defined as the tendency to explore the fundamental concerns of human existence and the capacity to engage in a meaning-making process that locates oneself in respect to these issues. We also assessed the psychometric properties of the 11-item “Scale for Existential Thinking” (SET). In two studies, we found the SET to have unidimensional factor structure and good reliability diagnostics in both student and adult samples. Moreover, the SET showed construct validity by correlating with meaning in life, curiosity, and other existential variables. Furthermore, we found meaning in life to mediate the relation of existential thinking and existential wellbeing, which supports our conceptualization of existential thinking as a meaning-making process.

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