Some people criticize the textbook’s discussion of meaning as “soft” because meaning, or spirituality is individual, subjective and difficult to study. On the other hand, these same criticisms were once made about topics that are now quite well-researched, such as love.
A. Do you think that we should skip researching difficult-to-study topics (e.g., religiosity or meaning) in favor of potentially more fruitful and/or applied research explorations? Justify your answer.
B. How might you study the development of meaning? Choose one of the suggested topics below and discuss how you might design a study. What would your approach be?
- How might you design a study to show whether older people are more spiritual because of their age or because of the adversity they have faced? What do you hypothesize about the results?
Sample Solution
