The search for meaning in life has been considered a fundamental human motivation (Frankl, 1963). Although research has pointed toward the importance of the search for meaning in life, the basic processes through which it emerges remain unclear. Because the search for meaning entails schema formation in which one connects individual experiences into a coherent framework (Steger, Oishi, & Kesebir, 2011), and abstract thought instigates the organization of information into such knowledge structures (Trope & Liberman, 2010), we predicted that abstract thought would increase the search for meaning in life. Moreover, we predicted that figuratively removing oneself from the here and now would also heighten the search for meaning. Importantly, we predicted that because schema formation is effortful (Shallice & Burgess, 1996), abstract thought and psychological distance would increase the search for meaning to a greater extent when willingness to exert effort is high rather than low. Nine experiments corroborated these predictions, supporting a view of the search for meaning as motivated social cognition
