| dc.description.abstract | Something that is difficult to understand or explain can be described as a mystery. Mysteries excite curiosity, wonder and may even lead individuals to feel a sense of awe. This can be both good and bad but depending on how one interprets the experience, it can lead to a variety of emotions, one of which can be meaningfulness. By experiencing meaningfulness, it means one engages in the qualities of being useful, serious, and important. There are many ways one may gain a sense of meaning; it varies by the individual as some find it through their culture while others find it through their environment. How often someone can find meaning can depend on their current level of meaningfulness; essentially if someone is higher in meaning, they will not find it in everything whereas someone lower could experience transcendence just by looking at a sunset. Being in a state of transcendence is defined by overcoming the limitation of physical existence and being independent. Another way to describe a meaningful life is to be engaged in the world around them, feeling a sense of purpose, and being filled with passion. With new ways to find meaning it can lead individuals to find their sense of purpose and potentially lower rates of depression. Our research focuses on determining whether mystery influences feelings of meaningfulness. We assessed this by giving participants a survey consisting of scales rating their levels of engagement, awe, wonder, mystery and meaningfulness. We aim to find a difference in positive and negative ratings in relation to meaningfulness. We did not find our mystery-induced images lead participants to engage in meaning, however we found an indirect relationship between the two. | |
