I. Philosophical Roots, Scientific Methods

1. The Role of Death in Becoming Subjective and Cultivating Meaning in Kierkegaard, Sophie Höfer & Adam Buben

2. A Sense of Freedom: Free Will in Contemporary Analytic Philosophy and Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, Stephen Kearns & Alfred R.Mele

3. Determination and Transcendence: An Existentialist Account of Our Freedom to Shape Ourselves in a Deterministic World, Derk Pereboom

4. The Failure of Science and the Science of Failure: Toward a Black Existential Psychology, Timothy J. Golden

5. Research Methods in the Science of Existential Psychology, Matthew Vess

II. Death, Aging, and Time

6. Back to the Future: Terror Management Theory—Review and Preview, Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, & Tom Pyszczynski

7. The Nature Problem: Wilderness, Animals, and the Human Body, Uri Lifshin, Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe, Lauren Keira Marie Smith, Stylianos Syropoulos, Immo Fritsche, & Fabian M. Hess

8. Near-Death Experiences: An Overview and Implications for Mortality, Natasha Ann Tassell-Matamua, Bruce Greyson, & Philip J. Cozzolino

9. Death Anxiety and Mental Health, Rachel Menzies

10. Health in the Spotlight and Shadow of Death: The Terror Management Health Model, Emily P. Courtney, Jamie L. Goldenberg, & Jamie Arndt

11. Suicide: The Fatal Withdrawal from Life, Joseph Hayes & Robert W.G. Tupper

12. Existential Neuroscience: Bridging Philosophy, Psychology, and the Brain, Markus Quirin & Georg Northoff

13. Time, Scarcity, and Savoring the Moment, Jaime L. Kurtz & Ryan Murphy

14. Nostalgia: The Existential Value of Temporal Longing, Constantine Sedikides & Tim Wildschut

15. An Existential Perspective on Aging into Older Adulthood, Molly Maxfield

III. Freedom, Authenticity, and Moral Responsibility

16. Developmental Research on Children’s Understanding of Choice and Constraints, Xin Zhao

17. How the Existential Agent Functions: Free Will and Self-Regulation, Roy F. Baumeister

18. From Authenticity to I–Thou Relationships: Self-Determination Theory as a Framework for the Study of Existential-Phenomenological Psychology, William S. Ryan & Richard M. Ryan

19. Solving the Existential Problem of Choice: Sartre, Free Will, Goal Breakthroughs, Courage, Autonomy, and Self-Concordance, Kennon M. Sheldon

20. Authenticity and True Selves, Rebecca J. Schlegel & Grace N. Rivera

21. Don’t Tread on Me: Freedom and Reactance to Autonomy Threat, Benjamin David Rosenberg, Thomas Bernhard Coulson, Christopher M. Falco, & Jason T. Siegel

22. The Tyranny of Freedom: Choice Overload, Decision Fatigue, and the Meaning of Choice, Nathan N. Cheek

23. The Art of Choosing: Navigating the Benefits and Costs of Choice, Elena Reutskaja & Raffaella Misuraca

24. Belief in Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Personal Agency, Elizabeth Seto

25. Morality, the Self, and Self-Conscious Emotions, Jessica L. Tracy, Gabrielle C. Ibasco, & Ian Hohm

IV. Isolation, Uncertainty, and Shared Reality

26. Existential Isolation and I-Sharing: Theoretical and Empirical Contributions, Elif Bilal & Peter J. Helm

27. Shared Reality, Matteo Masi & Gerald Echterhoff

28. Navigating Uncertainty: Cognitive Closure, Information Processing, Epistemic Authority in the Pursuit of Knowledge, Karolina Bonarska, Jakub Cacek, Malgorzata Kossowska, & Ewa Szumowska

29. Uncertainty and Social Identity, Benjamin J. Anjewierden, Kathryn M. Kincaid, Amber M. Gaffney, & David E. Rast

30. How Meaningful Values Supplant Reactive Approach Motivation for Hostile Worldview Extremes, Ian McGregor

31. An Attachment Perspective on the Management of Existential Concerns and Cultivation of Personal Growth, Mario Mikulincer & Phillip R. Shaver

32. Ostracism as an Existential Threat, Sydney G. Wicks, Sarah Mohammadi, Natasha R. Wood, & Andrew H. Hales

33. Existential Loneliness and Aging, Phoebe E. McKenna-Plumley & Jenny M. Groarke

V. Culture, Self, and Identity

34. The Cultural Pursuit of Meaning, Steven J. Heine & Michael B. Mask

35. Metaphor Shapes Existential Cognition, Mark Landau, Amy P. Kenny, & Young-Ju Ryu

36. Cultural–Existential Psychology: The Societal Roots of Threat and Defense, Daniel Sullivan, Alexis N. Goad, Roman Palitsky, Harrison J. Schmitt, & Isaac F. Young

37. A Hero’s Wrath: Taming the Sense of Chaos and Cultivating a Meaningful Sense of Self Through Moral Outrage, Zachary K. Rothschild & Lucas A. Keefer

38. Life in Plastic, Not So Fantastic: A Barbie-Informed Feminist Existential Perspective on the Objectification of Women, Jamie L. Goldenberg, Tomi-Ann Roberts, & Roxanne N. Felig

39. State Authenticity as Identity-Based Fit to Environment: The SAFE Model, Constantine Sedikides & Toni Schmader

40. Narrative Identity, Dan P. McAdams & Sebnem Ture

41. How and Why Does Personality Change across the Lifespan?, Muchen Xi & Joshua J. Jackson

VI. Meaning and Purpose

42. Commonplace Meaning in Life, Erica A. Holberg & Laura A. King

43. Dynamic Variation in Finding Meaning and Purpose in Daily Life, David B. Newman & Paul K. Lutz

44. The Existential Dynamics of Politics: Understanding the Links between Political Beliefs, Well-Being, and Meaning in Life, Jake Womick, Julianna Ochoa-Peralta, Kevin Flores, Sarahi Lopez Amaro, & Andre Martinez, Jr.

45. Science and Religion: Meaning-Making Tools Competing to Explain the World, Natalia Zarzeczna & Roosa Haimila

46. Making Life Matter: The Role of Sociocultural and Experiential Significance, Lydia M. Needy, Michael Austin Day, Xiaobo Xu, & Joshua A. Hicks

47. From Conscious Wishes to Nonconscious Actions, Gabriele Oettingen

48. Boredom and Meaning: Managing Everyday Existential Dread, Eric Raymound Igou, Wijnand Adriaan Pieter van Tilburg, Andrew Bryan Moynihan, & Muireann Kate O'Dea

49. Pathways to Meaning and Meaning Maintenance in an Ever-Changing World, Pninit Russo-Netzer & Stefan E. Schulenberg

50. Making Meaning of Adversity: A Conceptual and Empirical Overview, Crystal L. Park

51. The Search for Meaning: A Review of Research and Theory, Michael F. Steger & Dylan R. Marsh

VII. Religion and Spirituality

52. Death Awareness and Religious Faith, Kenneth E. Vail III, Madhwa S. Galgali, Ashley D. Seeling, & Caroline C. Lapish

53. Agency, Free Will Beliefs and Religion: Implications for Meaning Making, Self-Regulation, Well-Being, and Attributional Thinking, Jeffrey D. Green, Stephanie Anne Barrientos Barrientos, & Isabella L. Di Lauro

54. Facing the Existential Chasm: The Nonreligious Quest for Meaning and Existential Security, Daryl R. Van Tongeren

55. Nonreligious Paths to Existential Fulfillment, Luke Galen

56. Religious and Spiritual Struggles: A Brief Overview Highlighting Links with Existential Topics, Julie J. Exline & Kenneth I. Pargament

57. Guided by the Glimpse: The Psychology of Meaning from Anomalous Experience, Ralph W. Hood, Jr. & Jonathan Dinsmore

VIII. Awe, Growth, and the Good Life

58. Awe, Megan E. Edwards & Patty Van Cappellen

59. The Transformative Self: How the Narrative Architecture of Identity Frames Humane Flourishing and Authenticity, Jack J. Bauer

60. Familiarity Seeking: Growing and Learning from Repeat Experiences, Yuji Katsumata Winet & Ed O'Brien

61. The Pursuit of Happiness: Toxic Positivity or an Existentially Worthy Goal in Life, Frank Martela

62. Exploring Psychological Richness and Its Implications for a Good Life, Elizabeth A. Janey & Shigehiro Oishi

63. Tangled Integration: Weaving Together Philosophy, Science, and Practice to Advance Existential Ideas, Kevin Aho, Natalie Fraser, & Carol Ryff

64. Existential–Humanistic Psychotherapy: An Integrative, Multicultural Perspective, Kirk J. Schneider, Theopia Reness Jackson, & Louis Hoffman

65. Courage amid Suffering: A Model of Existential Hope, Daryl R. Van Tongeren & Sara A. Showalter Van Tongeren

Author Index

Subject Index