1. Self-Compassion and Positive Mood as Predictors of Meaning in Life: The Moderating Effect of Age Introduction “Into each life some rain must fall” (Longfellow, 1842, pp. 111-112), often in the form of personal weakness, pain or disappointment. One’s ability to accept personal “rainy days” without harsh self-criticism could promote seeing one’s life as positive and meaningful overall. Self-compassion is an emotion- regulation process that promotes self-kindness while accepting negative personal events (Neff, 2003). Thus, it is reasonable to predict a positive relationship between self-compassion and meaning in life. The current study tested this hypothesis. Age could moderate the predicted relationship between self-compassion and meaning in life. The motivational importance of having positive and meaningful emotional experiences increases as one gets older (e.g., Carstensen, Isaacowitz & Charles, 1999). Additionally, psychological acceptance and self-kindness could become increasingly important to older adults as they cope with declining health and other challenges (Allen, Goldwasser & Leary, 2012). Thus, self-compassion could be more important to meaning in life among older adults. Positive mood enhances meaning in life (e.g., Halusic & King, 2013), and it is positively related to self- compassion (e.g., Neff, Rude & Kirkpatrick, 2007). In examining the relationships between self-compassion meaning in life, and age, it is important to see whether positive mood accounts for the expected relationships. The current research did so and tested the replicability of studies showing that positive mood is a stronger predictor of meaning in life among older adults (Hicks et al., 2012). Introduction “Into each life some rain must fall” (Longfellow, 1842, pp. 111-112), often in the form of personal weakness, pain or disappointment. One’s ability to accept personal “rainy days” without harsh self-criticism could promote seeing one’s life as positive and meaningful overall. Self-compassion is an emotion- regulation process that promotes self-kindness while accepting negative personal events (Neff, 2003). Thus, it is reasonable to predict a positive relationship between self-compassion and meaning in life. The current study tested this hypothesis. Age could moderate the predicted relationship between self-compassion and meaning in life. The motivational importance of having positive and meaningful emotional experiences increases as one gets older (e.g., Carstensen, Isaacowitz & Charles, 1999). Additionally, psychological acceptance and self-kindness could become increasingly important to older adults as they cope with declining health and other challenges (Allen, Goldwasser & Leary, 2012). Thus, self-compassion could be more important to meaning in life among older adults. Positive mood enhances meaning in life (e.g., Halusic & King, 2013), and it is positively related to self- compassion (e.g., Neff, Rude & Kirkpatrick, 2007). In examining the relationships between self-compassion meaning in life, and age, it is important to see whether positive mood accounts for the expected relationships. The current research did so and tested the replicability of studies showing that positive mood is a stronger predictor of meaning in life among older adults (Hicks et al., 2012). Limitations and Future Research Future research could use experimental or longitudinal designs to shed more light on the causal relationships between these variables. The current research did not selectively target older adults. Additionally, although MTurk samples are more diverse than college-student samples, they are not representative samples (e.g., Buhrmester, Kwang, & Gosling, 2011). Future research could examine whether the current findings extend to representative samples, older samples of adults, and across cultures. Limitations and Future Research Future research could use experimental or longitudinal designs to shed more light on the causal relationships between these variables. The current research did not selectively target older adults. Additionally, although MTurk samples are more diverse than college-student samples, they are not representative samples (e.g., Buhrmester, Kwang, & Gosling, 2011). Future research could examine whether the current findings extend to representative samples, older samples of adults, and across cultures. Leigh Ann Vaughn SPSP 2014 Lvaughn@ithaca.edu Highlights  Self-compassion and meaning in life were positively related, and this relationship was stronger among older adults.  Positive mood and meaning in life were positively related, and this relationship was stronger among older adults, conceptually replicating Hicks, Trent, Davis and King (2012).  Positive mood did not account for the relationships between self- compassion and meaning in life. References Allen, A. B., Goldwasser, E., & Leary, M. R. (2012). Self-compassion and well-being among older adults. Self and Identity, 11, 428-453. Buhrmester, M., Kwang, T., & Gosling, S. D. (2011). Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality data? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 3–5. Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165–181. Halusic, M., & King, L. A. (2013). What makes life meaningful: Positive mood works in a pinch. D. K. Markman, T. Proulx, & M. J. Lindberg (Eds.), The psychology of meaning (pp. 445-464). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Hicks, J. A., Trent, J., Davis, W. E., & King, L. A. (2012). Positive affect, meaning in life, and future time perspective: An application of socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 27, 181-189. Longfellow, H. W. (1842). Ballads and other poems. Cambridge, MA: J. Owen. Neff, K. D. (2003). Development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2, 223–250. Neff, K. D., Rude, S. S., & Kirkpatrick, K. (2007). An examination of self-compassion in relation to positive psychological functioning and personality traits. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 908–916. Steger, M.F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80–93. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070. Method Participants were 359 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers. Measures:  Positive Affect subscale of the PANAS, state version (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988)  Meaning in Life – Presence subscale of the Meaning in Life Scale (Steger, Frazier, Oishi & Kaler, 2006)  Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003)  Demographics, including age Method Participants were 359 Amazon Mechanical Turk workers. Measures:  Positive Affect subscale of the PANAS, state version (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988)  Meaning in Life – Presence subscale of the Meaning in Life Scale (Steger, Frazier, Oishi & Kaler, 2006)  Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003)  Demographics, including age