This line of work examines the role of purpose as young people work toward self-selected goals and navigate meaningful projects in their lives. We explore whether and how a sense of purpose influences goal setting, sustained effort, resilience in the face of setbacks, and ultimately, progress toward the outcomes people care about. By understanding this relationship, we aim to identify how purpose functions as a motivational resource that helps young people translate aspirations into action and achievement.

Illustrative work from our lab on this topic:

Ratner, K., Gladstone, J. R., Zhu, G., Li, Q., Estevez, M., & Burrow, A. L. (2024). Purpose and goal pursuit as a self‐sustaining system: Evidence of daily within‐person reciprocity among adolescents in self‐driven learning. Journal of Personality, 92(6), 1556-1570. [link]

Zhu, G., Zheng, J., Ratner, K., Li, Q., Estevez, M., & Burrow, A. L. (2024). How trait and state positive Emotions, negative Emotions, and self-regulation relate to adolescents' perceived daily learning progress. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 77, 102275. [link]

Ratner, K., Xie, H., Zhu, G., Estevez, M., & Burrow, A. L. (2025). Trajectories and predictors of adolescent purpose development in self‐driven learning. Child development, 96(2), 691-704. [link]