Theoretical Approaches to “Life Project” in Psychology and Related Fields

This review of the literature examined a set of theoretical approaches to the notion of life project (LP) in psychology and related fields. We introduced 15 theoretical approaches identified in a previous systematic review of the literature and, subsequently, discussed similarities and differences between them. The general notion of project was conceived either as a human condition, or a social paradigm arising from modernity. The approaches seem to refer to two different psychological constructs, contrasted as LP or life theme. The approaches also differed in terms of the degree of importance ascribed to the objective or subjective role during LP construction. Regardless of the differences, all approaches underlined LP as holding a meaningful nature capable of driving daily actions. The findings contribute to integrating different theoretical perspectives on LP and thus bring about important insights into a potential comprehensive theoretical approach.