Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-d8cs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-11T23:15:23.412Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Social Motivation across the Life Span

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2009

Frieder R. Lang  and
Karen L. Fingerman
By
Frieder R. Lang
Frieder R. Lang
Affiliation:
Martin Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenburg, Germany
Karen L. Fingerman
Affiliation:
Purdue University, Indiana
Frieder R. Lang
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Brandbergweg 23A, D-06099 Halle a. d. Saale, Germany
Get access

Summary

The chapter addresses mechanisms and processes underlying the life span ontogeny of social motivation. Six propositions on the life span development of personal relationships are presented. From birth to death individuals are active agents, who coregulate the structure, function, and quality of their social worlds in accordance with their age-specific needs and resources. An individual's developmental resources determine the lifelong salience and outcomes of two kinds of basic goal commitments, a striving for social agency and a striving for belongingness in one's social world. The interplay and dynamic between these two sets of goals determines an individual's interpersonal functioning and competence. A goal-resource-congruence model of social self-regulation suggests that individuals may benefit from matching their social strivings to their resources and potentials.

Why do individuals seek to maintain personal relationships over time? Few issues appear as self-evident and yet at the same time inexplicable. At birth everyone has a mother and a father. Most people have siblings, uncles and aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces. Very rarely do people grow up without an intimate partner, a close friend, or acquaintances. It seems impossible to imagine a well-functioning society without the networks of strong and weak ties that transmit social information, sanction desirable or undesirable behaviors, and provide a social backup in times of misery (Fiske, 1992; Granovetter, 1973; Parsons, 1961; Wiese, 1955). An individual's personal network of relationships constitutes a complex structure and is as much an outcome as it is a determinant of behavioral development.

Type
Chapter
Information
Growing Together
Personal Relationships Across the Life Span
 , pp. 341 - 367
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antonucci, T. C. (1976). Hierarchical mapping technique. Generations, 10, 10–12Google Scholar
Antonucci, T. C., Lansford, J. E., Schaberg, L., Smith, J., Baltes, M., Akiyama, H., Takahashi, K., Fuhrer, R., & Dartigues, J. -F. (2001). Widowhood and illness: A comparison of social network characteristics in France, Germany, Japan, and the United States. Psychology and Aging, 16, 655–665CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Asendorpf, J. B., & Wilpers, S. (1998). Personality effects on social relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1531–1544CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Austin, J. T., & Vancouver, J. B. (1996). Goal constructs in psychology: Structure, process, and content. Psychological Bulletin, 120, 338–375CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayduk, O., Mendoza-Denton, R., Mischel, W., Downey, G., Peake, P. K., & Rodriguez, M. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 776–792CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bakan, D. (1966). The duality of human existence. Boston: Beacon Press
Baldwin, M. W. (1992). Relational schemas and the processing of social information. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 461–484CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, M. M., & Lang, F. R. (1997). Everyday functioning and successful aging: The impact of resources. Psychology and Aging, 12, 433–443CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. The exercise of control. New York: Freeman & Company
Battaglia, D. M., Richard, F. D., Datteri, D. L., & Lord, C. G. (1998). Breaking up is (relatively) easy to do: A script for the dissolution of close relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 829–845CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1996). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bierhoff, H. -W., & Schmohr, M. (2003). Romantic and marital relationships. In F. R. Lang & K. L. Fingerman (Eds.), Growing together: Personal relationships across the life span (Chap. 5). New York: Cambridge University PressCrossRef
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. Vol. 1, Attachment. New York: Basic Books
Brandtstaedter, J. (1989). Personal self-regulation of development: Cross-sequential analyses of development-related control beliefs and emotions. Developmental Psychology, 25, 96–108CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brunstein, J. C., Schultheiss, O. C., & Grassman, R. (1998). Personal goals and emotional well-being: The moderating role of motive dispositions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 494–508CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burger, J. M. (1992). Desire for control: Personality, social, and clinical perspectives. New York: Plenum Press
Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., & Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165–181CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, M. S. (1984). A distinction between two types of relationships and its implications for development. In J. C. Masters & K. Yarkin-Levin (Eds.), Boundary areas in social and developmental psychology (pp. 241–270). New York: Academic PressCrossRef
Clark, M. S., & Mills, J. (1979). Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 12–24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeCharms, R. (1968). Personal causation. New York: Academic Press
Drigotas, S. M., & Rusbult, C. E. (1992). Should I stay or should I go? A dependence model of breakups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 62–87CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emmons, R. A. (1986). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1058–1068CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feiring, C., & Lewis, M. (1991a). The development of social networks from early to middle childhood: Gender differences and the relation to school competence. Sex Roles, 25, 237–253CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feiring, C., & Lewis, M. (1991b). The transition from middle childhood to early adolescence: Sex differences in the social network and perceived self-competence. Sex Roles, 24, 489–509CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7, 117–140CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fingerman, K. (1996). Sources of tension in the aging mother and adult daughter relationship. Psychology and Aging, 11, 591–606CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fingerman, K. L. (2003). The consequential stranger: Peripheral relationships across the life span. In F. R. Lang & K. L. Fingerman (Eds.), Growing together: Personal relationships across the life span (Chap. 8). New York: Cambridge University PressCrossRef
Fiske, A. P. (1992). The four elementary forms of sociality: Framework for a unified theory of social relations. Psychological Review, 99, 689–723CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fung, H., Carstensen, L. L., & Lang, F. R. (2001). Age-related patterns of social relationships among African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans: Implications for socioemotional selectivity across the life span. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 52, 185–206CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaulin, S. J. C., & McBurney, D. H. (2001). Psychology. An evolutionary approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall
Geppert, U., & Kuester, U. (1983). The emergence of “wanting to do it oneself”: A precursor of achievement motivation. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 6, 355–369CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gleason, T. R., Sebanc, A. M., & Hartup, W. W. (2000). Imaginary companions of preschool children. Developmental Psychology, 36, 419–428CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78, 1360–1380CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansson, R. O., & Carpenter, B. N. (1994). Relationships in old age. New York: Guilford
Hansson, R. O., Daleiden, E., & Hayslip, B. Jr. (2003). Relational competence across the life span. In F. R. Lang & K. L. Fingerman (Eds.), Growing together: Personal relationships across the life span (Chap. 13). New York: Cambridge University PressCrossRef
Harris, J. R. (1995). Where is the child's environment? A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review, 102, 458–489CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartup, W. W. (1989). Social relationships and their developmental significance. American Psychologist, 44, 120–126CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckhausen, H. (1991). Motivation and action. New York: Springer
Heckhausen, J. (1997). Developmental regulation across adulthood: Primary and secondary control of age-related challenges. Developmental Psychology, 33, 176–187CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heckhausen, J. (1999). Developmental regulation in adulthood. New York: Cambridge University Press
Heckhausen, J., & Krüger, J. (1993). Developmental expectations for the self and most other people: Age grading in three functions of social comparison. Developmental Psychology, 29, 539–548CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckhausen, J., & Lang, F. R. (1996). Social construction in old age: Normative conceptions and interpersonal processes. In G. Semin & K. Fiedler (Eds.), Applied social psychology (pp. 374–398). London: SageCrossRef
Heckhausen, J., & Schulz, R. (1995). A life-span theory of control. Psychological Review, 102, 284–304CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinde, R. A. (1997). Relationships. A dialectical perspective. Hove, East Sussex, UK: Taylor & Francis
Jarvinen, D. W., & Nicholls, J. G. (1996). Adolescents' social goals, beliefs about the causes of social success, and satisfaction in peer relations. Developmental Psychology, 32, 435–441CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kastenbaum, R. (1982). Time course and time perspective in later life. In C. Eisdorfer (Ed.), Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics (pp. 80–101). New York: Springer
Kelley, H. H. (1997). Expanding the analysis of social orientations by reference to the sequential-temporal structure of situations. European Journal of Social Psychology, 27, 373–4043.0.CO;2-9>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenny, D. A., & LaVoie, L. (1984). The social relations model. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 18, pp. 141–182). Orlando: Academic PressCrossRef
Klineberg, S. L. (1967). Changes in outlook on the future between childhood and adolescence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 7, 185–193CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruk, E. (1991). Discontinuity between pre- and post-divorce father-child relationships: New evidence regarding paternal disengagement. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 16, 195–227CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, F. R. (2000). Endings and continuity of social relationships: Maximizing intrinsic benefits within personal networks when feeling near to death. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 17, 157–184CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, F. R. (2001). Regulation of social relationships in later adulthood. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 56B, P321–326CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, F. R. (in press). The filial task in midlife: Ambivalence and the quality of adult children's relationships with their old-aged parents. In K. Luescher & K. Pillemer (Eds.), Intergenerational ambivalence. Belgium: Elsevier/JAI Press
Lang, F. R., & Carstensen, L. L. (2002). Time counts: Future time perspective, goals, and social relationships. Psychology and Aging, 17, 125–139CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, F. R., Featherman, D. L., & Nesselroade, J. R. (1997). Social self-efficacy and short-term variability in social relationships: The MacArthur successful aging studies. Psychology and Aging, 12, 657–666CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, F. R., & Heckhausen, J. (2001). Perceived control over development and subjective well-being: Differential benefits across adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 509–523CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, F. R., Rieckmann, N., & Baltes, M. M. (2002). Adapting to aging losses: Do resources facilitate strategies of selection, compensation, and optimization in everyday functioning? Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 57B, P501–P509CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, F. R., Staudinger, U. M., & Carstensen, L. L. (1998). Socioemotional selectivity in late life: How personality and social context do (and do not) make a difference. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 53B, P21–P30CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, R., & Richards, M. (1994). Divergent realities: The emotional lives of mothers, fathers, and adolescents. New York: Basic Books
Lawton, M. P. (1989). Behavior-relevant ecological factors. In K. W. Schaie & C. Schooler (Eds.), Social structure and aging: Psychological processes (pp. 57–78). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Lerner, R. M., & Kauffman, M. B. (1985). The concept of development in contextualism. Developmental Review, 5, 309–333CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lerner, R. M., & Walls, T. (1999). Revisiting individuals as producers of their development: From dynamic interactionism to developmental systems. In J. Brandtstädter & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Action and self-development: Theory and research through the life span (pp. 3–36). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage PublicationsCrossRef
Levitt, M. J., Guacci-Franco, N., & Levitt, J. L. (1993). Convoys of social support in childhood and early adolescence: Structure and function. Developmental Psychology, 29, 811–818CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewin, K. (1948). Time perspective and morale. In K. Lewin (Ed.), Resolving social conflicts (pp. 103–124). New York: Harper
Lewis, C., Maka, Z., & Papacosta, A. (1997). Why do fathers become disengaged from their children's lives? Maternal and paternal accounts of divorce in Greece. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 28, 89–117CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, M., & Rosenblum, L. A. (Eds.) (1975). Friendship and peer relations. New York: Wiley
Little, B. R. (1989). Personal projects analysis: Trivial pursuits, magnificent obsessions, and the search for coherence. In D. M. Buss & N. Cantor (Eds.), Personality psychology: Recent trends and emerging directions (pp. 15–31). New York: SpringerCrossRef
Luescher, K., & Pillemer, K. (1998). Intergenerational ambivalence: A new approach to the study of parent-child relations in later life. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 413–425CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper & Row
McAdams, D. P. (1985). Power, intimacy, and the life story: Personological inquiries into identity. New York: Guilford press
McAdams, D. P., Hart, H. M., & Maruna, S. (1996). The anatomy of generativity. In D. P. McAdams & E. de St. Aubin (Eds.), Generativity and adult development (pp. 7–43). Washington, DC: APA
McClelland, D. C. (1951). Personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
Milgram, S. (1967). The small-world problem. Psychology Today, 1 (1), 60–67Google Scholar
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Peake, P. K. (1988). The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 687–696CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mullatti, L. (1995). Families in India: Beliefs and realities. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 26, 11–25Google Scholar
Murray, H. A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press
Neyer, F. (1997). Free recall or recognition in collecting egocentered networks: The role of survey techniques. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 14, 305–316CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neyer, F. J., & Asendorpf, J. B. (2001). Personality-relationship transaction in young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1190–1204CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nuttin, J. (1985). Future time perspective and motivation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Omodei, M. M., & Wearing, A. J. (1990). Need satisfaction and involvement in personal projects: Toward an integrative model of subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 762–769CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, T. (1961). An outline of the social system. In T. Parsons, E. A. Shils, K. D. Naegele, & J. R. Pitts (Eds.), Theories of society. Foundations of modern sociological theory (pp. 30–79). New York: Free Press
Raeff, C. (1997). Individuals in relationships: Cultural values, children's social interactions, and the development of an American individualistic self. Developmental Review, 17, 205–238CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberto, K. A. (1989). Exchange and equity in friendships. In R. G. Adams & R. Blieszner (Eds.), Older adult friendship: Structure and process (pp. 147–165). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Rook, K. S. (1995). Support, companionship, and control in older adults' social networks: Implications for well-being. In J. F. Nussbaum & J. Coupland (Eds.), Handbook of communication and aging research (pp. 437–463). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Rosenthal, C. J., Martin, M. A., & Matthews, S. H. (1996). Caught in the middle? Occupancy in multiple roles and help to parents in a national probability sample of Canadian adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 51B, S274–S283CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schulz, R., & Heckhausen, J. (1996). A life span model of successful aging. American Psychologist, 51, 702–714CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (1997). Imaginary companions in adolescence: Sign of a deficient or positive development?Journal of Adolescence, 20, 137–154CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skinner, E. A. (1996). A guide to constructs of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 549–570CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steverink, N., Lindenberg, S., & Ormel, J. (1998). Towards understanding successful ageing: Patterned change in resources and goals. Ageing and Society, 18, 441–467Google Scholar
Travers, J., & Milgram, S. (1969). An experimental study of the small world problem. Sociometry, 32, 425–443CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandis, H. C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press
Trommsdorff, G. (1983). Future orientation and socialization. International Journal of Psychology, 18, 381–406CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, A. C., Nixon, C. L., Wilson, A., & Capage, L. (1999). Social interaction skills and theory of mind in young children. Developmental Psychology, 35, 386–391CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weiss, M. (1998). Parents' rejection of their appearance-impaired newborns: Some critical observations regarding the social myth of bonding. Marriage and Family Review, 27, 191–209CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wentzel, K. R. (1994). Relations of social goal pursuit to social acceptance, classroom behavior, and perceived social support. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 173–182CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 202–209CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wentzel, K. R. (2000). What is it that I'm trying to achieve? Classroom goals from a content perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 105–115CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
White, R. W. (1959). Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66, 297–333CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wiese, L. v. (1955). System der allgemeinen Soziologie als Lehre von den sozialen Prozessen und den sozialen Gebilden der Menschen [A system of general sociology as a theory of social processes and social relations of humans]. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot
Wiseman, J. P. (1986). Friendship, bonds and binds in a voluntary relationship. Journal of Personal and Social Relationships, 3, 191–212CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wrosch, C., & Heckhausen, J. (1999). Control processes before and after passing a developmental deadline: Activation and deactivation of intimate relationship goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 415–427CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Youniss, J. (1980). Parents and peers in social development. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Zimbardo, P. G., & Boyd, J. N. (1999). Putting time in perspective: A valid, reliable individual-differences metric. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1271–1288CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×