Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- I Regulation of Self, Action, and Development
- II Social Determinants of Motivation
- III Functional and Dysfunctional Control-Related Behavior in Childhood
- IV Developmental Goals in Adulthood
- 13 A Life-Span Approach to Social Motivation
- 14 Maintaining Self-Integrity and Efficacy Through Adulthood and Later Life: The Adaptive Functions of Assimilative Persistence and Accommodative Flexibility
- 15 The Willfull Pursuit of Identity
- 16 Commentary: Motivation and Self-Regulation in Adult Development
- Name Index
- Subject Index
14 - Maintaining Self-Integrity and Efficacy Through Adulthood and Later Life: The Adaptive Functions of Assimilative Persistence and Accommodative Flexibility
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- I Regulation of Self, Action, and Development
- II Social Determinants of Motivation
- III Functional and Dysfunctional Control-Related Behavior in Childhood
- IV Developmental Goals in Adulthood
- 13 A Life-Span Approach to Social Motivation
- 14 Maintaining Self-Integrity and Efficacy Through Adulthood and Later Life: The Adaptive Functions of Assimilative Persistence and Accommodative Flexibility
- 15 The Willfull Pursuit of Identity
- 16 Commentary: Motivation and Self-Regulation in Adult Development
- Name Index
- Subject Index
Summary
Abstract
Some widespread assumptions concerning the concept of control are in need of a critical revision. First, it is increasingly recognized that self-percepts of control and efficacy may have untoward side effects; relationships between variables of control and well-being are subject to various moderating effects. Second, there is ample evidence that, despite irreversible losses in functional resources, a sense of control and efficacy does not generally wane in later life. Findings from two large-scale research projects combining cross-sectional and longitudinal observations form the basis for a theoretical model that integrates these lines of evidence. It is argued that the maintenance of control and self-esteem through adulthood involves the interplay of strategic and automatic processes. In particular, the model stresses the functional role of readjusting goals and priorities.
Introduction
The transition to old age poses serious adaptive strain on the aging self. In many physiological parameters, losses in adaptive reserves become manifest as early as middle adulthood; as age advances, such changes increasingly take their toll on health and physical fitness. The developmental convoy of persons who have accompanied the aging person through the life cycle is increasingly reduced; role losses further contribute to an increasing social marginalization of the aged person. Not least, there is the problem of narrowing future perspectives.
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- Motivation and Self-Regulation across the Life Span , pp. 365 - 388Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1998
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