Action and Self-Development

561 Pages·1999·25.964 MB·English

by  Richard M. Lerner, Br. (editor), Jochen Brandtstädter

Action &
Self-Development

Jochen Brandtstädter
Richard Ì Lerner
Editors
Action &
Self-Development
Theory
and
Research
Through
the
Life
Span
/Ä\Sage Publications, Inc.
hS^J International Educational and Professional Publisher
V>/Thousand Oaks • London • New Delhi
Copyright © 1999 by Sage Publications, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Action and self-development: Theory and research through the
life span / edited by Jochen Brandtstädter and Richard M. Lerner.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-7619-1543-5 (acid-free paper)
1. Intentionality. 2. Action theory. 3. Maturation (Psychology)
I. Brandtstädter, Jochen. II. Lerner, Richard Ì.
BF619.5
155.2'5—dc21 99-6325
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
99 00 01 02 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Acquiring Editor: Jim Brace-Thompson
Editorial Assistant: Anna Howland
Production Editor: Astrid Virding
Editorial Assistant: Nevair Kabakian
Designer/Typesetter: Janelle LeMaster
CONTENTS
Introduction: Development, Action, and Intentionality
Jochen Brandtstädter and Richard Ì. Lerner ix
Part I. Development as a Personal and Social Construction
1. Revisiting Individuals as Producers of Their Development:
From Dynamic Interactionism to Developmental Systems
Richard M. Lerner and Ted Walls 3
2. The Self in Action and Development: Cultural, Biosocial,
and Ontogenetic Bases of Intentional Self-Development
Jochen Brandtstädter 37
3. Selectivity in Life-Span Development: Biological and
Societal Canalizations and Individuals' Developmental Goals
Jutta Heckhausen and Richard Schulz 67
4. Freedom Isn't Free: Power, Alienation, and the
Consequences of Action
Dale Dannefer 105
5. The Dynamic Codevelopment of Intentionality, Self,
and Social Relations
Michael Å Mascolo, Kurt W. Fischer,
and Robert A. Neimeyer 133
Part II. Designing Personal Development:
Goals, Plans, and Future Selves
6. The Pursuit of Personal Goals: A Motivational Approach
to Weil-Being and Life Adjustment
Joachim C. Brunstein, Oliver C. Schultheiss,
and Günter W. Maier 169
7. Personal Projects and Social Ecology:
Themes and Variations Across the Life Span
Brian R. Little 197
8. Life Planning: Anticipating Future Life Goals and
Managing Personal Development
Jacqui Smith 223
9. The Process of Meaning Construction: Dissecting the
Flow of Semiotic Activity
Ingrid £. Josephs, Jaan Valsiner, and Seth Å. Surgan 257
10. A Motivational-Volitional Perspective on Identity
Development
Peter M. Gollwitzer, Ute Bayer,
Michaela Scherer, and Andrea Å. Seifert 283
11. Free Fantasies About the Future and the Emergence
of Developmental Goals
Gabriele Oeningen 315
Part III. Resilience and Efficacy Across the Life Span
12. Psychological Control in Later Life:
Implications for Life-Span Development
Helene Ç. Fung, Ronald Å Abeles,
and Laura L. Carstensen 345
13. Intentional Self-Development Through Adulthood
and Later Life: Tenacious Pursuit and Flexible
Adjustment of Goals
Jochen Brandtstädter, Dirk Wentura,
and Klaus Rothermund 3 73
14. Successful Development and Aging: The Role of
Selection, Optimization, and Compensation
Alexandra M. Freund, Karen Æ. H. Li,
and Paul B. Baltes 401
15. Emotional Learning and Mechanisms of Intentional
Psychological Change
Karen S. Quigley and Lisa Feldman Barrett 435
16. Action Regulation, Coping, and Development
Ellen A. Skinner 465
Author Index 505
Subject Index 521
About the Contributors 527

INTRODUCTION
Development, Action, and Intentionality
Jochen Brandtstädter
Richard Ì. Lerner
The notion of intentional self-development presented in this volume
epitomizes a theoretical stance that has become increasingly influential in
developmental research and theory. At the core of this notion is the
proposition that individuals are both the products and active producers of
their ontogeny and personal development over the life span. Through
action, and through experiencing the effects and limitations of goal-related
activities, we construe representations and internal working models of
ourselves and of the physical, social, and symbolic environments in which
we are situated. These representations in turn guide and motivate activities
through which we shape the further course of personal development. It
follows that we cannot adequately understand human ontogeny over the
life span, including the processes of aging, without considering the ways in
which individuals, in cognition, action, and social interaction, construe
their personal development. Intentionality, and the "intentional world"
ix