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Personality Theories of Successful Aging 89
ensen/ 1996; P. B. Baltes,
Labouvie-Vief, 1981). At
repted set of criteria that
laborated by Freund and
lstions regard i ng cri teria
aging in particular. P. B.
:cessful aging longevity,
:ial competence, procluc-
Similarly, Lawton (1983)
>jective satisfaction with
tppiness or goal achievenotor
behavior, and cogt
as financial or living
ortcomings of such lists,
ld be combined, whether
other, and whether the
:ollection to which criteted.
res to defining successful
characteristics constitut-
; the guiding question of
(2) process-oriented ap-
:he question What are the
r time? These approaches
sly adapting to changing
rments to fit their needs,
Busch-Rossnagel, 1981).
reeds and capabilities on
:onstraints on the other
Lracterization of successspecific,
single criterion.
:-criterion approach that
re only criterion for suc-
'herefore, to understand
in ernpirical studies it is
there is no single def ining
is seen as indicating
d ages well (Neugarten,
rishes between "broad"
mber of defining facets.
ng (e.9., Lawton, 7975).
esses the importance of
tl functioninS;. Her contce,
environmental maspersonal
growth, and
nguish between two dirn
(life satisfaction) and
an emotional dimension (encompassing positive and negative affect; Bradburn,
1969; Campbell, Converse, & Rodgers, 1976; Diener, 1984; Veenhoven, 1991).
These dimensions can be either used in a domain-general way or applied to specific
life domains.
One of the critiques of subjective well-being as the main or even sole criterion
for successful development is that it does not explicitly take environmental conditions
into consideration that support successful aging or the successful interaction
between a person and his or her life context (Havighurst, 1963; Lawton,
1989). A multiple-criteria approach, in contrast, aims at an integration of subjective
indicators (e.g., personal life satisfaction and happiness) and more objective
indicators (e.g., everyday instrumental competence). These criteria can be either
short term (e.g., last week's happiness) or long term (e.9., meaning and purpose
in life), domain-specific (e.g., satisfaction with financial situation) or general
(e.g., overall life satisfaction), as well as static and with a definite end point (e.g.,
life satisfaction at a given point in time) or dynamic (e.g., change in life satisfaction
over time; Freund & Riediger, 2003).
Taken together, we distinguish four main approaches to conceptualizing successful
development and aging: criteria-oriented, process-oriented, single-criterion, and
multi-criteria approaches. Table 4.1 summarizes these four outlined approaches.
As we pointed out, there is currently no agreement as to which single criterion
or combination of criteria best defines successful development. One of the reasons
for this lack of consensus is that there is no generally agreed-upon model of
successful development and aging that could serve as the basis for such a definition.
Instead, there are numerous theoretical approaches to successful development
and even more empirical findings pertaining to more or less specific factors
contributing to adaptive development. Integration of these findings is difficult
because studies use different indicators for successful aging.
It is beyond the scope of this chapter to offer a comprehensive, integrative
model of successful development. Instead, we aim at approaching the topic
of successful aging on different levels of personality, focusing on the level of
personal goals and taking different criteria and dimensions into account.
Approach
Table 4.1
Approaches to Conceptualizing Successf ul Development and Aging
Aim of Approach (Leading Question)
Criteria-oriented Description of characteristics constituting success as an outcome
of development ("What ls successf ul development?")
Process-oriented Persoective on individuals as in continuous interaction with their
environment ("What are the processes and conditions that foster
developmental success over time?")
Multiple criteria
Single criterion
Integration of subjective and objective indicators ("How can
subjective and objective indicators be integrated into one index of
successf u I development?")
Assessment of a person's global or domain-specific subjective wellbeing
("How can subjective well-being as one indicator of successful
development be assessed [general or domain-specif ic, once or
repeated lyl?")