Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T09:24:08.820Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Process of Successful Ageing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Margret M. Baltes  and
Laura L. Carstensen
Margret M. Baltes
Affiliation:
Forschungsgruppe Psychologische Gerontologie, Freie Universitat Berlin, Ulmenallee 32, 14050 Berlin, Germany.
Laura L. Carstensen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

As increasingly more people experience old age as a time of growth and productivity, theoretical attention to successful ageing is needed. In this paper, we overview historical, societal and philosophical evidence for a deep, long-standing ambivalence about human ageing that has influenced even scientific views of old age. In recent years, however, discussion of the psychological and behavioural processes people use to maintain and reach new goals in late life has gained momentum. We contribute to this discussion the metamodel of selective optimisation with compensation, developed by Baltes and Baltes. The model is a metamodel that attempts to represent scientific knowledge about the nature of development and ageing with the focus on successful adaptation. The model takes gains and losses jointly into account, pays attention to the great heterogeneity in ageing and successful ageing, and views successful mastery of goals in the face of losses endemic to advanced age as the result of the interplay of the three processes, selection, compensation, and optimisation. We review evidence from the biological and social science literatures for each component and discuss new research avenues to study the interaction of the three processes.

Keywords

Successsuccessful ageingselectioncompensationoptimisation.
Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 16 , Issue 4 , July 1996 , pp. 397 - 422
Copyright
Copyright Cambridge University Press 1996

References

Antonovsky, A. 1979 Health, Stress, and Coping. Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA.Google Scholar
Bach-y-Rita, P. 1990. Brain plasticity as a basis for recovery of function in humans. Neuropsychologia, 28, 547–554.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bäckman, L. and Dixon, R. A. 1992. Psychological compensation: A theoretical framework. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 259–283.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baltes, M. M. 1987. Erfolgreiches Altern als Ausdruck von Verhaltenskompetenz und Umweltqualität (Successful Aging as a Product of Behavioral Competence and Environmental Quality). In Niemitz, C. (ed) Der Mensch im Zusammenspiel von Anlage und Umwelt (Men as product of heredity and environment). Suhrkamp, Frankfurt, 353–376.Google Scholar
Baltes, M. M. 1995. Dependency in old age: gains and losses. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 14–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, M. M. and Horgas, A. in press. Long-term care institutions and the maintenance of competence. In Schaie, K. W. and Willis, S. L. (eds), Societal mechanisms for maintaining competence in old age. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Baltes, M. M., Lang, F. and Wilms, H.-U. in press. Kompetenzerhaltung als Ergebniseiner selektiven Optimierung mit Kompensation. In Kruse, A. (ed) Jahrbuch der medizinischen Psychologie: Psychosoziale Gerontologie. Hogrefe, Göttingen.Google Scholar
Baltes, M. M., Neumann, E.-M. and Zank, S. 1994. Maintenance and rehabilitation of independence in old age: an intervention program for staff. Psychology and Aging, 9, 179–188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baltes, M. M. and Reichert, M. 1992. Successful aging: the product of biological factors, environmental quality, and behavioral competence. In Ebrahim, S. (ed) Health Care for Older Women. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 236–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, M. M. and Silverberg, S. B. 1994. The dynamics between dependency and autonomy across the life-span. In Featherman, D., Lerner, R. and Perlmutter, M. (eds) Life-span Development and Behavior. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 12, 41–90.Google Scholar
Baltes, M. M. and Wahl, H.-W. 1991. The behavior system of dependency in the elderly: interaction with the social environment. In Ory, M., Abeles, R. P. and Lipman, P. D. (eds) Aging, Health and Behavior. Sage, Beverly Hills, 83–106.Google Scholar
Baltes, P. B. 1987 Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: on the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 33, 611–626.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, P. B. 1991. The many faces of human aging: toward a psychological culture of old age. Psychological Medicine, 21, 837–854.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. 1990. Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In Baltes, P. B., Baltes, M. M. (eds) Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, P. B. and Lindenberger, U. 1988. On the range of cognitive plasticity in old age as a function of experience: 15 years of intervention research. Behavior Therapy, 19, 283–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltes, P. B., Reese, H. W. and Lipsitt, L. P. 1980. Life-span developmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 65–110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bandura, A. 1977. Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. 1982. Self-efficacy mechanisms in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. 1991. Self-regulation of motivation through anticipatory and self-reactive mechanisms. In Dienstbier, R. A. (ed) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1990. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 38, 69–164.Google Scholar
Bandura, A. and Cervone, D. 1986. Differential engagement of self-reactive influences in cognitive motivation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 38, 92–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. and Jourden, F.J. 1991. Self-regulatory mechanisms governing social-comparison effects on complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 941–951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A. and Wood, R. 1989. Effect of perceived controllability and performance standards on self-regulation of complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 805–815.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellah, R. N., Madison, R., Sullivan, W. K. et al. 1986. (eds) Habits of the Heart. Individualism and commitment in American life? University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Berg, C. A. and Sternberg, R.J. 1985. A triarchic theory of intellectual development during adulthood. Developmental Review, 5, 334–370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blau, P. M. and Duncan, O. D. 1976. The American Occupational Structure. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Blazer, D. 1982. Social support and mortality in an elderly community population. American Journal of Epidemiology, 115, 684–694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Böker, W., Brenner, H. D., Gerstner, G., Keller, F., Müller, J. and Spichtig, L. 1984. Self-healing strategies among schizophrenics: attempts at compensation for basic disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 69, 373–378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boesch, E. 1954. Über die klinische Methode in der psychologischen Persönlichkeits-forschung. Zeitschrift für diagnostische Psychologic, 2, 275–292.Google Scholar
Bortz, W. M. 1989. Redefining human aging. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 37, 1092–1096.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowling, A. and Browne, P. D. 1991. Social networks, health, and emotional well-being among the oldest old in London. Journal of Gerontology, 46, 20–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandtstädter, J. and Renner, G. 1990. Tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment: explication and age-related analysis of assimiliative and accommodative strategies of coping. Psychology and Aging, 5, 58–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brim, O. G. 1988. Losing and winning: the nature of ambition in everyday life. Psychology Today, 9, 48–52.Google Scholar
Brim, O. G. 1992. Ambition. Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
Brody, J. A., Brock, D. B. and Williams, T. F. 1987. Trends in the health of the elderly population. Annual Review of Public Health, 8, 211–234.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bühler, Ch. 1933. Der menschliche Lebenslauf als psychologisches Problem (The Human Life Course as Psychological Problem). Hirzel, Leipzig.Google Scholar
Butler, R. N. (1974). Successful aging and the role of the life review. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 22, 529–535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carstensen, L. L. 1991. Socioemotional selectivity theory: social activity in life-span context. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 11, 195–217.Google Scholar
Carstensen, L. L. 1992. Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: support for socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 7, 331–338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carstensen, L. L. 1993. Motivation for social contact across the life span. A theory of socioemotional selectivity. In Jacobs, J. (ed) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Developmental Perspectives on Motivation. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 40, 209–254.Google Scholar
Carstensen, L. L., Gottman, J. M. and Levenson, R. W. 1995. Emotional behavior in long-term marriage. Psychology and Aging, 10, 140–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, T. R. 1983. The ‘enlightened’ view of aging: Victorian morality in a new key. Hastings Center Report, 13, 34–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, T. R. 1984. Aging, meaning, and well-being: musings of a cultural historian. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 19, 329–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, T. R. and Gadow, S. D. (eds) 1986. What Does It Mean to Grow Old? Duke University Press, Durham.Google Scholar
Committee for the Study on Improving Mobility and Safety for Older Persons 1988. (eds) Transportation in an aging society: Improving mobility and safety for older persons, Special Report 218, 1 and 2. National Research Council, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Cotman, C. W. (ed) 1985. Synaptic Plasticity. Guilford Press, New York.Google Scholar
Cumming, E. and Henry, W. E. 1961. Growing Old: The Process of Disengagement. Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
Dannefer, D. 1987. Aging as intracohort differentiation: accentuation, the Matthew effect, and the life course. Sociological Forum, 2, 211–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diener, E. 1984. Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dittmann-Kohli, F. 1990. The construction of meaning in old age: possibilities and constraints. Aging and Society, 10, 279–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, P. 1967. Life, meaning and value of. In Edwards, P. (ed) The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. MacMillan, New York, 4, 467–476.Google Scholar
Erikson, E. H. 1959. The problem of ego identity. Psychological Issues, 1, 101–164.Google Scholar
Erikson, E. H. 1984. Reflection on the last stage – and the first. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 39, 155–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erikson, E. H., Erikson, J. and Kivnick, H. 1986. Vital Involvement in Old Age. Nortoq, New York.Google Scholar
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. Th. and Tesch-Römer, C. 1993. The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estes, C. L. and Binney, E. A. 1989. The biomedicalization of aging. The Gerontologist, 29, 587–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fries, J. F. 1990. Medical perspectives upon successful aging. In Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds) Successful Aging. Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, 35–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
George, L. K. 1981. Subjective well-being: conceptual and methodological issues. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2,345–382.Google Scholar
George, L. K. 1990. Social structure, social processes, and social-psychological states. In Binstock, R. H. and George, L. K. (eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Academic Press, New York, 186–204.Google Scholar
Gould, O. N., Trevithick, L. and Dixon, R. A. 1991. Adult age differences in elaborations produced during prose recall. Psychology and Aging, 6, 93–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guillemard, A.-M. 1992. Europäische Perspektiven der Alternspolitik (European perspectives of politics in aging). In Baltes, P. B. and Mittelstraβ, J. (eds) Zukunft des Altems und gesellschaftliche Entwicklung (Future of Aging and Societal Development). De Gruyter, Berlin, 614–639.Google Scholar
Hagestad, G. O. 1990. Social perspectives on the life course. In Binstock, R. and George, L. (eds) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Academic Press, New York, 3rd ed., 151–168.Google Scholar
Havighurst, R.J. and Albrecht, R. 1953. Older People. Longmans, New York.Google Scholar
Heckhausen, J. and Schulz, R. 1993. Optimization by selection and compensation: balancing primary and secondary control in life span development. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 16, 287–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heckhausen, J. and Schulz, R. 1995. A life-span theory of control. Psychological Review, 102, 284–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herzog, A. R. and Rodgers, W. L. 1981. Age and satisfaction. Data from several large surveys. Research on Aging, 3, 142–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, J. S., Landis, K. R. and Umberson, D. 1988. Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540–545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jencks, C. 1992. Rethinking Social Policy: Race, Poverty and the Underclass. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Jung, C. G. 1931. Die Lebenswende (Life's turning point). In Jung, C. G.Seelenprobleme der Gegenwart (Psychological Problems of Today). Rascher, Zürich, 248–274.Google Scholar
Kellerman, E. and Smith, M. S. 1986. Crosslinguistic Influence in Second Language Acquisition. Pergamon Press, Oxford, England.Google Scholar
Krause, N. F. 1990. Perceived health problems, formal/informal support, and life satisfaction among older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 45, 193–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lang, F. R. and Carstensen, L. L. 1994. Close emotional relationships in late life: Further support for proactive aging in the social domain. Psychology and Aging, 9, 315–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langer, E.J. and Rodin, J. 1976. The effects of choice and enhanced personal responsibility for the aged: a field experiment in an institutional setting. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 191–198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, R. 1978. Thirty years of research on the subjective well-being of older Americans. Journal of Gerontology, 33, 109–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawton, M. P. 1983. The varieties of well-being. Experimental Aging Research, 9, 65–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawton, M. P. 1984. The variables of well-being. In Malatesta, C. Z. and Izard, C. E. (eds) Emotion in Adult Development. Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, 67–84.Google Scholar
Levenson, R. W., Carstensen, L. L. and Gottman, J. M. 1993. Long-term marriage: age, gender and satisfaction. Psychology and Aging, 8, 301–313.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maddox, G. L. 1965. Fact and artifact: evidence bearing on disengagement theory from the Duke Geriatrics Project. Human Development, 8, 117–130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maddox, G. L. 1987. Aging differently. The Gerontologist, 27, 557–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manton, K. G., Corder, L. S. and Stallard, E. 1993. Estimates of change in chronic disability and institutional incidence and prevalence rates in the U.S. elderly population from the 1982, 1984, and 1989 National Long Term Care Survey. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 48, 153–166.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manton, K. G. and Soldo, B.J. 1985. Dynamics of health changes in the oldest-old: new perspectives and evidence. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 63, 206–285.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Markus, H. and Nurius, P. 1986. Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H. and Wurf, E. 1987. The dynamic of self concept. A social psychological perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 38, 299–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsiske, M. M., Lang, F. R. and Baltes, M. M. 1994. Beyond routine: competence and social support in the daily lives of older adults. Paper presented at the 13th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 06/07 1994.Google Scholar
Marsiske, M. M., Lang, F. R., Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. 1995. Selective optimization with compensation: life-span perspectives on successful development. In Dixon, R. A. and Bäckman, L. (eds) Compensation for Psychological Defects and Declines: Managing Losses and Promoting Gains. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 35–79.Google Scholar
Mayer, K.-U., Allmendinger, J. and Huinink, J. 1991. Vom Regen in die Traufe: Frauen zwischen Beruf und Familie (Out of the Frying-pan into the Fire: Women between Job and Family). Campus, Frankfurt.Google Scholar
Mayer, K.-U. and Carroll, G. R. 1987. Jobs and classes: structural constraints on career mobility. European Sociological Review, 3, 14–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merton, R. K. 1968. The Matthew effect in science: the reward and communication system of science. Science, 199, 55–63.Google Scholar
Mosher-Ashley, P. M. 1986–1987. Procedural and methodological parameters in behavioral-gerontological research: a review. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 24, 189–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munson, P. A. 1989. Control and dependency in residential care settings for the elderly: perspectives on intervention. In Fry, P. S. (ed) Psychological Perspectives of Helplessness and Control in the Elderly. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 187–215.Google Scholar
Osgood, N.J. 1989. Theory and research in social gerontology. In Osgood, N.J. and Sontz, H. A. (eds) The Science and Practice of Gerontology. Greenwood Press, New York, 55–87.Google Scholar
Parmelee, P. A. and Lawton, M. P. 1990. The design of special environments for the aged. In Birren, J. E. and Schaie, K. W. (eds) Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. Academic Press, New York, 464–488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parnes, H. (ed) 1981. Work and Retirement: A Longitudinal Study of Men. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Reker, G. T., Peacock, E. J. and Wong, P. T. P. 1987. Meaning and purpose in life and well-being: a life-span perspective. Journal of Gerontology, 42, 44–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rentsch, Th. 1992. Philosophische Anthropologic und Ethik der späten Lebenszeit (Philosophical anthropology and ethics of late life). In Baltes, P. B. and Mittelstraβ, J. (eds) Zukunft des Alterns und gesellschaftliche Entwicklung (Future of Aging and the Development of Society). de Gruyter, Berlin, 283–304.Google Scholar
Riley, M. W., Kahn, R. L. and Foner, A. (eds). 1994. Age and Structural Lag. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Rodin, J. 1986. Health, control, and aging. In Baltes, M. M. and Bakes, P. B. (eds) The Psychology of Control and Aging. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, NJ, 139–165.Google Scholar
Rodin, J. and Langer, E. 1977. Long-term effects of a control-relevant intervention with the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 897–902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenmayr, L. 1983 a. Das Alter—ein Stück bewuβt gelebten Lebens (Old age—A Time of Conscious Living). Severin & Siedler, Berlin.Google Scholar
Rosenmayr, L. 1983 b. Die späte Freiheit (The Late Freedom). Severin & Siedler, Berlin.Google Scholar
Rosenmayr, L. 1985. Changing values and positions of aging in Western culture. In Birren, J. E. and Schaie, K. W. (eds) Handbook of the Psychology of Aging. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 190–215.Google Scholar
Rosenmayr, L. 1989. Wandlungen der gesellschaftlichen Sicht und Bewertung des Alters (Changes in society's perspective toward and evaluation of aging). In Baltes, M. M., Kohli, M. and Sames, K. (eds) Erfolgreiches Altern: Bedingungen und Variationen (Successful aging: Conditions and variations). Huber, Bern, 96–101.Google Scholar
Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J. R. and Snyder, S. S. 1982. Changing the world and changing the self: a two-process model of perceived control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 5–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, J. W. and Kahn, R. L. 1987. Human aging: usual and successful. Science, 237, 143–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryff, C. D. 1982. Successful aging: a developmental approach. The Gerontologist, 22, 209–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryff, C. D. 1989 a. Beyond Ponce de Leon and life satisfaction: new directions in quest of successful aging. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 12, 35–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryff, C. D. 1989 b. In the eye of the beholder: views of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 4, 195–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ryff, C. D. 1991. Possible selves in adulthood and old age: a tale of shifting horizons. Psychology and Aging, 6, 286–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salthouse, T. A. 1984. Effects of age and skill in typing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 345–371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaie, K. W. (ed) 1983. Longitudinal Studies of Adult Psychological Development. The Guilford Press, New York.Google Scholar
Schaie, K. W. 1990. The optimization of cognitive functioning in old age: predictions based on cohort-sequential and longitudinal data. In Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds) Successful Aging. Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, 94–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schonfield, D. 1973. Future commitments and successful aging. I: the random sample. Journal of Gerontology, 28, 189–196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwarz, N. and Strack, F. 1989. Evaluating one's life: ajudgment model of subjective well-being. In Strack, F., Argyle, M. and Schwarz, N. (eds) The Social Psychology of Well-being. Pergamon, London.Google Scholar
Simpson, J. and Weiner, E. (eds) 1989. The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed, XVII). Clarendon, Oxford, 92–93.Google Scholar
Skinner, B. F. 1983. Intellectual self-management in old age. American Psychologist, 38, 239–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Skinner, B. F. 1966. The phylogeny and ontogeny of behavior. Science, 153, 1205–1213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Staudinger, U., Freund, A., Linden, A. and Maas, I. in press. Selbst, Persönlichkeit und Lebensgestaltung: Psychologische Widerstandsfähigkeit und Vulnerabilität. In Mayer, K. U. and Baltes, P. B. (eds) Die Berliner Altersstudie. Akademie Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Stones, M. J. and Kozma, A. 1985. Physical performance. In Charness, N. (ed) Aging and Human Performance. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 261–291.Google Scholar
Taylor, S. E. 1983. Adjustment to threatening events: a theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomae, H. 1981. The Bonn Longitudinal Study of Aging (BOLSA): an approach to differential gerontology. In Baert, A. E. (eds) Prospective Longitudinal Research. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 165–197.Google Scholar
Tournier, P. 1972. Learning to Grow Old. SCM Press, London.Google Scholar
Vaillant, G. E. 1990. Avoiding negative life outcomes: evidence from a forty-five year study. In Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds) Successful aging. Perspectives from the behavioral sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, 332–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waddington, C. H. 1975. The Evolution of an Evolutionist. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, Scotland.Google Scholar
Warnes, A., Rough, B. and Sixsmith, J. 1991. Elderly Drivers and New Technology. Project Report 6, Commission of the European Communities.Google Scholar
Weiland, S. 1989. Aging according to biography. The Gerontologist, 29, 191–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitbourne, S. K. 1985. The Aging Body. Springer, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiedl, K., Schöttke, H. and Gediga, G. 1987. eserven geistiger Leistungsfähigkeit bei geriatrischen Psychiatriepatienten und Altenheimbewohnern (Reserves of mental functioning in old psychiatric patients and nursing home residents). Zeitschrift für klinische Psychologie, 16, 29–42.Google Scholar
Wills, T. A. 1991. Similarity and self-esteem in downward comparison. In Suls, J. and Wills, T. A. (eds) Social Comparison. Contemporary Theory and Research. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.Google Scholar
Wong, P. T. P. 1989. Personal meaning and successful aging. Canadian Psychology, 30, 516–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, P. T. P. 1991. Existential versus causal attributions: the social perceiver as philosopher. In Zelen, S. (ed) Extensions of Attribution Theory. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Wong, T. P. and Watt, L. M. 1991. What types of reminiscence are associated with successful aging? Psychology and Aging, 6, 272–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wood, J. V. 1989. Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 231–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodward, K. and Schwartz, M. M. (eds) 1986. Memory and Desire: Aging—Literature—Psychoanalysis. Indiana University Press, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Wortman, C. and Silver, C. R. 1990. Successful mastery of bereavement and widowhood: a life-course perspective. In Baltes, P. B. and Baltes, M. M. (eds) Successful aging. Perspectives from the Behavioral Sciences. Cambridge University Press, New York, 225–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar