Abstract
Although much of the research done by social gerontologists focuses on the decline and loss associated with old age, many older people experience the last stage in life as a satisfying and productive time in life. Especially as the demographics of the world’s population change in future decades, it becomes increasingly important to understand the behavioral, cognitive, and motivational processes involved in optimal aging. This chapter—which draws heavily on an earlier article by Baltes and Carstensen (1996)— considers the historical, societal, and philosophical influences that have directed attention away from successful aging and offers the metamodel of selective optimization with compensation (SOC) (Baltes & Baltes, 1990) as a framework for studying adaptive aging. The process of selection—namely, narrowing the array of goals and domains to which resources are directed—is considered to be the cardinal principle of lifespan development and is discussed generally in terms of selective optimization with compensation and specifically within the realm of social behavior in terms of socioemotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1993,1998; Carstensen, Isaacowitz, & Charles, 1999).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress, and coping. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Bach-y-Rita, P. (1990). Brain plasticity as a basis for recovery of function in humans. Neuropsychologia, 28, 547–554.
Backman, L., & Dixon, R. (1992). Psychological compensation: A theoretical framework. Psychological Bulletin, 772, 259–283.
Baltes, M. M. (1987). Erfolgreiches Altern als Ausdruck von Verhaltenskompetenz und Umweltqualitat [Successful aging as a product of behavioral competence and environmental quality]. In C. Niemitz (Ed.), Der Mensch im Zusammenspiel von Anlage und Umwelt [Man as product of heredity and environment] (pp. 353–376). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.
Baltes, M. M. (1995). Dependency in old age: Gains and losses. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4, 14–19.
Baltes, M. M, & Carstensen, L. L. (1999). Social-psychological theories and their applications to aging: From individual to collective. In V. L. Bengtson & K. Warner Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of theories of aging (pp. 209–226). New York: Springer.
Baltes, M. M., & Carstensen, L. L. (1996). The process of successful ageing. Ageing and Society, 16, 1996, 397–422.
Baltes, M. M., & Horgas, A. (1997). Long-term care institutions and the maintenance of competence. In S. L. Willis, K. W. Schaie, & M. Hayward (Eds.), Societal mechanisms for maintaining competence in old age. New York: Springer.
Baltes, M. M., & Lang, F. R. (1997). Everyday functioning and successful aging: The impact of resources. Psychology and Aging, 12, 433–443.
Baltes, M. M., Lang, F. R., & Wilms, H.-U. (1998). [Selective Optimization with Compensation: Successful aging in everyday life.] Selektive Optimierung mit Kompensation: Erfolgreiches Altern in der Alltagsgestaltung. In A. Kruse (Ed.), [Psychosocial gerontology] Psychosoziale Gerontologie. Vol. 1, Grundlagen. Jahrbuch der medizinischen Psychologie (pp. 188–202).Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Baltes, M. M, Maas, I., Wilms, H., Borchelt, M, & Little, T. D. (1999). Everyday competence in old and very old age: Theoretical considerations and empirical findings. In P. B. Baltes & K. U. Mayer (Eds.), The Berlin Aging Study: Aging from 70 to 100 (pp. 384–402). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Baltes, M. M., Neumann, E.-M., & Zank, S. (1994). Maintenance and rehabilitation of independence in old age: An intervention program for staff. Psychology and Aging, 9, 179–188.
Baltes, M. M., & Reichert, M. (1992). Successful aging: The product of biological factors, environmental quality, and behavioral competence. In S. Ebrahim (Ed.), Health care for older women (pp. 236–256). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Baltes, M. M., & Silverberg, S. B. (1994). The dynamics between dependency and autonomy across the life-span. In D. Featherman, R. Lerner, & M. Perlmutter (Eds.), Life-span development and behavior (pp. 41–90). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Baltes, M. M., & Wahl, H.-W. (1991). The behavior system of dependency in the elderly: Interaction with the social environment. In M. Ory, R. P. Abeles, & P. D. Lipman (Eds.), Aging, health and behavior (pp. 83–106). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental Psychology, 23, 611–626.
Baltes, P. B. (1991). The many faces of human aging: Toward a psychological culture of old age. Psychological Medicine, 21, 837–854.
Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 1–34). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Baltes, P. B., & 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.
Baltes, P. B., & Mayer, K. U. (Eds.). (1999). The Berlin Aging Study: Aging from 70 to 100. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Baltes, P. B., Reese, H. W., & Lipsitt, L. P. (1980). Life-span developmental psychology. Annual Review of Psychology, 31, 65–110.
Baltes, P. B., & Smith, J. (1997). A systemic-wholistic view of psychological functioning in very old age: Introduction to a collection of articles from the Berlin Aging Study. Psychology and Aging, 12, 395–409.
Baltes, P. B., Staudinger, U. M., & Lindenberger, U. (1999). Lifespan psychology: Theory and application to intellectual functioning. Annual Review of Psychology, 50, 471–507.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.
Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanisms in human agency. American Psychologist, 37, 122–147.
Bandura, A. (1991). Self-regulation of motivation through anticipatory and self-reactive mechanisms. In R. A. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, 1990 (pp. 69–164). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Bandura, A., & Cervone, D. (1986). Differential engagement of self-reactive influences in cognitive motivation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 38, 92–113.
Bandura, A., & Jourden, F. J. (1991). Self-regulatory mechanisms governing social comparison effects on complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 941–951.
Bandura, A., & Wood, R. (1989). Effect of perceived controllability and performance standards on selfregulation of complex decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 805–815.
Beau, P. M., & Duncan, O. D. (1976). The American occupational structure. New York: Wiley.
Bellah, R. N., Madison, R., & Sullivan, W. K. (Eds.). (1986). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Berg, C. A., & Sternberg, R. J. (1985). A triarchic theory of intellectual development during adulthood. Developmental Review, 5, 334–370.
Blazer, D. (1982). Social support and mortality in an elderly community population. American Journal of Epidemiology, 115, 684–694.
Boesch, E. (1954). Über die klinische Methode in der psychologischen Personlichkeitsforschung. Zeitschrift für diagnostische Psychologic 2, 275–292.
Boker, W, Brenner, H. D., Gerstner, G., Keller, E, Muller, JM & Spichtig, L. (1984). Self-healing strategies among schizophrenics: Attempts at compensation for basic disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavia, 69, 373–378.
Bortz, W. M. (1989). Redefining human aging. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 37, 1092–1096.
Bowling, A., & Browne, P. D. (1991). Social networks, health, and emotional well-being among the oldest old in London. Journal of Gerontology, 46, 20–32.
Brandtstadter, J., & 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.
Brim, O. G. (1988). Losing and winning: The nature of ambition in everyday life. Psychology Today, 9, 48–52.
Brim, O. G. (1992). Ambition. New York: Basic Books.
Brody, J. A., Brock, D. B., & Williams, T. F. (1987). Trends in the health of the elderly population. Annual Review of Public Health, 8, 211–234.
Bühler, C. (1933). Der menschliche Lebenslauf als psychologisches Problem [The human life course as psychological problem]. Leipzig: Hirzel.
Butler, R. N. (1974). Successful aging and the role of the life review. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 22, 529–535.
Carstensen, L. L. (1998). A life-span approach to social motivation. In S. Heckhausent & C. Dweek (Eds.). Motivation and self-regulation across the life-span (pp. 341–364). New York, Cambridge University Press.
Carstensen, L. L. (1991). Socioemotional selectivity theory: Social activity in life-span context. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 195–217.
Carstensen, L. L. (1992). Social and emotional patterns in adulthood: Support for socioemotional selectivity theory. Psychology and Aging, 7, 331–338.
Carstensen, L. L. (1993). Motivation for social contact across the life span. A theory of socioemotional selectivity. In J. Jacobs (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation: Developmental perspectives on motivation (pp. 209–254). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Carstensen, L. L., Gottman, J. M, & Levenson, R. W. (1995). Emotional behavior in long-term marriage. Psychology and Aging, 10, 140–149.
Carstensen, L. L., Graff, J., & Lang, F. (2000). Psychology’s contributions to gerontology. In J. E. Clair (Ed.), The gerontological prism: Developing interdisciplinary bridges (pp. 29–48). Amityville, NY: Baywood.
Carstensen, L. L., Isaacowitz, D. M., Charles, S. T. (1999). Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity. American Psychologist, 54, 165–181.
Carstensen, L. L., Pasupathi, M., Mayr, U., & Nesselroade, J. (2000). Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 644–655.
Cole, T. R. (1983). The “enlightened” view of aging: Victorian morality in a new key. Hastings Center Report, 113, 34–40.
Cole, T. R. (1984). Aging, meaning, and well-being: Musings of a cultural historian. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 19, 329–336.
Cole, T. R., & Gadow, S. D. (Eds.). (1986). What does it mean to grow old? Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Committee for the Study on Improving Mobility and Safety for Older Persons (Eds.). (1988). Transportation in an aging society: Improving mobility and safety for older persons, Special Report 218. Washington, DC: National Research Council.
Cotman, C. W. (Ed.). (1985). Synaptic plasticity. New York: Guilford.
Cumming, E., & Henry, W. E. (1961). Growing old: The process of disengagement. New York: Basic Books.
Dannefer, D. (1987). Aging as intracohort differentiation: Accentuation, the Matthew effect, and the life course. Sociological Forum, 2, 211–236.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Diener, E., & Suh, E. M. (1998). Subjective well-being and age: An international analysis. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 17, 304–324.
Dittmann-Kohli, F. (1990). The construction of meaning in old age: Possibilities and constraints. Aging and Society, 10, 279–294.
Edwards, P. (1967). Life, meaning and value of. In P. Edwards (Ed.), The encyclopedia of philosophy (pp. 467–476). New York: MacMillan.
Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-Romer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363–406.
Erikson, E. H. (1959). The problem of ego identity. Psychological Issues, 1, 101–164.
Erikson, E. H. (1984). Reflection on the last stage—and the first. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 39, 155–165.
Erikson, E. H., Erikson, J., & Kivnick, H. (1986). Vital involvement in old age. New York: Norton.
Estes, C. L., & Binney, E. A. (1989). The biomedicalization of aging. Gerontologist, 29, 587–596.
Freund, A., & Baltes, P. B. (1998). Selection, optimization and compensation as strategies of life management: Correlations with subjective indicators of successful aging. Psychology and Aging, 13, 531–543.
Freund, A. M., Li, K., & Baltes, P. B. (1999). Successful development and aging: The role of selection, optimization, and compensation. In J. Brandtstadter & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Action and self-development: Theory and research through the life span (pp. 401–434). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fries, J. F. (1990). Medical perspectives upon successful aging. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 35–49). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Fung, H., Carstensen, L. L., & Lutz, A. (1999). The influence of time on social preferences: Implications for life-span development. Psychology and Aging, 14, 595–604.
George, L. K. (1981). Subjective well-being: Conceptual and methodological issues. Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2, 345–382.
George, L. K. (1990). Social structure, social processes, and social-psychological states. In R. H. Bitstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 186–204). New York: Academic Press.
Gould, O. N., Trevithick, L., & Dixon, R. A. (1991). Adult age differences in elaborations produced during prose recall. Psychology and Aging, 6, 93–99.
Guillemard, A. M. (1994). Europäische Perspektiven der Alternspolitik [European perspectives on aging policies]. In P. B. Baltes, J. Mittelstrass, & U. M. Staudinger (Eds.), [Old age and Aging: An interdisciplinary reader in gerontology] Alter und Altern: Ein interdisziplinärer Studientext zur Gerontologie (pp. 614–639). Berlin: De Gruyter.
Hagestad, G. O. (1990). Social perspectives on the life course. In R. Bitstock & L. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (3rd ed., pp. 151–168). New York: Academic Press.
Havighurst, R. J., & Albrecht, R. (1953). Older people. New York: Longmans.
Heckhausen, J. (1997). Developmental regulation across adulthood: Primary and secondary control of age-related challenges. Developmental Psychology, 33, 176–187.
Heckhausen, J., & 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.
Heckhausen, J., & Schulz, R. (1995). A life-span theory of control. Psychological Review, 102, 284–304.
Herzog, A. R., & Rodgers, W. L. (1981). Age and satisfaction: Data from several large surveys. Research on Aging, 3, 142–165.
House, J. S., Landis, K. R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540–545.
Jencks, C. (1992). Rethinking social policy: Race, poverty and the underclass. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Jung, C. G. (1931). Die Lebenswende [Life’s turning point]. In C. G. Jung, Seelenprobleme der Gegenwart [Psychological problems of today] (pp. 248–274). Zurich: Rascher.
Kellerman, E., & Smith, M. S. (1986). Cross-linguistic influence in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Krause, N. F. (1990). Perceived health problems, formal/informal support, and life satisfaction among older adults. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 45,193–205.
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, 157–184.
Lang, F. R., & Carstensen, L. L. (2002). Time counts: Future time perspective, goals and social relationships. Psychology and Aging, 17, 125–139.
Lang, F. R., & 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.
Lang, F. R., Rieckmann, N., & Baltes, M. M. (in press). Adapting to aging losses: Do resources facilitate strategies of selection, compensation, and optimization in everyday functioning? Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences.
Lang, R, Staudinger, U., & Carstensen, L. L. (1998). Socioemotional selectivity in late life: How personality and social context do (and do not) make a difference. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 53, 21–30.
Langer, E. J., & 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.
Lansford, J. E., Sherman, A. M., & Antonucci, T. C. (1998). Satisfaction with social networks: An examination of socioemotional selectivity theory across cohorts. Psychology and Aging, 13, 544–552.
Larson, R. (1978). 30 years of research on the subjective well-being of older Americans. Journal of Gerontology, 33, 109–125.
Lawton, M. P. (1983). The varieties of well-being. Experimental Aging Research, 9, 65–72.
Lawton, M. P. (1984). The variables of well-being. In C. Z. Malatesta & C. E. Izard (Eds.), Emotion in adult development (pp. 67–84). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Levenson, R. W., Carstensen, L. L., & Gottman, J. M. (1993). Long-term marriage: Age, gender, and satisfaction. Psychology and Aging, 8, 301–313.
Li, K. Z. H., Lindenberger, U., Freund, A., & Baltes, P. B. (2000). Walking while memorizing: Age differences in external aid use and task priority as compensation during concurrent task performance. Paper presented at the seventh Biennial Cognitive Aging Conference, Atlanta, GA.
Lindenberger, U., & Baltes, P. (1997). Intellectual functioning in old and very old age: Cross-sectional results from the Berlin Aging Study. Psychological Aging, 12, 410–432.
Lundin-Olsson, L., Nyberg, L., & Gustafson, Y. (1997). “Stops walking when talking” as a predictor of falls in elderly people. Lancet, 349, 617.
Maddox, G. L. (1965). Fact and artifact: Evidence bearing on disengagement theory from the Duke Geriatrics Project. Human Development, 8, 117–130.
Maddox, G. L. (1987). Aging differently. Gerontologist, 27, 557–564.
Manton, K. G., Corder, L. S., & 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.
Manton, K. G., & Soldo, B. J. (1985). Dynamics of health changes in the oldest-old: New perspectives and evidence. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 63, 206–285.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969.
Markus, H., & Surf, E. (1987). The dynamic of self concept: A social psychological perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 38, 299–337.
Marsiske, M. M., Klumb, P., & Baltes, M. M. (1997). Everyday activity patterns and sensory functioning in old age. Psychology and Aging, 12, 444–457.
Marsiske, M. M., Lang, F. R., & Baltes, M. M. (1994). Beyond routine: Competence and social support in the daily lives of older adults. Paper presented at the thirteenth Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June-July 1994.
Marsiske, M. M., Lang, F. R., Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1995). Selective optimization with compensation: Life-span perspectives on successful development. In R. A. Dixon & L. Backman (Eds.), Compensation for psychological defects and declines: Managing losses and promoting gains (pp. 35–79). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Mayer, K. U., Allmendinger, J., & Huinink, J. (1991). Vom Regen in die Traufe: Frauen zwischen Berufuns Familie [Out of the frying-pan into the fire: Women between job and family]. Frankfurt: Campus.
Mayer, K. U., & Carroll, G. R. (1987). Jobs and classes: Structural constraints on career mobility. European Sociological Review, 3, 14–38.
Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew effect in science: The reward and communication system of science. Science, 199, 55–63.
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.
Osgood, N. J. (1989). Theory and research in social gerontology. In N. J. Osgood & H. A. Sontz (Eds.), The science and practice of gerontology (pp. 55–87). New York: Greenwood Press.
Parmelee, P. A., & Lawton, M. P. (1990). The design of special environments for the aged. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 464–488). New York: Academic Press.
Parnes, H. (Ed). (1981). Work and retirement: A Longitudinal study of men. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Reker, G. T„ Peacock, E. J., & Wong, P. T. P. (1987). Meaning and purpose in life and well-being: A life-span perspective. Journal of Gerontology, 42, 44–49.
Rentsch, T. (1994). Philosophische Anthropologic und Ethik der spaten Lebenszeit [Philosophical anthropology and ethics of late life]. In P. B. Baltes, J. Mittelstrass, & U. M. Staudinger (Eds.), Alter und Altern: Ein interdisziplinärer Studientext zur Gerontologie. [Old age and aging: An interdisciplinary Rader in gerontology] Berlin: de Gruyter.
Riley, M W., Kahn, R. L., & Foner, A. (Eds.). (1994). Age and structural lag. New York: Wiley.
Rodin, J. (1986). Health, control, and aging. In M. M. Baltes & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), The psychology of control and aging (pp. 139–165). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rodin, J., & Langer, E. (1977). Long-term effects of a control-relevant intervention with the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 897–902.
Rosenmayr, L. (1983a). Das Alter—ein Stuck bewusst gelebten Lebens [Old age: A time of conscious living]. Berlin: Severin & Siedler.
Rosenmayr, L. (1983b). Die späte Freiheit [The late freedom]. Berlin: Severin & Siedler.
Rosenmayr, L. (1985). Changing values and positions of aging in Western culture. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (pp. 190–215). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Rosenmayr, L. (1989). Wandlungen der gesellschaftlichen Sicht und Bewertung des Alters [Changes in society’s perspective toward and evaluation of aging]. In M. M. Baltes, M. Kohli, & K. Sames (Eds.), Erfolgreiches Altern: Bedingungen und Variationen [Successful aging: Conditions and variations] (pp. 96–101). Bern: Huber.
Rothbaum, F., Weisz, J. R., & 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.
Rowe, J. W, & Kahn, R. L. (1987). Human aging: Usual and successful. Science, 237, 143–149.
Ryff, C. D. (1982). Successful aging: A developmental approach. Gerontologist, 22, 209–214.
Ryff, C. D. (1989a). Beyond Ponce de Leon and life satisfaction: New directions in quest of successful aging. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 12, 35–55.
Ryff, C. D. (1989b). In the eye of the beholder: Views of psychological well-being among middle-aged and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 4, 195–210.
Ryff, C. D. (1991). Possible selves in adulthood and old age: A tale of shifting horizons. Psychology and Aging, 6, 286–295.
Salthouse, T. A. (1984). Effects of age and skill in typing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 113, 345–371.
Schaie, K. W. (Ed.). (1983). Longitudinal studies of adult psychological development. New York: Guilford Press.
Schaie, K. W. (1990). The optimization of cognitive functioning in old age: Predictions based on cohort-sequential and longitudinal data. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 94–117). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Schonfield, D. (1973). Future commitments and successful aging. I: The random sample. Journal of Gerontology, 28, 189–196.
Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1989). Evaluating one’s life: A judgment model of subjective well-being. In K. Strack, M. Argyle, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), The social psychology of well-being. London: Pergamon.
Seeman, T. E., Unger, J. B., McAvay, G., & Mendes de Leon, C. F. (1999). Self-efficacy beliefs and perceived declines in functional ability: MacArthur studies of successful aging. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 54, 214–222.
Simpson, J., & Weiner, E. (Eds.). (1989). The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed. Vol. 17, pp. 92–93). Oxford: Clarendon.
Skinner, B. F. (1983). Intellectual self-management in old age. American Psychologist, 38, 239–244.
Skinner, B. F. (1966). The phylogeny and ontogeny of behavior. Science, 153, 1205–1213.
Staudinger, U., Freund, A., Linden, A., & Maas, I. (1999). Self, personality and life regulation: Facets of psychological resilience in old age. In K. U. Mayer & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), The Berlin Aging Study (pp. 302–328). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stones, M. J., & Kozma, A. (1985). Physical performance. In N. Charness (Ed.), Aging and human performance (pp. 261–291). New York: Wiley.
Stern, P., & Carstensen, L. L. (Eds.). (2000). The aging mind: Opportunities in cognitive aging. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Taylor, S. E. (1983). Adjustment to threatening events: A theory of cognitive adaptation. American Psychologist, 38, 1161–1173.
Thomae, H. (1981). The Bonn Longitudinal Study of Aging (BOLSA): An approach to differential gerontology. In A. E. Baert (Eds.), Prospective longitudinal research (pp. 165–197). Oxford: University Press.
Tournier, P. (1972). Learning to grow old. London: SCM Press.
Vaillant, G. E. (1990). Avoiding negative life outcomes: Evidence from a forty-five year study. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 332–358). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Vaillant, G. E., Meyer, S. E., Mukamal, K., & Soldz, S. (1998). Are social supports in late midlife a cause or a result of successful physical aging? Psychological Medicine, 25, 1159–1168.
Waddington, C. H. (1975). The evolution of an evolutionist. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Warnes, A., Rough, B., & Sixsmith, J. (1991). Elderly drivers and new technology. Project Report 6, Commission of the European Communities.
Weiland, S. (1989). Aging according to biography. Gerontologist, 29, 191–194.
Whitbourne, S. K. (1985). The aging body. New York: Springer.
Wiedl, K., Schottke, H., & Gediga, G. (1987). Reserven geistiger Leistungsfahigkeit bei geriatrischen Psychiatriepatienten und altenheimbewohnem [Reserves of mental functioning in old psychiatric patients and nursing home residents]. Zeitschrift für klinische Psychologie, 16, 29–42.
Wills, T. A. (1991). Similarity and self-esteem in downward comparison. In J. Suls & T. A. Wills (Eds.), Social comparison: Contemporary theory and research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Wong, P. T. P. (1989). Personal meaning and successful aging. Canadian Psychology, 30, 516–525.
Wong, P. T. P. (1991). Existential versus causal attributions: The social perceiver as philosopher. In S. Zelen (Ed.), Extensions of attribution theory. New York: Springer.
Wong, T. P., & Watt, L. M. (1991). What types of reminiscence are associated with successful aging? Psychology and Aging, 6, 272–279.
Wood, J. V. (1989). Theory and research concerning social comparisons of personal attributes. Psychological Bulletin, 706, 231–248.
Woodward, K., & Schwartz, M. M. (Eds.), (1986). Memory and desire: Aging, Literature, Psychoanalysis. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Wortman, C, & Silver, C. R. (1990). Successful mastery of bereavement and widowhood: A life-course perspective. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 225–264). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Yoon, G. (1996). Psychosocial factors for successful aging. Australian Journal of Aging, 15, 69–72.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Baltes, M.M., Carstensen, L.L. (2003). The Process of Successful Aging: Selection, Optimization, and Compensation. In: Staudinger, U.M., Lindenberger, U. (eds) Understanding Human Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0357-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0357-6_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-7383-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0357-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive