1 Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA; email: heckhaus@uci.edu.
2 Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada; email: carsten.wrosch@concordia.ca.
3 Department of Psychiatry and University Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA; email: schulz@pitt.edu.

Agency and Motivation in Adulthood and Old Age.

Annu Rev Psychol. 2019 01 04;70:191-217

Authors: Heckhausen J, Wrosch C, Schulz R

Abstract

This review addresses conceptual and empirical research about how individual agency and motivation influences development during adulthood and old age. The major life-span approaches to individual agency and developmental regulation are discussed, with a focus on the motivational theory of life-span development. Developmental agency unfolds through action cycles of pursuing long-term goals for optimal development. Individuals differ in their capacity to regulate their goal engagements effectively within the age-graded structure of opportunities and constraints in their life courses. We discuss a set of research examples about specific developmental challenges, such as transition to adulthood, biological aging, illness, and societal transformation, and show how individuals, as agents in their own development, navigate change for better or worse. We conclude with suggestions for future research.

PMID: 30110574 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]