Intentional Self-Development and Positive Ageing: How Individuals Select and Pursue Life Goals

Description

Are we in control of our own development in adulthood, or are we shaped by circumstances beyond our control? By adopting the concept of intentional self-development (ISD), this text outlines an action-theoretical approach to human development that emphasizes both an individual’s ability to shape their own development throughout the lifespan, and the extent to which this potential is limited. By examining general age-related changes and critical life events, Intentional Self-Development and Positive Ageing explores the adaptive cognitive-motivational processes that generate positive development in adulthood, including developmental tasks, cognitive changes, life-stage transitions, and biological and neural processes. Leipold goes on to discuss the concept of positive ageing, highlighting the flexibility of the term and evaluating it from multiple perspectives to demonstrate its subjectivity, as well as its importance. This text also discusses the importance of resilience in positive development, contributing to the search for conditions conducive to positive life conduct across the lifespan. This book will be essential reading for undergraduates and postgraduates studying lifespan development and gerontology, positive psychology, or health psychology, as well as researchers in those fields. It will also be of interest to developmental counsellors, clinicians, and other applied occupational groups who are seeking to understand the psychological basis of actions. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface 1. What is intentional self-development (ISD)? Preliminary remarks: The roles we play in life Psychological approaches to ISD Self and identity Self-regulation Self-efficacy, competence, and the development of control Self-efficiency and self-cultivation Contingency, knowledge, and experience as prerequisites of self-efficient and self-cultivating actions Time perspectives and the role of culture Life planning and life management in adulthood Life review: Historical embeddedness and culture The study of ISD: General courses and intraindividual changes ISD, time, and culture Theoretical perspectives and approaches to the study of ISD Mechanistic models: The will as epiphenomenon and the steam-whistle hypothesis Contextual models, dynamic interactionism, and developmental systems Constructivism Biocultural co-construction Summary 2. Developmental prerequisites and challenges across the lifespan Age-related changes in adulthood Development between growth and decline: Physical changes and diseases Chronic impairments and diseases The experience of an illness and coping Structural changes in the brain and cognitive decline Plasticity: Biological and cultural foundation Lifestyle and physical exercise Intention, volition, and action: Biological and neural processes Volition and involved brain regions Affective neuroscience and emotional brain circuits Age-related changes in brain functions Implications and open questions Developmental tasks and life plans Midlife transitions Life tasks and developmental deadlines Chance encounters and non-normative life events Developmental regulation theories The SOC model The motivational theory of lifespan development The dual-process model of assimilation and accommodation Limits of intentional control Summary 3. The role of non-intentional processes, affect, and evaluation A short-term perspective on ISD: Mental processes in social context The interconnection of events and intentions Sources of behaviour and development Intentions between conscious and unconscious processes: A pendulum From intentions to actions Plans and volitions Mental control strategies Goals and everyday problem solving Limits of intentional control: The role of affect Socio-emotional development Emotion regulation Affective processing in action regulation: Counter-regulation and control-dependency From attitudes to intentions Attitude-behaviour relations: Moderating processes Changeability of attitudes and preferences Values and intentions Age differences of attitudes and values in adulthood Implicit attitude measurement The adaptive function of attitudes in adulthood Summary 4. Cognitive-motivational processes of intentional self-development Expectation and attribution Expectation-value models Attributions Decision-making between rational choice, uncertainty, and randomness Decisions and heuristics Uncertainty and randomness Conscious control and automatic information processing Attention and cognitive control Exogenous and endogenous influences Cognitive routines and mental sets Congruity and dissonance Preference and similarity judgements Perception and context effects Lifelong learning and memory Learning and differentiation Autobiographical memory The structure of the concept of action: The difficulties Summary 5. Positive development and resilience Positive development in the face of adversity: The process of resilience Resilience from a developmental perspective The role of intentions Evaluation criteria for development: Equilibrium and structural characteristics Equilibrium and disequilibrium Equilibrium and structural features of the self Stability, growth, and decline Dimensions of well-being and developmental maturity Quality of life: Subjective and objective criteria Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being Wisdom and personality growth Summary 6. Balance and dimensions of meaning Balance as a challenge The concept of balance in psychological models Balance from an intentional point of view Mistakes and freedom of interpretation Dimensions of meaning and areas of action Zōon politikon Love and work Homo ludens, beauty, and the art of living Transcendence, religious beliefs, and spiritual experience Summary and concluding remarks References Index