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Action and Self-Development
Theory and Research Through the LifeSpan
Edited by:
- Jochen Brandtstadter - University of Trier, Germany
- Richard M. Lerner - Tufts University, USA
October 1999 | 568 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
`This volume presents the reader with a stimulating rich tapestry of essays exploring the nature of action and intentionality, and discussing their role in human development. As the contributions make clear, action is an integrative concept that forms the bridge between our psychological, biological, and sociocultural worlds. Action is also integrative in the sense of entailing motivational, emotional, and cognitive systems, and this integration too is well represented in the chapters. Action is defined, and distinguished from behavior, according to its intentional quality. Thus, a constantly recurring theme in the volume involves the dialectic of action-intentionality, and specifically the questions of how and when these concepts are to be distinguished. For action theorists, action-as distinguished from behavior-constitutes the fundamental mechanism of human development. This commitment is detailed in several essays that explore the life-span implications of action. This timely volume will be must reading for all who want to learn about, or stay current with, contemporary action theoretical approaches to human development' - Willis F. Overton, Temple University
Jochen Brandtstädter and Richard M Lerner
Introduction
Development, Action and Intentionality
PART ONE: DEVELOPMENT AS A PERSONAL AND SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
Richard M Lerner and Ted Walls
Revisiting 'Individuals as Producers of Their Development'
From Dynamic Interactionism to Developmental Systems
Jochen Brandtstädter
The Self in Action and Development
Cultural, Biosocial and Ontogenetic Bases of Intentional Self-Development
Jutta Heckhausen and Richard Schulz
Selectivity in Lifespan Development
Biological and Societal Canalizations and Individuals' Developmental Goals
Dale Dannefer
Freedom Isn't Free
Power, Alienation and the Consequences of Action
Michael F Mascolo, Kurt W Fischer and Robert Neimeyer
The Dynamic Co-Development of Intentionality, Self and Social Relations
PART TWO: DESIGNING PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS: GOALS, PLANS AND FUTURE SELVES
Joachim C Brunstein, Oliver C Schultheiss and Günter W Maier
The Pursuit of Personal Goals
A Motivational Approach to Well-Being and Life Adjustment
Brian R Little
Personal Projects and Social Ecology
Themes and Variations across the Life-Span
Jacqui Smith
Life Planning
Anticipating Future Life Goals and Managing Personal Development
Ingrid E Josephs, Jaan Valsiner and Seth E Surgan
The Process of Meaning Construction
Dissecting the Flow of Semiotic Activity
Peter M Gollwitzer et al
A Motivational-Volitional Perspective on Identity Development
Gabriele Oettingen
Free Fantasies about the Future and the Emergence of Developmental Goals
PART THREE: RESILIENCE AND EFFICACY ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
Helene H Fung, Ronald P Abeles and Laura L Carstensen
Psychological Control in Later Life
Implications for Life-Span Development
Jochen Brandtstädter, Dirk Wentura and Klaus Rothermund
Intentional Self-Development through Adulthood and Later Life
Tenacious Pursuit and Flexible Adjustment of Goals
Alexandra M Freund, Karen Z H Li and Paul B Baltes
Successful Development and Aging
The Role of Selection, Optimization and Compensation in Successful Aging
Karen S Quigley and Lisa Feldman Barrett
Emotional Learning and Mechanisms of Intentional Psychological Change
Ellen A Skinner
Action Regulation, Coping and Development
