Chapter 12. Midlife
Introduction
You learned in your book’s chapter on midlife (the ages between your forties and sixties) that Erik Erikson theorized that those in middle adulthood are engaging in the task of generativity versus stagnation.
Dan McAdams spent his career trying to determine a way to scientifically measure generativity. He wanted to find out if generativity became the main agenda during midlife and, if Erikson (1969) was correct in theorizing that generativity was the key to feeling happy during middle adulthood.
12.1 Activity
In this activity you will take the questionnaire that McAdams constructed to generally measure generative concerns.
Please answer the following items agree or disagree.
Question
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When McAdams tested his generative concern questionnaire with young, middle-aged, and elderly people, he found few age differences in generative attitudes. People were just as likely to care about making a difference in the world at age 20 or 50 or 85. However, when McAdams explored people’s generative priorities by telling them to “list the top ranking agendas in your life now” age differences in generative priorities were evident (McAdams, Hart, & Maruna, 1998; McAdams, 2001).
Young people’s goals were centered on identity issues. Adults in midlife and older were more likely to report generative priorities. These results are not surprising, considering Erikson’s theory. As Erikson would predict, we need to resolve issues related to our personal development before our primary concern shifts to giving to others in the wider world. According to this research, priorities fully focused on giving to the next generation reach a crescendo in the early sixties, once we know exactly who we are (Newton & Stewart, 2010).
Did your attitudes match the attitudes typical for your age?
References
Erikson, E. H. (1969). Gandhi’s truth: On the origins of militant nonviolence. New York: Norton.
McAdams, D. P. (2001). Generativity in midlife. In M. E. Lachman (Ed.), Handbook of midlife development (pp. 395–443). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
McAdams, D. P., Hart, H. M., & Maruna, S. (1998). The anatomy of generativity. In D. P. McAdams & E. de St. Aubin (Eds.), Generativity and adult development: How and why we care for the next generation (pp. 7–43). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
McAdams, D. P., & de St. Aubin, E. (1992). A theory of generativity and its assessment through self-report, behavioral acts, and narrative themes in autobiography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 1003–1015.
Newton, N., & Stewart, A. J. (2010). The midlife ages: Change in women’s personalities and social roles. Psychology of Women’s Quarterly, 31, 75–84.