ABSTRACT
Life histories are a mixture of changes and events that are partly intended and expected, partly unintended and surprising, and that—in terms of die individual's developmental aspirations and Me themes—involve gains as well as losses. What are the basic strategies and processes that individuals apply in order to keep this balance favorable over the life span? Our theoretical approach to this question is based on the assumption that the cognitions, evaluations, and actions involved in a person's construction of developmental gains and losses are dynamically interrelated. For example, the emotional valences of perceived developmental outcomes critically depend on whether we assume personal responsibility for them or consider them as unrelated to our actions and intentions; these appraisals may be influenced by our desire to maintain a favorable view of ourselves. Furthermore, we do not only attune our actions to developmental goals but also, in turn, adjust our system of goals to perceived developmental potentials and capacities; and we tend to give up developmental options that appear unattainable or definitively blocked and to replace them with new ones. By such strategies and processes, which may partly involve automatic and subpersonal levels of functioning, we protect ourselves more or less successfully against permanent dissatisfaction, depression, and grief. As Brim (1988) has pointed out: "That process of arranging and managing our lives to keep the right balance between achievement and capacity is ... one of the most important, fascinating, and overlooked aspects of adult development" (p. 50).
