ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the adaptive value of goal-related motivational processes for successful development across the adult life span. Goals play an important role in successful development because they are the building blocks that structure people's lives and imbue life with purpose, both in the short run and on a long-term basis (Carver & Scheier, 1998; Heckhausen, 1999a; Ryff, 1989). Therefore, processes that are functionally associated with achieving personal goals and managing the negative consequences of goal failure can be expected to contribute to pathways of successful development.
