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Beyond Ponce de Leon and Life Satisfaction: New Directions in Quest of Successful Ageing Carol D. Ryff International Journal of Behavioral Development 1989 12: 35 DOI: 10.1177/016502548901200102 The online version of this article can be found at: http://jbd.sagepub.com/content/12/1/35

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT, 1989, 12 (1) 35-55

Beyond Ponce de Leon and Life Satisfaction: New Directions in Quest of Successful Ageing Carol D. Ryff University of Wisconsin, U.S.A. Previous approaches to the study of successful ageing are reviewed. It is argued that there has been an absence of theory guiding this research; an implicit negativism in the proposed conceptions of well-being; a neglect of the possibility for continued growth and development in old age; and a failure to see conceptions of positive ageing as human constructions that are open to cultural variations and historical change. An alternative approach that draws on the convergence in life-span developmental theories, clinical theories of personal growth, and mental health perspectives is presented. Six criteria of well-being result from this integration: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. These dimensions are defined and their relevance for the study of adulthood and ageing is discussed. New avenues for investigating successful ageing as a human construction are presented with emphasis given to the complementarity between quantitative and qualitative research strategies.

INTRODUCTION As the aged population grows ever larger, there is increased awareness that Ponce de Leon may have missed the point. Instead of searching for the fountain of youth, which would have arrested human experience in an incomplete, unfinished form, a greater quest would have been to discover the richness and rewards of life lived fully to the end. The purpose of the present paper is to evaluate what has thus far been construed as the gains of long life. To do so, I will examine previous formulations of successful ageing and the general study of well-being in the later years. I will argue that these perspectives are limited in several ways, and that there is need for fresh thinking and a new spirit of discovery with regard to our Requests for reprints should be send to Carol D. Ryff at the Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, U.S.A.

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conceptions of what is possible in old age. An alternative approach will be presented that provides new criteria for successful ageing and new directions for expanding our vistas of what lies ahead at the end of the journey. The general intent is to renew theoretical and philosophical discussion about the meaning of positive functioning in the second half of life.

Previous Approaches to Successful Ageing Identifying the virtues of old age is a long-standing human challenge that has engaged many noble thinkers. Cicero's well-known emphasis on the force of character that comes with age (see Chandler, 1948), Plato's association of old age with calm and freedom (see Griffin, 1949), and the Eastern emphasis on the tranquillity and wisdom that one gains with age (see Chandler, 1949; Piovesana, 1979) illustrate the variety of strengths tied to the long lived. These philosophical views are accompanied by more recent scientific studies of positive ageing. Much early work in this domain began at the University of Chicago where in the 1940s a group of scholars began studying personal and social adjustment in old age (Burgess, 1960; Cavan, Burgess, Havighurst, & Goldhamer, 1949; Pollak, 1948). More popular books were also written during this era that provided advice on how to age positively (e.g. Lawton, 1946). The Kansas City Studies of Adult Life (Williams & Wirths, 1965) carried on the Chicago tradition of ageing research and continued to articulate the meaning of successful ageing. The original conception included four dimensions: the amount of activity in which the individual engaged, the ability to disengage, satisfaction with life, and maturity or the integration of personality. Two additional components were later added to this conception: a balanced exchange of energy between the individual and the social system, and a stable social system. Of these various formulations, life satisfaction became the most frequently investigated dimension of successful ageing. This construct included components of zest versus apathy, resolution and fortitude, relationship between desired goals and achieved goals, self-concept, and mood tone (Neugarten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961). The enormous magnitude of empirical research linked to this dimension is obvious to any who have followed ageing journals over the last 30 years (for reviews see Cutler, 1979; Larson, 1978). Over time, researchers elaborated the meaning of successful ageing to include such dimensions as happiness, adjustment, affect balance, morale, subjective well-being, and optimal interplay between the individual and the environment (Fozard & Popkin, 1978; George, 1979; Herzog, Rodgers, & Woodworth, 1982; Lawton, 1977, 1984; Palmore, 1979; Stock, Okun, & Benin, 1986). Some of these perspectives grew out of a specific ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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focus on old age (e.g. Lawton's research on morale), while others were imported from separate empirical domains and applied to the later years (e.g. Herzog, Rodgers, & Woodworth's extension of survey research on subjective well-being to old age). The above lines of research have contributed a great deal to our thinking about psychological functioning in the later years. For example, the broad array of indicators has expanded knowledge of the many ways to operationalise well-being and underscored the importance of using multidimensional approaches to successful ageing. In addition, the research has dispelled entrenched myths, such as the belief that old age is a time of unhappiness and low morale (Costa & McCrae, 1984; Herzog, Rodgers, & Woodworth, 1982; Lawton, 1984). Attempts to explain why some people are happy, satisfied, and adjusted in old age and others are not, have furthered our understanding of the influence of such factors as health, socio-economic status, social activity, and marital status on well-being. Even the knowledge that these factors for little of the variance in well-being (Larson, 1978) constitutes an advance in telling us we need to look elsewhere to understand the mysteries of growing old positively. Despite these conceptual and empirical gains, the study of successful ageing suffers from various limitations. As a way of identifying where future progress might occur, the following section will examine what has been missing in earlier studies.

On the Limitations of Previous Approaches Four central criticisms can be applied to previous research on successful ageing. A first problem stems from the absence of theoretical frameworks surrounding the many dimensions of well-being. Those who have studied life satisfaction, morale, happiness, and so on, have rarely elaborated specific theories within which their indices of positive functioning were formulated. This omission is due, in part, to historical emphasis on applied research in social gerontology (Sauer & Warland, 1982), and the concern for problem solving and programme development. There are exceptions here such as Bradburn's (1969) formulation of the structure of well-being and the related affect balance scale. But even this exception was not developed with a specific focus on ageing. The broader neglect of theory has resulted in two related problems: namely, elusive definitions have hindered efforts to translate the guiding constructs to empirical measures; hence, the validity problems in the instruments themselves (Sauer & Warland, 1982). Secondly, few researchers have provided conceptual rationales to justify particular indices of well-being. Presumably, anything goes as a measure of successful ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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ageing, and we are without grounds for evaluating the worth of the criteria, or for choosing among them. A second general criticism is that there is an implicit negativism in many previous approaches to successful ageing. That is, much research has been conducted with measures of illness rather than measures of wellness. Lawton's reviews (1977, 1984) reveal the emphasis given to indices of anxiety, depression, worry, anomie, loneliness, and somatic symptoms as measures of well-being. Such research tends to equate well-being with the absence of illness. That is, one functions positively if he or she is not anxious, depressed, sick, etc. Jahoda (1958) argued some time ago that such a formulation constitutes an impoverished version of psychological well-being that ignores the individual's potential for achieving purposes, goals, and other higher forms of positive functioning (see also Buhler & Massarik, 1968). The aura of negativism is also evident with regard to researchers' expectations: "With regard to life span patterns, happiness has always been a part of youth, while the shrinking perspective associated with growing older is assumed to lead to unhappiness, if not despair" (Herzog, Rodgers, & Woodworth, 1982, p. 3). Others have attempted to explain "the paradox of happiness in old age" (Costa & McCrae, 1984, p. 142). These preconceptions and the reliance on measures of illness have not facilitated understanding of the more positive aspects of successful ageing. A third problem is that previous studies have paid little attention to the unique resources and challenges of old age, or to possibilities of continued growth and development in the later years. Most indicators, such as happiness, well-being, or affect balance, are better measures of successful living, regardless of age, than they are indices of successful ageing. The original dimensions of the Kansas City studies did reveal more of an ageing focus (e.g. ability to disengage, maturity, or integration of personality), but these were either discounted as misguided indicators of positive ageing (disengagement), or eclipsed by the extensive attention given to life satisfaction, which had less of an explicit ageing focus. A related tendency has been to equate positive functioning with maintenance of previous attitudes and behaviours rather than successful negotiation of new challenges and developmental tasks. Stated otherwise, there is a pervasive stability bias in the well-being literature, which excludes the individual's potential for further development, self-realisation, and growth. Part of the above neglect may stem from the repeated reports of personality stability during the adult years (Costa & McCrae, 1980; Costa, McCrae, & Zonderman, 1986; McCrae & Costa, 1984). These studies indicate there is little continued development in adulthood and old age. Such findings were not, however, generated on the basis of developmental theory, nor have the measures employed been designed to assess growth ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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and development (Ryff and Heincke, 1983). The instruments used are actually biased against finding evidence of change (i.e. items showing low test-retest coefficients are discarded as unreliable, when they may be sensitive indicators of change). Moreover, the dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, and openness (or their underlying facets) bear little resemblance to the dimensions that follow from developmental theories (e.g. Erikson's notions of generativity and integrity). Thus, it is premature to close the debate on whether there is growth or development in the adult years, particularly given the importance of such features in understanding positive ageing. Finally, there has been insufficient recognition that conceptions of wellbeing are human constructions, and thereby, open to diverse and competing definitions as well as to cultural variation and historical change. The question of what we define as positive functioning in the later years inevitably leads to value discussions, which can never be fully resolved on scientific grounds. While scientific psychology cannot settle the values people should live by (Smith, 1974), it can help us identify the values that underlie our theories and the values that are endorsed by those we study. Such an orientation reminds us that the criteria of well-being need constant re-evaluation and refinement, as new cohorts of aged individuals bring different standards and ideals by which to evaluate themselves and others. In sum, while previous studies of successful ageing have advanced our knowledge in several ways, they have been deficient in of their underlying theoretical frameworks, their implicit pessimism, their neglect of growth or developmental processes in the later years, and their inattention to the cultural climates or ideologies that underlie their formulations. In the remaining sections of this paper, an alternative approach to the study of well-being in adulthood and ageing will be presented. The overall intent is to revitalise thinking about what it means to function positively in the middle and later years.

SUCCESSFUL AGEING: A MODEL OF SYNTHESIS Following from the above arguments, a first objective is to generate a model of successful ageing that is theory-guided. While no single theory currently provides an adequate basis for defining well-being in the later years, a useful model can be generated through the integration of several different theoretical perspectives. First, life-span developmental theories such as Erikson's (1959) psycho-social stage model, Buhler's basic life tendencies (Buhler, 1935; Buhler & Massarik, 1968), and Neugarten's (1968; 1973) description of the executive process of personality in the middle years and the process of interiority in old age, can be drawn on to ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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define the unique challenges and tasks of middle and old age (see Ryff, 1982a). These works formulate a variety of challenges and growth possibilities that occur in middle and old age. For example, Erikson's middle-aged stage of generativity versus stagnation involves moving beyond the selfdirected concerns of identity, or the interpersonal needs of intimacy, to a phase in which one is concerned with establishing and guiding the next generation. These concerns are later replaced by needs to find the meaning in one's life, to resolve past conflicts, and to gain a sense of acceptance about what went before. Thus, the theories formulate positive functioning with an attentiveness to different periods of the life cycle so that the growth possibilities of the young adult are distinguished from those of aged individuals. Such differences reflect changing roles across the life cycle as well as changing biological and psychological processes. A second set of theories that can contribute to the formulation of successful ageing are clinical theories of personal growth. These perspectives provide additional content for expanding the meaning of positive functioning in the second half of life, and thereby, enrich the theoretical basis of successful ageing. Such works include Maslow's (1968) view of selfactualisation, Roger's (1961) fully functioning person, and Jung's (1933; von Franz, 1964) process of individuation. Allport's (1961) conception of maturity, although not in the clinical domain, provides further description of advanced psychological functioning. Such frameworks have rarely been applied to adulthood and ageing research, despite their rich descriptive content regarding the nature of well-being and continued personal development. Finally, the mental health literature can be drawn on to elaborate the meaning of positive functioning in adulthood and old age. Of particular relevance are Jahoda's (1958) unique but neglected criteria of positive mental health. Arguing that the absence of mental disease is an unsuitable definition of mental health, she formulated six criteria of positive mental health, which included: positive self-attitudes, growth and self-actualisation, integration of the personality, autonomy, reality perception, and environmental mastery. These were formulated with little attentiveness to life cycle changes, although they have been examined in of the unique mental health concerns of the aged (Birren & Renner, 1980). In combination, these perspectives remedy certain of the limitations noted in the previous research on successful ageing. The criteria were formulated within a theoretical context and therefore tend to be more explicitly defined. A theme of optimism is also evident in the many formulations. Each articulates the nature of wellness rather than illness. Similarly, all etnphasise the capacity for continued growth and development of the person. Still, the mixture of theories'provides an unwieldy ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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guide for carrying out empirical research. The criteria generated are diverse and extensive; Maslow alone described 15 characteristics of selfactualisation. A useful question therefore is whether these many frameworks can be reduced to a more parsimonious summary. That is, are there points of convergence in these many criteria of positive functioning? This question is examined below.

An Integrated Model of Personal Development: Defining Criteria A review of the content of the above perspectives reveals that the many theorists noted above were, indeed, speaking of similar features of wellbeing. In particular, six dimensions of positive functioning are referred to repeatedly in the literatures on life-span development, personal growth, and mental health. I will summarise these different dimensions below, giving particular emphasis to the ways in which different theorists wrote about the similar components of well-being. These parallels provide the basis for the integrated model of personal development proposed herein. The descriptions provided below are taken from the sources cited in the previous section. More detailed discussion of the theories, how they were derived, and their defining characteristics of well-being are provided in prior publications (Ryff, 1982a, 1985a).

Self-Acceptance. The most recurrent theme of positive functioning evident in the previous perspectives is the individual's sense of selfacceptance. Within the clinical realm, Maslow referred to a general acceptance of nature, others, and oneself as a characteristic of self-actualisation. Rogers emphasised conceiving of the self as a person of worth, and Allport included self-acceptance, which he described as emotional security, in his conception of maturity. Jung's form of acceptance involved recognising various parts of oneself such as one's masculine and feminine nature, or one's good and bad side. Among the life-span theories, Erikson's stage of ego integrity emphasises not only acceptance of self, but also of one's past life and its accompanying triumphs and disappointments. The first criteria of mental health defined by Jahoda referred to positive attitudes toward the self, which included self-acceptance, self-confidence, and self-reliance. Finally, Birren and Renner emphasised that those who are ageing positively experience greater convergence between their actual self and their ideal self. The theme of self-acceptance, therefore, emerges as a key point of convergence in the literature on positive functioning. Whether one holds such a positive attitude toward oneself and one's life is a central criterion of well-being. ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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Positive Relations with Others. In addition to stressing a positive attitude toward the self, many of the preceding theories emphasised the importance of warm, trusting interpersonal relations. Maslow, for example, described self-actualisers as showing social interests (having strong feelings of empathy and affection for all human beings) and being capable of greater love, deeper friendship, and more complete identification with others than those who are not self-actualised. Roger's fully functioning person was described as showing a basic trustworthiness of human nature. Allport included warm relating to others as a criteria of maturity. He described the mature person as capable of great intimacy in love, whether with family or friends, and as showing comion, respect, and appreciation of others. The mental health criteria proposed by Jahoda included an emphasis on the ability to love and on adequacy in interpersonal relations. Erikson's adult stages involved developmental challenges that were highly interpersonal in nature, including the achievement of close unions with others (intimacy) and the guidance and direction of others (generativity). Finally, Birren and Renner (1980, p. 29) state that "to be mentally healthy a person of any age needs the ability to respond to other individuals, to love, to be loved, and to cope with others in give-andtake relationships". This ability to achieve positive relations with others is, therefore, stressed repeatedly in theories of positive functioning. As such, it is a central component in the model that integrates the above perspectives.

Autonomy. Within the clinical domain, self-actualisers were described as showing autonomous functioning and resistance to enculturation. The latter referred to the ability to resist social pressures to think or act in certain ways. The fully functioning person was also described by Rogers as having an internal locus of evaluation. Such an individual did not look to others for approval, but evaluated himself or herself by personal standards. Jung wrote that the development of personality involved a deliverance from convention, in which the person would no longer cling to the collective fears, beliefs, and laws of the mass. The freedom from the evaluations of others paralleled certain aspects of the process of interiority, formulated by Neugarten as a personality change in old age. One characteristic of interiority is that the person has a change of freedom from the norms governing everyday life. Jahoda also emphasised autonomy as a criterion of mental health. From this perspective, autonomy referred to self-determination, independence, and the regulation of behaviour from within. It might be noted that Loevinger's (1976) theory of ego development also proposed autonomy as one of the final stages of development. Thus, many theorists of psychological well-being hqve emphasised the qualities of independence and autonomy in their models. ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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Environmental Mastery. Among the life-span theorists, Neugarten described the executive processes of personality in middle age as referring to such characteristics as manipulation and control of the environment, mastery, and competence. Middle age was seen as the time of life when one managed a complex array of activities in work, familial, and personal realms. Similarly, Buhler's basic life tendency of creative expansion referred to goals of advancing in the world and changing it creatively through physical or mental activities. Allport described the mature person as one who develops strong interests outside of self and participates in a significant sphere of human activity. Birren and Renner included in their criteria for mental health in ageing, the extent to which the individual takes advantage of environmental opportunities. This description parallels certain aspects of environmental mastery as formulated by Jahoda. Such mastery referred, among other things, to the individual's ability to choose or create environments suitable to one's psychic conditions. In combination, these perspectives suggest that active participation in and mastery of the environment are important ingredients to an integrated model of positive psychological functioning. Purpose in Life. The life-span developmental theories described several growth processes relevant to one's purpose in life. Generativity included goals of being productive and exercising leadership capacities. Buhler's basic life tendencies emphasised a similar goal of changing the world creatively in the middle years, followed by the goal of upholding one's inner order in the later years. The latter intention was similar to the search for emotional integration that was a part of Erikson's description of ego integrity. Rogers spoke of increased existential living as the aim of the fully functioning person; such a person wants to live fully each moment. A central component of Allport's definition of maturity was that the person have a unifying philosophy of life. This he described as a clear comprehension of life's purpose, a sense of directedness, and intentionality. Jahoda formulated integration as a criterion of mental health. Such integration included having a unifying outlook on life that gives the person the feeling there is a purpose in and meaning to life. This outlook then contributes to the sense of unity, balance, and integration in different parts of the self. (Loevinger's, 1976, final stage of ego development, also emphasised integration although her focus was on reconciling inner conflicts and renunciation of the unattainable.) Finally, Birren and Renner spoke about the importance in the later years of integrating past life experiences into a meaningful context. Thus, purpose in life emerges as an important component of one's overall sense of well-being. The individual who is functioning positively has goals, intentions, a sense of directedness, ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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all of which contribute to feelings of meaningfulness and integration about the various parts of one's life.

Personal Growth. All of the preceding criteria represent ideal endstates of the fully functioning person. That is, they constitute goals for complete development. However, optimal development requires not only that one achieve these qualities, but also that one continue to develop one's potential, to grow and expand as a person. The ability to adapt to an ever changing world requires such continued personal change. These qualities were described by several of the preceding theorists. For example, Rogers emphasised openness to experience as a characteristic of the fully functioning person. Such an individual becomes more aware of the surrounding world and stops seeing in preconceived categories. He also emphasised the willingness to be a process as an important quality in positive functioning. The fully functioning person is continually developing and becoming rather than achieving a fixed state wherein all problems are solved. For Maslow, striving for self-actualisation, which embodied the highest ideals of development for the individual, was a continual process. The need to actualise oneself and realise one's potentialities is also prominent in Jahoda's mental health criteria. She cites Rogers, Maslow, and Allport in this regard. People who are realising themselves have an investment in living-they are able to lose themselves in work, contemplation, recreation, loyalty to others. Buhler's life tendencies also signalled directions of continued growth for the individual from self-limiting adaptation to creative expansion to upholding internal order. Erikson's psychosocial challenges were explicitly developmental in their formulation of the evolving tasks for the ego. Thus, the quality of continued personal growth and self-realisation receives repeated emphasis in the theories reviewed, and as such, constitutes the final dimension of psychological well-being in the integrative model.

Evaluation of New Criteria Summary definitions of the preceding six dimensions of positive functioning are presented in Table 1. These criteria represent major points of convergence in the literature on life-span development, personal growth, and mental health. Together, they provide a model of well-being that has broad from various theoretical formulations. A central question for the present purposes is what these criteria offer for the study of wellbeing in adulthood and old age? Are they redundant with previous indices of positive functioning? What, specifically, do the dimensions have to do with the question of how one grows old positively? ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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TABLE 1 Definitions of Criteria of Well-being Dimension

Definition

Self-Acceptance High scorer

Possesses a positive attitude toward the self; acknowledges and accepts multiple aspects of self including good and bad qualities; feel positive about past life.

Low scorer

Feels dissatisfied with self; is disappointed with what has occurred in past life; is troubled about certain personal qualities; wishes to be different than what one is.

Positive Relations with Others High scorer

Low

scorer

Autonomy High scorer

Low

scorer

Environmental Mastery High scorer

Low

scorer

Purpose in Life High scorer

Low

scorer

Has warm, satisfying, trusting relations with others; is concerned about the welfare of others; capabable of strong empathy, affection, and intimacy; understands give and take of human relationships.

Has few close, trusting relationships with others; finds it difficult to be warm, open and concerned about others; is isolated and frustrated in interpersonal relationships; not willing to make compromises to sustain important ties with others. Is self-determining and independent; able to resist social pressures to think and act in certain ways; regulates behaviour from within; evaluates self by personal standards. Is concerned about the expectations and evaluations of others; relies on judgements of others to make important decisions; conforms to social pressures to think and act in certain ways. Has a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment; controls complex array of external activities; makes effective use of surrounding opportunities; able to choose or create contexts suitable to personal needs and values. Has difficulty managing everyday affairs; feels unable to change or improve surrounding context; is unaware of surrounding opportunities; lacks sense of control over external world. Has goals in life and a sense of directedness; feels there is meaning to present and past life; holds beliefs that give life purpose; has aims and objectives for living.

Lacks a sense of meaning in life; has few goals or aims; lacks a sense of direction; does not see purpose of east life; has no outlook or beliefs that give life meaning. ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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Dimension Personal Growth High scorer

Low scorer

Definition

Has a feeling of continued development; sees self as growing and expanding; is open to new experiences; has sense of realising one's potential; sees improvement in self and behaviour over time; is changing in ways that reflect more self knowledge and effectiveness.

Has a sense of personal stagnation; lacks sense of improvement or expansion over time; feels unable to develop new attitudes or behaviours; feels bored and uninterested with life.

A review of the content of the six criteria reveals similarities as well as differences from preceding conceptions of positive ageing. For example, self-acceptance bears likeness to the positive self-concept component of life satisfaction (Neugarten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961), or self-esteem as investigated by some ageing researchers (Breytspraak & George, 1982; Lawton, 1984). The problem with life satisfaction is that its underlying dimensions are generally lost in the empirical translation. Self-esteem, in turn, does not cover the full theoretical definition of self-acceptance, which includes an emphasis on acceptance of self (from Maslow, Rogers, Allport, Jahoda) as well as acceptance of one's good and bad qualities (Jung) and of one's past life (Erikson). Thus, while there are similarities in these conceptions, there are also important differences. A similar case can be made for parallels between the dimension of environmental mastery and earlier research on personal control in ageing (Lachman, 1986). The former dimension is similar to the locus of control construct, which assesses the belief that one's actions are responsible for outcomes in one's life. However, such a definition is not synonymous with the definition of environmental mastery, which includes the individual's ability to utilise resources in the environment, to manage effectively activities in multiple realms, and to change or create new environments if need be. These challenges may be of particular salience in old age, and they would not be fully assessed by existing control measures. The dimension of positive relations with others relates to previous ageing studies on perceived quality of life with family and friends, or competence in social behaviour (Lawton, 1972; 1984). These characteristics have not been prominent in the literature on well-being, however. In this realm, interpersonal relationships have received minimal attention, with the exception of an occasional item on a related index (e.g. morale) that deals with family or friends. The theory-based definition also adds ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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breadth and focus to the meaning of positive interpersonal relations. Thus, the construct encomes having warm, trusting relations with others (Maslow, Rogers, Allport), being concerned about the welfare of others (Maslow), having the capacity for strong empathy, affection, and intimacy (Jahoda, Erikson, Allport) and understanding the give and take of human relationships (Birren & Renner). Other criteria within the new model of psychosocial well-being have received little emphasis in previous ageing research. For example, few researchers have studied purpose in life as an important dimension of positive functioning in old age (see Reker, Peacock, & Wong, 1987 as a recent and notable exception). Such a dimension, which includes having goals in life, a sense of direction, and a feeling there is meaning to life, seems especially important in the later years when one may lose a number of earlier roles (Rosow, 1974). The task of maintaining a clear sense of purpose in life without these ive identities is likely to be a key challenge of ageing positively. Moreover, it is possible that many older people in our society have been able to define new goals and objectives for themselves beyond those that predominated during the middle years. An index of purpose in life would monitor the success of their efforts. Likewise, the dimension of autonomy has also been neglected in previous ageing research. This component of well-being includes one's capacity for self-determination, for resisting social pressures to think and act in certain ways, and for evaluating self by personal standards. These qualities may also be particularly important to the well-being of old people who live in youth-oriented societies. Rather than evaluating oneself by standards appropriate to other age periods, the old person who is ageing successfully may need to step beyond these imposed expectations into those that are self-defined. Finally, the dimension of personal growth which encomes one's feeling of continued development, being open to new experiences, and seeing oneself as expanding and improving over time, addresses a largely uncharted realm of psychological well-being in the later years. While Costa and McCrae (1980; 1984) have included a dimension of openness to experience in their personality studies, its underlying elements (i.e. active imagination, aesthetic sensitivity, receptiveness to inner feelings, preference for variety, intellectual curiosity, independence of judgement) do not deal with the growth and development of the individual. Such possibilities for continued self-realisation, in fact, challenge the message of stability associated with their research. This aspect of well-being also has considerable public-policy implications. If older persons are seen as having the capacity for continued growth and development, then it is incumbent that they be provided with the educational resources and the outlets of personTal expression that will facilitate their self-expansion. BD 12/1-D ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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In sum, the criteria of well-being resulting from the synthesis of several strands of theory offer advances to the study of successful ageing. They sharpen the meaning and scope of existing criteria, they address new dimensions of well-being that have been neglected in earlier studies, and they enrich our thinking as to what is possible in the later years. These advantages count for little, however, in the absence of empirical translations of the above criteria. While the thrust of this article is primarily theoretical, empirical research associated with the proposed model of positive functioning will be briefly mentioned. Several earlier works (e.g. Ryff, 1982b; Ryff & Baltes, 1976; Ryff & Dunn, 1985; Ryff & Heincke, 1983; Ryff & Migdal, 1984) involved operationalising one segment of the above perspective, namely life-span developmental theories. These studies employed structured, self-report measures, some selected from existing personality inventories and others from newly constructed scales, to assess the proposed developmental changes (see Ryff, 1984; Ryff, 1985b for summaries of specific findings). The studies are noted here because ongoing efforts to operationalise the six new criteria of well-being followed similar procedures. Thus, structured, self-report scales were written to assess the separate dimensions of selfacceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. The scale construction process is modelled on the construct-oriented approach to personality assessment (Jackson, 1967, 1976; Wiggins, 1973), which emphasises the importance of psychological theory in operationalising particular constructs. These six scales were istered to over 300 young, middle and oldaged men and women (Ryff, 1988). While the results of this investigation are the focus of a separate research report, it can be noted that the newly constructed scales showed positive psychometric properties (e.g. internal consistency, reliability, validity). Comparison of these measures with former measures of well-being (i.e. affect-balance, depression, life satisfaction, locus of control, morale, self-esteem) also revealed the novel sources of variance ed for by the new dimensions. The questions of how the six criteria are organised over the life cycle, and whether they are differentially salient for men and women are also central findings of this investigation. The enquiry is noted here primarily to illustrate the approach followed in translating the preceding theoretical model to the empirical level.

SUCCESSFUL AGEING AS A HUMAN CONSTRUCTION The approach to, well-being in adulthood and ageing generated in the previous section responds to most of the criticisms that opened this paper. That is, the approach draws on a multitude of theories in defining successed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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ful ageing, it emphasises wellness rather than illness, and it incorporates developmental, growth-oriented perspectives. The remaining problem, however, is that the model runs the risk of imposing criteria of well-being on individuals who do not share the values and ideals implicit in the underlying dimensions. How, then, can we study well-being in the later years without becoming theoretically and empirically immobilised by the relativity of our guiding conceptions? A first step is to recognise that value judgements are inherent in this research. As Coan (1977, p. 76) notes in his broad review of ideals of development, "it is important to brush aside any scientistic aura that such (i.e. normality, adjustment, maturity, mental health) have acquired and penetrate to the cultural climate that underlies them." Thus, the choice of our measuring sticks is necessarily value-based. What we must do, therefore, is be mindful of the values that are implicit in our theories as well as be attentive to the values of those we study. Several avenues of research enquiry follow from this emphasis on wellbeing as a human construction. A first possibility is to investigate whether middle and old-aged adults aspire to the human qualities that comprise particular scientific models of well-being. How often have we asked old people, not if they are satisfied with life, but whether life satisfaction is even important to them? Similarly, to what extent do adults and the elderly aim for such qualities as self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth, as proposed in the present model? Answers to these questions are essential to the full understanding of successful ageing. It is also imperative that we ask our respondents to provide their own definitions of positive or ideal functioning at their respective stages in life. These "implicit theories of successful ageing" offer several advantages to our research. First, they reflect the perceptions of those who are actually living through the experience of growing old. As such, the conceptions may bring us closer to the challenges, resources, and hurdles of old age. Second, input from respondents regarding the nature of successful ageing reduces the tendency to overgeneralise the criteria of well-being generated from theory-based research. The spontaneous conceptions provide a kind of check on the relevance of more formal theoretical frameworks, seen through the eyes of older people themselves. Third, the personal definitions can serve as an important mechanism for identifying new, or changing conceptions of well-being. Thus, our definitions of positive functioning can be constantly revised, refined, and elaborated, based on the input from those we study. The preceding questions are usefully addressed with open-ended, qualitative research strategies in which adults and the aged are asked to tell in their own words what the ageing experience is all about (see Ryff, 1986). Findings from a recent study (Ryff, in press) in this regard indicated that ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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both middle and old-aged adults gave primary emphasis to a dimension labelled "others-oriented" in their spontaneous conceptions of well-being. That is, they stressed the importance of positive relations with others and being a caring person as central characteristics of mature, well-adjusted persons. Such an outcome converges with certain points of well-being emphasised in the theoretical model (i.e. positive relations with others). At the same time, the lay conceptions pointed to aspects of positive functioning missing in the theoretical literature such as having a sense of humour, enjoying life, and accepting change. Asking respondents to describe the ageing experience in their own words, inevitably raises issues regarding differing levels of verbal ability. A third avenue for studying successful ageing as a human construction exploits these differences and draws on those with exceptional expressive capacities. Through examination of biographies, autobiographies, poetry, and literary sources, much can be learned about the ageing process. Such sources, typically discounted for their subjectivity, elitism, lack of generalisability, may be unrivalled in helping us see the essential triumphs and disappointments of ageing, the poignant contradictions of lively minds and full hearts housed within decaying bodies. Malcolm Cowley offers a useful example. In his book, The View from 80 (1976, p. ix), he reminds us of the folly of trying to answer our questions about old age by listening solely to those who study the aged: Apparently a great deal had been written about old age, but most of the authors who dealt with it were lads and lasses, as it seemed to me, in their late fifties or early sixties. They knew the literature, but not the life. Some of them had brought together statistics or pored over medical reports, while others had tracked down the aged with camera and tape recorder; what they didn't and couldn't know was how it feels to be old. I knew, close as I was to my 80th birthday, and I decided that there was still room for an honest personal report.

He then goes on to describe (p. 3) the vivid mind-body discrepancies of this phase of life: The new octogenarian feels as strong as ever when he is sitting back in a comfortable chair. He ruminates, he dreams, he re. He doesn't want to be disturbed by others. It seems to him that old age is only a costume assumed for those others; the true, the essential self is ageless. In a moment he will rise and go for a ramble in the woods, taking a gun along, or a fishing rod, if it is spring. Then he creaks to his feet, bending forward to keep his balance, and realizes that he will do nothing of the sort. The body and its surroundings have their messages for him, or only one message: "You are old." ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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But Cowley's message is not simply about the physical deterioration of the later years. He is, for example, comforted by the praise and iration that comes with old age, and he quotes Cicero on the perogatives of influence attached to age. But more important, he tells us there are other pleasures enjoyed by older persons (p. 13): Those pleasures include some that younger people find hard to appreciate. One of them is simply sitting still, like a snake on a sun-warmed stone, with a delicious feeling of indolence that was seldom attained in earlier years. A leaf flutters down; a cloud moves by inches across the horizon. At such moments the older person, completely relaxed, has become a part of nature-and a living part, with blood coursing through his veins. The future does not exist for him. He thinks, if he thinks at all, that life for younger persons is still a battle royal of each against each, but that now he has nothing more to win or lose. He is not so much above as outside the battle, as if he had assumed the uniform of some small neutral country, perhaps Liechtenstein or Andorra. From a distance he notes that some of the combatants, men or women, are jostling ahead-but why do they fight so hard when the most they can hope for is a longer obituary?

This age begins by describing the tranquillity and calm of old age, a depiction that while prominent in Eastern conceptions (Chandler, 1949; Piovesana, 1979), is rarely emphasised in our culture. Perhaps these are rewards of ageing that we, as Westerners, are unwilling or unable to recognise. Similarly, his reference to moving outside the fray engendered by the work and achievement ethic so deeply engrained in the American heritage, may also reflect a gain of long life. The "delicious feeling of indolence" embarrasses those still entrenched in the getting ahead phase of life, but is it possible that one senses a different meaning or purpose in life in the later years? Cowley's thinking here is close to Jung's (1933) notions that individuation in the second half of life cannot be achieved by following the goals and objectives of earlier life stages. These personal portrayals also remind us of the wide variation in individual experiences of ageing. In contrast to the above perspective, Florida ScottMaxwell writes about how she found ageing to be an intense and varied experience, a time in which she grew more ionate: "Another secret we carry is that though drab on the outside-wreckage to the eye, mirrors a mortification-inside we flame with a wild life that is almost incommunicable" (The Measure of My Days, 1968, p. 32; see Berman, 1986). Her journal details these ions along with her concerns about continued individuation in the later years, of being true to her own way, and of the heroic qualities that life demands of us. Many literary sources could be added here. Cowley, for example, quote*., from Emerson, Yeats, Picasso, de Beauvoir and others, in his examination ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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of old age. Lyell (1980) also provides a useful summary of stories, poems, plays, and essays on ageing. These works describe not just positive experiences of ageing, but also the disappointments, conflicts, and losses of later life. Such writings can expand our understanding of the process of growing old, and they may point to powerful experiences of ageing that many share, but few have the courage or the capacity to articulate. With regard to successful ageing, these sources may significantly deepen our understanding of the important gains and losses of long life. In summary, the study of successful ageing as a human construction opens several new avenues of inquiry. A first is to assess whether our theoretically-derived indices of well-being fit with the ideals of those we study. A second possibility is to examine the implicit theories of positive ageing held by old people themselves. Finally, we can conduct thoughtful analyses of literary sources as a way of expanding our guiding conceptions of ageing. In combination, these new directions enrich, but do not replace, our more traditional avenues of hypothesis testing, quantitative analysis, and so on. By attentive listening to those we study, we simply broaden the input from which we generate our knowledge of growing old. In reaching for the horizon of successful ageing, the first-hand perceptions and experiences of those who have lived a long time may well lead the way.

CONCLUSION While the process of growing old inevitably entails both gains and losses, prior research has given insufficient attention to defining and documenting the pluses. Thus, the objective of the present work has been to stimulate thinking about the contours of positive functioning in middle and later adulthood. New criteria of well-being have been presented and their relevance for the later years discussed. The importance of augmenting theory-guided research with more qualitative strategies has also been stressed. In combination, these points afford a broad array of new directions in the study of positive ageing. To age successfully could well become a leading challenge of our era. As such, efforts to define this enticing concept carry a heavy responsibility. This is because the theories that guide our research and the findings that we generate will influence, to some extent, how many people experience the ageing process in this society. Wartofsky (1986), in examining the creation and transformation of norms of human development, reminds us that we become, in part, what we take ourselves to be. It is also fair to say that we will grow old, in part, by what we take old age to be. Seen from this perspective, it is imperative that we draw on all possible sources to formulate our views of the treasures of long life. ed from jbd.sagepub.com by guest on June 26, 2014

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