Motivation and emotion/Book/2026/Generativity

Generativity:
What is generativity and how does it impact behaviour and life outcomes?

Overview

Figure 1. Use a captioned image to illustrate the scenario Imagine this... You're sitting next to a friend in a bar. They're telling you all about this new network software they created and how it's going to completely change the future of social networking. As they talk, you reflect on your own achievements and wonder why they don't seem to live up to the same standard. You watch people drawn to the atmosphere of your friend and in turn, begin to feel a internalised isolation. This feeling is an example of stagnation-- the opposite to generativity in Erikson's theory of Pyschosicial Development. For the topic development, the scenario can be planned using bullet-points. Feature box colour To change the feature-box colour: Select Edit source Find theme=3 Change 3 to another theme number

1. Scenario: A short, engaging case study or real-world example in a feature box, with an accompanying image (see above)
2. Explanation of the problem, issue, or topic: Brief explanation of the problem, why it is important, and an outline of how psychological science can help
3. Focus questions: Unpack the sub-title into focus questions in a feature box

Generativity is the innate human desire to contribute to society by froming long lasting connections with other people. In Erikson's theory , this stage of development occures somewhere in the middle adult life, when people's minds may focus more heavily on generations coming after them, as opposed to just theirs.

Understanding the importance of generativity is vital for maintaining a life of wellness. Lacking generativity results in feelings of disconnection, isolation and loneliness, as demonstrated in the above scenario. On top of maintaining overall wellness, individuals with higher rates of generativity are similar more motivated to increase it. Sort of a 'have your cake and eat it to' moment. Wanting to positively impact the lives of people around you will drive you towards building stronger communities and relationships, ergo feelings of fulfillment and belonging, ergo, a stronger drive for generativity etc.

Focus questions Break the sub-title down into three to five focus questions. Align the top-level headings with these focus questions. How can generativity increase motivation? How does motivation lead to a stronger sense of belonging within a community? How does a sense of belonging in a community impact mental wellness How does mental wellness translate to increased generativity? Ask open-ended questions. For example: N Is there a relationship between weather and criminal behaviour? (closed-ended) Y What is the relationship between weather and criminal behaviour? (open-ended)

Headings

Each chapter should use this standard heading structure:

• Overview
• 3 to 6 major headings tailored to the topic; can have sub-headings:
  • avoid sections with only one sub-heading (use 0 or 2+ sub-headings)
  • provide an introductory paragraph before breaking into sub-sections
• Conclusion
• See also
• References
• External links

Generativity and Motivation

Generativity and motivation are interlinked through social necessity in the human species.

Finding purpose

Ashirani et al. found that purpose in life is vitally important for wellbeing. AshaRani PV, Lai D, Koh J, Subramaniam M. Purpose in Life in Older Adults: A Systematic Review on Conceptualization, Measures, and Determinants. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 11;19(10):5860. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19105860. PMID: 35627396; PMCID: PMC9141815.

Villar F, Zacarés JJ, Jatahy C, Pinazo-Hernandis S. Generativity among older adults who became disabled early in life: Helping oneself through contributing to others. J Aging Stud. 2026 Mar;76:101404. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2026.101404. Epub 2026 Jan 28. PMID: 41796584. Supported this in finding that generativity (offering purpose) is benefial in maintaining high quality of life.

Feelings of Usefulness

"These findings provide insight into how the brain supports social behavior and, separately, purpose in life in at-risk aging." Walker CS, Li L, Baracchini G, Tremblay-Mercier J, Spreng RN; PREVENT-AD Research Group; Geddes MR. The influence of generativity on purpose in life is mediated by social support and moderated by prefrontal functional connectivity in at-risk older adults. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Sep 21:2023.02.26.530089. doi: 10.1101/2023.02.26.530089. PMID: 36909532; PMCID: PMC10002691.

This found that feeling useful carries psychological significance. Gottlieb BH, Sevigny A. Social Usefulness: Theory and Evidence Concerning a Late Life Identity Construct. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2016 Oct;83(4):333-65. doi: 10.1177/0091415016655165. Epub 2016 Jun 28. PMID: 27357304.

Motivation and Community

Social support is vital in developing and mainting motivation in all aspects of life.

Participation and impact

Roman C, Duckworth A, White R. DEAR ANNA AND AL: GIVING ADVICE INCREASES OLDER ADULTS’ SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING. Innov Aging. 2017 Jun 30;1(Suppl 1):1182. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.4307. PMCID: PMC6183131. Found that adults giving advice to others greatly improved the quality of life as they aged.

Gruenewald TL, Liao DH, Seeman TE. Contributing to others, contributing to oneself: perceptions of generativity and health in later life. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012 Nov;67(6):660-5. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbs034. Epub 2012 Mar 27. PMID: 22454386; PMCID: PMC3478723. Found that increased generativity reduced the risks of age related disability in older adults.

Building meaningful community

Jongenelis MI, Jackson B, Warburton J, Newton RU, Pettigrew S. Aspects of formal volunteering that contribute to favourable psychological outcomes in older adults. Eur J Ageing. 2021 Apr 18;19(1):107-116. doi: 10.1007/s10433-021-00618-6. PMID: 35250422; PMCID: PMC8881533. Suggested that active motivated engagment in the community increased psychological wellbeing and resources.

Community and Wellness

This ties in to the human need for community to improve wellness.

Social Support

Simionato J, Vally H, Archibald D. Circumstances that promote social connectedness in older adults participating in intergenerational programmes with adolescents: a realist review. BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 17;13(10):e069765. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069765. PMID: 37848294; PMCID: PMC10583064.

Wellness and Generativity

Increased wellness increased generativity and so on. Ran out of time for this section.

Increase capacity to return

An increased capacity to give back to the community that has nurtured the individual.

Maintaining a positive cycle

Encouraging future generations to be generative when they are older.

Figures

Figure 2. How you'll look if you're generative

• For the topic development, use at least one figure (even if not ideal) to show that you know how to embed, caption, and cite a figure; this can be the figure in the scenario
• For the book chapter, use several figures to illustrate concepts, add interest, and to serve as examples
• Images must be embedded from Wikimedia Commons which hosts free-to-use media such as photos, diagrams, graphs, video, and audio
• Images can be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons if they are openly licensed
• Embed figures throughout the chapter, starting with the scenario in the Overview section
• Provide descriptive figure captions (use Figure # and explain the relevance of the image to the text)
• Cite each figure at least once in the main text (e.g., see Figure 2)

Learning features

Table 1

The 2 x 2 Generative Stagnancy model to demonstrate the impact on overall wellness

	Wellness	Decline
Generative	Yes	No
Stagnancy	No	Yes

Quizzes

1

When observing a friend discussing their achievements and you feel a sense of isolation, this is called?:

	Stagnance
	Supplicant

2

Having a desire to improve the lives of others is easy for everyone?:

	True
	False

Conclusion

• Arguably the most important section
• Provide at least three bullet-points for this section even at the topic development stage, based on preliminary thinking
• For the book chapter, develop clear take-home message(s) that address the focus questions based on psychological theory and research
• Together, the Overview and Conclusion should summarise the problem, its significance, and how psychological science contributes to understanding and addressing this problem
• Recommended length: 150 to 330 words

Suggestions for this section: What is the answer to the sub-title question based on psychological theory and research? What are the answers to the focus questions? What are the practical, take-home messages?

See also

• Generativity (Book chapter, 2025)

Motivation and emotion/Book/2013/Intrinsic motivation

Motivation and emotion/Tutorials/Physiological needs

Suggestions for this section: Link to the most relevant internal resources about the topic Include the source in parentheses

References

Provide the references for all citations in APA style (7th ed.) or wiki style. Alternatively, you can use wiki style (as used on Wikipedia), as long as the information is complete and the formatting is consistent.

APA style example:

Cherry, K. (2024, July 14). Generativity vs. stagnation in psychosocial development. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/generativity-versus-stagnation-2795734

McAdams, D. P., & Logan, R. L. (2004). What is generativity? In E. de St. Aubin, D. P. McAdams, & T.-C. Kim (Eds.), The generative society: Caring for future generations (pp. 15–31). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10622-002

McAdams, D. P., de St. Aubin, E., & Logan, R. L. (1993). Generativity among young, midlife, and older adults. Psychology and Aging, 8(2), 221–230. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.8.2.221 Ashirani et al. found that purpose in life is vitally important for wellbeing. AshaRani PV, Lai D, Koh J, Subramaniam M. Purpose in Life in Older Adults: A Systematic Review on Conceptualization, Measures, and Determinants. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 11;19(10):5860. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19105860. PMID: 35627396; PMCID: PMC9141815.

Villar F, Zacarés JJ, Jatahy C, Pinazo-Hernandis S. Generativity among older adults who became disabled early in life: Helping oneself through contributing to others. J Aging Stud. 2026 Mar;76:101404. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2026.101404. Epub 2026 Jan 28. PMID: 41796584. Supported this in finding that generativity (offering purpose) is benefial in maintaining high quality of life.

Walker CS, Li L, Baracchini G, Tremblay-Mercier J, Spreng RN; PREVENT-AD Research Group; Geddes MR. The influence of generativity on purpose in life is mediated by social support and moderated by prefrontal functional connectivity in at-risk older adults. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Sep 21:2023.02.26.530089. doi: 10.1101/2023.02.26.530089. PMID: 36909532; PMCID: PMC10002691.

This found that feeling useful carries psychological significance. Gottlieb BH, Sevigny A. Social Usefulness: Theory and Evidence Concerning a Late Life Identity Construct. Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2016 Oct;83(4):333-65. doi: 10.1177/0091415016655165. Epub 2016 Jun 28. PMID: 27357304.

Roman C, Duckworth A, White R. DEAR ANNA AND AL: GIVING ADVICE INCREASES OLDER ADULTS’ SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING. Innov Aging. 2017 Jun 30;1(Suppl 1):1182. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igx004.4307. PMCID: PMC6183131. Found that adults giving advice to others greatly improved the quality of life as they aged.

Gruenewald TL, Liao DH, Seeman TE. Contributing to others, contributing to oneself: perceptions of generativity and health in later life. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2012 Nov;67(6):660-5. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbs034. Epub 2012 Mar 27. PMID: 22454386; PMCID: PMC3478723. Found that increased generativity reduced the risks of age related disability in older adults.

Jongenelis MI, Jackson B, Warburton J, Newton RU, Pettigrew S. Aspects of formal volunteering that contribute to favourable psychological outcomes in older adults. Eur J Ageing. 2021 Apr 18;19(1):107-116. doi: 10.1007/s10433-021-00618-6. PMID: 35250422; PMCID: PMC8881533. Suggested that active motivated engagment in the community increased psychological wellbeing and resources.

Simionato J, Vally H, Archibald D. Circumstances that promote social connectedness in older adults participating in intergenerational programmes with adolescents: a realist review. BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 17;13(10):e069765. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069765. PMID: 37848294; PMCID: PMC10583064.

Suggestions for this section: Important aspects of APA referencing style Author surname, followed by a comma, then the author initials separated by full stops and spaces Year of publication in parentheses Title of work in lower case (except first letter and proper names), ending in a full-stop Journal title in italics, volume number in italics, issue number in parentheses, first and last page numbers separated by an en-dash(–), followed by a full-stop doi as a URL which is a working hyperlink (i.e., clickable) Hanging indent: Wrap the set of references in the hanging indent template: Use "Edit source" {{Hanging indent|1= the full list of references}} The most common mistakes include: Incorrect capitalisation Incorrect italicisation dois which aren't clickable as working hyperlinks Citing sources that haven't been consulted

External links

External links to highly relevant resources such as podcasts and videos, news articles, and professional sites. Use sentence casing and alphabetical order. For example:

• Six top tips for writing a great essay (University of Melbourne)
• The importance of structure (skillsyouneed.com)

Suggestions for this section: Link to the most relevant external resources about the topic Include the source in parentheses after the link