How do changes in life expectancy and longevity affect life-span development? This paper argues that historical increases in life expectancy primarily have an impact on the later and less on the earlier parts of the life span. Increased life expectancy is both a challenge and an opportunity for positive development. A perspective is outlined according to which self-regulation is a key factor for successful aging. Assuming a compensatory relationship of social norms/expectations and self-regulation for developmental regulation, processes such as setting, pursuing, and disengaging from personal goals should be particularly important in old age, a life phase that is characterized by being less normatively structured than younger phases. This argument is elaborated in the domains of social relations, leisure, and work.

Research related to subjective aging, which describes how individuals perceive, interpret, and evaluate their own aging, has substantially grown in the past 2 decades. Evidence from longitudinal studies shows that subjective aging predicts health, quality of life, and functioning in later life. However, the existing literature on successful aging has mostly neglected the role of subjective aging. This paper proposes an extended framework of successful aging linking subjective aging conceptually and empirically to Rowe and Kahn’s ((1997). Successful aging. Gerontologist, 37(4), 433–440) 3 original key criteria of successful aging (i.e., avoiding disease and disability, maintaining high cognitive and physical function, and engagement with life). A particular focus is placed on subjective aging as an antecedent of successful aging. A review of the empirical subjective aging literature shows that subjective aging concepts consistently predict all 3 of Rowe and Kahn’s criteria of successful aging. Mechanisms underlying these relations are discussed at 3 levels, namely psychological, behavioral, and physiological pathways. The proposed addition also takes into consideration the interconnections between subjective aging and successful aging throughout the life span and across historical time. Finally, we discuss the importance of facilitating successful aging through systematic interventions that support more positive views of aging at the individual and societal levels.

To date, most explanations of adult social development within the field of psychology assume universal age-related processes. The majority of these explanations, however, stem from studies on a limited number of cohorts that were socialized in specific social contexts. As a consequence, the current knowledge on adult social development confounds age-related and contextual influences. We argue that it is essential to disentangle these influences to better understand adult social development. In this article, we apply the theoretical framework of developmental contextualism and provide explanations for adult social development that are firmly based on the sociohistorical context that a cohort experienced during young adulthood. This hypothesis is discussed with the example of romantic relationships. We argue that the relatively strong value that today's older adults ascribe to close social ties might be rooted in experiences of limited life-path options, existential concerns, and stressful historical events (i.e., Great Depression, World War II, postwar era) during their young-adult years. Today's young adults, conversely, are socialized in rapidly changing social structures with increasing diversity in life-path options and in relative security with regard to basic material and security needs. We explore how these experiences might shape the future social development of today's young adults with respect to relationship contexts (e.g., living arrangements, digitalization) and relationship needs (e.g., exploration, self-actualization). We conclude with theoretical and methodological recommendations for future research that will be amply equipped to systematically investigate both age-related and contextual influences that drive development in any previous, present, and forthcoming cohort. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).