Goals and everyday problem solving: examining the link between age-related goals and problem-solving strategy use.
Qualitative interviews on family and financial problems from 332 adolescents, young, middle-aged, and older adults, demonstrated that developmentally relevant goals predicted problem-solving strategy use over and above problem domain. Four focal goals concerned autonomy, generativity, maintaining good relationships with others, and changing another person. We examined both self- and other-focused problem-solving strategies. Autonomy goals were associated with self-focused instrumental problem solving and generative goals were related to other-focused instrumental problem solving in family and financial problems. Goals of changing another person were related to other-focused instrumental problem solving in the family domain only. The match between goals and strategies, an indicator of problem-solving adaptiveness, showed that young individuals displayed the greatest match between autonomy goals and self-focused problem solving, whereas older adults showed a greater match between generative goals and other-focused problem solving. Findings speak to the importance of considering goals in investigations of age-related differences in everyday problem solving.
Hoppmann
Christiane A
CA
Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Psychology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. ch295@mail.gatech.edu
Coats
Abby Heckman
AH
Blanchard-Fields
Fredda
F
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003405:Creativity; D004644:Emotions; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011340:Problem Solving