Author Question: Why does subjective well-being tend to increase with age? ... (Read 43 times)

mckennatimberlake · **on:** Aug 23, 2018

Why does subjective well-being tend to increase with age?

ANSWER:

Question 2

According to McAdams, how does a life story develop over time?

ANSWER:

popopong · **Reply #1 on:** Aug 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Research in neuroscience is helping to broaden our understanding of this process. The amygdala helps regulate emotion. The amygdala is an almond-shaped set of nuclei in the brain. In young adults, the arousal of the amygdala is associated with negative emotional arousal. The situation for older adults appears to be different. In older adults, both amygdala activation and emotional arousal are lower. Changes in the amygdala over time may help account for why older people experience less negative emotion, lower rates of depression, and better well-being.

Answer to Question 2

People in Western societies begin forming their life stories in late adolescence or early adulthood. However, these life stories have their roots in one's earliest attachments in infancy. Similar to Erikson, McAdams believes adolescence is the time during which an identity begins to take form and, hence, a life story begins. In early adulthood, the story is continued and refined. From midlife and beyond, it is altered and added to based on major and minor life changes. Generativity marks an attempt to create an appealing ending that will generate new beginnings for future generations.