The proposed research examines everyday problem-solving in a social context in adulthood and aging. Although there is evidence to suggest that developmental differences in problems solving are amplified in emotionally laden contexts, they are conflicting views as to the nature of these differences. In order to further examine age-related differences in everyday problem-solving, context effects such as domain specificity of the problem, emotional salience, age-relevance of the problem, and various forms of problem appraisal will be examined jointly. Initial studies will generate a large and representative sampling of both problem situations and strategies within domains of social and instrumental problem-solving. This will be followed by a series of studies systematically examining the above context effects. A second goal is to examine the joint relationship between different forms of problem-solving (abstract reasoning, activities of daily living, epistemic reasoning, and social problem-solving) with respect to differential developmental patterns in adulthood. Finally, individual differences in cognitive abilities, beliefs, response styles, and ego level will be related to differences in everyday problem solving. In this way developmental changes in everyday problem-solving can be clarified by understanding individual differences in relevant variables. The immediate aim of this 5-year project is to examine everyday problem- solving in social and instrumental contexts in relation to emotional salience, problem appraisal, and individual differences. The long-term perspective yields ways of assessing successful aging in social everyday problem-solving situations as well as implications for adaptive coping in adulthood.
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