Blackburn J.A., Dulmus C.N. (Editors). Handbook of gerontology: evidence-based approaches to theory, practice, and policy

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Wiese, B. S., Freund, A. M., & Baltes, P. B. (2002). Subjective career success and emotional

well-being: Longitudinal predictive power of selection, optimization and compensa-

tion. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 321–335.

Wiese, B. S., & Schmitz, B. (2002). Action regulation at university: Application of a devel-

opmental meta-model. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psycholo-

gie, 34, 80–94.

Wrosch, C., & Heckhausen, J. (1999). Control processes before and after passing a devel-

opmental deadline: Activation and deactivation of intimate relationship goals. Journal

of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 415–427.

117

The theoretical and empirical work presented here combines insights from two projects initiated

and directed by Paul B. Baltes who passed away shortly before this book was published. We owe

many thanks especially to the following colleagues who served as coprincipal investigators during

the various phases of the two projects, in historical order: Freya Dittmann-Kohli, Roger A. Dixon,

Jacqui Smith, Ursula M. Staudinger, and Alexandra M. Freund.

CHAPTER 5

Wisdom, Life Longings, and

Optimal Development

SUSANNE SCHEIBE, UTE KUNZMANN, and PAUL B. BALTES

N THIS CHAPTER

, we present theoretical and empirical work on two relatively

novel constructs relevant for life span development: wisdom and Sehnsucht (life

longings). Both deal with positivity in its radical form, akin to psychological

utopias. Our work on these constructs was guided by the search for “new” devel-

opmental constructs that are holistic (dealing with the overall or systemic evalua-

tion and conduct of life) and life span-integrative (dealing simultaneously with

the past, the present, and the future). Our hope is that this line of inquiry aids in

capturing the complexity of lifelong development, as well as essential compo-

nents of the structure and function of psychological identity (P. B. Baltes, Linden-

berger, & Staudinger, 2006).

In the search for such holistic and life span-integrative constructs, we were in-

formed not only by related psychological work, but also by the nature of public

discourse in everyday life and the contents of studies in the humanist tradition

(Geisteswissenschaften; see Groffmann, 1970). We considered these traditions not so

much for making psychological analysis more humanist in method; rather, we as-

sumed that in these traditions there were themes and topics that psychological re-

search had shied away from because of their complexity and method constraints.

BACKGROUND

In the selection of themes and topics we considered as we attempted to identify

unchartered territory of life span development, wisdom was the first example

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(e.g., P. B. Baltes, 2004; P. B. Baltes & Smith, 1990; P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000;

Dittmann-Kohli & Baltes, 1990; Dixon & Baltes, 1986; Kunzmann & Baltes, 2005).

Similar to others (Clayton & Birren, 1980; Sternberg, 1990), we worked on a con-

ceptualization of wisdom as a utopian, ideal end point of human development. In

more recent formulations (P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000), we labeled wisdom the

perfect integration of mind and virtue.

During the past few years, we were influenced by the emerging topic of the

chronic incompleteness of life (P. B. Baltes, 1997a, 2006; P. B. Baltes & Smith,

2003). To explore this state, we added the topic of Sehnsucht (German for “longing,

yearning”) to our research agenda. The observation that themes of longing and

desire for remote or unattainable ideals often appear in fairy tales and myths, in

literature and art, in philosophical and political writings, as well as in personal

conversations suggested to us that Sehnsucht is another candidate that deserves

attention when trying to capture the deep core elements of life span continuity

and change in personality (P. B. Baltes, Freund, & Scheibe, 2002; Scheibe, Freund,

& Baltes, in press). In German culture, reference to Sehnsucht is omnipresent.

However, although we are inclined to think that the experience of Sehnsucht can

be found in most other cultures, including the American, we need to note at the

outset that there is no fully equivalent word in the English language. We have

therefore suggested the term “life longings” as a translation. It is meant to denote

a psychological phenomenon that deals with the search for and management of a

holistic and life span-integrative sense of an optimal life.

We do not claim that topics such as wisdom and life longings have been com-

pletely ignored by psychological researchers, yet up to recent times, they have not

taken center stage. For the topic of wisdom, this situation seems to be changing

(see the recent handbook by Sternberg & Jordan, 2005). One likely reason for this

omission or long-term ignoring is the comprehensive and elusive nature of such

topics, which may lead many to believe that they cannot be studied systemati-

cally and with the standards of normative psychological science. In this chapter,

we hope to convince the reader that these concepts, though certainly elusive and

difficult to study, have the potential to become part of scientific psychology. Ef-

forts in that direction, we argue, advance our understanding of optimal human

development, particularly of the ways individuals deal with the potentials, con-

straints, and contextual variations of life. As such, they also contribute to the

emerging picture of adulthood and old age as a period that is characterized not

only by loss and decline in various domains of functioning, but also by stability

and potential for further growth. In short, we are convinced—and have started to

show in our research—that wisdom and Sehnsucht can be studied empirically and

make a meaningful, if not necessary, contribution to a science of psychological

aging (P. B. Baltes, Freund, & Li, 2005).

In the following, we focus on two interrelated propositions of life span theory

that suggest the theoretical and empirical significance of topics such as wisdom

and life longings: the search for optimization (optimality) and its intimate con-

nection with the notion of chronic incompleteness as a key feature of modern life.

Next, we present our work on wisdom and life longings, focusing on their defini-

tion, defining characteristics, and operationalization. We also review evidence on

their development across the life span. Subsequently, we discuss whether the two

phenomena can be a route to optimal human development, that is, to approaching

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 119

the utopia of life. We end the chapter with a discussion of how the two lines of re-

search can be integrated to stimulate new, fruitful hypotheses about their inter-

play in the promotion of successful development and personal growth.

THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN STRIVING FOR

OPTIMALITY AND THE CHRONIC INCOMPLETENESS

OF MODERN LIVES

There are at least two essential and interlocking propositions associated with life

span theory (P. B. Baltes, 1997a; P. B. Baltes et al., 2006; P. B. Baltes & Smith, 2004)

that suggest the theoretical and empirical significance of topics such as wisdom

and life longings: first, the search for perfection (see also Tetens, 1777) and sec-

ond, the notion that modern lives are marked by a continuing and perhaps grow-

ing sense of imperfection and incompleteness (P. B. Baltes, 1997a).

The first component, the search for optimization (growth) or excellence, has

been a hallmark topic of developmental psychology (P. B. Baltes et al., 2006), espe-

cially in its child developmental tradition (Brandtstädter & Schneewind, 1977;

Lerner, 2002, 2006). For Germans, the classic historical source is the two-volume

milestone work of Tetens (1777; Groffmann, 1970; Lindenberger & Baltes, 1999).

The leading concept of Tetens was the “perfectability of man,” where he assigned

the idea of perfectability both to historical social-cultural contexts and to opti-

mizing expressions of individual lives and ontogenies.

The second component, the growing sense of the incompleteness of life, has

at least two major sources. One is the nature of ontogeny, with its shifting

age gradients of plasticity. The other likely results from a number of historic

shifts in the contexts of human development that are associated with both gains

and losses. Among the important historic trends that can be identified are in-

creased longevity, rapid technological change, and globalization (e.g., P. B. Baltes

& Freund, 2002).

First, the average length of life has substantially increased during the past cen-

tury, from about 45 years in 1990 to about 80 years in 2000 (e.g., Vaupel, 1997).

Historically speaking, therefore, “old age is young” (P. B. Baltes, 1997a, p. 367).

Although the increase in longevity is usually regarded as a positive accomplish-

ment of medical and cultural progress, there is one less obvious drawback. As

P. B. Baltes noted, neither biological nor cultural evolution has had sufficient op-

portunity to develop a satisfactory basis or scaffolding for the later parts of adult-

hood. Thus, the aging body is not very well equipped for the challenges of old age.

At the same time, many older adults have the desire for—and societal norms de-

mand—a continued active and productive participation in social life. The increas-

ing discrepancy between personal preferences and social norms on the one hand,

and the declining resources of older adults on the other, is reflected in the in-

creasing gap between the desired and actual age of older adults. When asked

about the age at which they would have liked to remain, 70-year-olds report an

age about 15 years below their actual age, and 90-year-olds report an age about 25

years below their actual age (Smith & Baltes, 1999).

Second, modern life is marked by accelerating technological change. New tech-

nologies that permit more efficient ways of producing new or better products and

services emerge at an unprecedented pace. The impact of technological change is

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not restricted to occupational life, but also affects social relationships and leisure

activities. For example, changes in telecommunications infrastructure and the ex-

pansion of the Internet have led to new forms of communication in social relation-

ships. This likely leads to a general sense that everything is changing and that

existing knowledge and skills are less and less useful. To participate efficiently in

society, lifelong learning is required, including the selective unlearning of skills

that are no longer needed, as well as the acquisition of new knowledge and skills.

An increasing trend toward globalization is a third feature of modern life.

Globalization denotes the increasing connectivity and interdependence of the

world’s markets and businesses and has been promoted by technological advances

that make it easier for people to travel, communicate, and do business internation-

ally. As economies and nations become more connected to each other, they have

increased opportunity but also increased competition. Not everybody will be able

to keep up with the increased competitive pressure and thus may be deprived of

important resources that are available to others who win the competition. Aging is

associated with a decrease in the plasticity necessary to adapt to changing envi-

ronments (e.g., Kliegl, Smith, & Baltes, 1989). Therefore, older people may be at

risk to be in the group who fail to keep up with the competitive pressure.

As emphasized earlier and according to the proposition that there is no gain

without loss and no loss without gain (P. B. Baltes, 1997a; Brandtstädter, 1984;

Labouvie-Vief, 1981), the three historical changes do not entail only progress. On

the one hand, freedom and choice options have increased dramatically. Presum-

ably, there are many more opportunities for active self-regulation and self-directed

personal growth throughout the life span than was true in earlier historical times

(Wrosch & Freund, 2001). Persons can nowadays choose among multiple possible

developmental pathways rather then following predefined developmental tracks.

On the other hand, this may go along with a loss in individuals’ sense of security

and mastery. Instead of knowing exactly what is right or wrong, persons are under

permanent pressure to select the best options and endlessly acquire new informa-

tion and skills. As P. B. Baltes and Freund (2002) note, developmental acquisitions

and outcomes are never final, but need to continuously demonstrate their adaptive

fitness. Lifelong learning is required. This is especially difficult with an aging body

that is not well equipped for the challenges of rapid change.

The result is a sense of a permanent incompleteness and imperfection of

human lives (P. B. Baltes, 1997a). As individuals move through life, they increas-

ingly realize that many goals either cannot be pursued, can be reached only

partly, or require disengagement. In addition, as people live longer and longer, it

becomes increasingly clear that development does not stop when people reach

adulthood. New tasks and problems emerge over the course of life that need to be

confronted and solved. Moreover, individuals engage in a continuing search for

personal improvement throughout the life course. As a result, the status quo is

mentally contrasted with a utopia of life.

KNOWING ABOUT THE POTENTIALS AND

CONSTRAINTS OF LIFE: WISDOM

Many psychological researchers value the investigation of individual character-

istics and processes that help adults deal with the challenges of an increasingly

complex world, including emotional intelligence, social competence, and self-

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 121

regulation (e.g., Carstensen & Turk-Charles, 1998; Freund & Baltes, 2000; Sa-

lovey, Mayer, & Caruso, 2002; Sternberg, 1999). Wisdom is a candidate that we

have considered in our own work (P. B. Baltes & Kunzmann, 2003; P. B. Baltes &

Smith, 1990; P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000; Dittmann-Kohli & Baltes, 1990;

Dixon & Baltes, 1986). At the core of this concept is the notion of a perfect, per-

haps utopian integration of knowledge and character, mind and virtue (P. B.

Baltes & Kunzmann, 2003; P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). Although the psy-

chology of wisdom is a relatively new field, several promising theoretical and

operational definitions of wisdom have been developed (for reviews see P. B.

Baltes & Staudinger, 2000; Kramer, 2000; Kunzmann & Baltes, 2005; Sternberg,

1990, 1998). In these models, wisdom is thought to be different from other

human strengths in that it facilitates an integrative and holistic approach to-

ward life’s challenges and problems—an approach that embraces past, present,

and future dimensions of phenomena, values different points of views, consid-

ers contextual variations, and acknowledges the uncertainties inherent in any

sense-making of the past, present, and future.

A second important feature of wisdom is that it involves an awareness that indi-

vidual and collective well-being are tied together so that one cannot exist without

the other. In this sense, wisdom has been said to refer to time-tested knowledge

that guides our behavior in ways that optimize productivity on the level of indi-

viduals, groups, and even society (e.g., Kramer, 2000; Sternberg, 1998).

Finally, given that wisdom has been linked to the ancient idea of a good life at

all times, its acquisition during ontogenesis may be incompatible with a hedonic

life orientation and a predominantly pleasurable, passive, and sheltered life.

Given their interest in self-realization and the maximization of a common good,

wiser people are likely to partake in behaviors that contribute to, rather than con-

sume, resources (Kunzmann & Baltes, 2003a, 2003b; Sternberg, 1998). Also, an in-

terest in understanding the significance and deeper meaning of phenomena,

including the blending of developmental gains and losses, most likely is linked to

emotional complexity (Labouvie-Vief, 1990) and to what has been called “con-

structivistic” melancholy (P. B. Baltes, 1997b).

Although there appears to be considerable agreement on several important ideas

about the definition, development, and functions of wisdom, all existing psycho-

logical wisdom models encompass their unique features. On an abstract level of de-

scription, there are two ways of studying wisdom in psychological research (P. B.

Baltes & Kunzmann, 2004). One is to focus on the nature of wise persons, that is,

their intellectual, motivational, and emotional characteristics. This work is

grounded in research on social and personality psychology (e.g., Ardelt, 2004; Erik-

son, 1980; Wink & Helson, 1997). An approach that we have pursued has been to de-

fine wisdom as a body of highly developed knowledge on the basis of relevant

psychological and cultural-historical wisdom work (e.g., P. B. Baltes & Smith, 1990;

P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000). This approach proceeds from the idea that a com-

prehensive definition of wisdom requires going beyond the individual and his or

her characteristics, simply because wisdom is an ideal rather than a state of being.

ERLIN

ISDOM

ODEL

Integrating work on the aging mind and personality, life span-developmental

theory, and cultural-historical work on wisdom, in the Berlin paradigm,

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wisdom has been defined as highly valued and outstanding expert knowledge

about dealing with fundamental, that is, existential, problems related to the

meaning and conduct of life (e.g., P. B. Baltes & Kunzmann, 2003; P. B. Baltes &

Smith, 1990; P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000; Dittmann-Kohli & Baltes, 1990;

Dixon & Baltes, 1986). These problems are typically complex and poorly defined

and have multiple, yet unknown, solutions. Deciding on a particular career

path, accepting the death of a loved one, dealing with personal mortality, and

solving long-lasting conflicts among family members exemplify the types of

problems that call for wisdom-related expertise. In contrast, more circum-

scribed everyday problems can be effectively handled by using more limited

abilities. To solve a math problem, for example, wisdom-related expertise usu-

ally is not particularly helpful.

Five criteria were developed to describe this body of knowledge in more de-

tail. Expert knowledge about the meaning and conduct of life is thought to ap-

proach wisdom if it meets all five criteria. Two criteria are labeled basic because

they are characteristic of all types of expertise: (1) rich factual knowledge about

human nature and the life course and (2) rich procedural knowledge about ways

of dealing with life problems. The three other criteria are labeled metacriteria

because they are thought to be unique to wisdom and, in addition, carry the no-

tion of being universal: (3) life span contextualism, that is, an awareness and un-

derstanding of the many contexts of life, how they relate to each other and

change over the life span; (4) value relativism and tolerance, that is, an acknowl-

edgment of individual, social, and cultural differences in values and life priori-

ties; and (5) knowledge about handling uncertainty, including the limits of one’s

own knowledge.

To test for wisdom, participants are instructed to think aloud about hypothetical

life problems. One might be: “Imagine that someone gets a call from a good friend

who says that he or she cannot go on anymore and wants to commit suicide.” An-

other problem reads: “A 15-year-old girl wants to get married right away. What

could one consider and do?” Trained raters evaluate responses to those problems by

using the five criteria that were specified as defining wisdom-related knowledge.

The assessment of wisdom-related knowledge on the basis of these criteria exhibits

satisfactory reliability and validity. For example, middle-aged and older public fig-

ures from Berlin nominated as life experienced or wise by a panel of journalists—

independently of the Berlin definition of wisdom—were among the top performers

in laboratory wisdom tasks and outperformed same-age adults who were not nom-

inated (P. B. Baltes, Staudinger, Maercker, & Smith, 1995).

EVELOPMENT OF

ISDOM ACROSS THE

IFE

PAN

The Berlin research program on wisdom has addressed a broad range of ques-

tions concerning the development of wisdom, including individual and social fac-

tors that facilitate or hinder its acquisition and refinement (for reviews, see

P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000; Kunzmann & Baltes, 2005; Staudinger, 1999).

Some of the major findings are the following.

First, and consistent with the idea that wisdom is an ideal rather than a state of

being, high levels of wisdom-related knowledge are rare. Many adults are on the

way to wisdom, but very few people approach a high level of wisdom-related

knowledge as measured by the Berlin wisdom tasks.

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 123

Second, wisdom-related knowledge seems to begin to develop during late ado-

lescence to young adulthood. Investigating a sample of 14- to 20-year-olds, Pasu-

pathi, Staudinger, and Baltes (2001) reported that wisdom-related knowledge

considerably increased in this life period. Studying older adults, however, did not

evince marked further changes for the average case. Specifically, in four studies

with a total sample size of 533 individuals ranging in age from 20 to 89 years, the

relationship between wisdom-related knowledge and chronological age was vir-

tually zero and nonsignificant (P. B. Baltes & Smith, 1990; Staudinger, 1999).

Within the limitations of cross-sectional data, this evidence suggests that, on a

group-level analysis, wisdom-related knowledge remains stable over the adult

years into the 60s and 70s. Although age-comparative studies on wisdom have

been limited to what has been called the third age (i.e., young old adults), the ev-

idence suggests that, given the absence of pathology such as dementia, some older

adults will continue to perform well on wisdom tasks beyond their 70s (for re-

views, see Kunzmann & Baltes, 2005; Staudinger, 1999).

Third, for wisdom-related knowledge and judgment to develop during the

second half of life, factors other than age are critical. The evidence suggests

that it takes a complex coalition of expertise-enhancing factors from different

domains, ranging from a person’s social-cognitive style (e.g., social intelli-

gence, openness to experience) over this person’s immediate social context

(e.g., presence of role models) to societal and cultural conditions (e.g., expo-

sure to societal transitions). Past prediction studies of wisdom suggest that

neither academic intelligence nor basic personality traits play a major role in

the development of wisdom-related knowledge during adulthood. General

life experiences, professional training and practice, certain motivational pref-

erences, such as an interest in understanding and helping others, and social-

emotional competencies, such as empathic concern, seem to be more important

(Kunzmann & Baltes, 2003a, 2003b; Smith, Staudinger, & Baltes, 1994;

Staudinger, Lopez, & Baltes, 1997; Staudinger, Smith, & Baltes, 1992). If such a

coalition of facilitating factors is present, some individuals may continue a de-

velopmental trajectory toward higher levels of wisdom-related knowledge.

Therefore, simply getting older is not a sufficient condition for the develop-

ment of higher levels of wisdom-related knowledge, and yet, older adults are

among the top performers in wisdom-related tasks.

In sum and as graphically presented in Figure 5.1, wisdom can be re-

garded as a highly developed body of knowledge about the meaning and con-

duct of life. Wisdom-related knowledge involves an awareness of the strong

interrelatedness of self and others, and it considers both the potentials and the

constraints of life.

EXPERIENCING PERSONALLY THE POTENTIALS AND

CONSTRAINTS OF LIFE: TOWARD A DEVELOPMENTAL

PSYCHOLOGY OF LIFE LONGINGS

Whereas wisdom involves generalized knowledge about human nature and the

life course, Sehnsucht (life longings) can be regarded as personalized, experiential

knowledge, and awareness of the fundamental conditions of life, including the in-

completeness and imperfection of life. It is the recurring, strong desire for ideal,

alternative states and experiences coupled with a profound feeling that life is

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incomplete. It is often assumed that Sehnsucht is associated simultaneously with

joy and sadness, producing a unique mixture of positive and negative feelings.

Sehnsucht is a prominent concept in everyday culture and the humanities, par-

ticularly in the German-speaking world. Its meaning structure is strongly influ-

enced by German literature, especially from the time of Romanticism (around

1800). Romantic poets and painters cultivated the feeling of Sehnsucht; they re-

garded it as the primary route to gaining insight into themselves and the world

(Danzer, 1998; Hogrebe, 1994). In literary circles in general, it is common to inter-

pret novels or biographies by reference to a particular Sehnsucht as that guiding

theme of the work or its main character. The popularity of Sehnsucht is illustrated

by a recent public contest of the “most beautiful German word” called by the Ger-

man Language Council: Sehnsucht was the third most often nominated (Spiegel

Online, 2004). Its popularity is further illustrated by the existence of a tea called

Moments of Longing available on the German market. The tea promises to pro-

duce a mood of longing for a distant place, for new fascinating experiences, as

“nothing is more seductive than what seems unreachable.”

The theme of Sehnsucht and longing has also been a subject of philosophical

theorizing about the human condition. Philosophers often argue that experience

itself is a desire, longing, or hope for utopian conditions (e.g., Bloch, 1959; Fichte,

1794/1962; Hegel, 1807/1927; for a discussion of longing in philosophy, see

Danzer, 1998; Hogrebe, 1994; Ravicz, 1998). For example, the German philosopher

Bloch posited that individuals are unfinished and animated by utopian dreams

Figure 5.1 Theoretical Model of the Interrelations among Optimal Human Development,

Wisdom, and Life Longings.

Optimal Human

Development

• Personalized, experiential knowledge of

ideal end states and means

• Personal experience and awareness of

the potentials and constraints of life

• Personal experience and awareness of the

strong interrelatedness of self and others

Life Longings as Personal,

Experiential Knowledge/

Recognition of the Potentials

and Constraints of Life

• General knowledge of desirable end

states and means

• General knowledge of potentials and

constraints of life

• General recognition of the strong

interrelatedness of self and others

Wisdom as General Knowledge

of the Meaning and

Conduct of Life

• Realizing potentials

• Managing constraints

and losses

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 125

of a better life. According to this position, individual and collective hopes and

longings are one of the driving forces behind personal, cultural, and historical

developments.

Such popularity indicates the importance that is allocated to emotional and

mental representations of peaks of life and unfulfilled desires, and it reflects

thoughts about the unrealizability of dreams and chronic incompleteness as core

features of lived lives. Clearly, Sehnsucht seems to be a topic of public interest that

deserves attention by psychological theory and research.

SYCHOLOGICAL

ONCEPTUALIZATION OF

IFE

ONGINGS

: A F

RAMEWORK

TRUCTURAL

HARACTERISTICS

When attempting to define and operationalize a new concept that is central in

everyday culture and the humanities, it is important to keep these perspectives in

mind. Thus, a psychological conceptualization should be sufficiently similar to

the general use of the term in everyday language and the humanities. In the dic-

tionary, Sehnsucht is defined as “a high degree of intense and often painful desire

for something, particularly if there is no hope to attain the desired or when its at-

tainment is uncertain, still far away” (Grimm & Grimm, 1854–1871/1984). Simi-

lar to Zeitgeist, Sehnsucht is difficult to translate into English. We have therefore

suggested the term “life longings” to emphasize the holistic character of Sehn-

sucht, as well as its extension across multiple domains and times of life (Scheibe

et al., in press).

Moving toward a psychology of life longings, we tried to integrate the diction-

ary definition of Sehnsucht with the general framework of life span psychology,

that is, the central assumptions and propositions about lifelong development that

have been formulated (e.g., P. B. Baltes, 1987). We also reviewed the existing

(mostly conceptual) work on the topic, including the works of Boesch (1998),

Holm (1999), Palaian (1993), Ravicz (1998), Vogt (1993), and Belk, Ger, and

Askegaard (2003). While reviewing these different perspectives, six core charac-

teristics repeatedly emerged. In a first study with 299 adults ages 18 to 91 years,

we were able to show that these six characteristics are a useful description of the

experiential gestalt or structure of life longings (Scheibe et al., in press).

The first characteristic is the observation that a central aspect of the experi-

ence of life longings is a feeling of incompleteness and a sense of imperfection of one’s

life. Life longings mean that something is missing that appears essential for a

meaningful life and that, if attained, would make life more complete (Boesch,

1998; Holm, 1999). Thus, life longings can be regarded as the experiential aware-

ness that human life is an ongoing process that in reality is never perfect and

complete.

The second aspect is related to the sense of incompleteness and refers to the

observation that life longings are directed at an idealized alternative to the im-

perfect present, that is, a personal utopia of desired alternative expressions of life.

In other words, the imperfect present is mentally contrasted with experienced,

imagined, and often counterfactual alternatives of one’s life that are idealized

and unrestricted by the limits of reality. They may represent individuals’ memo-

ries or expectations of highly positive developmental states and conceptions of

their own ideal life course or self. These utopian ideals can be approximated, but

they cannot be fully attained (Boesch, 1998).