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A third characteristic that repeatedly emerged in the literature, and that is

consistent with a life span perspective, is that life longings extend beyond the

present into the past and future. We termed this characteristic the “ontogenetic

tritime focus” of life longings. Life longings can be directed at memories of past

peak experiences (e.g., moments of intense joy, positive feelings associated with a

past life phase or place) that one desires to reexperience in the present and future.

Life longings can also be directed at peak experiences envisioned for the future.

Thus, retrospection, concurrent evaluation, and prospection are expected to oper-

ate together in creating the experience of life longings (Vogt, 1993). This does not

imply that life longings necessarily exists for or encompasses the whole life span

from childhood to old age, but they are assumed to always extend beyond the

present into the past and future.

The fourth proposed characteristic of life longings is their emotional ambiva-

lence. In the existing literature, life longings are often described as “enjoyable dis-

comfort” or “fervent desire” that may include pleasure, excitement, hope, and

energetic feelings, but also the pain of loss, frustration, and regret (Belk et al.,

2003; Boesch, 1998; Palaian, 1993). Emotional ambivalence is consistent with an

attribute fundamental to life span theory: that development is multifunctional

and always involves both gains and losses (e.g., P. B. Baltes, 1987; Brandtstädter,

1984; Labouvie-Vief, 1981). Therefore, the emotional quality of life longings is

postulated to be inherently ambivalent or bittersweet. For example, life longings

probably are pleasurable or sweet because they involve pleasant fantasies; at the

same time, they probably are unpleasant and bitter because these fantasies are

out of reach, thus producing an ambivalent, bittersweet emotional quality.

The fifth proposed characteristic of life longings is that they elicit reflective

and evaluative processes. We assume that life longings are associated with the

evaluation of one’s actual developmental state, relative to one’s lifetime and rela-

tive to personal or social standards of life quality. Self-critical reflection on the

past, present, and (expected) future, as well as an exploratory search for optimal

ways of living, are therefore expected to be part of the experience of life longings.

Finally, we assume with Boesch (1991, 1998) that life longings are rich in sym-

bolic meaning. Symbolic richness implies that life longings are more than a spe-

cific, concrete behavior or experience. Instead, specific objects or targets of life

longings should be linked to more encompassing mental and emotional represen-

tations for which they stand. A specific longing (e.g., for an embrace by a loved

one) becomes relevant for our consideration of life longings only if the mental and

emotional representations associated with this desired state are linked with a

broader configuration of thoughts and feelings that are relevant for multiple do-

mains or times of life.

Considering these six characteristics as a whole clarifies that life longings are

not fully equivalent with existing psychological concepts, such as goals, regret,

hope, or possible selves. Life longings might share single characteristics with

these other concepts, but the overlap does not extend to all six characteristics. For

example, both life longings and goals target desired states and provide a sense of

directionality in life. Different from goals, however, the object of life longings is

principally unattainable, its emotional tone is inherently ambivalent, and the de-

sired state is less concrete. Accordingly, goals are more controllable and have a

stronger influence on the structuring of everyday life (Mayser, Scheibe, & Riedi-

ger, 2006). Life longings, in contrast, are probably more important during times of

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 127

intensified life reflection, evaluation, and planning. As elaborated later in the

chapter, it seems to have important functions for giving directionality for future

development and managing losses and nonrealizability. We therefore argue that

the concept of life longings is unique and is not adequately captured by existing

psychological concepts.

SSESSMENT OF

IFE

ONGINGS

Based on the framework of the six life longing characteristics, our research group

developed a self-report procedure to assess life longings in young, middle-aged,

and old adults (Scheibe, 2005; Scheibe et al., in press). This procedure combines

idiographic and nomothetic techniques. In the idiographic part, participants are

asked to generate a list of life longings defined as “strong wishes for persons,

things, events, or experiences from your personal past, present, or future that are

intense, enduring, and not easily attainable at present.” This task is supported by

a “guided mental journey through life,” in which participants visualize different

life phases from their past, present, and future (childhood, youth, young adult-

hood, middle adulthood, old age) by imagining significant persons, places, or ex-

periences from each life phase. The procedure requires participants to reflect on

their whole life, including memories of the past and expectations and fantasies

about the future. After visualizing each life phase, participants are asked to re-

port life longings related to this phase if they have any that are still relevant

today. Subsequently, they select their three most important life longings.

Table 5.1 lists examples of life longings from different life domains reported in

the study by Scheibe et al. (in press). The reported life longings were highly stable

across a time interval of 5 weeks. When asked to generate their life longings again

after 5 weeks, 85% of participants regenerated their most important life longing,

75% regenerated their second most important life longing, and 72% regenerated

their third most important life longing. These data are a first indication that life

longings are not fleeting phenomena, but are part of persons’ self-concept and

their “personal utopia of life.”

In the nomothetic part of the task, participants rate each of their three selected

life longings on a self-report questionnaire (Scheibe et al, in press; see Table 5.2

for sample items). The questionnaire contains scales covering the six characteris-

tics defined as central for the experience of life longings (personal utopia, sense

of incompleteness, ontogenetic tritime focus, ambivalent emotions, life reflection

and evaluation, and symbolic richness) and other important characteristics (fre-

quency and intensity, functional significance, and controllability of life longings).

All scales evince acceptable internal consistencies and substantial retest stabili-

ties across 5 weeks (Scheibe et al., in press).

EVELOPMENT OF

IFE

ONGINGS ACROSS THE

IFE

PAN

When in the life course do life longings emerge, and how do they change with ad-

vancing age? The concept of life longings outlined in the present conceptualiza-

tion is a complex phenomenon with cognitive, affective, and motivational

components. Such a phenomenon is likely to involve abilities that become fully

available only in middle to late adolescence. For example, the emotionally am-

bivalent quality of life longings requires an understanding that multiple, and

Table 5.1

Examples of Life Longings in Different Life Domains

Percentage Life Domain Reported Life Longing

41 Family To found a family, without ever worrying

about money, divorce, and so on

40 Self-image/ State of mind

Lightheartedness (not having to care about

anything; being without worry, just like a child)

33 Partnership/ Intimacy/

Sexuality

A partner who is with me for the rest of my

life, who gives me warmth and security, and

who sticks by me through rough times

23 Health A life without pain that allows me to be active

again

23 Leisure/ Hobbies A journey through Europe along with the

spring! This has been my unfulfilled dream

ever since I can remember

20 Work / Occupation

Earn a doctoral degree and become head of a

company (achieve a high level of education,

work independently, and lead others)

16 Living situation/ Location The house of my dreams with a garden and a

sun terrace

15 Friendships A friend, who became a soldier during the

war. I miss him. I have never seen him again.

14 Past or future life phase/

Death and dying

My first love, apprenticeship, work: to relive

these times with the wisdom I have today

14 Financial situation To get back to a life without worry about

debts and payments

14 Political/ World situation That all people of this world live together

peacefully and respect human dignity

Note:

The sample included 299 adults, 19 to 81 years of age. Reported life longings were as-

signed to life domains by two independent raters (Cohen’s κ=.87). On an anonymous follow-up

checklist, 35% (

= 99) of participants reported having additional, “more private” life longings.

Most important categories (in descending order) were sexual experiences (

= 56), own death

(

= 22), infidelity (

= 18), revenge (

= 15), and death of others (

= 13), among others (multi-

ple endorsements were possible).

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sometimes opposite, feelings can be directed at the same target or situation, an

ability that emerges in early adolescence (Saarni, 1999). Other components of life

longings, including symbolic richness, tritime focus, and reflection and evalua-

tion, require autobiographical reasoning and memory, abilities that become fully

available only in middle to late adolescence (e.g., Bluck & Habermas, 2001; Pasu-

pathi et al., 2001; Staudinger, 2001). Therefore, we assume that the developmental

origin of life longings as defined by the six characteristics lies before adulthood,

presumably in late adolescence or early adulthood. For the majority of individu-

als, the basic structure of life longings should be established by the time adult-

hood is reached.

Similar to the developmental course of wisdom (P. B. Baltes & Staudinger,

2000), we would not expect any major age-related changes in the basic structure

Table 5.2

Sample Items From the Life Longing Questionnaire

Scale (Number of Items)

Sample Item

Structural Elaboration

Personal utopia (3 × 3) I am longing for something too perfect to be true.

Incompleteness (3 × 3) My longing means that something essential is

missing in my life.

Tritime focus (2 × 3)

My longing has to do with people, things, experi-

ences, or events ...from my past/present/future.

Ambivalent emotions (4 × 3) My longing is a bittersweet feeling.

Reflection (4 × 3) My longing makes me think a lot about the mean-

ing of my life.

Symbolic richness (3 × 3)

What I am longing for is heavily filled with meaning.

Salience (4 × 3) My longing appears . . .

very rarely

(0)/

very

often

(5).

Subjective Developmental Function

Directionality (3 × 3) My longing gives direction to my life.

Managing nonrealizab ility (3 × 3) Experiencing my longing partially compensates

for something I cannot have in reality.

Perceived Controllability

Control over life longing experience

(3 × 3)

I can always control my feelings of longing very

well.

Control over life longing realization

(3 × 3)

I am sure that I can fulfill my longing sometime.

This index indicates the number of differently worded items multiplied by the three life longings,

as persons rated each item for each of their three life longings.

Responses ranged from 0 (does not apply at all) to 5 (applies very much), except for Salience.

The indicator was derived by calculating the mean of the three items.

of life longings across the ages of adulthood. Instead, subsequent adult changes

should be determined more by factors other than chronological age, such as per-

sonality, cognitive style, motivational orientations, and life experiences. Whereas

the structure of life longings should be invariant, the content of life longings (i.e.,

the objects that persons are longing for, such as persons, places, events, or experi-

ences) are expected to change as individuals move through the stages and set-

tings of life. In addition, it is possible that adult age groups vary in terms of the

more quantitative aspects of life longings, such as its frequency and intensity,

and a sense of controllability.

Results from our study with young, middle-aged, and old adults are largely

consistent with these predictions about the developmental course of life longings

(Scheibe et al., in press). In terms of mean levels, five of the six core characteristics

of life longings (personal utopia, ontogenetic tritime focus, ambivalent emotions,

life reflection and evaluation, and symbolic richness) were invariant across adult

age groups. In contrast, feelings of the incompleteness of life associated with life

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 129

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longings decreased with age, indicating that older adults have fewer feelings that

lifeisincompleteorimperfect.Thisisconsistentwiththefindingthatolder

adults“shifthorizons”byapproximatingtheiridealandactualviewsofthem-

selves (Ryff, 1991). Stability across age groups was also found in terms of the co-

variance structure of the six characteristics (Scheibe, 2005). Considering the age

trajectories of the six core characteristics, it can be concluded that the basic, expe-

riential structure of life longings is largely stable across the ages of adulthood.

What about content differences? One possible framework to organize the con-

tents of life longings are the age-specific themes described by Erikson (1980) or

the developmental tasks outlined by Havighurst (1948). According to this frame-

work, identity is the primary topic in adolescence. Social connectedness, estab-

lishing a partnership, and occupational development are in the foreground for

young adults. Work and family, as well as the balance between the two, are in the

focus in middle adulthood, and older adults are expected to deal primarily with

health and generativity-related themes (e.g., family members, politics, and the

society at large).

For each of these tasks, our assumption is that life longings become relevant as

individuals wrestle with incompleteness and imperfection in achieving these

goals, and as they review, manage, and plan their lives as a whole. Accordingly,

life longings are expected to deal with current and past developmental themes.

The example of partnership may serve to explain this point. Finding a partner is

an important developmental task in young adulthood. This task can be expressed

as a concrete, controllable, and action-relevant goal that stimulates active goal

striving. At the same time, young adults may have a utopian and symbolically

rich image of an ideal partner that is less concrete, not fully attainable, and possi-

bly accompanied by ambivalent emotions and reflective processes, that is, a life

longing. Thus, goals and life longings can exist simultaneously in the same life

domain. In addition, life longings may be directed at past developmental tasks

that have not been (fully) achieved. Being single in middle or late adulthood may

lead to strong feelings of failure and incompleteness and, given the lower proba-

bility of establishing a satisfactory partnership in later phases of adulthood, may

give rise to a partnership-related life longing.

Age differences obtained in the Scheibe et al. (in press) study are largely con-

sistent with both of these views. Participants rated the extent to which their three

life longings were related to each of 13 thematic categories, such as health, part-

nership, and work/education. All age groups reported that their life longings

were most strongly related to physical well-being, probably because it is the pre-

condition for an active and self-determined life. Age group differences emerged,

however, in the ranks obtained for the remaining content domains. Among the

next most important content domains of life longings reported by younger adults

(19 to 39 years) were, in descending order, personal characteristics/identity, fam-

ily, and partnership. For middle-aged adults (40 to 59 years), these were family,

partnership, and personal characteristics. Hence, personal characteristics be-

came somewhat less important and received a lower rank. In older adults (60 to 81

years), family, health, and friendships obtained ranks 2, 3, and 4, respectively.

Further age differences emerged in the domains of work/education and poli-

tics/world situation. Work/education was ranked 8 and 7 in young and middle-

aged adults, respectively, but ranked only 12 in older adults, indicating the

decreasing importance of occupational development with age. Politics/world sit-

uation moved from rank 12 in young and middle-aged adults to rank 10 in older

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 131

adults, suggesting older adults’ increasing generative interest in the society at

large. These results suggest that life longings are mostly directed at current de-

velopmental themes. However, as the prevalence of identity themes in young

adults and the prevalence of partnership themes in middle-aged adults suggests,

life longings can also be directed at developmental tasks of earlier life periods.

Finally, we tested age differences in the more quantitative elements of life

longings, such as intensity, frequency, and controllability. There were no age dif-

ferences in intensity and frequency of life longings: across age groups, partici-

pants reported experiencing life longings equally frequently and intensely.

Interesting age differences emerged with regard to a sense of control over life

longings. We found that, compared to younger adults, older adults felt more able

to regulate their experience of longing (indicated by a positive age correlation),

but less able to actually fulfill their longings (indicated by a negative age correla-

tion). These findings are in conformity with the emerging picture of stable or

even improved emotional functioning and emotional control in later periods of

adulthood (e.g., Isaacowitz, Charles, & Carstensen, 2000), yet a reduced capacity

to shape the external environment according to own desires and preferences (e.g.,

Brandtstädter & Renner, 1990; Lachman & Weaver, 1998).

To summarize, we have offered a developmental conceptualization of the

phenomenon of Sehnsucht, or life longings, which was identified as a central yet

understudied concept in everyday culture and the humanities. This conceptual-

ization defines life longings as recurrent, emotionally rich mental representa-

tions of ideal, alternative states and realizations of life with six core

characteristics. Life longings involve (1) utopian (unattainable) conceptions of

ideal development; (2) a sense of the incompleteness and imperfection of life; (3)

a conjoint focus on the personal past, present, and future (tritime focus); (4) am-

bivalent emotions; (5) a sense of life reflection and evaluation; and (6) richness

in symbolic meaning. These characteristics were derived from a review of previ-

ous literature on longing and Sehnsucht, as well as basic assumptions of life span

theory. We have described a self-report assessment procedure based on this con-

ceptualization. Using this assessment procedure, we have provided evidence

that, similar to wisdom-related knowledge, the basic structure of life longings is

largely stable across the ages of adulthood. The specific targets or contents of

life longings are not fully invariant across adulthood, however. Whereas themes

of identity and occupational development are more important in younger

adults, family, health, and generativity-related themes come to the foreground

in later stages of adulthood.

Coming back to our integrative model presented in Figure 5.1, life longings can

be regarded as personalized, experiential knowledge of ideal end states and

means, the personal experience and awareness of the potentials and constraints

of life, and the personal experience and awareness of the strong interrelatedness

of self and others.

WISDOM AND LIFE LONGINGS: A

ROUTE TO PERSONAL GROWTH AND

SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT?

Can wisdom and life longings contribute to successful development, the maximal

realization of potentials, and the optimal management of constraints and losses?

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Before turning to this question, it will be useful to reflect on the criteria of suc-

cessful development.

Successful development has been operationalized in many ways, including with

subjective and objective, short- and long-term, and specific and global criteria (e.g.,

P. B. Baltes & Baltes, 1990; Freund & Riediger, 2003). Among the subjective criteria,

subjective well-being, persons’ feelings about and evaluations of the quality of

their lives, is considered as one of the most important criteria. Recently, it has be-

come common to distinguish between two different facets of subjective well-being,

one related to personal growth and the other related to happiness. For example,

McGregor and Little (1998) distinguish between happiness, which they relate to ef-

ficacy and the successful accomplishment of goals, and meaning, which they view

as integrity and the consistency of goal pursuits with the self-concept. Helson and

Srivastava (2001), in analogy to Ryff (1989), have made a distinction between envi-

ronmental mastery and personal growth. Whereas environmental mastery empha-

sizes mastery and smooth functioning within society, personal growth involves

intrapsychic differentiation, self-actualization, and independence of social norms.

Kunzmann, Stange, and Jordan (2005) have proposed a similar distinction between

hedonic and growth-related lifestyles. People with hedonic lifestyles value pleas-

ure, consumption, and entertainment. In contrast, people with growth-related

lifestyles are more likely to partake in behaviors that contribute to, rather than con-

sume, resources; they consider the welfare of others important and have an interest

in personal development. In the realm of affect regulation, Labouvie-Vief and

Medler (2002) propose two similar regulatory strategies: affect optimization (the

constraint of affect to positive values) and affect complexity (the amplification of

affect in search of differentiation and objectivity). Ideally, the two aspects of sub-

jective well-being, happiness and growth, can be integrated; however, in everyday

life, we expect that individuals often prioritize one aspect over the other given that

the behaviors involved in the pursuit of happiness are often incompatible with the

behaviors involved in a growth-related lifestyle and vice versa.

We propose that wisdom and life longings should be more strongly related to

the personal growth aspect of subjective well-being than to happiness. As out-

lined before, both phenomena deal with the potentials and constraints of life. Per-

sons high on wisdom-related knowledge are presumably motivated to understand

the complex and sometimes paradoxical nature of life; they view events and expe-

riences from multiple perspectives; and they simultaneously consider the gains

and losses inherent in any developmental change (Kunzmann & Baltes, 2003b).

Similarly, life longings involve at the same time ideal conceptions of self and devel-

opment (i.e., personal utopias of life) and a sense of incompleteness and imperfec-

tion. Therefore, persons with moderate- to high-level expressions of life longings

may be highly self-critical and have high ideals and seek to attain them. It is there-

fore unlikely that wiser persons and persons with strong life longings have an

abundance of pleasant feelings. Nevertheless, it is possible that wisdom and life

longings contribute to personal growth.

ELATION BETWEEN

ISDOM AND

UCCESSFUL

EVELOPMENT

Empirical evidence from our laboratory is consistent with the idea that wisdom is

knowledge about ways of developing oneself, not only without violating others’

rights but also with coproducing resources for others to develop (Kunzmann &

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 133

Baltes, 2003a, 2003b). In a questionnaire study we assessed wisdom-related

knowledge by our standard procedure and, in addition, measured several motiva-

tional and emotional dispositions such as value orientations (i.e., preference for a

pleasurable life, personal growth, insight, well-being of friends, environmental

protection, societal engagement), preferred modes of conflict management (i.e.,

dominance, submission, avoidance, cooperation), and affective experiences

(pleasantness, positive involvement, and negative affect).

As mentioned earlier, our specific predictions were based on the notion that

wisdom-related knowledge requires and reflects a joint concern for developing

one’s own and others’ potential (see also Sternberg, 1998). In contrast, a predomi-

nant search for self-centered pleasure and comfort should not be associated with

wisdom. Accordingly, people high on wisdom-related knowledge should report

(a) a profile of values that is oriented toward personal growth, insight, and the

well-being of others, rather than a pleasurable and comfortable life; (b) a cooper-

ative approach to managing interpersonal conflicts rather than a dominant, sub-

missive, or avoidant style; and (c) an affective structure that is process- and

environment-oriented rather than evaluative and self-centered.

The findings reported in Kunzmann and Baltes (2003b) were consistent with

our theory-guided predictions. As depicted in Figure 5.2, people with higher lev-

els of wisdom-related knowledge reported less preference for values revolving

around a pleasurable and comfortable life. Instead, they reported preferring self-

oriented values such as personal growth and insight, as well as a preference for

other-oriented values related to environmental protection, societal engagement,

and the well-being of friends. People with high levels of wisdom-related knowl-

edge also showed less preference for conflict management strategies that reflect

Figure 5.2 Wisdom-Related Knowledge and Its Association with Values, Affect, and

Interpersonal Behavior.

Note:

The evidence suggests that wisdom is incompatible with

a hedonic and self-centered life orientation.

Hedonic Values (r = −.42)

Pleasant Feelings (r = −.17)

Dominance During Interpersonal Conflict (r = −.27)

Submission During Interpersonal Conflict (r = −.26)

Common-Good/Personal Growth Orientation

Hedonic/Self-Centered Orientation

Wisdom-

Knowledge

Other-Enhancing Values (r = +.18)

Personal-Growth Values (r = +.22)

Feelings of Positive Involvement (r = +.28)

Cooperation During Interpersonal Conflict (r = +.16)

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either a one-sided concern with one’s own interests (i.e., dominance), a one-sided

concern with others’ interests (i.e., submission), or no concern at all (i.e., avoid-

ance). As predicted, they preferred a cooperative approach reflecting a joint con-

cern for one’s own and the opponent’s interests. Finally, people with high levels

of wisdom-related knowledge reported that they less frequently experience self-

centered and hedonic pleasant feelings (e.g., happiness, amusement) but more

frequently process-oriented and environment-centered positive emotions (e.g.,

interest, inspiration). Together our findings are consistent with the notion that

wisdom-related knowledge involves complexity and modulation rather than

pleasure, as well as a joint commitment to the well-being of oneself and others

(e.g., P. B. Baltes & Staudinger, 2000; Kramer, 2000; Sternberg, 1998). Neverthe-

less, our findings can be considered only a first step toward understanding how

people with different degrees of wisdom-related knowledge differ on the behav-

ioral level in specific interpersonal situations. Given the limitations of question-

naire approaches to studying behaviors (e.g., selective memory or interpretative

biases), we share the view that experimental research is needed in which people’s

actual behaviors are observed.

ELATION BETWEEN

IFE

ONGINGS AND

UCCESSFUL

EVELOPMENT

Do life longings have any functional significance for the planning, evaluation,

and management of life development, and thus contribute to successful develop-

ment? Although we are far from having a systematic theoretical account of the

functional role of life longings, we assume that this is the case. For example, we

assume that life longings may give a general sense of directionality to development

by outlining ideal life trajectories and producing powerful incentives to act to-

ward the realization of these ideals. In this sense, life longings may help to select

the most suitable developmental tracks, in which environmental demands and

support systems converge with individual motivations, skills, and biological ca-

pacity—an essential aspect of adaptive and active self-regulation (P. B. Baltes &

Baltes, 1990; Freund & Baltes, 2000).

In addition, life longings may help to regulate (irreversible) losses and unrealizable

life paths. We assume that experiences of life longings often occur together with

the insight that not all desirable goals of life can be realized. Some personal goals

that are perceived as being unlikely to be achieved may be transformed into life

longings. They have less reality status but may continue to operate on the imagi-

nary level as occasional dreamlike motivators and states of consumption. In this

sense, life longings may serve as a mechanism of managing conditions of loss,

failure, and unattainability.

Empirical data are consistent with this view (Scheibe et al., in press). Specifi-

cally, participants with high-level expressions of life longings reported that their

life longings gave them a high degree of directionality to their future develop-

ment (a key item read: “My life longing gives a direction to my life”) and helped

them to regulate losses and incompleteness (“Experiencing my life longing par-

tially compensates for something I cannot have in reality”). The latter function

was more strongly endorsed by older adults. Certainly, later stages of life bring

more and more threats to the realization of personal goals, as aging is associated

with accumulating losses (P. B. Baltes & Smith, 2003) and a shortening in the life-

time left to live (Lang & Carstensen, 2002). Therefore, using life longings as a

Wisdom, Life Longings, and Optimal Development 135

strategy to manage loss and unattainability may become increasingly important

with advancing age.

Given that life longings have at least two important functions for the planning,

evaluation, and management of life, one would expect them to be related to more

general positive developmental outcomes, such as subjective well-being. How-

ever, too much of life longings could also be an indicator of chronic incomplete-

ness and melancholy and the perception that important aspirations were not and

never will be reached. This should be particularly true for persons who have low

control over their life longings. In this vein, life longings may have costs in the

happiness aspect of subjective well-being. Expectations would be different for

personal growth. Because life longings entail the imaginary anticipation of

highly positive psychological states that surpass the status quo and elicits

processes of self-critical reflection about oneself and the human condition, they

may promote self-knowledge, creativity, and wisdom. Such links have been sug-

gested in previous writings on life longings (Boesch, 1998; Hogrebe, 1994; Vogt,

1993).

In our previous empirical work, we started to explore the relationship between

life longings and what may be considered aspects of happiness. Specifically, we

considered correlations with subjective well-being, negative affectivity, and a de-

sire for change in different life domains. We obtained negative associations: Per-

sons with high-level expressions of life longings reported lower happiness and

psychological well-being, more desire for change, and higher negative affectivity

(Scheibe et al., in press). These negative associations were lower in persons who re-

ported that they were able to influence the onset, course, and end of life longing-

related thoughts and emotions (i.e., have a high degree of subjective control over

their life longings). In fact, the negative correlations reached the range of zero as-

sociations when a high degree of control was reported. Such a finding reinforces

the important role that a sense of control plays in the conduct and evaluation of life

(M. M. Baltes & Baltes, 1986; Lachman & Bertrand, 2001).

So far, little attention has been paid to the relationship between life longings

and more typical aspects of personal growth, such as self-knowledge and creativ-

ity. Self-knowledge, for example, includes knowledge about personal preferences

and values, goals and motives, abilities and achievements, and rules and strate-

gies for regulation behavior (Markus, 1983). It is reflected in the complexity and

differentiation of self-representations (Labouvie-Vief, Chiodo, Goguen, Diehl, &

Orwoll, 1995). Life longings may promote self-knowledge because it directs atten-

tion to neglected needs and motives and makes people reflect about their present

and ideal realities of life. Research on self-knowledge and other facets of personal

growth therefore will shed light on the possible multifunctionality of life long-

ings for optimal development, comprising both benefits and costs.

ISDOM AND

IFE

ONGINGS

ONJOINTLY

ONTRIBUTE TO

UCCESSFUL

EVELOPMENT

? F

IRST

PECULATIONS

Can the two lines of inquiry on wisdom and life longings be integrated to stimu-

late new, fruitful hypotheses about their interplay in the promotion of personal

growth? It is possible that the experience of and reflection on one’s life longings

may promote the development of wisdom-related knowledge. Dreaming about

ideals and highest potentials on the one hand, and experiencing the impossibility