Achievement Across the Life Span: Perspectives From the Terman Study of the Gifted

The Terman Study of the Gifted presents a unique opportunity to study the implications of achievement for life satisfaction in adulthood and aging. This article uses a life-span developmental perspective to summarize research concerning the lifetime achievement of the Terman sample, their appraisals of living up to their intellectual abilities, and their approaches to aging. A large majority of the Terman men reached high levels of occupational achievement, while the achievements of the Terman women were more varied. The historical context is important in understanding these gender differences. The participants’ appraisals of having lived up to their intellectual abilities were generally positive, and appraisals were related to lifetime achievement pattern and gender. Early knowledge of being labeled as gifted was negatively related to participants’ appraisals of their life accomplishments in adulthood. Finally, the lives of the Terman Study participants provide insight into possibilities for successful aging.

Stability and Change in Positive Self-Appraisal from Midlife to Later Aging

This research investigated stability and change in the self-appraisal of having lived up to one's abilities from midlife to later aging. The subjects were 185 participants in the Terman Study of the Gifted, who had been asked to rate themselves with respect to living up to their abilities in 1960 (at an average age of 48) and in 1996 (at an average age of nearly 85). While there was a positive relation between self-appraisal at the 2 times, net change favored a more positive appraisal in aging. Those who rated themselves positively at both times had more positive personality characteristics in early to mid-adulthood, more education, better self-rated health in midlife, somewhat higher ambition in early adulthood and midlife, and greater satisfaction with their achievement in early aging. Those who changed positively in their self-appraisal, as compared with those with a negative later self-appraisal, had somewhat better education, better self-rated health in midlife, higher level occupations, and greater satisfaction with their achievement in early aging. Self-appraisals in later aging were related to current life satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of the role of the self-concept and the self-narrative in life-span development.

The Relationship between Life Goals at Thirty and Perceptions of Goal Attainment and Life Satisfaction at Seventy for Gifted Men and Women

This article examines the relationship between life goals at thirty and perceptions of goal attainment, happiness, and life satisfaction at seventy for gifted men and women. Respondents were members of the Terman Study of the Gifted. Men and women differed in life goals at age thirty, with men predominantly oriented toward occupational pursuit, and women predominantly oriented toward home and family life. Results showed a significant sex difference in feelings of goal attainment at age seventy, with men reporting greater attainment. Women with occupational goals at age thirty reported lower feelings of goal attainment at age seventy than women without such goals. For men, a positive relationship was found between satisfaction and happiness at age seventy and feelings of goal attainment. For women, these relationships varied according to life goals at age thirty. The implications of these results are discussed.