PAUL BALTES By Shwetha and James.

Ageing Successfully Paul Baltes was a German psychologist who introduced the concept of successful aging. (Also called, successful development.) Baltes says that successful aging occur when a very old person maximises and attains positive outcomes while minimising and avoiding negative outcomes. In the process of maximising positive outcomes, the individual uses strategies to continue to develop their skills to their full potential. For example: A person of old age who has the ability to be a skilled writer may choose to continue to read widely, do brain teasers such as crossword puzzles and write letters to daily newspapers on concerned issues or write articles for community organisations which they may become involved in.

Baltes’ Selection, Optimisation and Compensation Theory. Baltes constructed a theory to describe and explain how ageing successfully can be achieved. His theory is called the ‘Selection, Optimisation and Compensation theory (SOC)’.

What is selection? Selection is reducing the number of goals one might seek to achieve to prioritising and working towards achieving only the important of those goals. Eg. Developing friendships within a retirement village, shortly after you have moved there, can be an individual’s goal.

What is optimisation? Optimisation is how an older person seeks to get the best outcome in whatever they do by making the most of their abilities, resources and opportunities. Eg. If a very old person wanted to prepare a dinner for a family member’s birthday, they might choose simple recipes or something that they cooked before.

What is compensation? Compensation is making up for any losses experienced in one’s abilities by developing new strategies to substitute for each of these losses. Eg. When an individuals partner has passed away, they usually have their own ways to cope with being on their own.

According to Baltes, people who follow his SOC theory are usually able to successfully adapt to the changes that they experience through ageing. It is shown that people who have followed his theory are generally happier with their lives because they are contributing to their own successful ageing.

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