GENERATIVITY AND THEMES OF AGENCY AND COMMUNION IN ADULT AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Theorists have suggested that generativity combines tendencies toward both agency and communion in adult lives. The highly generative adult is able to generate products that extend the self in a powerful way (a gency) and to offer those products to others with the purpose of assis ting the next generation (communion). This study examined differences between two groups of subjects, more and less generative adults, in th eir autobiographical expressions of agency and communion. Employing a new coding system for analyzing themes of agency and communion in sign ificant life-story scenes, the study revealed that highly generative a dults express greater levels of communion in their autobiographical sc enes than do less generative adults, especially with respect to the co mmunal themes of dialogue and care/help. Highly generative adults also show greater levels of agency/communion integration. However, in the agency themes alone, no significant differences between the two groups emerged.