It is argued that ego analytic, disengagement, and symbolic interaction theories of personality share an insufficient consideration of the dynamics of the interaction between developmental and social forces transpiring during the aging period. An alternative, transactional model is proposed. (Author)

Most personality theories of the aging devote insufficient consideration to the social learning transpiring during the aging period and to the dynamics of the interaction between developmental and social forces. Erikson emphasized the formulation of a philosophical verdict on one's earlier experiences. Similarly, in Neugarten's version of the…