A comparison of personal project motives in three age groups

In 2 cross-sectional studies, adolescent, middle-age, and older adults were asked to describe their personal projects and give reasons for their involvement in them. These purposes were then coded into 4 motivational categories. The motive to acquire, the desire to obtain a future positive outcome, characterized the highest percentage of purposes in all 3 groups, accompanied by a stepwise decline in its prevalence in the middle-age and older groups. Keep, the motive to avoid losing an existing positive condition, was more characteristic of the older group than the 2 younger groups. The desire to cure an existing negative condition rose in the middle-age group in Study 1, but not in Study 2. The intention to prevent a negative outcome showed no significant trends.