Generativity was first described by Erikson (1963) as an adult's concern for and commitment to promoting the welfare and development of future generations. Generativity is juxtaposed by stagnation in Erikson's stage of midlife (35-65 years old). The developmental hurdle faced at this point in the developmental cycle is whether a person will produce something of real value, both in the present and impacting future generations. Generative adults seek to give something back to society, generally behaving in a way to make the world a better place for others with no personal gain attached. The goal of the current study was to assess differences in levels of generativity at the final stage of adult life, and the potential functions that generativity can serve individuals. Results suggest that lowly generative individuals in older adult life tend to experience doubts about the impact they have had on the world and the lack of legacy they are leaving behind. Themes of highly generative participants included having felt they lived a purposeful and meaningful life, along with feeling fortunate and lucky in their lives. Also highly generative participants seemed to feel confident in the legacy they will leave behind after death. Results are discussed in light of the theories and findings of Erikson and McAdams.

The Student Performance Accomplishments Questionnaire (SPAQ) was developed and validated in two studies with two normative samples totaling 315 college students, including a subsample of undocumented students. This instrument assesses academic performance accomplishments in the context of students' academic, extracurricular, and advocacy roles. Performance accomplishments are theorized to be one of four sources of efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 1986). Study 2 tested part of the Social Cognitive Career Theory model (Lent et al., 1994) in a sample of 154 student advocates. By conventional standards, the results yielded no support for the SCCT model and suggested the need for an alternative model. Results showed that student performance accomplishments in advocacy are highly related to students' academic outcomes, particularly choice actions. Choice actions were subsequently related to career goals and academic performance. No significant differences were found between documented and undocumented students on any of the variables studied. It was found that student advocates were significantly higher in performance accomplishments in advocacy, academic self-efficacy, choice action, and academic performance in comparison to student non-advocates. Clinical and research implications of these results for the field of counseling psychology were discussed.