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12 Life Task Participation and Well-Being: The Importance of Taking Part in Daily Life Nancy Cantor and Catherine A. Sanderson This chapter posits that individuals' sustained participation in personally and culturally valued tasks that change across the life course enhances wellbeing , and in fact that such participation has benefits above and beyond the direct effects of both personal traits (such as extraversion) and tangible resources (such as wealth). First, we show that the type ofparticipation matters, because the strength of the link between participation and well-being depends on the specific tasks on which individuals are working. Specifically, well-being should be enhanced when individuals are able to pursue their distinct personal goals in ways that are intrinsically valued and autonomously chosen, approached at a feasible level, and facilitated in their daily life context. Wellbeing may also, however, depend on the presence of various social, personal, and tangible resources, which increase individuals' likelihood of participating in various tasks. In the second part ofour model, we describe the role ofthese resources in keeping individuals vigilant as they find new ways to participate and thereby gain well-being, in facilitating intense participation, and in motivating continued participation in the face of threat or frustration. Finally, we show that because changes occur in both the opportunities for participation across the life span and the value various subcultures place on specific types of task pursuit, individuals need to be able to adapt to these changing opportunities in order to experience well-being (for example, by taking on the "right" tasks at the "right" time). Although finding new ways to participate can present a challenge for individuals , it also presents new opportunities for experiencing well-being. (For example, after retirement individuals can replace their occupational participation with social participation.) This model therefore provides a partial counter to adaptation level phenomena (see, for example, Brickman and Campbell 's [1971] hedonic treadmill) by suggesting that because individuals are forced to participate in new tasks across the life course, they can experience wellbeing in different ways. Scholars from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, economics , and philosophy, have examined the importance of what individuals are trying to do in their daily lives as critical to well-being (cf Brickman and Coates 1987; Durkheim 1933; Havighurst 1960; Rubin 1976; Ryff1993; Sen 1980). This emphasis on the advantages for well-being of taking part in daily life is reflected in Allport's (1937) traditional distinction between the "having" and "doing" side ofpersonality (see also Adler's [1929J style oflife and social interest). Individuals need to develop the "doing" side ofpersonality, namely, by being committed to various goals, roles, and activities , perhaps as much as they need to "have" the tangible resources and personal dispositions commonly believed (and often observed) to bring happiness (Cantor 1990, 1994; Snyder 1993). This may in fact be part ofthe reason why commitments such as marriage, religion, and career involvement are associated with overall life satisfaction (Batson and Ventis 1982; Kessler and Essex 1982). In this chapter , we take a multidimensional perspective on the meaning of valued activities. On the one hand, valued activities can refer to those tasks that are specified by a particular sociocultural context (Erikson 1950; Havighurst 1972), as well as those tasks that individuals find personally rewarding (Emmons 1986; Klinger 1975). In fact, the lifetask literature posits that activities that are both culturally specified and personally meaningful are particularly valued (for example, doing the right task at the right time; see Cantor 1990). On the other hand, tasks that are associated with self-directed motives and positive affect are also likely to be valued. For example, Csikszentmihalyi's (1975, 1990) research describes how the pursuit ofintrinsically motivating, desired tasks is associated with great satisfaction ("flow") (see also Kasser and Ryan 1993). In this way, valued activities can refer to those tasks that are culturally valued, personally valued, and/or intrinsically rewarding. The opportunity to take part in such valued activities Life Task Participation and Well-Being 231 across the life span has been shown to contribute to well-being above and beyond the effects of ((having» various material, personal, and social resources (Harlow and Cantor 1996). Sen)s (1980) focus on assessing quality of life and well-being in terms of what a person manages to do or be-the valued functionings he or she can achiel'e-in leading a life exemplifies this perspective. Furthermore, considerable research has shown that the pursuit and the progression toward valued goals are...

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