ity . Bühler sees the last phase of life as one of decline; Erikson sees it as
the time for the development of wisdom. Levinson puts age limits onhis stages of adult change; Neugarten hypothesizes a steady increase ininteriority . The view that age brings maturation in forms of defense(Vaillant, 1977) conflicts with the conclusion that older people employprimitive defenses in dealing with stress (Pfeiffer, 1977). When observ -
ers from a dozen different perspectives see the same phenomenon, we
begin to believe it is really there. When everyone reports something dif -
ferent, it is hard to know how to interpret it. And that is the time to turn
away from personal impressions and look at the facts.Facts and Theories of Adult Development 19