The aim of this article is to deal with the lack of concreteness in current theories about life projects and solution-focused activities regarding the capabilities and life skills through which such prospective life activities may be performed. A taxonomical model of domain- and level-specific generic and general human life task/life skill units will be outlined. This model is rooted in social and psychological domains given by prototypical theories in the field, and the article discusses how such a model, if implemented as an intervention tool in education, mentoring and counseling, may help avoid the pitfalls of ontological reductionism, system colonization, and essentialism.
BakanD. (1966). The duality of human existence: Isolation and communion in Western man. Beacon Press.
5.
BanduraA. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Freeman.
6.
BanduraA. (2002). Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Moral Education, 31(2), 101–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305724022014322
7.
Baron-CohenS. (1991). Precursors to a theory of mind: Understanding attention in others. In WhitenA. (Ed.), Natural theories of mind: Evolution, development, and simulation of everyday mindreading. Blackwell.
8.
BatemanA. W.FonagyP. (2006). Mechanisms of change in mentalization-based therapy of BPD. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(4), 411–430. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20241
9.
BatesonG. (1972). Steps to an ecology of mind. University of Chicago Press.
10.
BatesonG. (1979). Mind and nature: A necessary unity. Hampton Press.
11.
BaumanZ. (2000). Liquid modernity. Blackwell.
12.
BaumanZ. (2001). Community: Seeking safety in an insecure world. Polity Press.
13.
BaumeisterR. (2016). Collective prospection: The social construction of the future. In SeligmanM. E. P.RailtonP.BaumeisterR. F.SripadaC. (Eds.), Homo prospectus (pp. 133–153). Oxford University Press.
14.
BaumeisterR. F.BushmanB. J. (2011). Social psychology and human nature. Wadsforth.
15.
BaumeisterR. F.LearyM. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivator. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497
16.
BengtssonJ. (2013). With the lifeworld as ground: A research approach for empirical research in education—The Gothenburg tradition. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 13(Suppl. 1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.2989/ipjp.2013.13.2.3.1177
17.
BergerP. L.LuckmannT. (1967). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Anchor Books.
18.
BertelsenP. (1993). The psychodynamics of activities and life projects. In EngelstedN.HedegaardM.KarpatchofB.MortensenA. (Eds.), The societal subject (pp. 83–107). Aarhus University Press.
19.
BertelsenP. (1994). Tilværelsesprojektet: Det menneskeliges niveauer belyst i den terapeutiske proces [The life project: Levels of humanity in terms of the therapeutic process]. Dansk Psykologisk Forlag.
20.
BertelsenP. (2005). Free will, consciousness and self: Anthropological perspectives on psychology. Berghahn Books.
21.
BertelsenP. (2009). Value formation of basic anthropological connectivities: A general political psychological model. Theory & Psychology, 19(5), 600–623. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309341920
22.
BertelsenP. (2010). Tilværelsesprojekter og tilværelsespsykologi [Life projects and life psychology]. In BertelsenP. (Ed.), Aktør i eget liv: Om at hjælpe mennesker på kanten af tilværelsen (pp. 15–61). Frydenlund.
23.
BertelsenP. (2012). Intentional activity and free will as core concepts in criminal law and psychology. Theory & Psychology, 22(1), 44–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354310384759
24.
BertelsenP. (2013). Tilværelsespsykologi: Et godt nok greb om tilværelsen [Life psychology: A good enough grip on life]. Frydenlund.
25.
BertelsenP. (2018). Mentoring in anti-radicalisation. LGT: A systematic assessment, intervention and supervision tool in mentoring. In OverlandG.AndersenA.FørdeK. E.GrødumK.SalomonsenJ. (Eds.), Violent extremism in the 21st century: International perspectives (pp. 312–354). Cambridge Scholars.
26.
BertelsenP.OzerS.FaberP.JacobsenA. S.Lund-LaursenT. (2020). High school students’ grip on life and education: High school students’ self-administered work with a life mastering method. Nordic Psychology, 72(4), 265–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/19012276.2019.1690557
27.
BiestaG. (2014). The beautiful risk of education. Routledge.
28.
BloomJ. W. (2004). Patterns that connect: Rethinking our approach to learning, teaching and curriculum. Curriculum and Teaching, 19(1), 5–26. https://doi.org/10.7459/ct/19.1.02
29.
BloomP. (2016). Against empathy: The case for rational compassion. HarperCollins.
30.
BowlbyJ. (1989). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. Routledge.
31.
BrdarI.RijavecM.MiljkovicD. (2009). Life goals and well-being: Are extrinsic aspirations always detrimental to well-being?Psychological Topics, 18(2), 317–334.
BukowskiM.FritscheI.GuinoteA.KoftaM. (Eds.). (2017). Coping with lack of control in a social world. Routledge.
35.
CantorN.NoremJ. K.NiedenthalP. M.LangstonC. A.BrowerA. M. (1987). Life tasks, self-concept ideals, and cognitive strategies in a life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1178–1191. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.53.6.1178
de ShazerS.DolanY. (with KormanH.TrepperT.McCollumE.BergI. K.). (2007). More than miracles: The state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy. Routledge.
EmmecheC.KøppeS.StjernfeltF. (1997). Explaining emergence: Towards an ontology of levels. Journal of General Philosophy of Science, 28, 83–117. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1008216127933
47.
EmmecheC.KøppeS.StjernfeltF. (1998). Levels, emergence and three versions of downward causation. In Bøgh AndersenP.EmmecheC.FinnemannN. O.Voetmann ChristiansenP. (Eds.), Downward causation—Minds, bodies and matter (pp. 13–34). Kluwer Academic.
48.
EmmonsR. A. (1986). Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(5), 1058–1068. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.5.1058
HabermasJ. (1984). The theory of communicative action. Beacon Press.
58.
HabermasJ. (1989). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. MIT Press.
59.
HarréR.MoghaddamF. M.Pilkerton CairnieT.RothbartD.SabatS. R. (2009). Recent advances in positioning theory. Theory & Psychology, 19(1), 5–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354308101417
60.
HarréR.van LangenhoveL. (1999a). The dynamics of social episodes. In HarréR.van LangenhoveL. (Eds.), Positioning theory: Moral contexts of intentional action (pp. 1–13). Blackwell.
61.
HarréR.van LangenhoveL. (Eds.). (1999b). Positioning theory: Moral contexts of intentional action. Blackwell.
62.
HayesS. C.StrosahlK. D.WilsonK. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change. The Guilford Press.
63.
HeideggerM. (1967). Being and time. John Wiley & Sons.
64.
HeldD. (2005). Models of democracy. Polity Press.
65.
HowieD.PetersM. (1996). Positioning theory: Vygotsky, Wittgenstein and social constructionist psychology. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 26(1), 51–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5914.1996.tb00285.x
66.
HusserlE. (1989). The crisis of European sciences and transcendental phenomenology: An introduction to phenomenological philosophy. Northwestern University Press. (Original work published 1936)
67.
JonesR. (1999). Direct perception and symbol forming in positioning. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 29(1), 37–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00090
68.
Juul-JensenU. (1998). Sygdomsbegreber i praksis [Practical concepts of disease]. Munksgaard.
69.
KasserT.RyanR. M. (2001). Be careful what you wish for: Optimal functioning and the relative attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. In SchmukP.SheldonK. M. (Eds.), Life goals and well-being: Towards a positive psychology of human striving (pp. 116–131). Hogrefe & Huber.
70.
KlafkiW. (2007). Neue Studien zur Bildungstheorie und Didaktik: Zeitgemäße Allgemeinbildung und kritisch-konstruktive Didaktik [New studies in education and pedagogy: General education and critical-constructive pedagogy]. Beltz Verlag.
71.
KohutH. (1959). Introspection, empathy, and psychoanalysis—An examination of the relationship between mode of observation and theory. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 7(3), 459–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/000306515900700304
72.
KohutH. (1977). The restoration of the self. Chicago University Press.
73.
KymlicaW. (2002). Contemporary political philosophy. An introduction. Oxford University Press.
74.
LeontevA. (1978). Activity, consciousness, and personality. Prentice Hall.
75.
LinehanC.McCarthyJ. (2000). Positioning in practice: Understanding participation in the social world. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30(4), 435–453. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00139
76.
LittleB. R. (1983). Personal projects: A rationale and method for investigation. Environment and Behavior, 15(3), 273–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916583153002
77.
LittleB. R.Salmela-AroK.PhillipsS. D. (Eds.). (2007). Personal project pursuit: Goals, action, and human flourishing. Lawrence Erlbaum.
78.
LockeE. A.LathamG. P. (Eds.). (2013). New developments in goalsetting and task performance. Routledge.
79.
LøvlieL. (2013). Verktøyskolen [The school of tools]. Norsk pedagogisk tidsskrift, 97(3), 185–198.
80.
MaioG. R.OlsonJ. M. (1998). Values and truisms: Evidence and implications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 294–311. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.2.294
81.
MaioG. R.OlsonJ. M.AllenL.BernardM. M. (2001). Addressing discrepancies between values and behaviour: The motivating effect of reasons. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37(2), 104–117. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2000.1436
82.
MaturanaH. R.VarelaF. J. (1992). The tree of knowledge: The biological roots of human understanding. Shambhalla Publications.
83.
McAdamsD. P. (2009). The person: An introduction to the science of personality psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
84.
MeadG. H. (2015). Mind, self, and society. University of Chicago Press.
85.
MiloyanB.PachanaN. A.SuddendorfT. (2013). The future is here: A review of foresight systems in anxiety and depression. Cognition and Emotion, 28(5), 795–810. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2013.863179
86.
NormanD. A. (1988). The design of everyday things. Basic Books.
87.
ØsterbergD. (1966). Forståelsesformer [Forms of understanding]. Pax.
88.
PervinL. A. (1989). Goal concepts in personality and social psychology: A historical perspective. In PervinL. A. (Ed.), Goal concepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 1–17). Lawrence Erlbaum.
RailtonP. (2016). Introduction. In SeligmanM. E. P.RailtonP.BaumeisterR. F.SripadaC. (Eds.), Homo prospectus (pp. 3–31). Oxford University Press.
91.
RappaportJ. (1984). Studies in empowerment: Introduction to the issue. Prevention in Human Services, 3(2–3), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1300/J293v03n02_02
92.
RogersC. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the client-centered framework. In KochS. (Ed.), Psychology: A study of science (pp. 184–256). McGraw Hill.
93.
RogoffB. (2003). The cultural nature of human development. Oxford University Press.
94.
SartreJ.-P. (2003). Being and nothingness. Routledge. (Original work published 1943)
95.
SchwartzS. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25(1), 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6
96.
SeligmanM. E. P.RailtonP.BaumeisterR. F.SripadaC. (Eds.). (2016). Homo prospectus. Oxford University Press.
97.
SheldonK. M.KasserT. (1995). Coherence and congruence: Two aspects of personality integration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(3), 531–543. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.68.3.531
98.
SingerP. (2016). The most good you can do: How effective altruism is changing ideas about living ethically. Yale University Press.
SkibstedE.BertelsenP. (2016). Fra relationskompetencer til tilværelseskompetencer—et pilotprojekt [From relation skills to life skills—A pilot project]. In SkibstedE.MatthieseN. (Eds.), Relationskompetencer i læreruddannelse og skole (pp. 157–178). Dafolo.
101.
SternD. N. (1998). The interpersonal world of the infant: A view from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology. Routledge.
102.
SternD. N. (2010). Forms of vitality: Exploring dynamic experience in psychology, the arts, psychotherapy and development. Oxford University Press.
103.
TajfelH. (Ed.). (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. Academic Press.
104.
TajfelH.BilligM.BundyR. P.FlamentC. (1971). Social categorization and intergroup behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1(22), 149–178. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420010202
105.
TaylorC. (1991). The ethics of authenticity. Harvard University Press.
106.
TönniesF. (1963). Community and society. Harper.
107.
WellsA. (2011). Metacognitive therapy for anxiety and depression. Guilford Press.
