Generativity Four
In describing the conditions that create and sustain Generativity Four in a society, the various authors of The Generative Society understandably focused primarily on the volunteer services being offered by men and women. We have similarly focused on the volunteer services offered by civically engaged Sage leaders–especially our Emerging Sage leaders–who engage the role of Generativity Three through their work as paid employees in human service agencies.
The most extended description of Generativity Four in The Generative Society comes from the chapter written by Snyder and Clary (2004, in which they report on their study of volunteerism as related to generativity. Snyder and Clary (2004, p. 237) identify six psychological functions that are served by involvement in volunteer work: (1) expressing altruistic and humanitarian values, (2) promoting understanding about oneself and other people, (3) fostering social functions, (4) promoting career development for the volunteer and other people, (5) reducing feelings of guilt on the part of the volunteer about being more fortunate than other people and (6) increasing a sense of self-esteem and growth on the part of the volunteer.
The first, second, fifth and sixth of these functions seem to be closely related to our previous discussion regarding the motivations associated with Generativity Four as well as the benefits derived from Generativity Four-based civic engagement. A society can be generative if it provides its citizens the opportunity to offer meaningful service to other people that is soulfully gratifying. The source of generativity for some people might be what McAdams refers to as “redemption” and what Snyder and Clary refer to as a guilt-reducing function. We pay forward our good fortune by being of service to those who are less fortunate. Snyder and Clary suggest that civic engagement (volunteerism) can also be of more practical benefit by providing an opportunity for the volunteer to learn new skills and gain greater knowledge through engaging in novel activities and providing different forms of leadership.
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