generativity

English

Etymology

From generative +‎ -ity. In the psychology sense coined by psychoanalyst Erik Erikson in 1950.

Noun

generativity (countable and uncountable, plural generativities)

  1. The ability to create or reproduce.
    • 2015, Daniel Araya, editor, Smart Cities as Democratic Ecologies‎[1], Springer, →ISBN:
      Generativity is a broad property of systems that denotes the capacity of agents within them to connect to others and produce unanticipated outcomes and change.
  2. (developmental psychology) The ability to transcend personal interests to provide care and concern for younger and older generations.
    Coordinate term: stagnation
    • 1995, Marc H. Bornstein, editor, Handbook of Parenting, volume 2, →ISBN:
      Most broadly, Erikson (1975) considers generativity to mean any caring activity that contributes to the spirit of future generations, such as the generation of new or more mature persons, products, ideas, or works of art.
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