Paul B. Baltes (June 18, 1939 – November 7, 2006) was a German psychologist whose broad scientific agenda was devoted to establishing and promoting the life-span orientation of human development. He was also a theorist in the field of the psychology of aging. He has been described by American Psychologist as one of the most influential developmental psychologists.[1]
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Born in Saarlouis, he is credited with developing the selective optimization with compensation theory, theories about lifespan and wisdom, and theories about successful aging and developing.[2] He coined the term "successful aging." It later lost favor to "optimal aging." Much of his career was spent at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, where he founded the Berlin Wisdom Project and became a leader in the scientific study of wisdom. Baltes later became the director of the Max Planck International Research Network on Aging.[3]
He was a founding member of the European Academy of Sciences, a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, and a member and vice-president of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina. Paul Baltes also became a member of the Order Pour le me´rite for scientists and artists and a foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
He died at home in Berlin of pancreatic cancer.
Baltes received the American Psychological Association's Award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology and the Novartis Prize for Gerontological Research awarded by the International Association of Gerontology. He also started the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation which aims to advance research in developmental psychology and gerontology. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991.[4]