Abstract: Life-span theory of control is deemed to interpreting life-span development preferably, which proposes a central feature of adaptive capacity is the regulation of motivation. The theory can promote individual development, and to make them to be optimization. Moreover, the life course is viewed as being organized around a sequential series of goal-oriented action cycles that involve goal selection, goal engagement, and disengagement from goals. Basing on the previous point and reviewing the basic content of life-span theory of control, the paper presents a comprehensive explanation for regulatory models of life-span development and adaptive function of control strategies, which mainly summarizes the relative theoretical views. The future studies should consider the application of this theory from cross-cultural situation, further validation in meeting three requirements of adaptive goals selection and discussion the related researches of successful aging.

Key words: life-span theory of control, goal-oriented action cycles, regulatory models, control strategies