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Notes from the Field: Doing Research on Life Narratives and Wisdom-Fostering Life Events among Turkish Septuagenarians+

Year 2019, Volume: 3 Issue: 3, 33 - 38, 30.12.2019

Abstract

This short piece which is written in the format of the notes from the field discusses plans to do life narratives and wisdom research among Turkish elderlies. The starting point was a brief literature review of gerontology-related research in Turkey which will not be presented here due to space limitations. Secondly, the site and accordingly the sample of the anthropological study had to be decided. Thirdly, international gerontology-related research was reviewed to decide on theoretical discussions, methodology and conceptual tools to analyze the data. The notes conclude with a proposal for research in gero-narratology which is proposed to be the study of the structural and authorship properties of elderly people’s narratives. 

References

  • Abram, M., Picard, L., Navarro, B. & Piolino, P. (2014). Mechanisms of remembering the past and imagining the future – New data from autobiographical memory tasks in a lifespan approach. Consciousness and Cognition, 29, 76-89.
  • Akpınar Söylemez, B, Küçükgüçlü, Ö, Tekin, N., Akyol, M.A. & Işık, A.T. (2018). Nursing homes nurses’ attitudes toward older people and affecting factors. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 21(2), 271-278.
  • Arun, Ö . (2017). Senex’le tanışmak: Yaşlılık çalışmaları için düşünümsel bir alan. Senex: Yaşlılık Çalışmaları Dergisi, 1 (1), 1-3.
  • Bakırhan, S., Özkeskin, M., Aktar Reyhanioğlu, D. & Gülpınar, D. (2017). Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 20(2), 125-134.
  • Baltes, P. B. & Smith, J. (2008). The fascination of wisdom: Its nature, ontogeny, and function. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(1), 56-64.
  • Birren, J.E. & Schaie, K.W. (eds.) (2006). The Handbook of Psychology of Aging (6th ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  • Bluck, S., Alea, N. & Ali, S. (2014). Remembering the historical roots of remembering the personal past. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28, 290-300.
  • Bluck, S. & Habermas, T. (2000). The life story schema. Motivation & Emotion, 24(2), 121-147.
  • Bohlmeijer, E. T., Westerhof, G., Randall, W., Tromp, T., & Kenyon, G. (2011). Narrative foreclosure in later life: Preliminary considerations for a new sensitizing concept. Journal of Aging Studies, 25(4), 364-370.
  • Cappeliez P, Guindon M, & Robitaille A. (2008). Functions of reminiscence and emotional regulation among older adults. Journal of Aging Studies, 22, 266–272.
  • Carr, A., Kimberley, H. & Biggs, S. (2013). Looking back, looking forward: Interpreting personal stories in later life. Victoria, Australia: Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Accessed www.bsl.org.au
  • Duyar, İ. (2008). Yaşlanma, Yaşlılık ve Antropoloji. In M.R. Mas, A.T. Işık, M.A. Karan, T. Beğer, Ş. Akman, T. Ünal (eds.). Geriatri (pp.9-20). Ankara: Türk Geriatri Vakfı.
  • Ferrari, M. & Westsrate, N.M. (eds.). (2013). The Scientific Study of Personal Wisdom: From Contemplative Traditions to Neuroscience. Dordrecht: Springer.
  • Grysman, A. & Hudson, J.A. (2013). Gender differences in autobiographical memory: Developmental and methodological considerations. Developmental Review, 33(3), 239–272.
  • Guendouzi, J., Davis, B.H. & Maclagan, M. (2015). Expanding expectations for narrative styles in the context of dementia. Topics in Language Disorders, 35(3), 237-257.
  • Hartog, I., Scherer-Rath, M., Kruizinga, R. Netjes, J., Henriques, J., Nieuwkerk, P., Sprangers, M. & van Laarhoven, H. (2017). Narrative meaning making and integration: Toward a better understanding of the way falling ill influences quality of life. Journal of Health Psychology1-17. DOI: 10.1177/1359105317731823.
  • Hooker, K., & McAdams, D. P. (2003). Personality reconsidered: A new agenda for aging research. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 58, 296–304.
  • Karlsson E., Savenstedt S ., Axelsson K. & Zingmark K . (2014). Stories about life narrated by people with Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(12), 2791–2799.
  • Medeiros, K. (2016). Narrative gerontology: Countering the master narratives of aging. Narrative Works, 6(1), 63-81.
  • Medeiros, K. (2005). The complementary self: Multiple perspectives on the aging person. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 1-13.
  • McFadden, S. (2005). Creating and sustaining selfhood: Autobiographical memories from early childhood through old age. Review essay. The Gerontologist, 45, 414-418.
  • Møller, V. & Theuns, P. (2013). What are the best and worst times in the lives of SouthAfrican township dwellers? A content analysis of the self-defined end-anchors for Bernheim’s ACSA Scale of Subjective Well-Being. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 611-640.
  • Møller, V. Theuns, P. Erstad, I. & Jan Bernheim, J. (2008). The best and worst times of life: Narratives and assessments of subjective well-being by Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Social Indicators Research, 89(1), 1–22.
  • Özkul, M. & Kalaycı, I. (2015). Türkiye’de yaşlılık çalışmaları. Sosyoloji Konferansları, 52, 259-290.
  • Öztürk, O., Çelik, M.A. & Tapur, M.A. (2017). Interviews about life with individuals aged 100 years or older. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 20(2), 135-141.
  • Pasupathi, M., Mansour, E., & Brubaker, J.R. (2007). Developing a life story: Constructing relations between self and experience in autobiographical narratives. Human Development, 50(2/3), 85–110.
  • Pasupathi, M., Weeks, T., & Rice, C. (2006). Reflecting on life: Remembering as a major process in adult development. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25(3), 244-263.
  • Polat, H., Yalçınöz Baysal H., & Aktaş, B. (2017). Determination of ageism attitudes of adults in two different provinces. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 20(4), 280-288.
  • Randall, W.L. (1995). The Stories We Are: An Essay on Self-Creation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  • Randall, W.L. (2014). Bizi "Biz" Yapan Hikayeler: Kendimizi Yaratma Üzerine Bir Deneme (2nd edition) (trans. Ş.S. Kaya). İstanbul: Ayrıntı.
  • Stones, D., & Gullifer, J. (2016). 'At home it's just so much easier to be yourself': older adults' perceptions of ageing in place. Ageing and Society, 36(3), 449-481.
  • Şahin, H. & Erkal, S. (2018). An evaluation of abuse and neglect in elderly with the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 21(1), 16-24.
  • Torges, C.M., Steward, A.J. & Duncan, L.E. (2009). Appreciating life’s complexities: Assessing narrative ego integrity in late midlife. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 66-74.
  • Weiss, T. (2014). Personal transformation: Posttraumatic growth and gerotranscendence. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 54, 203–226.
  • Weststrate, N.M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M.A. & McLean, K.C. (2018). “It was the best worst day of my life”: Narrative content, structure, and process in wisdom-fostering life event memories. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 1-15. doi:10.1093/geronb/gby005
  • Yamasaki, J. & Sharf, B.F. (2011). Opting out whilefitting in: How residents make sense of assisted living and cope with community life. Journal of Aging Studies, 25, 13–21.
  • Zeman, Z. & Zeman, M.G. (2015). “Young” heart in “old” body: Experiences of ageing from older persons’ perspective. Etnološka Tribina, 38(45), 72-85.

Sahadan Notlar: Türkiyeli 70 Yaş ve Üstü Yaşlılarla Yaşam Anlatıları ve Bilgelik Kazandıran Yaşam Olayları Araştırması Yapmak

Year 2019, Volume: 3 Issue: 3, 33 - 38, 30.12.2019

Abstract

Alandan notlar formatında yazılmış bu kısa yazı, Türkiyeli yaşlılarla yaşam anlatıları ve bilgelik araştırmaları yapma planlarını tartışmaktadır. Başlangıç noktası, Türkiye’de gerontolojiyle ilgili araştırmaların kaynak taramasıydı; ancak bu tarama, yer darlığı nedeniyle burada paylaşılmayacak. İkinci olarak, antropoloji çalışmasının yeri ve buna bağlı olarak örneklemi konusunda bir karara varılmalıydı. Üçüncü olarak, gerontolojiyle ilgili uluslararası araştırmalar, kuramsal tartışmalar, yöntembilim ve verileri çözümlemek için gerekli kavramsal araçlara karar vermek üzere gözden geçirildi. Notlar, yaşlıların anlatılarındaki yapısal özellikleri ve yazarlık özelliklerini çalışan bir alan olması öne sürülen gero-anlatıbilim ya da yaşlı anlatıbilimi alanında bir araştırma önerisiyle noktalanıyor.

References

  • Abram, M., Picard, L., Navarro, B. & Piolino, P. (2014). Mechanisms of remembering the past and imagining the future – New data from autobiographical memory tasks in a lifespan approach. Consciousness and Cognition, 29, 76-89.
  • Akpınar Söylemez, B, Küçükgüçlü, Ö, Tekin, N., Akyol, M.A. & Işık, A.T. (2018). Nursing homes nurses’ attitudes toward older people and affecting factors. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 21(2), 271-278.
  • Arun, Ö . (2017). Senex’le tanışmak: Yaşlılık çalışmaları için düşünümsel bir alan. Senex: Yaşlılık Çalışmaları Dergisi, 1 (1), 1-3.
  • Bakırhan, S., Özkeskin, M., Aktar Reyhanioğlu, D. & Gülpınar, D. (2017). Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 20(2), 125-134.
  • Baltes, P. B. & Smith, J. (2008). The fascination of wisdom: Its nature, ontogeny, and function. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(1), 56-64.
  • Birren, J.E. & Schaie, K.W. (eds.) (2006). The Handbook of Psychology of Aging (6th ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  • Bluck, S., Alea, N. & Ali, S. (2014). Remembering the historical roots of remembering the personal past. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28, 290-300.
  • Bluck, S. & Habermas, T. (2000). The life story schema. Motivation & Emotion, 24(2), 121-147.
  • Bohlmeijer, E. T., Westerhof, G., Randall, W., Tromp, T., & Kenyon, G. (2011). Narrative foreclosure in later life: Preliminary considerations for a new sensitizing concept. Journal of Aging Studies, 25(4), 364-370.
  • Cappeliez P, Guindon M, & Robitaille A. (2008). Functions of reminiscence and emotional regulation among older adults. Journal of Aging Studies, 22, 266–272.
  • Carr, A., Kimberley, H. & Biggs, S. (2013). Looking back, looking forward: Interpreting personal stories in later life. Victoria, Australia: Brotherhood of St. Laurence. Accessed www.bsl.org.au
  • Duyar, İ. (2008). Yaşlanma, Yaşlılık ve Antropoloji. In M.R. Mas, A.T. Işık, M.A. Karan, T. Beğer, Ş. Akman, T. Ünal (eds.). Geriatri (pp.9-20). Ankara: Türk Geriatri Vakfı.
  • Ferrari, M. & Westsrate, N.M. (eds.). (2013). The Scientific Study of Personal Wisdom: From Contemplative Traditions to Neuroscience. Dordrecht: Springer.
  • Grysman, A. & Hudson, J.A. (2013). Gender differences in autobiographical memory: Developmental and methodological considerations. Developmental Review, 33(3), 239–272.
  • Guendouzi, J., Davis, B.H. & Maclagan, M. (2015). Expanding expectations for narrative styles in the context of dementia. Topics in Language Disorders, 35(3), 237-257.
  • Hartog, I., Scherer-Rath, M., Kruizinga, R. Netjes, J., Henriques, J., Nieuwkerk, P., Sprangers, M. & van Laarhoven, H. (2017). Narrative meaning making and integration: Toward a better understanding of the way falling ill influences quality of life. Journal of Health Psychology1-17. DOI: 10.1177/1359105317731823.
  • Hooker, K., & McAdams, D. P. (2003). Personality reconsidered: A new agenda for aging research. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 58, 296–304.
  • Karlsson E., Savenstedt S ., Axelsson K. & Zingmark K . (2014). Stories about life narrated by people with Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 70(12), 2791–2799.
  • Medeiros, K. (2016). Narrative gerontology: Countering the master narratives of aging. Narrative Works, 6(1), 63-81.
  • Medeiros, K. (2005). The complementary self: Multiple perspectives on the aging person. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 1-13.
  • McFadden, S. (2005). Creating and sustaining selfhood: Autobiographical memories from early childhood through old age. Review essay. The Gerontologist, 45, 414-418.
  • Møller, V. & Theuns, P. (2013). What are the best and worst times in the lives of SouthAfrican township dwellers? A content analysis of the self-defined end-anchors for Bernheim’s ACSA Scale of Subjective Well-Being. Social Indicators Research, 112(3), 611-640.
  • Møller, V. Theuns, P. Erstad, I. & Jan Bernheim, J. (2008). The best and worst times of life: Narratives and assessments of subjective well-being by Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Social Indicators Research, 89(1), 1–22.
  • Özkul, M. & Kalaycı, I. (2015). Türkiye’de yaşlılık çalışmaları. Sosyoloji Konferansları, 52, 259-290.
  • Öztürk, O., Çelik, M.A. & Tapur, M.A. (2017). Interviews about life with individuals aged 100 years or older. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 20(2), 135-141.
  • Pasupathi, M., Mansour, E., & Brubaker, J.R. (2007). Developing a life story: Constructing relations between self and experience in autobiographical narratives. Human Development, 50(2/3), 85–110.
  • Pasupathi, M., Weeks, T., & Rice, C. (2006). Reflecting on life: Remembering as a major process in adult development. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25(3), 244-263.
  • Polat, H., Yalçınöz Baysal H., & Aktaş, B. (2017). Determination of ageism attitudes of adults in two different provinces. Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 20(4), 280-288.
  • Randall, W.L. (1995). The Stories We Are: An Essay on Self-Creation. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
  • Randall, W.L. (2014). Bizi "Biz" Yapan Hikayeler: Kendimizi Yaratma Üzerine Bir Deneme (2nd edition) (trans. Ş.S. Kaya). İstanbul: Ayrıntı.
  • Stones, D., & Gullifer, J. (2016). 'At home it's just so much easier to be yourself': older adults' perceptions of ageing in place. Ageing and Society, 36(3), 449-481.
  • Şahin, H. & Erkal, S. (2018). An evaluation of abuse and neglect in elderly with the Hwalek-Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test Turkish Journal of Geriatrics, 21(1), 16-24.
  • Torges, C.M., Steward, A.J. & Duncan, L.E. (2009). Appreciating life’s complexities: Assessing narrative ego integrity in late midlife. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 66-74.
  • Weiss, T. (2014). Personal transformation: Posttraumatic growth and gerotranscendence. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 54, 203–226.
  • Weststrate, N.M., Ferrari, M., Fournier, M.A. & McLean, K.C. (2018). “It was the best worst day of my life”: Narrative content, structure, and process in wisdom-fostering life event memories. Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 1-15. doi:10.1093/geronb/gby005
  • Yamasaki, J. & Sharf, B.F. (2011). Opting out whilefitting in: How residents make sense of assisted living and cope with community life. Journal of Aging Studies, 25, 13–21.
  • Zeman, Z. & Zeman, M.G. (2015). “Young” heart in “old” body: Experiences of ageing from older persons’ perspective. Etnološka Tribina, 38(45), 72-85.
There are 37 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Sociology
Journal Section Notes from Fields
Authors

Ulaş Başar Gezgin 0000-0002-6075-3501

Yetkin Işık 0000-0001-5043-370X

Publication Date December 30, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Volume: 3 Issue: 3

Cite

APA Gezgin, U. B., & Işık, Y. (2019). Notes from the Field: Doing Research on Life Narratives and Wisdom-Fostering Life Events among Turkish Septuagenarians+. Senex: Yaşlılık Çalışmaları Dergisi, 3(3), 33-38.