How is aging a cultural issue

Over time, these experience-based differences continue to magnify, wrote Park and Gutchess, contributing to cross-cultural differences in the aging process even as our brains undergo similar physiological changes. When young Americans and Singaporeans were examined under fMRI, for example, the researchers found that they exhibited similar activity in the visual cortex when scanning images for repeated objects. These findings align with previous research suggesting that individuals from more interdependent cultures attend more to their environment—or, in this case, the background of an image—than do those from more individualistic societies, who attend more to focal objects.

For example, episodic memory for personal experiences, or autobiographical memory, supports our sense of self, enabling us to recall specific past experiences that make up our personal history.

Research has previously linked more detailed autobiographical memory with increased creative thinking, more active coping skills, and greater overall psychological well-being. But while this appears to be true in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic WEIRD cultural contexts that emphasize creating a unique, independent personal identity, these benefits may not generalize globally. In the first of these studies, 99 European-American students from Cornell University and Chinese students from Peking University in China completed a measure of avoidant coping and a memory task that required them to recall three personal events that took place in the last week, the last year, and the past 10 to 15 years.

Participants had 3 minutes to describe each of the events in writing, providing as much detail as possible in their native languages. The researchers then coded these descriptions on the basis of whether each detail was specific to that event e.

As suggested in previous work, European-American students who recalled more specific details across all three time periods also reported using fewer avoidant coping mechanisms, such as making up excuses to get out of social events, compared with peers with hazier memories.

The researchers found no relationship, however, between memory specificity and use of avoidant-coping mechanisms among Chinese students. Instead, in subsequent studies, Wang and colleagues found that Chinese -American children with more detailed autobiographical memories reported more symptoms of depression. In addition, their parents rated them as having fewer adaptive skills, such as leadership and active coping.

Park, D. The cognitive neuroscience of aging and culture. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 15 3 , — Wang, Q. Culturally motivated remembering: The moderating role of culture for the relation of episodic memory to well-being. Clinical Psychological Science , 6 6 , — APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website.

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Science explores the formidable link between our earliest life experiences and our health in old age. The powerhouse of the cell could also hold the secrets to healthy aging. Japan is also dealing with these changes; according to Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, 7. Korean culture not only values filial piety, but also celebrates old age. Koreans traditionally hold large celebrations for their loved ones 60 th and 70 th birthdays.

Another reason for celebration is that advances in modern medicine have allowed them to reach old age, where many of their ancestors did not. Sixty is also the age when, traditionally, a man can retire and rely on his children to support him.

Traditionally, most Indians live in family units in which the seniors act as the head of the household. While contemporary American culture places a stigma of fear on death, Native American cultures accept death as a natural way of life and do not fear it.

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They noted, for example, that few families from racial or ethnic minority groups use paid outsourced care. Finances play a role in these groups, but so does a culture of extensive social support, reciprocity, and interdependence. By comparison, Western European and white ethnic groups place a higher value on independence and self-reliance. Cultural attitudes about aging can serve as a springboard for numerous story ideas: for example, an article that contrasts and compares how different communities — such as traditional Asian or Latino — perceive and value older adults.

Do the elderly tend to live with family members or are they cared for long distance? Are they put into nursing homes or assisted living facilities?