Symbolic Interactionism Analysis

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In identifying the situations that lead to the creation of the meaning of ageing of the residents in the homes for the aged, Symbolic Interactionism will be used as a lens for analysis. The concept of Self in Symbolic Interactionism will also be used to frame the identity creation of the geriatric residents. This study aims to find out what are the identities of the geriatrics residing in Manila homes for the aged and how they create meaning. In the conceptual framework as represented in Figure 1, both Ageing Identities (3) and Meaning of Ageing (7) are in an oval to signpost two of the major objectives of this study. Discovering the identities will be grounded on Blumer’s explanation of The Self especially the concepts of Me and the I (1),…show more content…
Belonging to organizations and serving the community and church makes them more contented and see ageing more positively. Noticing how these activities that help them better their experience of ageing are only present in the community, it is interesting to find out if residents in built space such as in homes for the aged defines ageing based on their limited experiences. This study does not aim to find out the level of satisfaction and happiness of those living in homes for the aged but to explain how they construct the meaning of ageing. Deriving the key assumption of Symbolic Interactionism, then the constructed Meaning of Ageing (5) can be dependent on the experiences built inside the home for the aged together with their past experiences outside the…show more content…
Now, how can knowing the Ageing Identity lead to the construction of the Meaning of Ageing? The Response or the Communication Behavior (4) after assuming their preferred constructed Ageing Identity fills in this gap. As argued by Symbolic Interactionism, individuals also respond to objects based on the meaning that they assign to it (Poloma, 1999). This is parallel to how the geriatrics respond according to the identity he assigns to his Self. According to Mead, the self can be an object to ascribe meaning to. Case in point, when an old person sees himself as a leader, which is carried over by how he worked from his past, then his valued identity (labelled as ageing identity in this study) will respond as leading people within the home for the
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