Analyzing Aging Process Through Social Theories: A Case Study

This essay delves into the sociological analysis of aging, focusing on the application of social theories, particularly symbolic interactionism, to understand the experiences of an elderly individual. Through a detailed case study of Samuel Okon, a cheerful old man from Nigeria, the assignment explores how his life history, including family values, societal interactions, and personal choices, has shaped his mental and physical health during his aging process. The essay highlights the significance of social factors such as family, culture, and personal values in influencing an individual's perception of self and the aging experience. It examines the role of symbolic interactionism in shaping identity through interactions with symbols and societal cues. Furthermore, the essay discusses the 'selective optimization with compensation theory' and how individuals adapt to the challenges of aging. The analysis emphasizes the impact of societal differences and the importance of maintaining a positive outlook on life, demonstrating how these elements contribute to a fulfilling and prosperous aging experience. The essay references several scholarly articles to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the sociology of aging.

Running age: SOCIAL THEORIES
SOCIAL THEORIES
Name of the student:
Name of the universities:
Author note:

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Age can never be considered merely as a number. This is because it represents a huge
wealth of life experiences which shapes a person that one becomes. In the present generation,
with the advancement of the medical science, prolonging life has become possible. Old age is
now seen with different perspectives in present genration as providing high quality medical care
has been possible. In spite of these, sociologists are of the opinion that various aspects of healthy
aging experiences depend on the social class, gender, race as well as other social factors (Novak,
2013). Many media portrayals of the elderly reflect negative cultural beliefs and attitudes
towards aging. Society tends to glorify youth associating with beauty and sexuality. In comedies
as well, old age is represented with hostility and grumpiness. Many stereotypes exist surrounding
the realities about the elderly and aging people (George & Ferraro, 2016). Often people are seen
to encounter stereotypes associated with race and gender and therefore they tend to think more
critically about them. Each culture has their own set of expectations and assumptions about aging
and all these are part of the socialization (Mortimer & Moen, 2016). This assignment will mainly
describe the life history procedures about an old man which will reflect his different stages of
aging. It will inevitably reflect the social theory of paradigm that aligns with his aging
procedures and will help to give and insight how aging an individual can affect his mental and
physical health.
The person whose interview was taken was a cheerful old man whose name was Samuel Okon
who was from Nigeria. He had lived a happy and contented life. He lived a small village with
very few local inhabitants. He had a loving family where he used to respect his parents a lot and
used to follow their advices. He had given up his wished of becoming a military man as his
father was not in support of the decision. He had faced minor issues in his teenage year’s as his
likes and dislikes and idea of freedom cashed with his parents but he took it never in a negative

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sense. He adored and respected his father a lot mainly because of the values and the principle
followed in his life. He had stated that although they were not economically very rich but was
happy and satisfied with the little amount of money that his father earned by farming. They used
to have social gatherings in the local festivals of his village where people form town also came.
This stated that there no was no conflict of power between the urban and rural people. Hi married
life was also happier although he stated that both of them had compromised a lot and had
respected each other’s liking and disliking making a stable relationship. He had never liked his
friends having two to three wives but he was always a man of good principles where hi main
focus was good living, happy family and trust on god. He had never repented or blamed his
father for making him an engineer. Rather he had settled that he had loved his professor and
worked property throughout his life.
The symbolic integrationist perspectives also known as symbolic interactionism mainly direct
the sociologists to consider different types of symbols and details of everyday lives. It also shows
what these symbols signify and how people interact with each other. According to symbolist
integrationist perspective, people attach their meanings to symbols and they perform according
to the subjective interactions of these symbols (Dannefer, Kellet-moore & Huang, 2016).
Theories concerning symbolist interactionism perspective mainly is based on the fact that how
society is created with the help of day to day interaction of the individuals. It also remains based
on the fact of the different ways people perceive themselves and other based on different types of
cultural symbols (Settersen & Hagstead, 2015). Researchers are of the opinion that micro
analytic perspective says that if people develop a sense of identity through different forms of
social interactions, their sense of self is dependent on those interactions. This can be explained
by an example. A woman whose interactions with the society makes her feel old and unattractive

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she may lose her sense of self but if that same woman is made to feel valued, she may have a
stronger sense of self. Baltes and Baltes in the year 1990 have given forward the ‘selective
optimization with compensation theory’. It is developed with a focus that personal development
althrough life and ‘subsequent mastery of the challenges associated with everyday’ are mainly
dependent on important components. These are selection, optimization as well as compensation.
This happen at all stages of lives but particularly in gerontology, researchers are mainly focusing
the balancing that is required between the losses associated with aging and that of the gains that
come from them (Moen & Flood, 2013). According to the authors, aging can be explained as a
process rather than an outcome. Therefore the goals or compensations are specific to the
individual. In the following paragraphs, it can be seen about how the client has interacted with
different symbols form the very childhood, through teenage hood, through his married life and
even in his old age which had ultimately helped him to shape up the present state of mind and his
mental and physical health.
A very interesting fact that had been identified form the interview is that throughout his
life, he had been a happy man who always infused positivity in his own life and also others
surrounding him. In his life, family values that had been instilled by him by his parents had been
the most powerful strength he had possessed. Researchers are of the opinion that family values
contribute to how a child learns or thrive in life. Family values are the reflection of who an
individual is and how in turn that individual treats his own children and wife. Family values give
children the strength to express themselves, solve problems, develop and learn to grow form
mistakes. Such values also help them to develop their skills and abilities to lead fulfilling lives
(Hagstead & Dykstra, 2016). Similarly, in case of the client, it was seen that the values infused in
him by his father had helped him to learn how to remain contented with his life. In no events of

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his life, he wase found dissatisfied with his condition. He had followed his father’s principles to
accommodate their living with the amount earned but never to forget the roots and principles of
humanity and self esteem. This had helped him to live happily.
He was always an understanding person and tried to think rationally before developing negative
feelings. From sheer respect for his father, he had dropped his plan of joining military and had
taken polytechnic course to be an electrician. Moreover the living of life, being committed to one
person and with happy family was another lesson he had leant from his parents. Therefore, he
disliked his friends’ choices of having more wives in life. He had believed that for successful
relationship, being arrogant and holding onto one own perspective is not right. His interview
revealed that he had perfect mind framework and here he believed that dedication and
compromise form both the partners help in developing and learning about each other.
Researchers say that when both the partners want to learn about each other and accept each other
the ways they are or alter them for betterment, it leads to happy marriage. Such positivity had
helped him live a prosperous life (Kelly & Lasazarus, 2015).
Another positive aspect of his healthy living is that he was never a lazy man and always
engaged himself in his work and earned money to support his family. His love for work can be
reflected from the interview where he stated that being retired is making him sad as he is not
allowed to work in his nation after retirement. He believes that the society and culture in Canada
is open to old citizens working but in Nigeria he can hardly get work. Here one can find a
societal difference. Another societal difference was noted in his expression where he stated that
unlike today’s children. Life was never easy for him and he had struggled a lot from his
childhood where he had to walk miles to reach school. His family was not rich and therefore he
was unable to have many luxuries which children of this generation are able to experience.

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Therefore, he believes that he had learn to take hardship in his life with positive mind frame and
had never broken down The societies consisted of very low number of people where each other
was knitted with strong sense of unity and lived in Nigerian village. They have learnt to love and
care for each other which he believed enriched him with human emotional necessary for leading
happy lives.
From the entire discussion above, it is clearly noted that society plays a very important role in an
individual from the time of his childhood to that of old age. According to the theory of symbolic
interactionism, each and every individual interacts with different cues and symbols of the
societies to develop a sense of self. This helps him to develop as a human being and live with
proper principles in his life. The client in the case study has been associated closely with his
parents, collected values from families, went through hardships, learn how to handle critical
situations, maintained a proper happy life with his wife through understanding and compromises
and many others. All these had shaped up his values which had kept him contented throughout
his life. This had helped him to age well and live happy and prosperous lives.

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References:
George, L., & Ferraro, K. (2016). Aging and the Social Sciences: Progress and
Prospects. Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Eight edition.
Hagestad, G. O., & Dykstra, P. A. (2016). Structuration of the life course: Some neglected
aspects. In Handbook of the life course (pp. 131-157). Springer International Publishing.
Kelly, G. A., & Lazarus, J. (2015). Perceptions of successful aging: Intergenerational voices
value well-being. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 80(3),
233-247
Moen, P., & Flood, S. (2013). Limited engagements? Women's and men's work/volunteer time in
the encore life course stage. Social problems, 60(2), 206-233.
Mortimer, J. T., & Moen, P. (2016). The Changing Social Construction of Age and the Life
Course: Precarious Identity and Enactment of “Early” and “Encore” Stages of Adulthood.
In Handbook of the Life Course (pp. 111-129).
Novak, M. (2013). Aging and society: A Canadian perspective. Nelson Canada.
Settersten Jr, R. A., & Hagestad, G. O. (2015). Subjective aging and new complexities of the life
course. Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics, 35(1), 29-53.