Aging and death: contemporary readings in social psychologyEl envejecimiento y muerte: lecturas contemporáneas en psicología social

摘要

This text seeks to highlights scenarios for aging and death in contemporary societies, based on analyses and interpretations from Social Psychology. In a time when processes and choices of the elderly are uncovered in the face of rapidly changing institutions and patterns of social interaction, the article addresses social and cultural aspects related to the itineraries of aging and dying to unveil the common and differentiated values and social practices affecting old age and death in contemporary societies in order to suggest how those values influence the aging experience. The conclusion is that aging and death are processes not restricted to a biological dimension, but involving socio-cultural dimensions conditioning the subjects’ experience. Social psychology explains such dimensions from representations and narratives about life, aging and death, which guide our social practices.