In an effort to understand aging cross-culturally, photography as a universal language was used to perceive the perceiver. Persons averaging seventy-three years of age from Japan and the United States were asked to describe “Who are you?” by taking (or having someone else take) six photographs. A content analysis of the photographs showed that older Japanese appear to be inward oriented (inside own territory, gardens, residence) and aesthetically oriented, while older Americans were more oriented toward other people. The results were interpreted in terms of differences in the search for peace. Peace is sought through self-harmony in the orient, but through social harmony in the Occident.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BenedictR. F., The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1946.
2.
SmithR. J., Japan: The Later Years of Life and The Concept of Time, in Aging and Leisure, A Research Perspective into the Meaningful Use of Time, KleenmeierR. W. (ed.), Oxford University Press, London, 1961.
3.
KalishR. A., Children and Grandfathers: A Speculative Essay on Dependency, The Gerontologist, 1:1, pp. 65–69, 1967.
4.
PlattD. W., Japan: The After Years, in Aging and Modernization, CowgillD. W. and HolmmesL. D. (eds.), Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1972.
5.
SpeigelbergH., On the Human Uses of Physiomenology, in Phenomenology in Perspective, SmithF. J. (ed.), Martinus Nijhoff, the Hague, 1970.
6.
BerryJ. W., Unobtrusive Measures in Cross-Cultural Research, New Directions for Methodolgy of Behavior Science, 1:1, pp. 47–57, 1979.
7.
PelzW., The Scope of Understanding in Sociology, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1974.
8.
ParsonsT. and ShilsE. A., Toward a General Theory of Action, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1951.
9.
BillouR. M., A Review of Psychological Literature, Psychological Bulletin, 84:1, pp. 81–92, 1977.
10.
OrtonyA. and ReynoldsR. E., Metaphor: Theoretical and Empirical Research, Psychological Bulletin, 85; 5, pp. 919–943, 1978.
11.
PetrieH., Metaphor and Learning, in Metaphor and Thought, OrtanyA. (ed.), University Press, Cambridge, 1979.
12.
WorthS., Seeing Metaphor as Caricature, New Literary History, 6:1, pp. 195–209, 1974.
13.
KelleyG. A., The Psychology of Personal Constructs, Norton, New York, 1955.
14.
GrossL. and WorthS., The Study of Visual Communication, Visual Communication, 6:1, pp. 2–19, 1980.
15.
WorthS. and AdairJ., Through Navajo Eyes, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, 1972.
16.
WorthS., Public Administration and Documentary Film, Journal of Municipal Association for Management and Administration, 1964.
17.
ChalfenR., A Sociodistic Approach to Children's Film Making: The Philadelphia Project, Studies in Visual Communication, 7:1, pp. 2–32, 1981.
18.
CarricoP., Student Film Making: Why and How, Media and Methods, 6, pp. 41–45, November 1969.
19.
ZillerR. C. and SmithD. E., A Phenomenological Utilization of Photographs, Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 7, pp. 172–185, Spring 1977.
20.
CombsJ. M. and ZillerR. C., The Photographic Self-Concept of Counselors, Journal of Counseling Psychology, 24:5, pp. 452–455, 1977.
21.
ZillerR. C. and LewisD., Orientation: Self, Social Environmental Percepts Through Auto-Photography, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 7:4, pp. 338–343, 1981.
22.
BugentalJ. F. T. and ZelenS. L., Investigations into the Self-Concept, Journal of Personality, 18, pp. 483–498, 1950.
23.
KohnM. H. and McPartlandT. S., An Empirical Investigation of Self Attitudes, American Sociological Review, 19:1, pp. 68–76, 1954.
24.
HallC. S. and Van De CastleR. V., The Content Analysis of Dreams, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1966.
25.
ZillerR. C., Individuation and Socialization, Human Relations, 17:4, pp. 341–360, 1964.
26.
BouquetA. C. and SatchidanandaM., Studies in the Problems of Peace, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1960.
27.
CummingE. and HenryE., Growing Old: The Process of Disengagement, Basic Books, New York, 1961.
28.
NeugartenB. L. and BerkowitzH., Personality in Middle and Late Life, Atherton Press, New York, 1964.
29.
NeugartenB., Middle Age and Aging, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1968.
30.
GaltungJ., Social Cosmology and the Concept of Peace, Journal of Peace Research, 18:3, pp. 183–199, 1981.
