Perception of biographical time in the fourth age: cases study

Abstract

Since human life passes through an irreversible time axis, the passage of time makes us face with the idea of finiteness. As people age there is a change in their time perception and in the idea of their own death. With the aim of studying the changes related to their own temporality, this study analyses biographical trajectories of people in the fourth age. The analysis is based on three pillars: vital projects, organization of everyday life and bodily changes. An exploratory qualitative study was carried out based on 23 biographical interviews that constituted an intentional sample of self-validated persons, born between 1917 and 1932, from different socio-economic status and residing in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Results suggest that for people in their fourth age, time perception is narrow. There is a decentering of oneself and a concern about transcendence and continuity (symbolic and biological) both related to grandparantage.

Keywords

• ercepción Temporal
• Envejecimiento
• Finitud
• Cuarta Edad.