For many people, growing old is an unpleasant experience. It is a time of restriction, deprivation and of loss. You retire from work, lose your loved ones and have to cope with illness. It is an art to remain productive, to ensure that life remains meaningful, and to stay active and alive. This social psychological study shows how people of old age manage this within their various lifestyles, whether they live in senior citizens homes, in assisted-living projects, in their own apartments, alone or together with others.

For many people, growing old is an unpleasant experience. It is a time of restriction, deprivation and of loss. You retire from work, lose your loved ones and have to cope with illness. It is an art to remain productive, to ensure that life remains meaningful, and to stay active and alive. This social psychological study shows how people of old age manage this within their various lifestyles, whether they live in senior citizens homes, in assisted-living projects, in their own apartments, alone or together with others.

Preface 91 Introduction 112 Aims and Methods 152.1 Attitudes of the Researchers 152.2 Memories and Productive Orientations in the Interviewand in Group Discussion 172.3 Researchers View in Analysis 192.4 Core Sentences as Experience Categories Expressedin Everyday Language 213 Theoretical Introduction with Erich Fromm 253.1 Productive Orientations and Spontaneous Activity 263.2 Feelings of Insecurity and Productive Orientations 294 Interviews with People of Old Age 334.1 Territorial Experiences of People in Old Age 334.1.1 Living in a Senior Citizens Home 344.1.2 Managing the Household in the Senior Citizens Home 374.1.3 Assisted-living at Home 384.1.4 A Therapeutic Example from Irvin D. Yalom:a Wake-up Call in Old Age 414.2 Experiences of Relationships of People in Old Age 454.2.1 Maintaining Caring Relationships 464.2.2 Developing Relationships of Friendship 524.2.3 A Literary Example from Bertolt Brecht:"Die unwürdige Greisin" (Unseemly Old Lady) 565 Interviews with Social Carers 596 Remembering – A Creative Activity 676.1 Looking into the Mirror:a Quiet, Personal Conversation with Oneself 696.2 War Memories – Reflections of an Old Man 736.2.1 "Back then, when you had decided on a tradethat was your scope of work to the bitter end" 736.2.2 "Today I thank God that I was not a hero, when you kill someoneyou're a murderer" 746.3 Sculptures, Photos and Pictures as Forms of Memory 786.3.1 "Those are our dogs. When we went huntingthey were always with us. All of them are dead now." 796.3.2 "That's my wife, who's dead now, she had just comefrom dancing, that was the first time we saw each other" 796.3.3 "That was our Golden Wedding Anniversary andthat was our Diamond Wedding Anniversary" 817 Group Discussions with People of Old Age: Aims and Method 857.1 Group Discussion on the Question:"How do I experience ageing physically?" 887.1.1 Perspectives of a Women's Group:"A good life is not possible for me without being close to nature" 917.1.2 Perspectives of a Men's Group:"We develop the need for peace and quiet" 967.1.3 Perspectives of a Group of Women and Men:"I couldn't believe I'd become older" 1027.2 Group Discussion on the Question:"Should a person receive more to live on than he needs?" 1067.2.1 "It has to be more, so you can participate in social lifeand be creative" 1077.2.2 "Local communities do a lot to ensure that senior citizens cantake part in things. For example, senior citizens receivea grant to visit museums" 1097.2.3 "A touch of bling and glamour doesn't hurt" 1107.3 Group Discussion on the Question: "What is beautiful for you?" 1127.3.1 "When we came home wearing trousers, we had to takethem off straight away. No! You're girls, my mother would saygirls don't wear trousers" 1127.3.2 "And suddenly we had happy music again and dance events" 1168 Experiencing, Learning and Perceiving in Old Age –Research Perspectives of Marie Jahoda and Erich Fromm 1198.1 Objective Experience Categories of Ageing 1198.2 Perception Categories of Ageing 1228.3 Objective Experience and Perception Categories of Ageingas a Topic of Interviews – Marie Jahoda and Erich Fromm 1258.3.1 "I read and write, then I eat, relax for an hour, and in the afternoonI answer letters and do other practical things that need doing" 1268.3.2 "I have no pain and I still go for a walk alone with my white stickbecause I value the feeling of independence" 1278.4 Objective Experience and Perception Categories of Ageingas a Topic of Group Discussions 1288.4.1 "The youth aren't as bad as all that. You have to take themseriously and meet them halfway" 1308.4.2 "We have a wealth of practical knowledge from whichyoung people could learn a great deal" 131...