Shame and Ageing in a Transforming World

The book provides a comprehensive overview of research and concepts related to shame and ageing, in the context of social change, upheavals and paradigm shifts, from transdisciplinary, cultural and transcultural perspectives. Drawing upon the editors' previous works on the topic of shame, this volume discusses the contexts of shame and ageing from theoretical, conceptual, and empirical perspectives. The toxic and stressful aspects of shame have been the focus of scientific analysis and discourse on shame and ageing. This volume explicitly makes the dimensions of shame a resource for individuals, and collective transformation processes the object of research in the context of ageing. It looks at emerging lifestyle, political, socio-economic and health contexts. It looks at how and why the frequency, intensity and handling of feelings of shame change over the course of life; the impact of shame on emotional well-being and mental health of older people; the impact of shame on social relationships and social engagement of older people in different cultures; the role of cultural values and norms in the development and processing of feelings of shame, especially in older people, and how these can be used for self-development; and the differences in the way older people in different cultures deal with feelings of shame and the way these can be used to develop effective strategies and techniques for older people to cope with shame. The editors and contributors thereby take cultural and gender aspects, as well as positive psychology and resource-orientated concepts, such as salutogenesis, resilience, happiness, fortitude, locus of control, faith- or strengths-based approaches into account and contextualize them against processes of social upheaval and transformation.

Elisabeth Vanderheiden is an adult educator, adult education manager and CEO of the Global Institute for Transcultural Research. She has published numerous academic books and articles. Her research interests range from shame, conflict and love to andragogical studies and digitalisation. She focuses in particular on cultural and transformative research questions.

Claude-Hélène Mayer is a Professor in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management at the University of Johannesburg. She is a Semester at Sea Alumni (SASFA22) and a Board member of the International Academy of Intercultural Research. Further, she is an Associate Editor for Frontiers in Psychology (Positive Psychology) and for the International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management. She holds Doctoral degrees in Psychology, Management and Cultural Anthropology. Her Venia Legendi is in Psychology with focus on Work, Organisational and Cultural Psychology from Europa Universität, Viadrina, Germany. Her research areas include transcultural mental health, salutogenesis, transcultural conflict management and mediation, women in leadership, shame and love across cultures, The Fourth Industrial Revolution, and psychobiography. Her teaching areas are cross-cultural psychology, mental health, organizational theory, systems and design thinking, coaching, positive psychology, organizational behaviour and transcultural conflict management and mediation.