Models: Projeto Samuel Rangel
Photo by Cristiano de Assis
Ongoing projects
Title: Human Appearance: a Scoping Review and Conceptual Update
Researchers: Andrea Lopes, Suzanne Tanoue, Brenda Carvalho and Patrícia Yokomizo
Abstract: The term appearance has been used in many ways by different research fields, involving multiple goals. In the studies about humans, the appearance seems to be important especially to understand people’s lifestyles, social organizations, identities and body constitutions. However, a literature review from Social Sciences funded by São Paulo Research Foundation and made by the Aging, Appearance, and Meaning research group, pointed to a lack of a clear, complex and integrated definition of the appearance as well as its association with other terminology. This review culminated in the publication of an biopsychosociocultural concept of appearance that was applied to empirical studies made by the group. It was possible to identify three interrelated domains of the concept and their attributes. In order to update the concept, the present project intends to identify, correlate and synthesize the meanings, uses and results involving the term appearance present in the national and international literature from different research fields that study humans. The method will be the Scoping Review technique, which will be applied in the digital collection databases from University of São Paulo, looking for the descriptor “appearance” simultaneously in the title, abstract and keywords. It will also include articles from peer-reviewed journals, published between 2010 and 2020 in English, Spanish and Portuguese, aiming to search for different aspects involved in the construction of individual and group appearances. The study will be developed in two years. It intends to introduce a biopsychosociocultural multidimensional concept of human appearance, which would be relevant for a better understanding of the diversity and meanings in the context of the aging process.
Keywords: Appearance; Aging; Biopsychosociocultural Aspects; Scoping Review.
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Title: Myths and stereotypes about old age and aging: narrative review in specialized Brazilian journals
Researchers: Cristiano de Assis and Andrea Lopes
Abstract: Gerontology acknowledges that the heterogeneity of the human condition is not always considered in the representations of old age and aging. This preliminary study involves a narrative review of national production that discusses myths and stereotypes of old age and aging. Scarcity, tangency and fragmentation of the theme were observed, as well as greater interest in subjectivities in old age. Elaboration of five categories of analysis, with emphasis on: Degeneration and Finitude, followed by Sexuality and Gender. New research must be carried out, boosting and strengthening this discussion.
Keywords: Myths; Stereotypes; Old age; Aging.