Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2018, 6, 11-23 http://www.scirp.org/journal/jss ISSN Online: 2327-5960 ISSN Print: 2327-5952 DOI: 10.4236/jss.2018.66002 May 23, 2018 11 Open Journal of Social Sciences The Active Role of Material Things: An Environment-Based Conceptual Framework to Understand the Well-Being of People with Dementia Hui Ren, Megan Strickfaden Department of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada Abstract This study discusses the relationships of material things to people with de- mentia and proposes the development of material environments to enhance their well-being. Integrating research on well-being from existential, ecologi- cal, and place-based perspectives, this study develops a new understanding of the well-being of people with dementia when considering the active role of material things in the process of developing well-being. “Well-being of people with dementia” refers to the awareness of self-existence in a real-world envi- ronment established by the interactions of people and material things. Based on this understanding, this study integrates four types of environmental em- bodiments, including obliviousness, watching, noticing, and heightened con- tact, providing specific guides to understand people’s associations with their material environments. An environment-based conceptual framework, based on the new understanding of the meanings of well-being and its association with material things, allows designers and professional/family caregivers to understand the lived experiences of people with dementia, in order to enhance the well-being of their clients and their families by using material things to create a more holistic environment. Keywords Material Environment, People with Dementia, Environmental Embodiment, Active Environment, Well-Being 1. Introduction Material environments, the material and tangible conditions in which we live, How to cite this paper: Ren, H. and Strickfaden, M. (2018) The Active Role of Material Things: An Environment-Based Conceptual Framework to Understand the Well-Being of People with Dementia. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 6, 11-23. https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2018.66002 Received: December 25, 2017 Accepted: May 20, 2018 Published: May 23, 2018