"Burnout" in children's home houseparents
- Authors: Bath, Peter John
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193118 , vital:45300
- Description: Aimed at replicating the results of an American study into "Burnout" in Group Home houseparents, this research had the following aims: 1) To ascertain the validity and reliability of the instrument used in the original study and presented as a "useful measure of burnout”. 2) To establish whether this line of research, within a highly problematic research field, can at present offer any guidelines in the resolution of the current staffing crisis faced by South African children's homes. 3} To describe more closely the burnout syndrome. 4) To study possible etiological factors within a local context. Sixty three houseparents completed questionaires and three independent measures of burnout were obtained. The results were regarded as having failed to replicate those of the original study. The reason for this was found to be the low validity of the original instrument. The main conclusion drawn was that the line of research adopted in the original study can offer only very tentative guidelines towards the resolution of the staffing crisis faced until such time as valid and reliable instruments to measure burnout have been developed. Many of the suggested relationships between situational variables and ones of personal characteristics were confirmed for the local population of houseparents. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1983
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Bath, Peter John
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193118 , vital:45300
- Description: Aimed at replicating the results of an American study into "Burnout" in Group Home houseparents, this research had the following aims: 1) To ascertain the validity and reliability of the instrument used in the original study and presented as a "useful measure of burnout”. 2) To establish whether this line of research, within a highly problematic research field, can at present offer any guidelines in the resolution of the current staffing crisis faced by South African children's homes. 3} To describe more closely the burnout syndrome. 4) To study possible etiological factors within a local context. Sixty three houseparents completed questionaires and three independent measures of burnout were obtained. The results were regarded as having failed to replicate those of the original study. The reason for this was found to be the low validity of the original instrument. The main conclusion drawn was that the line of research adopted in the original study can offer only very tentative guidelines towards the resolution of the staffing crisis faced until such time as valid and reliable instruments to measure burnout have been developed. Many of the suggested relationships between situational variables and ones of personal characteristics were confirmed for the local population of houseparents. , Thesis (MSocSci) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1983
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
A phenomenological explication of the experience of counselling chronic callers in Life Line
- Authors: Matthis, Kenneth Skeen
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Life Line Movement , Hotlines (Counseling)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3135 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006893 , Life Line Movement , Hotlines (Counseling)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Matthis, Kenneth Skeen
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Life Line Movement , Hotlines (Counseling)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3135 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006893 , Life Line Movement , Hotlines (Counseling)
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
A phenomenological investigation of the experience of "connected breathing"
- Authors: Van Wyk, Edmund
- Date: 1983
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:21110 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6439
- Description: My interest in "Connected Breathing" began with my own experience of this technique during a Gestalt workshop. It had a profound impact on me. I knew practically nothing about the theory, or lack of a theory, but my interest had been aroused. In my reading on the subject later, I was struck by the incongruence between my experience and what I read I was supposed to be experiencing. This led me "zu der Sache selbst." By using the phenomenological method, this study then is an attempt to come to an essential description of the experience of "Connected Breathing" and to make some evaluation of its usefulness as a psychotherapeutic technique. "Connected Breathing" is the main technique of the “Rebirthing”movement. It is, therefore, necessary to give some account of the development and theory, if any, of this movement. "Rebirthing" does not claim to be a psychotherapy. However, its technique of "Connected Breathing" does seem to have much in common with the techniques used by various established somatic psychotherapies. A brief overview of the development of some of these psychotherapies and their emphasis on breathing techniques is, therefore, also essential.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Van Wyk, Edmund
- Date: 1983
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:21110 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6439
- Description: My interest in "Connected Breathing" began with my own experience of this technique during a Gestalt workshop. It had a profound impact on me. I knew practically nothing about the theory, or lack of a theory, but my interest had been aroused. In my reading on the subject later, I was struck by the incongruence between my experience and what I read I was supposed to be experiencing. This led me "zu der Sache selbst." By using the phenomenological method, this study then is an attempt to come to an essential description of the experience of "Connected Breathing" and to make some evaluation of its usefulness as a psychotherapeutic technique. "Connected Breathing" is the main technique of the “Rebirthing”movement. It is, therefore, necessary to give some account of the development and theory, if any, of this movement. "Rebirthing" does not claim to be a psychotherapy. However, its technique of "Connected Breathing" does seem to have much in common with the techniques used by various established somatic psychotherapies. A brief overview of the development of some of these psychotherapies and their emphasis on breathing techniques is, therefore, also essential.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
Alcoholic adaptation : a preliminary investigation of the transactional analysis viewpoint, with application to delta and gamma alcoholics
- Authors: Cohen, L Derek
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Alcoholism Alcoholism -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008559
- Description: Two delta and two gamma alcoholics were assessed by case study according to the theoretical formulations of Transactional Analysis. Scripts and Games were elicited through the Thematic Apperception Test, Laddering Procedure, and Life History. Analyses demonstrated, firstly, that parallels were present between the parent-child relationship and present adult transactions; secondly, that needs, fears, and control mechanisms were traceable to early parental injunctions; thirdly, that among these subjects, delta alcoholics tend to play the alcoholic game "Lush", and gamma alcoholics tend to play the alcoholic game "Drunk and Proud". It was concluded that the script and existential position appear to play an important role in the maintenance of the drinking pattern. Alcoholic Loss of Control appears to be influenced by the degree to which aggression is suppressed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Cohen, L Derek
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Alcoholism Alcoholism -- Case studies
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3193 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008559
- Description: Two delta and two gamma alcoholics were assessed by case study according to the theoretical formulations of Transactional Analysis. Scripts and Games were elicited through the Thematic Apperception Test, Laddering Procedure, and Life History. Analyses demonstrated, firstly, that parallels were present between the parent-child relationship and present adult transactions; secondly, that needs, fears, and control mechanisms were traceable to early parental injunctions; thirdly, that among these subjects, delta alcoholics tend to play the alcoholic game "Lush", and gamma alcoholics tend to play the alcoholic game "Drunk and Proud". It was concluded that the script and existential position appear to play an important role in the maintenance of the drinking pattern. Alcoholic Loss of Control appears to be influenced by the degree to which aggression is suppressed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
Behavioural methods for the control of examination anxiety : an experimental investigation
- Authors: Norton, Gary Kenneth
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Anxiety , Test anxiety
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2916 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002081
- Description: In 1982, it was reported that one in every three students who fail at South African universities, do not pass because of experiences of excessive anxiety resulting from university examinations. A survey conducted amongst student counsellors and counselling services on all South African university campuses, revealed a deficiency of group and individual therapy for this phenomenon of examination anxiety. The cause of this deficiency, was found to be the already excessive demands made on the time of student counsellors. Noting a similar situation at Rhodes University, the present investigation was initiated, with the aim of developing an economical group counselling programme for test anxious students on Rhodes campus. Sixty-four Rhodes students (who identified themselves as test anxious) volunteered for this investigation. These Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatment programmes (each divided into two groups, where Group A, N=6 and Group B, N=7) and a wait-list control group (N=12). Three of the treatments featured multicomponent programmes, each offering a cluster of behavioural interventions centred around: Study Skills Training/Counselling; Systematic Desensitisation (Using individually-constructed anxiety hierarchies); Systematic Desensitisation (Using group-constructed anxiety hierarchies). Included in addition, was a single-component treatment, featuring cognitive modification: a component much favoured by local test anxiety counsellors. Given adverse reports concerning the efficacy of single component programmes, when contrasted with multi component treatments, the cognitive modification package was included as a placebo. A battery of measures was used to assess test anxiety and progress made by Subjects to assuage its debilitative effects . The measures included: (a) Six Self-report measures (including a treatment evaluation schedule and the maintenance of a diary of experience by each Subject); (b) Two measures of physiological reactivity, viz. pulse rate and finger sweat print; and (c) One 'observable' measure, that of academic performance. Using these measures, an assessment of the performance gains or losses by each of the Subjects, was made on three occasions: at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up. In support of the a priori hypotheses, the systematic desensitisation and study skills multicomponent programmes, realised significant gains on all measures over both the placebo and control groups (with exception of the higher score achieved by placebo subjects over that of the study skills group, on the treatment evaluation schedule) . This finding confirmed the superiority of multicomponent programmes over those with only a single component. The systematic desensitisation programmes proved to be the most effective, as measured on self-report and physiological measures. The superiority of group-constructed anxiety hierarchies over those individually-constructed was established. Study skills training helped Subjects to realise and maintain gains on the academic performance measure, although it took many of these subjects six months, before they had fully incorporated the study techniques taught, in with their own study habits. In discussion of the findings, the evident need to match test anxious students to programmes which "best suit" their characteristics, is presented, and solutions proposed. Weaknesses evident in the measuring instruments and research design, are also highlighted for discussion. As part of this experimental investigation, a discussion on the nature of test anxiety and its links with anxiety theory is introduced, together with a review of problems in measuring test anxiety; popular behavioural treatments used to relieve test anxiety; and a survey of test anxiety counselling on South African campuses. Advice for the therapist/counsellor, the academic, and the researcher, are posited in conclusion.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Norton, Gary Kenneth
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Anxiety , Test anxiety
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2916 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002081
- Description: In 1982, it was reported that one in every three students who fail at South African universities, do not pass because of experiences of excessive anxiety resulting from university examinations. A survey conducted amongst student counsellors and counselling services on all South African university campuses, revealed a deficiency of group and individual therapy for this phenomenon of examination anxiety. The cause of this deficiency, was found to be the already excessive demands made on the time of student counsellors. Noting a similar situation at Rhodes University, the present investigation was initiated, with the aim of developing an economical group counselling programme for test anxious students on Rhodes campus. Sixty-four Rhodes students (who identified themselves as test anxious) volunteered for this investigation. These Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four treatment programmes (each divided into two groups, where Group A, N=6 and Group B, N=7) and a wait-list control group (N=12). Three of the treatments featured multicomponent programmes, each offering a cluster of behavioural interventions centred around: Study Skills Training/Counselling; Systematic Desensitisation (Using individually-constructed anxiety hierarchies); Systematic Desensitisation (Using group-constructed anxiety hierarchies). Included in addition, was a single-component treatment, featuring cognitive modification: a component much favoured by local test anxiety counsellors. Given adverse reports concerning the efficacy of single component programmes, when contrasted with multi component treatments, the cognitive modification package was included as a placebo. A battery of measures was used to assess test anxiety and progress made by Subjects to assuage its debilitative effects . The measures included: (a) Six Self-report measures (including a treatment evaluation schedule and the maintenance of a diary of experience by each Subject); (b) Two measures of physiological reactivity, viz. pulse rate and finger sweat print; and (c) One 'observable' measure, that of academic performance. Using these measures, an assessment of the performance gains or losses by each of the Subjects, was made on three occasions: at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 6-month follow-up. In support of the a priori hypotheses, the systematic desensitisation and study skills multicomponent programmes, realised significant gains on all measures over both the placebo and control groups (with exception of the higher score achieved by placebo subjects over that of the study skills group, on the treatment evaluation schedule) . This finding confirmed the superiority of multicomponent programmes over those with only a single component. The systematic desensitisation programmes proved to be the most effective, as measured on self-report and physiological measures. The superiority of group-constructed anxiety hierarchies over those individually-constructed was established. Study skills training helped Subjects to realise and maintain gains on the academic performance measure, although it took many of these subjects six months, before they had fully incorporated the study techniques taught, in with their own study habits. In discussion of the findings, the evident need to match test anxious students to programmes which "best suit" their characteristics, is presented, and solutions proposed. Weaknesses evident in the measuring instruments and research design, are also highlighted for discussion. As part of this experimental investigation, a discussion on the nature of test anxiety and its links with anxiety theory is introduced, together with a review of problems in measuring test anxiety; popular behavioural treatments used to relieve test anxiety; and a survey of test anxiety counselling on South African campuses. Advice for the therapist/counsellor, the academic, and the researcher, are posited in conclusion.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
The relationship between psychological androgyny and attitudes towards women, self-actualization, and concepts of adjustment
- Authors: Finlay, Helen Ann
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Androgyny (Psychology) , Sex differences (Psychology) , Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3139 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006964 , Androgyny (Psychology) , Sex differences (Psychology) , Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Description: In accordance with American findings, it was proposed that androgynous individuals would be more liberal in their attitudes towards women and more self-actualizing than sex-typed individuals, and that they would tend to conceptualize the well-adjusted person as androgynous, while the sex-typed individual would tend to conceptualize such a person as masculine. It was further hypothesized that sex differences in favour of the female subjects would be found on the first two variables. The Bern Sex-Role Inventory, Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory and Spence and Helmreich's Attitudes Toward Women Scale were applied to 192 school counsellors in training and in the field. The hypotheses regarding an androgynous as opposed to a sex-typed orientation on the variables attitudes toward women and self-actualization were not supported; nor were sex-typed individuals found to conceptualize a well-adjusted person as masculine . Sex differences in favour of female subjects were found on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and on some of the Personal Orientation Inventory scales, and androgynous subjects were found to hold an androgynous model of adjustment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
- Authors: Finlay, Helen Ann
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Androgyny (Psychology) , Sex differences (Psychology) , Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3139 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006964 , Androgyny (Psychology) , Sex differences (Psychology) , Self-actualization (Psychology)
- Description: In accordance with American findings, it was proposed that androgynous individuals would be more liberal in their attitudes towards women and more self-actualizing than sex-typed individuals, and that they would tend to conceptualize the well-adjusted person as androgynous, while the sex-typed individual would tend to conceptualize such a person as masculine. It was further hypothesized that sex differences in favour of the female subjects would be found on the first two variables. The Bern Sex-Role Inventory, Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory and Spence and Helmreich's Attitudes Toward Women Scale were applied to 192 school counsellors in training and in the field. The hypotheses regarding an androgynous as opposed to a sex-typed orientation on the variables attitudes toward women and self-actualization were not supported; nor were sex-typed individuals found to conceptualize a well-adjusted person as masculine . Sex differences in favour of female subjects were found on the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and on some of the Personal Orientation Inventory scales, and androgynous subjects were found to hold an androgynous model of adjustment.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983
A phenomenological explication of dream interpretation among rural and urban Nguni people
- Authors: Schweitzer, Robert David
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Nguni (African people) -- Religion Nguni (African people) -- Psychology Dreams Dreams -- Psychological aspects Healing -- South Africa -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006189
- Description: Psychologists investigating dreams in non-Western cultures have generally not considered the meanings of dreams within the unique meaning-structure of the person in his or her societal context. The majority of dream studies in African societies are no exception. Researchers approaching dreams within rural Xhosa and Zulu speaking societies have either adopted an anthropological or a psychodynamic orientation. The latter approach particularly imposes a Western perspective in the interpretation of dream material. There have been no comparable studies of dream interpretation among urban blacks participating in the African Independent Church Movement. The present study focuses on the rural Xhosa speaking people and the urban black population who speak one of the Nguni languages and identify with the African Independent Church Movement. The study is concerned with understanding the meanings of dreams within the cultural context in which they occur. The specific aims of the study are: 1. To explicate the indigenous system of dream interpretation as revealed by acknowledged dream experts. 2. To examine the commonalities and the differences between the interpretation of dreams in two groups, drawn from a rural and urban setting respectively. 3. To elaborate upon the life-world of the participants by the interpretations gained from the above investigation. One hundred dreams and interpretations are collected from two categories of participants referred to as the Rural Group and the Urban Group. The Rural Group is made up of amagqira [traditional healers] and their clients, while the Urban Group consists of prophets and members of the African Independent Churches. Each group includes acknowledged dream experts. A phenomenological methodology is adopted in explicating the data. The methodological precedure involves a number of rigorous stages of explication whereby the original data is reduced to Constituent Profiles leading to the construction of a Thematic Index File. By searching and reflecting upon the data, interpretative themes are identified. These themes are explicated to provide a rigorous description of the interpretative-reality of each group. Themes explicated within the Rural Group are: the physiognomy of the dreamer's life- world as revealed by ithongo, the interpretation of ithongo as revealed through action, the dream relationship as an anticipatory mode-of-existence, iphupha as disclosing a vulnerable mode-of-being, human bodiliness as revealed in dream interpretations and the legitimation of the interpretative-reality within the life-world. Themes explicated within the Urban Group are : the physiognomy of the dreamer's life-world revealed in their dream-existence, the interpretative-reality revealed through the enaction of dreams, tension between the newer Christian-based cosomology and the traditional cultural-based cosmology, a moral imperative, prophetic perception and human bodiliness, as revealed in dream interpretations and the legitimation of the interpretative-reality within the life-world. The essence of the interpretative-reality of both groups is very similar and is expressed in the notion of relatedness to a cosmic mode-of-being. The cosmic mode-of-being includes a numinous dimension which is expressed through divine presence in the form of ancestors, Holy Spirit or God. These notions cannot be apprehended by theoretical constructs alone but may be grasped and given form in meaning-disclosing intuitions which are expressed in the lifeworld in terms of bodiliness, revelatory knowledge, action and healing. Some differences between the two groups are evident and reveal some conflict between the monotheistic Christian cosmology and the traditional cosmology. Unique aspects of the interpetative-reality of the Urban Group are expressed in terms of difficulties in the urban social environment and the notion of a moral imperative. It is observed that cultural self-expression based upon traditional ideas continues to play a significant role in the urban environment. The apparent conflict revealed between the respective cosmologies underlies an integration of traditional meanings with Christian concepts. This finding is consistent with the literature suggesting that the African Independent Church is a syncretic movement. The life-world is based upon the immediate and vivid experience of the numinous as revealed in the dream phenomenon. The participants' approach to dreams is not based upon an explicit theory, but upon an immediate and pathic understanding of the dream phenomenon. The understanding is based upon the interpreter's concrete understanding of the life-world, which includes the possibility of cosmic integration and continuity between the personal and transpersonal realms of being. The approach is characterized as an expression of man's primordial attunement with the cosmos. The approach of the participants to dreams may not be consistent with a Western rational orientation, but nevertheless, it is a valid approach. The validity is based upon the immediate life-world of experience which is intelligible, coherent, and above all, it is meaning-giving in revealing life-possibility within the context of human existence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Schweitzer, Robert David
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Nguni (African people) -- Religion Nguni (African people) -- Psychology Dreams Dreams -- Psychological aspects Healing -- South Africa -- Religious aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:3125 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006189
- Description: Psychologists investigating dreams in non-Western cultures have generally not considered the meanings of dreams within the unique meaning-structure of the person in his or her societal context. The majority of dream studies in African societies are no exception. Researchers approaching dreams within rural Xhosa and Zulu speaking societies have either adopted an anthropological or a psychodynamic orientation. The latter approach particularly imposes a Western perspective in the interpretation of dream material. There have been no comparable studies of dream interpretation among urban blacks participating in the African Independent Church Movement. The present study focuses on the rural Xhosa speaking people and the urban black population who speak one of the Nguni languages and identify with the African Independent Church Movement. The study is concerned with understanding the meanings of dreams within the cultural context in which they occur. The specific aims of the study are: 1. To explicate the indigenous system of dream interpretation as revealed by acknowledged dream experts. 2. To examine the commonalities and the differences between the interpretation of dreams in two groups, drawn from a rural and urban setting respectively. 3. To elaborate upon the life-world of the participants by the interpretations gained from the above investigation. One hundred dreams and interpretations are collected from two categories of participants referred to as the Rural Group and the Urban Group. The Rural Group is made up of amagqira [traditional healers] and their clients, while the Urban Group consists of prophets and members of the African Independent Churches. Each group includes acknowledged dream experts. A phenomenological methodology is adopted in explicating the data. The methodological precedure involves a number of rigorous stages of explication whereby the original data is reduced to Constituent Profiles leading to the construction of a Thematic Index File. By searching and reflecting upon the data, interpretative themes are identified. These themes are explicated to provide a rigorous description of the interpretative-reality of each group. Themes explicated within the Rural Group are: the physiognomy of the dreamer's life- world as revealed by ithongo, the interpretation of ithongo as revealed through action, the dream relationship as an anticipatory mode-of-existence, iphupha as disclosing a vulnerable mode-of-being, human bodiliness as revealed in dream interpretations and the legitimation of the interpretative-reality within the life-world. Themes explicated within the Urban Group are : the physiognomy of the dreamer's life-world revealed in their dream-existence, the interpretative-reality revealed through the enaction of dreams, tension between the newer Christian-based cosomology and the traditional cultural-based cosmology, a moral imperative, prophetic perception and human bodiliness, as revealed in dream interpretations and the legitimation of the interpretative-reality within the life-world. The essence of the interpretative-reality of both groups is very similar and is expressed in the notion of relatedness to a cosmic mode-of-being. The cosmic mode-of-being includes a numinous dimension which is expressed through divine presence in the form of ancestors, Holy Spirit or God. These notions cannot be apprehended by theoretical constructs alone but may be grasped and given form in meaning-disclosing intuitions which are expressed in the lifeworld in terms of bodiliness, revelatory knowledge, action and healing. Some differences between the two groups are evident and reveal some conflict between the monotheistic Christian cosmology and the traditional cosmology. Unique aspects of the interpetative-reality of the Urban Group are expressed in terms of difficulties in the urban social environment and the notion of a moral imperative. It is observed that cultural self-expression based upon traditional ideas continues to play a significant role in the urban environment. The apparent conflict revealed between the respective cosmologies underlies an integration of traditional meanings with Christian concepts. This finding is consistent with the literature suggesting that the African Independent Church is a syncretic movement. The life-world is based upon the immediate and vivid experience of the numinous as revealed in the dream phenomenon. The participants' approach to dreams is not based upon an explicit theory, but upon an immediate and pathic understanding of the dream phenomenon. The understanding is based upon the interpreter's concrete understanding of the life-world, which includes the possibility of cosmic integration and continuity between the personal and transpersonal realms of being. The approach is characterized as an expression of man's primordial attunement with the cosmos. The approach of the participants to dreams may not be consistent with a Western rational orientation, but nevertheless, it is a valid approach. The validity is based upon the immediate life-world of experience which is intelligible, coherent, and above all, it is meaning-giving in revealing life-possibility within the context of human existence.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
A phenomenological explication of the male alcoholic's experience of existence with mother and father
- Authors: Singer, Stanley
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Alcoholism -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3124 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006143
- Description: Much is written, especially in psychodynamically oriented literature, about the unduly close dependency relationship male alcoholics have with their mothers. Whilst not disputing this it became apparent to myself when working with them that they also expressed strong attachments to their fathers who were described as absent or punitive. The literature goes on to theorize that a repressed homosexual element is often at work in the male alcoholic. Not much more of substance is said about the father other than he may be absent or punitive - even less is mentioned of the male alcoholic's experience with his father. It appears that this relationship has remained largely unexplored as a result of an uncritical imposition of theory, especially psychodynamic, upon the complex phenomenon of alcoholism. These theories generally posit the mother's influence over all problems in living be they neuroses, psychoses or alcoholism. It is possible that a dialogue exists between mother, father and alcoholic son which is more extensive and complex than that currently described in the literature, with father playing a greater role than previously believed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Singer, Stanley
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Alcoholism -- Psychological aspects
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:3124 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006143
- Description: Much is written, especially in psychodynamically oriented literature, about the unduly close dependency relationship male alcoholics have with their mothers. Whilst not disputing this it became apparent to myself when working with them that they also expressed strong attachments to their fathers who were described as absent or punitive. The literature goes on to theorize that a repressed homosexual element is often at work in the male alcoholic. Not much more of substance is said about the father other than he may be absent or punitive - even less is mentioned of the male alcoholic's experience with his father. It appears that this relationship has remained largely unexplored as a result of an uncritical imposition of theory, especially psychodynamic, upon the complex phenomenon of alcoholism. These theories generally posit the mother's influence over all problems in living be they neuroses, psychoses or alcoholism. It is possible that a dialogue exists between mother, father and alcoholic son which is more extensive and complex than that currently described in the literature, with father playing a greater role than previously believed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
The practical and theoretical implications of pretreatment and posttreatment anxiety levels in alcoholic in-patients
- Authors: Thomson, Peter R S
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:21129 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6494
- Description: Pretreatment and posttreatment anxiety scores on the IPAT Anxiety Inventory and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale were obtained from 27 alcoholic in-patients who participated in an alcoholic treatment programme. The treatment programme focused on abstinence and not on anxiety reduction. The results showed that there was a significant decrease between the pre- and the posttreatment anxiety scores on both measures . The duration of hospitalization or the attendance of group psychotherapy did not affect the decrease in anxiety scores. The implications of these results for Pattison's (1979) Multivariate Multimodal model of alcoholism are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
- Authors: Thomson, Peter R S
- Date: 1984
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:21129 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/6494
- Description: Pretreatment and posttreatment anxiety scores on the IPAT Anxiety Inventory and the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale were obtained from 27 alcoholic in-patients who participated in an alcoholic treatment programme. The treatment programme focused on abstinence and not on anxiety reduction. The results showed that there was a significant decrease between the pre- and the posttreatment anxiety scores on both measures . The duration of hospitalization or the attendance of group psychotherapy did not affect the decrease in anxiety scores. The implications of these results for Pattison's (1979) Multivariate Multimodal model of alcoholism are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
Singing and dancing in Holy Spirit: an understanding of the Xhosa Zionist healing service
- Authors: Miller, Martin Jonathan
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Health -- Religious aspects -- Zionist churches (Africa) , Healing -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Religious aspects , Zionist churches (Africa) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3158 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007638 , Health -- Religious aspects -- Zionist churches (Africa) , Healing -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Religious aspects , Zionist churches (Africa) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Description: Introduction: This project takes as its subject a particular example of ecstatic Christianity of the African Zionist type, practised by a group of urban African persons in Grahamstown, South Africa. The study is concerned specifically with the meanings of music (singing and drumming) and movement (dancing and clapping) in the context of a Church service whose overall intention is the employment of spiritual powers in the healing of sick persons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1985
- Authors: Miller, Martin Jonathan
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Health -- Religious aspects -- Zionist churches (Africa) , Healing -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Religious aspects , Zionist churches (Africa) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3158 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007638 , Health -- Religious aspects -- Zionist churches (Africa) , Healing -- South Africa -- Grahamstown -- Religious aspects , Zionist churches (Africa) -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Description: Introduction: This project takes as its subject a particular example of ecstatic Christianity of the African Zionist type, practised by a group of urban African persons in Grahamstown, South Africa. The study is concerned specifically with the meanings of music (singing and drumming) and movement (dancing and clapping) in the context of a Church service whose overall intention is the employment of spiritual powers in the healing of sick persons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1985
The life-world of youth in children's homes
- Mudaly, Balasundran Subramani
- Authors: Mudaly, Balasundran Subramani
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Children -- Institutional care -- Psychological aspects Self in children Emotions in children Identity (Psychology) in children
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2915 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002080
- Description: The study sought to obtain an insightful understanding of the life-world of youth who have not only experienced long-term separation from their biological parents and families but who have also simultaneously experienced prolonged institutional life in a children'e home. Using a descriptive praxis in the context of an existential phenomenological perspective, the study elicited from participants written descriptions of their personal experiences of the phenomenon of self-fulfilment. The data were structurally analysed, expressed in the form of extended descriptions and utilised as the basis for an exposition/appreciation of the life-world relationships of institutional youth. The target group of teenagers was drawn from a specific children's home. However, in order to enhance the findings of the study, data from a comparative group of youth from intact families in the community were also utilised. The study yielded some useful comparative insights which not only formed the basis for certain recommendations but also served as directions for future research. Hopefully, these recommendations and research proposals will be of some immediate interest and comfort to both reeearchers and practitioners in the field of residential child and youth care
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1985
- Authors: Mudaly, Balasundran Subramani
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Children -- Institutional care -- Psychological aspects Self in children Emotions in children Identity (Psychology) in children
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2915 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002080
- Description: The study sought to obtain an insightful understanding of the life-world of youth who have not only experienced long-term separation from their biological parents and families but who have also simultaneously experienced prolonged institutional life in a children'e home. Using a descriptive praxis in the context of an existential phenomenological perspective, the study elicited from participants written descriptions of their personal experiences of the phenomenon of self-fulfilment. The data were structurally analysed, expressed in the form of extended descriptions and utilised as the basis for an exposition/appreciation of the life-world relationships of institutional youth. The target group of teenagers was drawn from a specific children's home. However, in order to enhance the findings of the study, data from a comparative group of youth from intact families in the community were also utilised. The study yielded some useful comparative insights which not only formed the basis for certain recommendations but also served as directions for future research. Hopefully, these recommendations and research proposals will be of some immediate interest and comfort to both reeearchers and practitioners in the field of residential child and youth care
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1985
Towards a phenomenological model for a critical psychotherapy
- Gennrich-de Lisle, Peter Hirzel
- Authors: Gennrich-de Lisle, Peter Hirzel
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Psychotherapy , Phenomenology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3106 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004513 , Psychotherapy , Phenomenology
- Description: This thesis aims to establish a model of psychotherapy that is based on experience, but which takes social structure into account. To do this it first sets up a theoretical model of psychotherapy. Thereafter the model is used to analyse four protocols as a way of examining its effectiveness. The analysis of the protocols provides the basis for coming to certain conclusions about the nature of psychotherapy. The theoretical phase first examines the area traditionally known as etiology, but here the approach is from a broadly existential perspective. Thus this section starts by proposing a view of human nature, and then it goes on to say how this nature comes to be disrupted. The influence of the broader social context upon human existence is also considered here. Secondly, there is an attempt to understand how psychotherapy works. Drawing on existential and cultural anthropological material, various themes of psychotherapy are examined, and these are then placed within their social context. Finally, the theoretical phase brings together the themes emerging from the two foregoing sections and integrates them into a single model of "etiology" and "cure". In the following chapter, the adequacy of this model is examined by using it to analyse four protocols written by subjects on their experience of therapy. In the final chapter various conclusions are drawn.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1985
- Authors: Gennrich-de Lisle, Peter Hirzel
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: Psychotherapy , Phenomenology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3106 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004513 , Psychotherapy , Phenomenology
- Description: This thesis aims to establish a model of psychotherapy that is based on experience, but which takes social structure into account. To do this it first sets up a theoretical model of psychotherapy. Thereafter the model is used to analyse four protocols as a way of examining its effectiveness. The analysis of the protocols provides the basis for coming to certain conclusions about the nature of psychotherapy. The theoretical phase first examines the area traditionally known as etiology, but here the approach is from a broadly existential perspective. Thus this section starts by proposing a view of human nature, and then it goes on to say how this nature comes to be disrupted. The influence of the broader social context upon human existence is also considered here. Secondly, there is an attempt to understand how psychotherapy works. Drawing on existential and cultural anthropological material, various themes of psychotherapy are examined, and these are then placed within their social context. Finally, the theoretical phase brings together the themes emerging from the two foregoing sections and integrates them into a single model of "etiology" and "cure". In the following chapter, the adequacy of this model is examined by using it to analyse four protocols written by subjects on their experience of therapy. In the final chapter various conclusions are drawn.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1985
A phenomenological analysis of the psychological manifestations of ontic conscience as derived from Heidegger's ontological conception of that phenomenon
- Authors: Parker, Michael Alan
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Conscience , Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2911 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002076
- Description: The aim of this study was to investigate ontic conscience, as derived from Heidegger's ontological conception of conscience, as it is lived in concrete experience. Having established, through a close examination of Heidegger's writings on conscience, a question which would elicit actual experience of this phenomenon, the researcher collected sixty-four written accounts of these experiences. Of these he chose the four psychologically richest accounts and, having interviewed each of these four subjects on his situated experience, analysed in detail (using the phenomenological method) the resulting protocols comprising the written accounts and interviews. He then explicated the structure of conscience within its context of authenticity and inauthenticity. The context of conscience was discovered to be such that the person, having surrendered himself to others' experience and expectations of him, lives a pretence in the service of (inauthentically) being-for-others. He loses his sense of (bodily) self in the process, and it is at this point of his living at the extremes of inauthenticity, that he is forced to realise his own (authentic) reality which he has hitherto been concealing both from himself and from others. His primary attunement is reflected in feelings of betrayal, guilt, shame, dread and ambivalence. Through openly and resolutely living his authentic experience, he heals the rupture in his existence between what is revealed (his being-for-others) and what is concealed (his authentic experience), and feels liberated in so doing. This structure of conscience was dialogued with the writings of existential and psychoanalytic philosophers and psychologists in the context of discussing particular areas of psychological significance such as self, others, meaning, awareness and psychotherapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
- Authors: Parker, Michael Alan
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Conscience , Heidegger, Martin, 1889-1976
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2911 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002076
- Description: The aim of this study was to investigate ontic conscience, as derived from Heidegger's ontological conception of conscience, as it is lived in concrete experience. Having established, through a close examination of Heidegger's writings on conscience, a question which would elicit actual experience of this phenomenon, the researcher collected sixty-four written accounts of these experiences. Of these he chose the four psychologically richest accounts and, having interviewed each of these four subjects on his situated experience, analysed in detail (using the phenomenological method) the resulting protocols comprising the written accounts and interviews. He then explicated the structure of conscience within its context of authenticity and inauthenticity. The context of conscience was discovered to be such that the person, having surrendered himself to others' experience and expectations of him, lives a pretence in the service of (inauthentically) being-for-others. He loses his sense of (bodily) self in the process, and it is at this point of his living at the extremes of inauthenticity, that he is forced to realise his own (authentic) reality which he has hitherto been concealing both from himself and from others. His primary attunement is reflected in feelings of betrayal, guilt, shame, dread and ambivalence. Through openly and resolutely living his authentic experience, he heals the rupture in his existence between what is revealed (his being-for-others) and what is concealed (his authentic experience), and feels liberated in so doing. This structure of conscience was dialogued with the writings of existential and psychoanalytic philosophers and psychologists in the context of discussing particular areas of psychological significance such as self, others, meaning, awareness and psychotherapy.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
A phenomenological investigation of the beginning therapist's experience of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient
- Authors: Allen, Jennifer Ann
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193129 , vital:45301
- Description: The aim of this project is to come to an understanding of how the situation of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient is lived by the beginning therapist and what meaning this situation holds for him. The writer's interest in this phenomenon grew out of her own experience of this situation as a clinical Masters coursework student, an experience which was of important to the writer and meaningful still as a therapist in training. In dialogue with experienced therapists the importance of this situation was again made apparant. It was the opinion of these therapists that although for some the details of this experience had become dulled by time, what remained meaningful to them was that this experience was seen as the beginning of a project which remains important to them - they identified this situation as an important moment in the history of their development as psychotherapists. In the hope that the literature pertaining to psychotherapy would throw some light on this situation, the writer turned to a number of sources in this area to discover that no literature available to her elucidated this situation in a holistic manner. This led the writer to go back to the beginning therapists themselves so that they may speak for themselves of their experience of this situation. A phenomenological method of enquiry is implemented in this study as it renders the subject matter accessible to investigation, and allows it to reveal itself as it essentially is. This project is then an attempt to come to a general description of the beginning therapist's experience of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient and thus to articulate the structure of the beginning therapist's lived situation (world) in this context. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1987
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Allen, Jennifer Ann
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193129 , vital:45301
- Description: The aim of this project is to come to an understanding of how the situation of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient is lived by the beginning therapist and what meaning this situation holds for him. The writer's interest in this phenomenon grew out of her own experience of this situation as a clinical Masters coursework student, an experience which was of important to the writer and meaningful still as a therapist in training. In dialogue with experienced therapists the importance of this situation was again made apparant. It was the opinion of these therapists that although for some the details of this experience had become dulled by time, what remained meaningful to them was that this experience was seen as the beginning of a project which remains important to them - they identified this situation as an important moment in the history of their development as psychotherapists. In the hope that the literature pertaining to psychotherapy would throw some light on this situation, the writer turned to a number of sources in this area to discover that no literature available to her elucidated this situation in a holistic manner. This led the writer to go back to the beginning therapists themselves so that they may speak for themselves of their experience of this situation. A phenomenological method of enquiry is implemented in this study as it renders the subject matter accessible to investigation, and allows it to reveal itself as it essentially is. This project is then an attempt to come to a general description of the beginning therapist's experience of the first session of psychotherapy with the first patient and thus to articulate the structure of the beginning therapist's lived situation (world) in this context. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1987
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
A study of alienation and personality traits conducted among "Coloured" and white males in South Africa
- Shaw, Patrick Donovan Richard
- Authors: Shaw, Patrick Donovan Richard
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Alienation (Soclal psychology) Alienation (Social psychology) -- Case studies -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3120 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004928
- Description: A measure of four types and five contexts of alienation, as well as ten personality traits, was obtained via the ·application of the Alienation Test and Howarth's Personality Questionnaire. The sample (~= 195) comprised of both high school pupils and adults drawn from the local population of English and Afrikaans speaking Whites and "Coloureds" from a town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. These six sample groups allowed for comparisons on the measures for factors such as race, age and cultural differences. The literature review showed repeated reference to the "alienation" of the "Coloured" people of South Africa in the political, social and cultural spheres. However, the research in this area has been sparse. The main object of the study, therefore, was to determine if "Coloureds" do feel alienated, as well as the contexts of this alienation, using Whites as a comparative group. possible differences in personality traits between "Coloureds" and Whites have been associated with the differences in behaviour exhibited by these two groups, but past research has failed to find many differences. The second objective of this study, therefore, was to determine if there are differences between the personality traits of "Coloureds" and Whites, and to extend the past research. Researchers have shown that there is a relationship between alienation and personality traits, but have not adequately addressed the nature of this relationship or its implications. Following from this, the third objective of the study was to examine the relationship between alienation and personality traits, as well as their ability to predict alienation. Results on the Alienation Test showed that "Coloureds" do differ significantly from Whites and exhibit far higher levels of alienation. These differences are most marked on those types and contexts of alienation reflecting a distance from the social and political environment. Results on the personality measure showed minimal differences in personality traits between the groups. Where they were evident, they could be attributed to environmental factors. Lastly, there was a relationship between alienation and certain personality traits, but these traits had limited power to predict alienation. Taking all findings of the study into account, it is evident that the social environment, and specifically a discriminatory social environment, affects feelings of alienation to a far greater extent than personality traits. In addition, the large differences in scores of the "Coloured" and White groups on the measure of alienation and the minimal differences on the measure of personality, provides evidence that what is measured by alienation and what is measured by personality traits, are two distinctly different constructs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Shaw, Patrick Donovan Richard
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Alienation (Soclal psychology) Alienation (Social psychology) -- Case studies -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3120 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004928
- Description: A measure of four types and five contexts of alienation, as well as ten personality traits, was obtained via the ·application of the Alienation Test and Howarth's Personality Questionnaire. The sample (~= 195) comprised of both high school pupils and adults drawn from the local population of English and Afrikaans speaking Whites and "Coloureds" from a town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. These six sample groups allowed for comparisons on the measures for factors such as race, age and cultural differences. The literature review showed repeated reference to the "alienation" of the "Coloured" people of South Africa in the political, social and cultural spheres. However, the research in this area has been sparse. The main object of the study, therefore, was to determine if "Coloureds" do feel alienated, as well as the contexts of this alienation, using Whites as a comparative group. possible differences in personality traits between "Coloureds" and Whites have been associated with the differences in behaviour exhibited by these two groups, but past research has failed to find many differences. The second objective of this study, therefore, was to determine if there are differences between the personality traits of "Coloureds" and Whites, and to extend the past research. Researchers have shown that there is a relationship between alienation and personality traits, but have not adequately addressed the nature of this relationship or its implications. Following from this, the third objective of the study was to examine the relationship between alienation and personality traits, as well as their ability to predict alienation. Results on the Alienation Test showed that "Coloureds" do differ significantly from Whites and exhibit far higher levels of alienation. These differences are most marked on those types and contexts of alienation reflecting a distance from the social and political environment. Results on the personality measure showed minimal differences in personality traits between the groups. Where they were evident, they could be attributed to environmental factors. Lastly, there was a relationship between alienation and certain personality traits, but these traits had limited power to predict alienation. Taking all findings of the study into account, it is evident that the social environment, and specifically a discriminatory social environment, affects feelings of alienation to a far greater extent than personality traits. In addition, the large differences in scores of the "Coloured" and White groups on the measure of alienation and the minimal differences on the measure of personality, provides evidence that what is measured by alienation and what is measured by personality traits, are two distinctly different constructs.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
An empirical phenomenological study of happiness
- Authors: Parker, Peter Burns
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Happiness
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2912 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002077
- Description: The aim of this study was to investigate man's attunement when happy. Having established a question which would elicit actual experiences of this phenomenon, the researcher collected sixty-four written accounts of the experience. Of these he chose the twelve psychologically richest accounts and, having interviewed each of these twelve subjects to push their written descriptions to their limits, he analysed the resulting protocols using an empirical phenomenological method. The general structure of the experience of happiness suggested that happiness emerged as a special openness against a background where individuals were less than happy. During happiness there is a breaking through the bonds of the individual's mundane, everyday disclosure of the world. It transports the individual to an existence in which the ruptures which form part of man's lived relationships to himself, to his fellowman, to the world and to life itself are healed, and in which life is lived in increased harmony with all. There is a coming home to the self, a move toward wholeness which is enlivened bodily by a radiating vibrancy (often a tingling lightness and brightness), as the individual expands with energy, power, self-confidence and mastery, and rises above the troubles of life. This structure of happiness was dialogued with the writing of existential philosophers and psychologists, psychoanalysts and humanists
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Parker, Peter Burns
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Happiness
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:2912 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002077
- Description: The aim of this study was to investigate man's attunement when happy. Having established a question which would elicit actual experiences of this phenomenon, the researcher collected sixty-four written accounts of the experience. Of these he chose the twelve psychologically richest accounts and, having interviewed each of these twelve subjects to push their written descriptions to their limits, he analysed the resulting protocols using an empirical phenomenological method. The general structure of the experience of happiness suggested that happiness emerged as a special openness against a background where individuals were less than happy. During happiness there is a breaking through the bonds of the individual's mundane, everyday disclosure of the world. It transports the individual to an existence in which the ruptures which form part of man's lived relationships to himself, to his fellowman, to the world and to life itself are healed, and in which life is lived in increased harmony with all. There is a coming home to the self, a move toward wholeness which is enlivened bodily by a radiating vibrancy (often a tingling lightness and brightness), as the individual expands with energy, power, self-confidence and mastery, and rises above the troubles of life. This structure of happiness was dialogued with the writing of existential philosophers and psychologists, psychoanalysts and humanists
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
Funeral rites of the amaXhosa as therapeutic procedures compared to crisis intervention : an anthropological-descriptive evaluation
- Solomon, Angela Ntombizodwa Nokuphila
- Authors: Solomon, Angela Ntombizodwa Nokuphila
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Funeral customs and rites , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Mourning customs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3164 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007699
- Description: This study was undertaken in an attempt to investigate the analogy between the Crisis Intervention Model and the Funeral Rites of the amaXhosa. The latter group includes both traditional as well as Western Christian elements. The study was confined to the geographical area of Ciskei and more specifically the villages in and around Peddie and Ndevana near Zwelitsha, as regards traditional people, and the Black townships of Zwelitsha and Whittlesea,as regards more Westernized people. It is, however, the contention of the study that experiences discussed here are common to Blacks in South Africa irrespective of ethnicity. The justification for this generalisation is based on anthropological commonalities as well as historical vicissitudes among Blacks in Southern Africa. For instance, ritual slaughter performed after death in propitiation with the ancestors is known among all Blacks in South Africa. Also the Politico-historical events as well as socio-economic developments in the country affect Blacks in a more or less similar manner. For example, the changing family structure among Blacks, because of changes from one type of economy to another, is a social process affecting all Blacks in Southern Africa - in particular the working class (Colin Murray, 1980). The Funeral rites under study are postulated as possessing elements of therapeutic and practical value which result in the alleviation of grief and the encouragement of full acceptable means of mourning. The study is chiefly descriptive and anthropological material has been used. Recordings were made from participant observation whenever there was a funeral in the area studied. Information about funerals is easily obtainable as these are announced over Radio Ciskei and Radio Xhosa every evening. Mourners and interveners were interviewed. The former to elicit the needs they had felt, the latter to elicit the needs they had perceived the former to have. The Crisis Intervention Model is fairly simple to understand and uses practical theory. Therefore, it is not surprising that there should be elements of similarity between this model and the funeral rites of the amaXhosa as both deal with people in need of support. These funeral rites are rooted in a culture which has as one of its crucial aspects intimate, face-to-face interaction of its members in constant exchange as regards both emotional support and services. These "credit networks" ensure that a person is never bereft of emotional support. Moreover, temporary services are always accorded to a person in crisis. An effort has been made to relate the Crisis Intervention Model to the South African context of Blacks (both traditional as well as Christian). By necessity this has meant looking at all cultural dimensions of Black society - historical, political, economic and cultural, in order to provide a clearer picture of the people under study. That is, human psychological experiences of grief and mourning are seen as processes related to and developing within the concrete everyday realities. Some of the experiences described have been personally witnessed by the researcher in her personal involvement with cultural practices. Funerals are, of necessity, sad occasions and this study, using participant observation methods sometimes brought on sad memories of the researcher's own losses of loved ones. In the discussion a comparison was made between the traditional methods of grief work, the Crisis Intervention theory and the mourner studied and it was found that these rites do indeed, contain therapeutic and practical elements of dealing with grief and mourning, comparable to the Crisis Intervention Model. Finally in the conclusior a proposal for further areas of study in this field was suggested.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Solomon, Angela Ntombizodwa Nokuphila
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Xhosa (African people) -- Funeral customs and rites , Xhosa (African people) -- Psychology , Bereavement -- Psychological aspects , Mourning customs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:3164 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007699
- Description: This study was undertaken in an attempt to investigate the analogy between the Crisis Intervention Model and the Funeral Rites of the amaXhosa. The latter group includes both traditional as well as Western Christian elements. The study was confined to the geographical area of Ciskei and more specifically the villages in and around Peddie and Ndevana near Zwelitsha, as regards traditional people, and the Black townships of Zwelitsha and Whittlesea,as regards more Westernized people. It is, however, the contention of the study that experiences discussed here are common to Blacks in South Africa irrespective of ethnicity. The justification for this generalisation is based on anthropological commonalities as well as historical vicissitudes among Blacks in Southern Africa. For instance, ritual slaughter performed after death in propitiation with the ancestors is known among all Blacks in South Africa. Also the Politico-historical events as well as socio-economic developments in the country affect Blacks in a more or less similar manner. For example, the changing family structure among Blacks, because of changes from one type of economy to another, is a social process affecting all Blacks in Southern Africa - in particular the working class (Colin Murray, 1980). The Funeral rites under study are postulated as possessing elements of therapeutic and practical value which result in the alleviation of grief and the encouragement of full acceptable means of mourning. The study is chiefly descriptive and anthropological material has been used. Recordings were made from participant observation whenever there was a funeral in the area studied. Information about funerals is easily obtainable as these are announced over Radio Ciskei and Radio Xhosa every evening. Mourners and interveners were interviewed. The former to elicit the needs they had felt, the latter to elicit the needs they had perceived the former to have. The Crisis Intervention Model is fairly simple to understand and uses practical theory. Therefore, it is not surprising that there should be elements of similarity between this model and the funeral rites of the amaXhosa as both deal with people in need of support. These funeral rites are rooted in a culture which has as one of its crucial aspects intimate, face-to-face interaction of its members in constant exchange as regards both emotional support and services. These "credit networks" ensure that a person is never bereft of emotional support. Moreover, temporary services are always accorded to a person in crisis. An effort has been made to relate the Crisis Intervention Model to the South African context of Blacks (both traditional as well as Christian). By necessity this has meant looking at all cultural dimensions of Black society - historical, political, economic and cultural, in order to provide a clearer picture of the people under study. That is, human psychological experiences of grief and mourning are seen as processes related to and developing within the concrete everyday realities. Some of the experiences described have been personally witnessed by the researcher in her personal involvement with cultural practices. Funerals are, of necessity, sad occasions and this study, using participant observation methods sometimes brought on sad memories of the researcher's own losses of loved ones. In the discussion a comparison was made between the traditional methods of grief work, the Crisis Intervention theory and the mourner studied and it was found that these rites do indeed, contain therapeutic and practical elements of dealing with grief and mourning, comparable to the Crisis Intervention Model. Finally in the conclusior a proposal for further areas of study in this field was suggested.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
Self-esteem and aggressive behaviour: a pilot study
- Authors: Rossouw, Gabriel Johannes
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Aggressiveness , Self-esteem
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3151 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007471 , Aggressiveness , Self-esteem
- Description: From Introduction: "That man is an aggressive creature will hardly be disputed. With the exception of certain rodents, no other vertebrate habitually destroys members of his own species. No other animal takes positive pleasure in the excercise of cruelty upon another of his kind" (A. Storr, 1968 p. ix). It is a sombre fact that man is the cruellest and most ruthless specie that has ever walked on earth. We recoil in horror when we read the daily newspaper or in a history book of the atrocities committed by man, but as A. Storr puts it: "....., we know in our hearts that each one of us harbours within himself those savage impulses which lead to murder, to torture and to war." (p. ix). Our warranted concern with this phenomenon is portrayed by the tremendous amount of research in this field which can be sub-divided into two distinct categories. The first category consist of those that emphasize nurture in their attempt to gain a deeper understanding of human aggression, of which the behaviourists and social learning theorists are staunch supporters. Underlying their concern and endeavour is the personal belief that aggression is attributable to environmental factors. In short, they maintain that humans are not aggressive by nature and if one follows their argument to its logical conclusion it would allow for a sigh of relief and inspiration. Their research results indicate that well deliberated methods of control would most certainly result in the extinction or near extinction of aggression. The second category consist of those, notably the psycho-analytic school of thought, who emphasize nature in their understanding of human aggression and do not allow themselves the naivety of projecting aggression into environmental conditions and situations. In short, they argue that aggression is innate and serves a particular function in the psychological development of the human being. It is their contention that aggressiveness supports the individual in his drive towards independence. The aim of this paper is to present both stances and to broaden the perspective by introducing a view that straddles both nature and nurture. Following this view, of whom Rollo May (1972) is a strong supporter, to its logical conclusion would indicate that aggression is the result of nature as well as nurture and that it serves the function of re-establishing a sense of worth and significance that has otherwise been thwarted. Finally, this paper sets out to prove that aggression and violence "feeds on a low self- esteem and self-doubt" (Toch. 69, p. 212).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Rossouw, Gabriel Johannes
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Aggressiveness , Self-esteem
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3151 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007471 , Aggressiveness , Self-esteem
- Description: From Introduction: "That man is an aggressive creature will hardly be disputed. With the exception of certain rodents, no other vertebrate habitually destroys members of his own species. No other animal takes positive pleasure in the excercise of cruelty upon another of his kind" (A. Storr, 1968 p. ix). It is a sombre fact that man is the cruellest and most ruthless specie that has ever walked on earth. We recoil in horror when we read the daily newspaper or in a history book of the atrocities committed by man, but as A. Storr puts it: "....., we know in our hearts that each one of us harbours within himself those savage impulses which lead to murder, to torture and to war." (p. ix). Our warranted concern with this phenomenon is portrayed by the tremendous amount of research in this field which can be sub-divided into two distinct categories. The first category consist of those that emphasize nurture in their attempt to gain a deeper understanding of human aggression, of which the behaviourists and social learning theorists are staunch supporters. Underlying their concern and endeavour is the personal belief that aggression is attributable to environmental factors. In short, they maintain that humans are not aggressive by nature and if one follows their argument to its logical conclusion it would allow for a sigh of relief and inspiration. Their research results indicate that well deliberated methods of control would most certainly result in the extinction or near extinction of aggression. The second category consist of those, notably the psycho-analytic school of thought, who emphasize nature in their understanding of human aggression and do not allow themselves the naivety of projecting aggression into environmental conditions and situations. In short, they argue that aggression is innate and serves a particular function in the psychological development of the human being. It is their contention that aggressiveness supports the individual in his drive towards independence. The aim of this paper is to present both stances and to broaden the perspective by introducing a view that straddles both nature and nurture. Following this view, of whom Rollo May (1972) is a strong supporter, to its logical conclusion would indicate that aggression is the result of nature as well as nurture and that it serves the function of re-establishing a sense of worth and significance that has otherwise been thwarted. Finally, this paper sets out to prove that aggression and violence "feeds on a low self- esteem and self-doubt" (Toch. 69, p. 212).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
The interpersonal dimension of psychopathology
- Authors: O'Dowd, S A
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Psychology, Pathological
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2910 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002075
- Description: It is argued that two large groups of disorders can be distinguished in the field of psychopathology, (1) which divide between them the psychoses, neuroses and personality disorders; ( 2) the dynamics of which are those of Klein's paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, respectively; and (3) which are distinguished by nine basic contrasts in symptomatology and dynamics, all of which are expressive of the opposition self-centred/other-centred. These three hypotheses form the interpersonal model of psychopathology, and are supported by argument from works of Foulds, Jung, Abraham, Fairbairn, Klein, Angyal, Winnicott and Heidegger. It is suggested that the interpersonal model can facilitate the dialogue between psychoanalysis and phenomenology
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: O'Dowd, S A
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: Psychology, Pathological
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2910 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002075
- Description: It is argued that two large groups of disorders can be distinguished in the field of psychopathology, (1) which divide between them the psychoses, neuroses and personality disorders; ( 2) the dynamics of which are those of Klein's paranoid-schizoid and depressive positions, respectively; and (3) which are distinguished by nine basic contrasts in symptomatology and dynamics, all of which are expressive of the opposition self-centred/other-centred. These three hypotheses form the interpersonal model of psychopathology, and are supported by argument from works of Foulds, Jung, Abraham, Fairbairn, Klein, Angyal, Winnicott and Heidegger. It is suggested that the interpersonal model can facilitate the dialogue between psychoanalysis and phenomenology
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
A comparison of the self-esteem of black and white high school pupils
- Authors: Morrow, Brian Robert
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193033 , vital:45292
- Description: This study investigated the level of self-esteem of black and white high-school students using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. One hundred and eighty six subjects were used, 63 of them being white while 118 were black. A validation of the Rosenberg scale for the black sample was attempted using a correlation between the scale score and a rating of the subjects by teachers. The results of the study showed no significant difference between the self-esteem levels, while the validation study failed to confirm the validity of the test for black subjects in South Africa. However, the validation study v/as rejected as inconclusive and the results of the comparison accepted as confirmatory of previous research. An incidental positive finding revealed that white males have higher self-esteem than white females,. The theory and past research of self-esteem comparisons between racial groups is reviewed. The conclusion is reached in this study that the concept of self-esteem has outlasted its usefulness in the field of comparisons between racial groups and research of a qualitative nature .can provide further data for the understanding of differences between racial groups. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1988
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988
- Authors: Morrow, Brian Robert
- Date: 1988
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/193033 , vital:45292
- Description: This study investigated the level of self-esteem of black and white high-school students using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. One hundred and eighty six subjects were used, 63 of them being white while 118 were black. A validation of the Rosenberg scale for the black sample was attempted using a correlation between the scale score and a rating of the subjects by teachers. The results of the study showed no significant difference between the self-esteem levels, while the validation study failed to confirm the validity of the test for black subjects in South Africa. However, the validation study v/as rejected as inconclusive and the results of the comparison accepted as confirmatory of previous research. An incidental positive finding revealed that white males have higher self-esteem than white females,. The theory and past research of self-esteem comparisons between racial groups is reviewed. The conclusion is reached in this study that the concept of self-esteem has outlasted its usefulness in the field of comparisons between racial groups and research of a qualitative nature .can provide further data for the understanding of differences between racial groups. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1988
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1988