Previous constructivist research was integrated with a field study to investigate the hypothesis that the subjective perceptions of the current social, security and economic situation of the high and low-income groups in South Africa differ to the extent that they could be said to be living in totally different worlds of phenomenological experience. The data demonstrated clear differences when coded in terms of worldviews along an Optimism-Pessimism Continuum. A number of additional processing phenomena and social dynamics able to influence these perceptions were also identified from an interpretative analysis of the data. The results were explained in terms of the cueing and activation of specific schemata constructed from income-related prior experiences associated with each group and led to the conclusion that income and living conditions could well be factors contributing to the ongoing confrontations between government and impoverished communities. A number of recommendations to improve inter-group relations were included. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Text in English / The purpose of this study is to tell the story around the roles of relationships in the world of depressed women. The epistemological framework of this study is constructivism. This study involved a series of in-depth interviews with three depressed women who had young children. Hermeneutics was the method used to analyse the data. The stories of the participants were recounted through the researcher's lens in the form of themes that emerged. The specific ways each participant tried to cope, and the emerging processes from the researcher's perspective as to what she believed was helpful or unhelpful to the participants, in addition to what the participants themselves regarded as helpful, was discussed. Recurring themes evident in the stories of all three participants were elucidated in the story of the stories. The information gained could serve as guidelines to those working with depressed people from a Western and an African context. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Text in Afrikaans / In this study a description of the development of meaningful alternative constructions has been provided. The development of meaningful alternative descriptions of a painful situation within which people find themselves could create the possibility of movement taking place. · The development of alternative descriptions was discussed by means of the following components of a therapeutic conversation: The therapist uses the different punctuations of the family in their description of the problem and takes complementary descriptions into consideration. (Punctuation/complementation.) In the description of alternative realities the therapist uses a language that creates hope for change. (Reframing.) The therapist listens to the family with respect and endeavours to hear the family's themes, to understand and to use them. (Language.) The therapist, by asking questions of which the answers facilitate further questions, accepts the responsibility to facilitate discussions that encourage participation in the therapeutic process. (Participation/questions leading to further questions.) The discussion was based on a constructivist approach. A case history was described to illustrate how meaningful alternative descriptions were developed in a therapeutic conversation. / In hierdie studie is 'n beskrywing van die ontwikkeling van betekenisvolle alternatiewe konstruksies gegee. Die ontwikkeling van alternatiewe beskrywings vir 'n pynlike situasie waarin mense hulle bevind kan die moontlikheid skep dat beweging plaasvind. Die ontwikkeling van alternatiewe beskrywings word bespreek aan die hand van die volgende vier komponente van 'n terapeutiese gesprek: Die terapeut gebruik die verskillende punktuasies van die gesin in hulle beskrywing van die probleem en neem komplementerende beskrywings in ag. (Punktuasielkomplementering.) In die beskrywing van alternatiewe realiteite gebruik die terapeut 'n taal wat die hoop op verandering skep. (Herformulering.) Die terapeut luister met respek na die gesin, en poog om die gesin se temas aan te hoor, te verstaan en te gebruik. (Taal.) Die terapeut neem, deur vrae te vra waarvan die antwoorde tot verdere vrae aanleiding gee, die verantwoordelikheid op hom om gesprekvoering te fasiliteer wat deelname aan die terapeutiese proses aanmoedig. (Deelname/vrae wat aanleiding gee tot verdere vrae.) Die bespreking is gebaseer op 'n konstruktivistiese benadering. 'n Gevallestudie word beskryf om te illustreer hoe betekenisvolle alternatiewe beskrywings in 'n terapeutiese gesprek ontwikkel is. / M.A. (Social Work)

This thesis constitutes a narrative description of the evolution of my therapeutic self during my training as a clinical psychologist. During the telling of this story, I review the ways in which I was perturbed by the mix between the various theories and the various contexts visited during the years of my post-graduate training. I have described and critically compared my responses to the following models: psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, first-order cybernetic, and secondorder cybernetic (covering the first, second and third movements). Throughout, I have attempted to track the development of a congruent, personal therapeutic self while simultaneously assuming that this self is constantly coming-into-being. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Text in English / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology, with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / In hierdie navorsing word die interpersoonlike proses waardeur betekenissisteme deur dialoog in die terapeutiese konteks geko-konstrueer word, beskryf en gelllustreer, aan die hand van 'n gevallestudie. Hierdie navorsing is gegrond in 'n kubemetiese epistemologie wat impliseer dat probleme, oplossings en realiteite nie as 'n objektiewe realiteit beskryf kan word nie, maar eerder as 'n konstruksie van die observeerder. Terapie word beskryf as 'n dialektiese proses tussen die terapeut en die klient waarin betekenissisteme geko-konstrueer word. Die proses waardeur realiteite deur vertelling in terapie geko-konstrueer word, word gepunktueer in terme van 'n dialektiese beskrywingsproses tussen die sensoriese ervaring (dit sluit in kognitiewe verstandsprosesse wat deur konstruktivistiese teoriee verklaar word), en die beskrywing daarvan in taal (wat deur sosiale konstruktivisme verklaar word). In hierdie rekursiewe proses word betekenissisteme as intersubjektiewe fenomeen geskep en ervaar deur die individu betrokke in dialogiese en interaksionele prosesse. / This research illustrates and describes, through the use of a case study, the interpersonal process through which meaning systems are co-constructed by means of dialogue in the therapeutic context. The research is founded on the cybernetic epistemology which implies that problems, solutions and realities cannot be described as an objective reality, but rather as a construction ofthe observer. Therapy is described as a dialectic process between the therapist and the client in which new meaning systems are being co-constructed. The process in which realities are co-constructed through narratives, are punctuated in terms of a dialectic process of description between the sensory experience (that includes cognitive mental processes which are explained through constructivism), and the description thereof in language (which is explained through social constructivism). In this recursive process meaning systems as an intersubjective phenomena are created and experienced by the individual in dialogical and interactional processes. / Psychology / M.A. (Kliniese Sielkunde)

This study sets out to report on the reflections of a therapist-in-[post-graduate] training on his experiences when endeavouring to shift from [between] a positivistic to [and] a constructivistic paradigm. Reflections on some experiences associated with the positivistic epistemology that were relinquished were described; reflections on experiences associated with the constructivistic epistemology that were gained were described as well as reflections on experiences of both paradigms, that were added. These reflections were based on research data acquired during the researcher's first year of post-graduate training and exposure to the "new" constructivistic paradigm. Transcriptions from audio-taped sessions with a client from the researchers private practice, during this period served as the research data for this study. A literature study attempting to distinguish between the positivistic and constructivistic paradigms is presented. Arising out of this, the implications of a paradigm shift of this nature, is outlined. / Health Studies / M.A. (Mental Health)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2005-12-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:58:37Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 marquezini_cp_me_assis.pdf: 436417 bytes, checksum: 3f77fa4f622434fbc431e318327dbc90 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Vários estudiosos do desenvolvimento infantil, independentemente das diferenças epistemológicas, salientam a importância do brincar como fator de desenvolvimento afetivo, cognitivo, social e físico. Pesquisas têm apontado, contudo, que, a despeito desta importância, o brincar está sendo substituído por um processo de precoce pedagogização formal na educação infantil. Assim, o brincar tem sido reduzido cada vez mais a mero procedimento didático. Um outro resultado de tais pesquisas é o de que o brincar é concebido pelos educadores como recurso para a recreação das crianças. Estes aspectos nos levaram a indagar acerca do valor que tal atividade tem enquanto fator de desenvolvimento no contexto educacional infantil. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo teve como finalidade principal analisar as relações que os professores que ministram aulas na educação infantil fazem entre o brincar e o desenvolvimento psicológico. Para isso, realizamos entrevistas com dez sujeitos representativos da população de educadores de instituições municipais de educação infantil da cidade de Assis (SP). As entrevistas foram descritas e analisadas segundo a teoria psicológica construtivista piagetiana. Chegamos às seguintes conclusões, dentre outras: as docentes consideram o brincar como um fator importante para o desenvolvimento psicológico. Entretanto, não demonstram clareza sobre o conhecimento do desenvolvimento infantil e desconhecem qualquer teoria que evidencie a importância do brincar no desenvolvimento psicológico infantil. Estas questões nos levaram a concluir que, pelo menos nos aspectos que investigamos, os educadores possuem uma formação precária, mostrando-nos a necessidade de uma melhor formação para a ocorrência de uma prática educativa de qualidade. / Many child development's studious, apart from epistemological differences, draw attention to the importance of playing as an affective, cognitive, social and physic development factor. The researches have shown, however, that, even knowing the importance of playing, it has been substituted by a formal and young pedagogization process when talking about child education. This way, the act of playing has been more and more reduced to a simple didactic process. Another result of these researches is that the teachers see the act of playing as a mere recreational resource to the children. Because of these aspects, we ask about the value of these activities as development factors inside the child educational context. This way, this study's main objective is to analyze the relationship teachers who work in child education make between playing and psychological development. So, we have interviewed 10 representative subjects from the teachers who work at municipal schools from the city of Assis (SP). The interviews were described and analyzed following the Piaget's constructivist psychological theory. We could conclude, among many things: teachers consider the act of playing as an important factor to the psychological development. Though, they don't seem to understand clearly child development and don't know any theory, which shows the importance of playing to the psychological child development. These matters have led us to conclude that, al least the points we have investigated, the teachers are bad prepared. This fact shows us the necessity to a better formation, so there will be a high-quality educational practice.

The purpose of this study is to provide descriptions of conversations with survivors of suicide, including their relationships with the persons who committed suicide, the relationships that followed these deaths, their experiences of suicide, and the way that they made sense of these deaths. The epistemological framework of this dissertation is ecosystemic and social constructionist. This study involved in-depth interviews with three suicide survivors, exploring personal and professional domains. Thematic analysis was the method used to generate patterns of meaning. The researcher recounted the research participants' stories and punctuated emergent themes and patterns according to what she deemed important. Each story was contextualised, and included reflections of the researcher. Themes both common and unique to each participant story were highlighted and discussed. The information yielded from this study could have value to survivors of suicide and psychotherapists whose clients commit suicide. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This is a constructivistic, qualitative single case study of the reflections of a social work post-graduate student in a practical family therapy training situation, to illustrate the integration of person centered and systemic family therapy theory. The element of uncertainty of the therapist, is the focus of this study. The element of uncertainty, being a part of both the therapist and the therapeutic process, especially if challenged to make paradigm shifts and master new theory and skills, is identified, described, redefined and contructively applied. The focus is to highlight the use of the reframed element of uncertainty in empowering the therapist in the therapeutic process of family therapy. It is outlined how uncertainty can also be of value to empower the therapist to evolve an own unique therapeutic style. / Social work / M.A. (Geestesgesondheid)