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Pascal Boyer’s theory of counterintuitive cultural representations asserts that concepts that violate developmentally natural intuitive knowledge structures demand more attention and are more transmittable than other concepts (Boyer and Ramble 2001: 535-64). Grounded in an empirically justified framework of ontological domain knowledge, counterintuitive representations have been identified across human cultures as consistently prevalent in religious beliefs and widely known folktales. Indeed, the ubiquity of counterintuitive representations of supernatural agents in world religions has led some to reason that its presence is a defining factor of “religion” (Atran 2002; Boyer 1994, 2001; Brown 1991; Pyysiäinen, Lindeman and Honkela 2003). The theory has attracted considerable attention from scholars. Boyer discussed and predicted the mnemonic advantages of culturally “familiar” counterintuitive representations (Boyer 2001: 58-105), yet this integral aspect has been poorly investigated, especially because subsequent free-recall studies have focused on novel representations that similarly violate assumptions about our intuitive ontologies. These studies have suffered from a variety of other shortcomings: small sample sizes that poorly represent population demographics and age ranges (most recruited university students); limited investigation of different modes of cultural transmission (most centred on written stimuli); emphasis on free recall at the expense of other measures of memory; and incomplete research into interactions of schema-level effects (e.g. positive and negative emotion, imagery, humour, and inferential potential) on the memorability of counterintuitive ideas. Although the theory claims universality across human cultures, purported differences between holistic and analytic types of cognition suggest that it is likely that East Asians process counterintuitive ideas differently from Westerners. But until this dissertation no data had yet been collected in East Asia. Hence, a large age-representative sample (N = 940), for three studies in both the UK and China, was used to investigate the interaction of template- and schema-level effects for wider forms of transmission biases endemic to cultural groups. The investigation comprised the interaction of the mnemonic effects of familiarity and counterintuitiveness and the impact of schema-level effects, employing a mixing of presentation media (Study #1), template-level preferences when generating schema-level ideas (Study #2), and transmission advantages for supernatural agents (Study #3). Study #1 consisted of two free-recall experiments: a minimal condition (subject-predicate statement) and elaborated condition (additional descriptive elements) of stimuli structure. The results were analysed by hierarchical linear model (HLM), with familiarity, counterintuitiveness, and delay as 2-level fixed factors, and age and schema-level effects as covariates. The findings revealed mixed support for predictions of the typical formulation of Boyer’s hypothesis. However, subsequent analyses revealed a significant interaction of counterintuitiveness x age and of counterintuitiveness x familiarity, for all conditions and cultural sites. Schema-level effects were also found to predict recall rate. Study #2 investigated template-level biases in a statement generation task. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) considering counterintuitiveness and the covariate of age revealed that children are significantly more likely to author counterintuitive ideas than older adults, in both UK and China. Study #3 (comparable in design to Study #1) found a significant interaction of counterintuitiveness x ontological category, revealed to be due to participants’ better recall rates, at both locations, for counterintuitive concepts belonging to the ontological category PERSONS. In summary, it appears that the counterintuitive effect is not as straightforward as it has been thought to be, and requires further theoretical development and empirical research to improve understanding about the interactive role of age, schema-level effects, and ontological category in the transmission and cultural epidemiology of such representations.

Emotional intelligence (EI) in organisations has grown immensely over the past two decades. Considerable research regarding this concept and the advantages it poses for the individual as well as the organisation has been conducted; however, one aspect that has not been explored sufficiently is the extent to which EI can be viewed as a culturally relevant concept. The presumption that emotions can be explained in the same way across different culture cannot be made; therefore measuring EI across cultures becomes important and challenging. Language can be viewed as a vehicle of culture, and emotions are shaped by the language spoken in the specific culture. A quantitative research design was used in this study. The sample consisted of mid-level miners from the Gauteng and North West Province (N = 357). Stratified sampling was used to include the West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans; n = 158) and Sotho group (North Sotho, South Sotho, and Setswana; n = 199). Questionnaires were distributed amongst the participants from the different mines, were completed within a set time, and collected immediately afterwards. The first objective of the study was to determine whether the Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale (GEIS) is a reliable test when measuring West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans) and Sotho (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Setswana) languages. A four-factor model on the combined sample as well as the two language groups was tested. The four factor model of the West-Germanic group showed poor alphas. (Expression and Recognition of Emotions = 0.66; Caring and Empathy = 0.63; Control of Emotions = 0.80 and Use of Emotions to Facilitate Thinking = 0.62.) Several items from the expression and recognition scale cross-loaded on the other three factors, and it was decided to test a three-factor model. The three factor model indicated the best goodness-of-fit indices and showed acceptable alpha coefficients (Use of Emotion to Facilitate Thinking = 0.83; Caring and Empathy = 0.83 and Control of Emotions = 0.77). The second objective was to determine if the Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale is an equivalent measuring instrument when measuring the West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans) and Sotho (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Setswana) languages. Goodness-of-fit was tested on the total population as well as the two language family groups. The four factors are Expression and Recognition of Emotions, Caring and Empathy, Control of Emotions and Use of Emotions. The model indices (GFI, CFI and RMSEA) were satisfactory on the total population as well as the Sotho groups, but there were problems noted when testing the goodness-of-fit for the West- Germanic language group. It was therefore decided to test a three factor model (Use of Emotions, Caring and Empathy and Control of Emotions). These problems could possibly be explained by the cultural differences between the two language groups. The final research objective was to investigate whether the items of the Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale are unbiased when measuring West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans) and Sotho (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Setswana) languages. Firstly, ANOVAS were produced to determine the mean differences between the groups. There weren’t many differences, indicating none or little biasness between the groups. Then, the uniform and non-uniform biasness was tested by means of Ordinal Logistic Regression to asses Differential Item Functioning. The majority of the items did not have both uniform and non-uniform biasness. The few that did however, (41, 37, 36, 14 and 18) can be explained by the different ways in which cultures interpret emotions as proven in the literature. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Emotional intelligence (EI) in organisations has grown immensely over the past two decades. Considerable research regarding this concept and the advantages it poses for the individual as well as the organisation has been conducted; however, one aspect that has not been explored sufficiently is the extent to which EI can be viewed as a culturally relevant concept. The presumption that emotions can be explained in the same way across different culture cannot be made; therefore measuring EI across cultures becomes important and challenging. Language can be viewed as a vehicle of culture, and emotions are shaped by the language spoken in the specific culture. A quantitative research design was used in this study. The sample consisted of mid-level miners from the Gauteng and North West Province (N = 357). Stratified sampling was used to include the West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans; n = 158) and Sotho group (North Sotho, South Sotho, and Setswana; n = 199). Questionnaires were distributed amongst the participants from the different mines, were completed within a set time, and collected immediately afterwards. The first objective of the study was to determine whether the Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale (GEIS) is a reliable test when measuring West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans) and Sotho (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Setswana) languages. A four-factor model on the combined sample as well as the two language groups was tested. The four factor model of the West-Germanic group showed poor alphas. (Expression and Recognition of Emotions = 0.66; Caring and Empathy = 0.63; Control of Emotions = 0.80 and Use of Emotions to Facilitate Thinking = 0.62.) Several items from the expression and recognition scale cross-loaded on the other three factors, and it was decided to test a three-factor model. The three factor model indicated the best goodness-of-fit indices and showed acceptable alpha coefficients (Use of Emotion to Facilitate Thinking = 0.83; Caring and Empathy = 0.83 and Control of Emotions = 0.77). The second objective was to determine if the Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale is an equivalent measuring instrument when measuring the West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans) and Sotho (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Setswana) languages. Goodness-of-fit was tested on the total population as well as the two language family groups. The four factors are Expression and Recognition of Emotions, Caring and Empathy, Control of Emotions and Use of Emotions. The model indices (GFI, CFI and RMSEA) were satisfactory on the total population as well as the Sotho groups, but there were problems noted when testing the goodness-of-fit for the West- Germanic language group. It was therefore decided to test a three factor model (Use of Emotions, Caring and Empathy and Control of Emotions). These problems could possibly be explained by the cultural differences between the two language groups. The final research objective was to investigate whether the items of the Greek Emotional Intelligence Scale are unbiased when measuring West-Germanic (English and Afrikaans) and Sotho (Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, and Setswana) languages. Firstly, ANOVAS were produced to determine the mean differences between the groups. There weren’t many differences, indicating none or little biasness between the groups. Then, the uniform and non-uniform biasness was tested by means of Ordinal Logistic Regression to asses Differential Item Functioning. The majority of the items did not have both uniform and non-uniform biasness. The few that did however, (41, 37, 36, 14 and 18) can be explained by the different ways in which cultures interpret emotions as proven in the literature. Recommendations were made for future research. / Thesis (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Fear is a recurrent theme in today’s popular culture. Film director Steven Spielberg’s lifelong work presents the full range from awe and fear to terror, heading towards a deeply humanist approach of overcoming fear. This article puts homiletics into the context of current sociocultural discourse by applying the concept of ‘paradigm scenario’ (Ronald de Sousa) to fear in media culture and preaching. Preaching, like film, works with emotions such as fear and anxiety, initiating strong physical and mental reaction. To preach within a fearful world demands that one be aware of the psychology of fear. As much as preachers are ready to face their personal fears, they abstain from frightening others. At best, preaching is the art of supporting people to live life liberated by the gospel, speaking up against those who create an atmosphere of fear. The gospel provides numerous paradigm scenarios of courage and vision.