[Abstract]: This research responded to calls in the literature for more studies into subjective components of student stress as well as for innovative studies of appropriate counselling interventions. An innovative, individualised, body-mind intervention was offered to university students experiencing emotional stress overwhelm. Integral to the intervention was an extensive list of feelings, representing the approach-avoidance structure of the motivational system. Feelings qualitatively differentiate emotional experiences, and the list was found to be useful for identifying the feelings around emotional experiences. It was proposed that how one thinks about feelings is a key to resolving emotional stress and would facilitate the flourishing of life.There have been recent calls for development of first-person methodologies for investigating experiences, and, since the intervention was individualised, analysis of the unique data set took a narrative interpretive approach. Narrative data, evoked by the feelings list, were interpreted to formulate students’ “stories of stress” then analysed to study their stressful emotional experiences.This study demonstrates an innovative method for resolving emotional stress. Feelings were identified clearly, prompting students to think differently about emotional experiences. The study also demonstrates a method for researching those experiences of emotion. Analyses of consultants’ notes highlighted inter-connections and relationships between feelings and experiences throughout clients’ life-stories. Analyses of the data demonstrated a way of making sense of “emotional stress” and how the use of the feelings list could facilitate an individual’s thinking differently about experiences and resolving personal issues. For the participants of this study, feelings of grief and guilt were identified more than feelings of fear of loss for the issues discussed, suggesting that student's behaviours were motivated more by guilt than by fear. The study concludes with a discussion of how the research contributes to the counselling field and with suggestions for continuing research.

Orientation: Emotions at work have been considered as an important facet of employees’ work life. However, research regarding the investigation of the emotion experiences at work per se has been lacking. Research Purpose: The general objective of this study is to critically investigate what emotion events are experienced and how these events are appraised for them to result in specific emotions. Motivation for the study: Currently a lack of research regarding emotion experiences as a process exists. Research design, approach and method: To investigate emotion experiences as a process a Qualitative study was conducted among one hundred (n=100) professional mining employees using The Critical Incident Technique Approach. Main findings: 84% of the participants experienced negative emotion events and a mere 14% of participants experienced positive emotion events at work. Negative emotion events were appraised as negative and participants indicated not having control or power over the events, yet adaption was possible. Negative emotions included: anger, disgust and sadness. Positive emotion events were appraised as positive even though the participants reported not having control or power over the situation. Participant did report being able to live with the consequences. Positive emotions provoked included joy, pleasure and pride. Practical/managerial implications: When the emotion experiences of employees are investigated as a process, better understanding of emotions will be gained which will enable the implementation of the most appropriate interventions to fulfil individual needs and reaching organisational goals. Contribution/value-adding: Existing research on the emotion experience as a process has been lacking especially in the South African context. This study will thus contribute to research regarding the investigation of the emotion experience as a process and not mere independent components. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Orientation: Emotions at work have been considered as an important facet of employees’ work life. However, research regarding the investigation of the emotion experiences at work per se has been lacking. Research Purpose: The general objective of this study is to critically investigate what emotion events are experienced and how these events are appraised for them to result in specific emotions. Motivation for the study: Currently a lack of research regarding emotion experiences as a process exists. Research design, approach and method: To investigate emotion experiences as a process a Qualitative study was conducted among one hundred (n=100) professional mining employees using The Critical Incident Technique Approach. Main findings: 84% of the participants experienced negative emotion events and a mere 14% of participants experienced positive emotion events at work. Negative emotion events were appraised as negative and participants indicated not having control or power over the events, yet adaption was possible. Negative emotions included: anger, disgust and sadness. Positive emotion events were appraised as positive even though the participants reported not having control or power over the situation. Participant did report being able to live with the consequences. Positive emotions provoked included joy, pleasure and pride. Practical/managerial implications: When the emotion experiences of employees are investigated as a process, better understanding of emotions will be gained which will enable the implementation of the most appropriate interventions to fulfil individual needs and reaching organisational goals. Contribution/value-adding: Existing research on the emotion experience as a process has been lacking especially in the South African context. This study will thus contribute to research regarding the investigation of the emotion experience as a process and not mere independent components. / MA (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013