D.Litt. et Phil. / Before the nineteenth century psychology was not recognised as an independent, fully fledged discipline. Psychological issues were mostly treated as relating to philosophy or religion. In order to liberate psychology as an independent field of study, it became necessary to transform it into a scientific discipline, using methodology accepted in the natural sciences. Psychology thus had to be defined in terms of modern methodology, as seen in early schools such as structuralism, functionalism and behaviourism. World War II represented a turning point in history, as people became disillusioned with meta-narratives which implied that rationality and science would leads to human advancement. A "new" generation had come into being, that no longer believed scientific knowledge and research held the key to emancipation. The latter mindshift indicates the transition from modern to postmodern thought.

M.A. / The present study explores the effect of social positioning, as manifested in relationship, in shaping personal narratives. Four homosexual men shared aspects of their personal narratives, particularly their experiences of self as a consequence of relationship. The narratives unfold in a setting of marginality, in that homosexuality is regarded as an illegitimate identity within the mainstream contexts of these men. One tape-recorded conversation of an hour and a half was held with each of the participants in the study. The conversation was guided by in-depth considerations of marginality, separation, belonging and the consequences of these. The narratives suggest that these men's sense of self is influenced by how they are addressed by others, demonstrating that relationship is the matrix from which people are socially positioned and from which their narratives of self emerge. Suggestions around alternative resources in accounting for the ontological within psychology include regarding relationship, language and social position as influencing what does manifest as a person's inner world. In order to counteract the tyranny of "normality" perpetuated within the social sciences, normality should be reformulated as a socially prescribed template of being. In terms of marginality, this study implies that marginality is a social process which emanates when a person interacts with people removed from his or her social context. It is a discourse which lacks expansion and focuses predominately on separation and belonging and nuances these. The discourse thereby suggests that marginality is not the function of an overtly disempowered identity vis-à-vis the mainstream, but a function of the discourses which emanate from interaction across dissimilar contexts.

M.A. / South Africa finds itself in the socio-historical transition from the modern to the post-modern era, which influences every South African in all their life roles. One of the most prominent life roles is that of a career, which is also within a post-industrial transition state. It is imperative to develop a post-modern approach to career psychology to provide in the career needs of every individual within the given context of post-industrialisation and multiversalism. The objective of this study is therefore to define the position of career psychology in the post-modern paradigm, and to apply the Grounded Theory in developing an approach to establish career psychology in the post-industrial world of work. The research strategy consists of the Grounded Theory and more specifically the paradigm model. The post-modern approach to career psychology can be summarised as the narration of a life story, with the purpose to achieve a realistic and pro-active career choice within the context of st-industrialisation and multiversalism. The self takes a central position in the subjective and objective career contexts, and is influenced by the self s interpretation of its current and anticipated values, roles and life style. This pro-active process is future orientated, occurs in the present, and has its roots in the past. The post-modern approach to career psychology is flexible enough to integrate new or existing theories or approaches in career psychology or related disciplines.

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how women experience midlife. Social constructionism, which fits within the postmodern tradition, was the epistemological framework informing this study. Participants were asked to provide their life stories in text form. Texts were interpreted using the hermeneutic method of analysis. The researcher attempted to understand the midlife experience from the perspective of each participant whose meaning, attitudes and ideas have developed within a social context, keeping in mind that the researcher's own social context, ideas and values affected the interpretation of the texts. The research results add a new perspective to the `grand narrative' of midlife as a `crisis'. The new `voice' speaks of the possibility of positive development - of overcoming adversity; taking control; re-assessing life; breaking old patterns; discovering peace; putting down roots; confronting reality; gaining independence and finding new meaning. / Psychology / MA (Clinical Psychology)

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how women experience midlife. Social constructionism, which fits within the postmodern tradition, was the epistemological framework informing this study. Participants were asked to provide their life stories in text form. Texts were interpreted using the hermeneutic method of analysis. The researcher attempted to understand the midlife experience from the perspective of each participant whose meaning, attitudes and ideas have developed within a social context, keeping in mind that the researcher's own social context, ideas and values affected the interpretation of the texts. The research results add a new perspective to the `grand narrative' of midlife as a `crisis'. The new `voice' speaks of the possibility of positive development - of overcoming adversity; taking control; re-assessing life; breaking old patterns; discovering peace; putting down roots; confronting reality; gaining independence and finding new meaning. / Psychology / MA (Clinical Psychology)

This study explores trainee psychotherapists' experiences of double bind situations and inconsistency between explicit and implicit contexts of training. The epistemological foundations of this text are postmodern, social constructionist and ecosystemic. A review of the relevant literature is presented, which includes aspects such as explicit and implicit contexts, double bind and experiences of trainees in training. This is followed by an account of the qualitative research approach adopted, namely, discourse analysis. Themes that are extracted from the text of the transcribed interviews are assumed to reflect discourses in training and the broader societal contexts in which trainees find themselves. These discourses are seen to inform trainees' constructions of their experiences in training. The findings of the analysis are found to concur with the initial hypotheses of this dissertation, as well as with findings in the literature. Recommendations for future research are offered. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The current vast sociocultural shift from Modernism to PostModernism forms the backdrop to this study. Whenever paradigm shifts occur, the metaphors which depict human experience and identity also change. The mechanistic metaphors of Modernism are giving way to metaphors derived from art and literature, in particular narrative theory. Self, as one of the most pivotal notions in philosophy, literature, and psychology, should not be excluded from this process of reconceptualisation. As the point of intersection between the personal and the cultural, the notion of Self now needs to bereformulated to become more coherent with Post-Modernist ideas. Within this framework the Modernist notion of a Self which is unified, substantial, and stable across all contexts, is deconstructed in this study to reveal the linguistic and ideological codes and conventions which are used in its construction. It is proposed that the Self can be viewed as embedded in relationship with others and as inscribed by the prevailing cultural ideologies regarding personhood. As such the Self can be regarded as held together reflexively by narrative codes and conventions. These ideas are demonstrated in an analysis of two written self-narratives and applied to the conventions and practices in psychotherapy. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The development of the concept of irreverence is examined in terms of its historical, theoretical and metatheoretical contexts. The underlying assumptions of the concepts of neutrality, curiosity, and irreverence are distinguished and contextualised. Neutrality is discussed with reference to Milan systemic therapy and first- and second-order cybernetics, while curiosity is examined in the light of constructivist and narrative approaches to psychotherapy. It is argued that these two concepts represent two sides of a dualism, which is transcended through irreverence. Irreverence is interpreted as a postmodern stance, involving the questioning and relativising of therapists' basic assumptions. The pragmatic components of an irreverent stance, namely self-reflexivity, orthogonality, flexibility and accountability, are explored with reference to related concepts in the work of other authors. Throughout the text metalogues are used in an attempt to engage reader and author in a collaborative enterprise of acknowledging and reevaluating their own basic assumptions. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

This study explores trainee psychotherapists' experiences of double bind situations and inconsistency between explicit and implicit contexts of training. The epistemological foundations of this text are postmodern, social constructionist and ecosystemic. A review of the relevant literature is presented, which includes aspects such as explicit and implicit contexts, double bind and experiences of trainees in training. This is followed by an account of the qualitative research approach adopted, namely, discourse analysis. Themes that are extracted from the text of the transcribed interviews are assumed to reflect discourses in training and the broader societal contexts in which trainees find themselves. These discourses are seen to inform trainees' constructions of their experiences in training. The findings of the analysis are found to concur with the initial hypotheses of this dissertation, as well as with findings in the literature. Recommendations for future research are offered. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

The current vast sociocultural shift from Modernism to PostModernism forms the backdrop to this study. Whenever paradigm shifts occur, the metaphors which depict human experience and identity also change. The mechanistic metaphors of Modernism are giving way to metaphors derived from art and literature, in particular narrative theory. Self, as one of the most pivotal notions in philosophy, literature, and psychology, should not be excluded from this process of reconceptualisation. As the point of intersection between the personal and the cultural, the notion of Self now needs to bereformulated to become more coherent with Post-Modernist ideas. Within this framework the Modernist notion of a Self which is unified, substantial, and stable across all contexts, is deconstructed in this study to reveal the linguistic and ideological codes and conventions which are used in its construction. It is proposed that the Self can be viewed as embedded in relationship with others and as inscribed by the prevailing cultural ideologies regarding personhood. As such the Self can be regarded as held together reflexively by narrative codes and conventions. These ideas are demonstrated in an analysis of two written self-narratives and applied to the conventions and practices in psychotherapy. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)