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The goal of this study was to examine theory of mind and deliberate rule use in children with Down syndrome as compared to children of normal intelligence. Theory of mind was defined as the ability to understand that other people have thoughts, beliefs and desires. Deliberate rule use was considered to be the extent to which children were able to learn and subsequently switch between a set of ad hoc rules unrelated to mental states. Participants included 10 individuals with Down syndrome and 10 individuals of normal intelligence matched for mental age. The primary finding of this study was that individuals with Down syndrome do not possess a theory of mind at a mental age of 5 years. Furthermore, individuals with Down syndrome possess domain specific knowledge of embedded rules, whereas, individuals with normal intelligence apply an embedded rule structure that effects mental and non-mental state tasks equally. The embedded rule use of individuals with Down syndrome was characterized by: (a) an inability to effectively use embedded rules in theory of mind and deductive card sort tasks; and, (b) the ability to use embedded rules in a task assessing physical causality.

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No description available.

This thesis draws on twenty-three women's retrospective accounts of their abortion experiences to examine the course of their feelings and the social, situational and personal contexts in which these feelings arose. Their experiences and feelings were affected by abortion's morally ambiguous status; its quasi-legal status (particularly between 1969 and 1988); its provision in medical settings in ways that differ significantly from the provision of other health services; and the on-going polarized ideological conflict over its acceptability. The experiences and feelings of the women interviewed were also affected subtly and profoundly by widely held expectations about how women in such situations normally do and should feel. The thesis examines the "feeling rules" (Hochschild, 1979) women encountered in interactions with others (confidants and health-care providers, notably abortion counselors) and how women's actual feelings, especially after the abortion, became problematic.

Using a qualitative approach this thesis aimed to investigate perception of self, others, and relationships in individuals with a history of chronic, childhood, parental, childhood, psychological maltreatment. Six participants (3 staff; 3 clients) from low-cost counselling agency completed a semi-structured interview designed to assess perceptions of self, others, and relationships. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis yielded four superordinate themes: shame-based perception of self; self-protection from emotional pain; egocentric perception of others; and shame-based roles in relationships. The results of this study were compared with current literature on childhood maltreatment, including psychological maltreatment, and perception of self, others, and relationships, and significant similarities were found between research to date and the findings of this study. Theoretical links were then made to Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory. The findings of this study suggest that psychological maltreatment has significant, pervasive, deleterious consequences for the individual’s perception of self-worth, awareness of others, and interpersonal functioning, and implies that childhood psychological maltreatment merits greater attention and investigation, especially the issue of perception of others.

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No description available.

No description available.

The research project was concerned, at the general level, with the relationship between general defensiveness and (a) defensive strategies, (b) values and expectancies of a set of socially cherished needs, (c) need hierarchies, and (d) a change in the experimental setting. The study was divided into three parts: Part I concentrated on hypotheses relating to the broader relationships (a), (b), and (c). General defensiveness was measured by the Marlowe and Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS). The specific defence strategies were assessed by a kind of role play technique referred to as the critical incidents technique (CIs). The values and expectancies of a set of social needs were measured by rating scales. The needs were those highlighted by Rotter whose Social Learning Theory formed the conceptual frame of the research. Part II dealt with (d) - the effect of a situational change, in the form of an alleged IQ session, on a previously expressed defensive profile. Part III involved further extension and elaboration of the findings obtained earlier. A different measure of defence style, the Life Style Index (LSI), was employed in examining the role of anonymity and defensiveness on the individual's perception of his/her response bias in questionnaires. Several differences were noted between the high and low MC-SDS scorers in the three parts of the study. These differences were explained in terms of (1) the tendency of the high MC-DSD scorers (high defensive Ss) to project a favourable image of themselves, and (2) their differential susceptibility to situational change.