Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-82). / Revonsuo's Threat Simulation Theory of dreaming asserts that dreaming was selected during human evolution because it has the adaptive function of providing a threat-free context in which threat perception and avoidance can be rehearsed. This study aimed to test the prediction that the threat simulation mechanism will activate differently depending on waking exposure to ecologically valid threat cues. It also compared the impact of waking threat events on dream content with that of waking positive events, as TST asserts that only threat impacts on dream content. Data was collected from three contexts: a high threat context (the Western Cape in South Africa; n=208); a medium threat context (a black southern university in the US; n=34); and a low threat context (North Wales; n=116). Questionnaires included a Most Recent Dream report, details of exposure to walking threatening and positive events, and dreams of such events.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-94). / The present investigation is about men and their bodies. Against the increasing visibility of the (idealised and eroticized) male body in Western popular culture as well as claims that men are becoming the new victims of 'the beauty myth', this study aims to examine men's appearance related practices in relation to meanings of masculinity. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen men between the ages of 18 and 38. Using that method of discursive analysis developed specifically for the investigation of masculinities by Wetherell & Edley (1999), various subject positions taken up by the men in talking about their appearance related practices were identified. The men positioned themselves as unconcerned with appearance, untraditionally masculine, heterosexual, well-balanced and disembodied. A concern for appearance appears inconsistent with ideals of hegemonic masculinity (as valued by these men), and it is suggested that men are unlikely to constitute a large proportion of those individuals who might be described as 'victims' of 'the beauty myth'.

Includes bibliographical references. / This study was designed to investigate the interrelation between cognition and affect inobsessive-compulsiveness/Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Based on established empirical evidence that hyperactive conflict-monitoring is highly correlated both with hyperactivity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and with symptom severity in OCD- and therefore that overactive conflict-monitoring can be conceptualized as a possible mechanism of the disorder - it was hypothesized that hyperactivity of the PANIC/separation-distress emotion system in the brain (which is largely localized in the ACC) would co-vary with conflict-monitoring levels in people with tendencies towards OCD and thus could be considered the correlate of OCD in the affective sphere. Two questionnaires (the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire and the Padua Inventory) were used to position a non-clinical, college sample of 1119 participants in terms of their tendency towards obsessive-compulsiveness. The top 21 and bottom 20 scorers were then tested to gauge their levels of cognitive conflict-monitoring and separation-distress. Independent-test analysis revealed that the two groups differed significantly on scores of separation distress(as well as on the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales subscales ANGER,FEAR and PLAY), whilst there was no significant difference in the group scores for conflict-monitoring. Correlational analyses revealed no significant relationships between any of the nine OCD questionnaire factors and conflict-monitoring; similar analyses emphasized differences found for separation-distress scores and provided further, detailed description of relationships between the OCD questionnaire factors and this affective aspect. Implications for neuropsychology are that separation-distress seems likely to be a pivotal emotion involved in OCD.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-136). / In the light of social identity theory and contact theory, this study looked at the effects of racial identity on contact and prejudice. The sample consisted of 826 UCT students who belonged to the White and African population groups. Their mean age was 20.50 and they were 52.54% females and 47.46% males. A pilot study using 42 participants answered questions concerning the face validity of the scales and questions aimed at testing the on-line system for data collection. The data was gathered by means of a questionnaire accessed by the participants on-line. The interval scales measuring racial identity, nature and frequency of contact and prejudice/social distance were all found to have Cronbach's coefficient alphas bigger than .73. Another variable measured the proportion of cross-race friendships as a percentage. Two statistical techniques were used to analyse the data: path analysis and simultaneous multiple regressions. Some information was added by the theme analysis of the comments of the participants concerning the study. The results of the study revealed total mean values above the mid-point for all variables that are: in-group identity, nature and frequency of contact, positive feelings of the participants towards each other and desire for interracial contact. Two things are salient in the results of the present study: a) interracial contact did not allow cross-race friendships forming at a moderate or high percentage and; b) in the African population group racial identity (social identity) did not have statistically significant effects on prejudice and social distance. It did have them when the group was split by gender. Two research hypotheses were confirmed and the other two were partially confirmed. Racial identity had a direct negative causal effect on nature of contact for the entire sample and for the White population group. It also had an indirect negative causal effect on prejudice and social distance via nature of contact for the entire sample and the White population group. For this group, racial identity also had direct negative causal effects on prejudice/social distance. Racial identity had direct causal effects on prejudice for the African males and females separately. Nature of contact had the strongest direct positive causal effects on prejudice/social distance. The variance in prejudice/social distance is explained by racial identity, nature and frequency of contact acting together, with the nature of contact being the strongest contributor. The results show positive effects of inter-racial contact on prejudice/social distance on UCT campus. This trend was also found by some previous studies. Some limitations linked to the research methodology inhibited the generalisation of the results.

In light of research which suggests that father involvement is associated with positive outcomes for children, including emotional, social and financial benefits, the high rate of father absence in South Africa has been interpreted as a ‘crisis’ of fatherhood (Ratele, Shefer, & Clowes, 2012). However, there is a lack of research that explores fathering and fatherhood from the perspective of South African children. This study aimed to investigate the ways in which a group of nine female and five male adolescents in an urban, low-income community of Cape Town discursively construct the roles and responsibilities of fathers in their community. Using Photovoice methodology, participants produced photographs of ‘fathering in my community’ and then participated in a photo-elicitation interview. The interview transcripts were subjected to a discourse analysis to identify discursive constructions of fatherhood. Consistent with previous research which has been conducted with fathers, participants drew on hegemonic discourses which positioned fathers as financial providers and protectors, and mothers as ‘natural’ care-givers and nurturers. Fathers were predominantly represented as failing to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. However, there were also instances in which participants resisted these dominant discourses through drawing on a discourse of ‘involved’ fathering which positioned fathers as nurturers and carers. Participants also discursively constructed a form of non-biological ‘social father’ who could fulfil some fathering roles. In light of these findings it appears that there is a need to challenge rigid and inflexible hegemonic constructions of fathering (and masculinity more generally), and to elaborate contesting versions of fatherhood, in order to make alternative, more fluid subject positions available to men as fathers.

The aims of this study were i) to evaluate the domains of language production, comprehension and naming in children with moderate or heavy prenatal exposure to alcohol, and ii) to determine if these domains are a specific weakness in these children. The study compared 25 children with FASD to 25 typically developing non-alcohol exposed controls on four language measures; (1) the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Revised; (2) the Test of Reception of Grammar- Version II; (3) the Cookie Jar Theft Picture test and; (4) the Boston Naming test.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / When a crime is committed, law enforcement typically relies on the testimony of an eyewitness. However, eyewitness testimony is often susceptible to contamination. Eyewitnesses are usually required to construct a composite of the perpetrator. Research has suggested that eyewitnesses who construct composites are more likely to misidentify the target in a later recognition task (Comish, 1987; Wells, Charman, & Olson, 2005; Yu & Geiselman, 1993). This hampering effect may occur because composite programs utilise a featural selection strategy, which is in opposition to configural and holistic processing that is used when faces are encoded.

With an increase in life expectancy, there is greater potential for grandparents to be involved in the lives of their grandchildren. The aim of this study was to investigate whether grandparental involvement was related to fewer negative psychological outcomes (i.e. peer, emotional, hyperactivity and conduct problems), and whether this association remained as a protective effect when adolescents faced high levels of family adversity. A cross--‐sectional study consisting of 536 Black and Coloured adolescents (ages 13--‐15 years) from two schools located in the greater Cape Town area was conducted. The results of bivariate and SEM analyses demonstrated that grandparental involvement was associated with a reduction in the presence of all negative psychological outcomes, which shows that grandparental involvement can play a compensatory role in adolescents' lives. The results of a path analysis indicated that grandparental involvement only has a protective effect for reducing peer problems for female adolescents who are experiencing high levels of family adversity. No other association between grandparental involvement and negative psychological outcomes was significant when the adolescent was facing high levels of family adversity. Together the results of this study suggest that grandparental involvement can have a positive effect in adolescents' lives, and therefore future research should move beyond simply looking at an adolescent's immediate family as a source of support.

No description available.

An experimental design was used to investigate the relationship between stress and eyewitness memory in adolescents (Experiment 1) and young adults (Experiment 2). Psychosocial stress was induced using a public speaking task. As eyewitness outcome measures, participants were asked to provide a physical description and to make a lineup identification of a) a research assistant with whom they had interacted under stressful circumstances (prior to public speaking), and b) a research assistant with whom they had interacted under neutral circumstances. Participants also responded to questions that tested their memory for central and peripheral details of the interactions.