Bibliography: leaves 151-164. / Insight has enjoyed the reputation of an elusive phenomenon in psychology and insight problems are very difficult to solve. Only very specific hints concerning their solution have been found to significantly increase the number of problem solvers who are able to solve insight problems. The result of this has been to suggest that insight does not exist, that it is a mysterious phenomenon, or that it is an aspect of problem solving which we have so far failed to understand. Insight in problem solving is investigated from the perspective that the phenomenon needs explanation and it is argued that, while insight has been operationally defined and a clear set of key empirical findings have been established, the conceptual explanation of insight has been largely ignored. It is suggested that a conceptual account of insight is needed so that this aspect of cognitive processing can be incorporated into the main body of cognitive research on problem solving. The current tension in cognitive science and cognitive psychology is examined and it is argued that writing a conceptual account of insight in neural network theoretical terms will not only advance our understanding of insight, but will also reflect on the debate in cognitive theory. This is a result of its status as an aspect of problem solving and as a phenomenon which symbolic theory has so far failed to offer a clear explanation for. A conceptual account of insight in neural network terms is advanced which offers a comprehensive account of the key empirical findings on insight. It is suggested that insight can be understood as the recognition of a pattern to insight problems. Predictions derived from the theory suggest that overcoming the effects of past learning, employing conceptual transfer, and fostering expertise at insight problem solving will significantly facilitate insightful problem solution.

Drawing on the principles of Social Identity Theory and the Contact Hypothesis, this study investigated the relationship between levels of integration and racial prejudice in former Model C, desegregated schools. The sample consisted of 1119 black African, 'Coloured', Afrikaans speaking white and English-speaking white learners from desegregated high schools in Cape Town. ·A pilot study was conducted with 29 learners to establish the face validity and any practical problems, such as ambiguity, that might become evident. The independent variables, Socio-Economic Status, Level of Integration, Racial Identification, Contact at School, Contact Outside School and Contact In-And-Outside School were assessed for their effects on the attitudes of the learners. The dependent measure was the extent of racial prejudice displayed in social distance, subtle racism and ethnic attitudes toward each other. The independent and dependent measures were compiled into a questionnaire which was then administered in situ to the learners by the researcher over a period of six months. Only the responses from black African, 'Coloured', Afrikaans-speaking white and English-speaking white learners were required for the study and the data from other groups was discarded. Multiple regression analysis was used as a statistical technique to analyse the data. Statistically significant results were found for all the dependent measures. There were differences between the intergroup attitudes of black African, 'Coloured', Afrikaans speaking white and English-speaking white learners. The variation in intergroup attitudes could be significantly explained by combinations of Socio-Economic Status (Class), Level of Integration, Racial Identification, Contact at School, Contact Outside School and Contact In-And-Outside School premises. Statistically significant results for Level of Integration were not found for all the dependent measures, indicating that the extent to which schools had been desegregated was not as strong a predictor of intergroup attitudes as was expected. Overall, intergroup contact emerged as a strong predictor of social distance and ethnic attitudes for all groups. Partial support was found for Social Identity Theory as well as for the Contact Hypothesis. The findings indicated a relationship between pleasant intergroup contact, increased social contact outside school and more positive attitudes. Methodological problems associated with the research limit the generalizability of the results.

The main purpose of the study was examining the predictive role of patients' readiness to change drinking behaviour, in drought from treatment for problem drinking. The predictive role of patient demographic factors, socioeconomic factors, personal history and drinking factors in drought from treatment for problem drinking was also examined. A subsidiary interest of the study was to examine the differences between patients who completed their treatment and patients who did not complete their treatment for problem drinking. The study was conducted at Avaloo Treatment Centre, an alcohol treatment centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The subjects consisted of all inpatients and daypatieots who were admitted to the Avalon Treatment Centre Rehabilitation Programme over a period of five consecutive months (n == 62). Information for the study was elicited from the subjects by means of an interview schedule designed for the study, and the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (Treatment Version) which was developed by Heather, Luce, James, Peck and Dunbar (1996). The interview schedule consisted of four main sections that requested information about patient demographic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, personal and drinking history factors, and information regarding discharge from treatment at Avalon Treannent Centre. The researcher conducted the interviews and administered the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (Treatment Version) to all the subjects. Information relating to patient discharge was obtained from the patients' folders, the patients themselves, the patients' families, and from the Avalon Treatment Centre therapeutic staff. The results of the study are described. The data was analysed statistically by means of bivariate analyses (such as chi square tests) and multivariate statistical analyses (namely, discriminant function analysis). The findings indicated that statistically, significantly more daypatieots ~ped out of the Rehabilitation Programme than did inpatients. The discriminant function analysis suggested that six patient factors contributed significantly to the discrimination between dropouts and completers of treatment for problem drinking of alcohol. The patient factors were wine, the alcoholic beverage consumed most frequently; drinking alcoholic beverages daily; living alone at the time of the admission for treatment via the Rehabilitation Programme; being separated from spouse at the time of admission; the Preparation-Action stage of change; previous treatment for problem drinking. These results indicated that dropout from treatment for problem drinking could be reliably predicted from patient characteristics. The results also suggested that there are significant differences between dropouts and completers of treatment for problem drinking. The results are discussed 111 the light of related research: findings, and possible explanations for the: findings are offered. Recommendations for the implementation of the findings and their implications for future research are suggested.

Bibliography: leaves 123-137. / The main objective of this study was to identify the coping strategies used by successful women in dealing with work-family interaction strain. The study also investigated cognitive appraisal as a key antecedent of coping with a hypothetical description of a work-family interaction strain situation. A survey was conducted with a sample comprising 110 women in the public, corporate and self-employed sectors of the economy. All the participants were married with at least one child of pre school or school going age. The women worked in positions from middle- management and higher in corporate and public sector organizations or were business owners with at least four employees. Quantitative and qualitative data were obtained by means of a self-report questionnaire. Interaction strain was measured using the Home and Employment Role scale (HER scale), developed by Parry and Wart (1980). Cognitive appraisal and coping was measured from within the framework of the transactional approach, which defines coping in terms of the person-environment relationship and emphasises the dynamic and interactive nature of the stressful transaction. Cognitive appraisal was measured using the items devised by Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis and Gwen (1986) and coping was measured using, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1988). Qualitative data was obtained via a request to the respondents asking them to describe what it was like to have work and family responsibilities. The main finding of the study showed that the participants in this project used both emotional and problem-focused coping strategies in dealing with the hypothetical work-family interaction strain situation. These strategies were positive reappraisal; planful problem solving; self-controlling; and seeking social support. Not one of these coping strategies, however, was significantly favoured above the others. The study did not find evidence of a relationship between the participants' cognitive appraisal of the hypothetical situation and their choice of coping strategy in dealing with this situation, except with regards to cognitive appraisal, control and the coping strategy, escape-avoidance; the higher the participant scored on cognitive appraisal, control, the less likely they were to choose escape-avoidance as a coping strategy in dealing with the situation. Overall, the results of the study showed that this sample of successful business women chose emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies in an integrated manner to deal with a hypothetical work-family situation.

Twenty-seven HIV-infected homosexual men participating in an experimental drug trial were included in a psychoneuroimmunological investigation of the association between levels of short-term emotional distress, methods of coping, hopelessness, loneliness, joy, and CDS-cell counts, CD4-cell counts, and the cumulative rate of CD4-cell decline since infection. A survey of needs was included. The sample (n = 27) was significantly more depressed (p < 0.01), angry (p < 0.001), confused (p < 0.05), and lonelier (p < 0.01) than normative groups. There were no significant differences in emotional distress between asymptomatic subjects (n = 16; CDC II and Ill) and symptomatic subjects (n = 11; CDC IVa, IVcl and 1Vc2). Secondary analyses indicate that the asymptomatic subjects were significantly more distressed than comparable American asymptomatic HIV-infected men, while the symptomatic subjects were not more distressed than comparable American subjects. A survey of needs revealed that financial concems related to HIV-infection were found to be a greater source of distress than symptom status. The sample scored significantly lower than college student norms for coping by means of seeking social support for emotional reasons (p < 0.05), and significantly higher on all scales pertaining to avoidance coping (0.02 > p < 0.001), as well as acceptance coping (p < 0.001). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found for all problem-focused coping and emotion-focusing coping scales, nor for coping by means of focusing upon and venting of emotions. Five subjects who had been infected for less than two years were excluded from analyses regarding immune functioning. For the remaining 22 subjects, no significant associations between psychosocial factors and CDS-cell counts were found (p > 0.05), nor were there any significant associations between measures of short A regression model containing the coping scales of suppression of competing activities and mental disengagement predicted 33.3 percent of cross-sectional CD4-cell counts (f = 4.737, df = 2, 19, p < 0.05). Both factors were negatively associated with CD4-cell counts. A regression model containing the coping methods of focusing upon and venting of emotions and mental disengagement predicted 29 percent of CD4- rates of decline over time (f = 3.874, df = 2, 19, p < 0.05). The venting of emotions scale was associated with slower rates of CD4-cell decline over time (r = -0.433, df = 21, p < 0.05), while mental disengagement coping was associated with faster rates of CD4-cell decline (r = + 0.314, df = 21, p = 0.16). A median-split of scores on the focusing upon and venting of emotions coping scale and CD4-rates of decline reveals that high venting scores are found in 77 percent of subjects with slow rates of decline, while low scores are evident for 78 percent of those with fast rates of cumulative CD4-cell decline since infection. It was concluded that these results are consistent with previous research concerning with the immunosuppressive effects of habitual repression of emotions and the long-term maladaptive effects of avoidance coping. -term POMS scales of emotional distress and CD4-cell counts and rates of decline over time.

<p> Recent efforts to improve sexual assault issues within American universities are being pursued diligently. Many of these efforts include changes to college campus policies regarding sexual consent, often by mandating affirmative consent. The current study investigated perceptions of different types of sexual consent related to sexual script endorsement and consent attitudes in order to better assess how receptive college students may be to affirmative consent standards. </p><p> An online survey included four vignettes that were constructed to depict processes of sexual consent that differed in the enthusiasm with which the female character indicated her consent. Perceptions of the vignettes were evaluated regarding sexiness of the content and each character&rsquo;s enjoyment and internal consent. Further items assessed comparative evaluations of the vignettes. The Sexual Script Scale, External Consent Scale, and Sexual Consent Scale-Revised were also included in the survey. We expected that enthusiastic consent processes would be evaluated more positively than the unenthusiastic ones. We also predicted these evaluations would be significantly related to endorsement of traditional sexual scripts, external consent behaviors, and consent attitudes. </p><p> Full to partial support was found for each of our hypotheses, suggesting that college students are indeed receptive to affirmative consent regarding perceived enjoyment and sexiness when depicted as enthusiastically given.</p><p>

Bibliography: pages 201-218. / Four aims were formulated for the present study. The first was to construct a questionnaire, using the Health Belief Model (HBM) as an organizing rubric, and to test its psychometric properties in a pilot study. The second was to utilize the questionnaire to understand why individuals did or did not comply on the University of Cape Town Weight Loss and Heart Foundation Cardiac Rehabilitation programmes during the period 1987 to 1989. A third aim was to establish possible commonalities and/or differences between and within groups of weight loss and cardiac compliers and non-compliers on these programmes. This would address the gap in most studies which have only looked at one particular health behaviour at a time. The fourth aim was to accumulate information about the current health activities (or long-term compliance) and beliefs of individuals and to compare how these had changed over a period of time.

Includes bibliographical references. / The exact mechanism of dream production is still poorly understood. Based on exploratory findings that damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex does not cause changes in these patients subjective experience of their dreams (Solms, 1997), a study was conducted in order to investigate the role of this area in dream production. The dreams of seven patients with damage to tile dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were compared with those of normal participants. A content analysis found no significant quantitative differences between the dreams of dorsolateral prefrontal patients and normal controls. In addition, none of the patients with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reported any subjective changes in their dreams since falling ill. These findings are congruent with those or numerous neuro-imaging studies, which indicate that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is deactivated during dreaming, and provide support for the theory that deactivation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during sleep accounts for many of the formal features of dreams.

<p>An exploratory, action research approach was used with adult Karen-Refugees (n = 26) separated by sex (male/female) in focus group sessions. The aim of the study was to explore a cultural-, context-specific definition of resilience and the factors that may contribute to resilience in resettlement using an ecological framework. In vivo coding techniques were used resulting in several themes. Results suggested a definition of resilience that encompassed a sense of gratitude, positive outlook, and resourcefulness; demonstrating a strong work ethic and perseverance, and moving towards a sense of community and belonging. Factors contributing to resilience in resettlement include language and availability of resources, the importance and value of education, the availability of other resources in the community (e.g., employment), a supportive civil society, special care for the elderly, and opportunities for the exhibition of cultural- pride, and preservation, which lead to a sense of community and belonging. Implications for prevention and intervention services are discussed along with contributions to literature pertaining to international psychology, resilience, and refugee research.

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