The core principle underlying this research program is that places can contribute to identity, and that like other elements of identity they may be subject to the same psychological processes. One way in which personal and social identity have been characterised is by their provision of a psychologically significant sense of identity continuity. The overarching question addressed throughout each chapter of this thesis is whether places are significant aspects of identity because they too provide a sense of temporal endurance: place identity continuity (PIC). Four empirical studies aimed to address this question using insights from social psychological theory. They also aimed to reveal the structure of place identity continuity, its psychological significance, and whether variation in its expression could be accounted for using social context. Following an introduction to the core themes of the thesis in Chapter One, Chapters Two and Three provide reviews of the literature connecting place, identity, and continuity: the first from disciplines outside psychology and the second from psychology itself. Chapter Four describes the research methods to be used, and ends Part I of the thesis. Part II presents the empirical studies. Chapter Five reports the results from Study 1, an interview study conducted with residents of Tayside, exploring their place experiences and perceptions of identity continuity in relation to places. It reveals that place relationships can be characterised by connections with past and future selves, and a sense of fit between place and self, but that they can also vary according to strength of place identification and social context. Chapter Six reports the results of Study 2, a large student survey study leading to the development of a three-dimensional scale to measure PIC, and confirmation that PIC is connected with place attachment and place identity. Chapter Seven reports the results of Study 3, a cross-validation of the PIC measure and examination of the varying connections between PIC dimensions and psychological well-being in a large general public survey study. Finally, Chapter Eight reports the results of Study 4, an experiment showing that PIC can vary according to self-categorisation such that those categorising themselves as a family member will generally rate PIC higher than those primed with a student identity. Chapter Nine draws the results of each study together to conclude that PIC is a significant aspect of place identity, and that it is characterised by connections with past place identity, present place and self congruency, and future place identity, thus extending the existing place identity literature. It is also concluded that the use of social psychological approaches enriches previously static and deterministic understandings of place identity, and provides an opportunity to integrate social and environmental psychology. Limitations, future studies, and theoretical and practical implications are then provided before concluding remarks are offered.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology, University of Zululand, 2006. / The purpose of this study was to investigate psychological, physical and social well being in a team and an individual sport. It has been contextualized within a broader public health paradigm with special reference to health and sport psychology. This new paradigm re-establishes a balanced view of both illness prevention and health promotion. To explore the relationship of psychological, physical and social well-being in a team and an individual sport, the study entailed a triangulation approach which consisted of a quantitative and a qualitative component of the team and the individual sport. Psychological well-being was measured using Ryffs Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWB); physical well-being was assessed using the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP) and social well-being was measured using the Perceived Social Support Scale from Family (PSS-Fa) and from Friends (PSS-FrJ. Results from the study indicated a significant relationship between perceived body attractiveness and surfing. Surfers perceived themselves as being more physically attractive and more confident in appearance. A higher importance of sport competence was recorded by the surfers which suggest that being able to master and ride the surf is important. More importance was placed on conditioning for the soccer players. Soccer was experienced as being a more competitive sport than surfing, and subsequently, more emphasis was placed on physical condition, stamina, fitness and confidence in ability. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

No description available.

In a series of studies, lifestyle activities, mental health and aerobic fitness were investigated in relation to mean RT and response time variability (trial-to-trial variability in RT performance) obtained from a battery of cognitive measures in 257 healthy adults aged 50 to 90 years (M = 63.60). Cognition was assessed across four domains; psychomotor performance, executive function, visual search and word recognition. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used to explore associations between age and outcome measures in a mediated-moderator analysis. The dedifferentiation of cognition and the dissociation between the outcome measures of mean RT and response time variability was also explored. Additionally, the neural correlates of response time variability were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The findings indicated that poor mental health was associated with greater within-person (WP) variability and slower mean RTs and that this effect was greater in older adults. Higher lifestyle activity scores and higher aerobic fitness (VO2max) attenuated negative age gradients in WP variability and mean RT. Analyses suggested that the above effects were mediated by executive function. There was no evidence of dedifferentiation across cognitive domains and there was selective dissociation between the measures of mean RT and WP variability. The fMRI results suggested that WP variability was associated with fluctuations in executive control and, relatedly, attentional lapses. Overall, the findings suggest that executive function mediates a substantial portion of age-related variance in cognition and that this association is influenced by moderators such as an active lifestyle, aerobic fitness and mental health. The findings underline the potential benefits and importance of interventions to help maintain and promote mental health, and active lifestyles, in old age.

No description available.

The aim of this study was to come to a better understanding of possible neuropsychological mechanisms underlying psychosocial well-being and therefore to determine whether a relationship between neuropsychological executive functions and psychosocial well-being does indeed exist. Research was conducted in the domains of neuropsychology and positive psychology. This thesis consists of three articles, namely I ) Neuropsychological executive functions and psychosocial well-being: A review, 2) Attentional switching and psychosocial! well-being, and 3) The relationship between generativity as neuropsychological process and psychosocial well-being. The first article argued the possibility of a relationship between neuropsychological and psychosocial aspects, with reference to a pluralistic ecosystems perspective, neuropsychological and other positive psychological theories, such as Miller's neuropsychodynamic model and Frederickson's broaden-and-build theory, as well as existing empirical studies. Numerous neuropsychological studies have indicated that the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive functions, with its main function to regulate both cognitive and affective functioning. Analyses of existing empirical studies indicated an established relationship between prefrontal lobe / executive / regulatory dysfunction and psychopathology, but also that the relationship between normal or optimal prefrontal executive functions and psychosocial well-being is still unclear. The first article concluded that evidence correlating neuropsychological functioning with human flourishing, or indicating possible neuropsychological mechanisms involved in psychosocial well-being, is sparse, presenting a serious lacuna in scientific knowledge. The following two articles focused on contributing to filling this lacuna. "Attentional switching and psychosocial well-being" and "The relationship between generativity, as neuropsychological process and psychosocial well-being" focused on attentional switching and generativity, as part of neuropsychological executive functions, as potential mechanisms associated with psychosocial well-being. These studies aimed to determine whether the capacity to switch attention, as measured by the Color Trails Test (CTT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the capacity to generate novelty, as measured by the Controlled Verbal Fluency Task (CVFT) (Benton, 1967) and Uses of Objects Test (UOT) (Getzels & Jackson, 1962), are related to the degree of psychosocial well-being experienced. As part of the interdisciplinary POWIRS (Profiles of Obese Women with Insulin Resistance Syndrome) project, black African women (article 2 n=66; article 3 n=72) completed the above mentioned neuropsychological measures, as well as indices of psychosocial wellbeing, in a cross-sectional design. The psychosocial measures included the Affectometer (AFM) 2 (Kammann & Flett, 1983); Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI) abbreviated version (Epstein & Meier, 1989); Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC- 29) (Antonovsky, 1987, 1993); The Fortitude Questionnaire (FORQ) (Pretorius, 1998); JAREL Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWS-H) (Hungelman et al., 1989); Psychological Well-being Scales (SPW-B) (Ryff & Singer, 1998); and the Cognitive Appraisal Questionnaire (CAQ) (Botha & Wissing, 2003). The main findings of these studies were hat the ease of attentional switching and generativity correlates statistically (p<0.5) and practically significantly with higher levels of psychosocial well-being. From a micro-deterministic perspective it can be concluded that frontal lobe executive functions may play a role in the regulation higher-order adjusting psychosocial functions related to quality of life. From a micro-deterministic perspective it can be concluded that psychosocial well-being, while being influenced by executive functions, may also influence the continuous development of neuropsychological executive functions. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This study, presented in the format of three articles, contributed to the measuring of psycho-social well-being in Afri Twin schools. The literature points to a serious lack of studies measuring the psychosocial well-being of teachers and possible interventions to alleviate their challenges. The context of the study is the Afri Twin project. The Afri Twin project is a collaboration between a British school, a South African town/city school, and/or a school from a township or rural community in South Africa. The intention of Afri Twin is to create camaraderie between school principals, teachers and learners/students in South African and British schools. As the relationships between the different schools develop, schools will have the opportunity to visit one another, exchange experiences and teaching ideas, and gain first-hand experience of the different conditions in which the individual schools function. The first article determined the psychometric properties of the Adapted and Revised Organisational Climate Description Questionnaire (AAROCDQ), and was validated for school climate as experienced by teachers. Participants were 394 school teachers (72 male and 322 female) from 40 schools in South Africa. The AAROCDQ correlated positively with other measures of optimal functioning (The Mental Health Continuum - Short Form MHCSF], the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale [CSE], and the Core Self-Evaluations Scale [CSES]). The internal consistency and factor structure were determined as well as the evidence for concurrent validity. The results of the study indicated that the AAROCDQ was reliable and also indicated construct validity in a sample of South African teachers. It was concluded that further validation and standardisation of the AAROCDQ could be done in mixed method studies as well as that future studies could further analyse the scale on item level to give a more coherent perspective on the psychosocial well-being of teachers. The second article explored the prevalence of well-being in Afri Twin and non Afri Twin teachers. A quantitative survey design was implemented and the sample consisted of 97 Afri Twin teachers (20 male and 77 female) and 297 non Afri Twin teachers (52 male and 245 female) from 40 South African schools (13 Afri Twin and 27 non Afri Twin). The MHC-SF, the CSE and CSES were used to determine the well-being of teachers. The results indicated a moderate to high level of well-being, with an almost significant difference in social well-being and core self-evaluations between Afri Twin and non Afri Twin teachers. It was concluded that the social context of the 'twinning' process in Afri Twin schools could influence the social well-being of teachers positively. The aim of the third article was two-fold. Firstly principals', teachers' and learners' experiences of the Afri Twin project were investigated, and secondly the aim was to develop an intervention for resilience in schools participating in the Afri Twin project. The sample consisted of 158 teachers (42 male and 116 female), 14 school principals (10 male and 4 female), and 65 learners (34 boys and 31 girls). The results indicated that leadership, school climate (culture), the people that are involved, and promoting optimism and self-efficacy through support and sharing are essential for the development or improvement of resilience in schools through the Afri Twin project. The main conclusion from this thesis is that teachers' experience of the school as an environment in which they work is influenced by such factors as social support and sharing that can influence the psychological well-being (specifically social well-being) of the educators. This is indicated by the correlation between the findings in article 3 which support the findings in article 2. The benefits from being involved with a project like the Afri Twin could also influence the resilience of the educators and learners/students. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

This study, presented in the format of three articles, contributed to the measuring of psycho-social well-being in Afri Twin schools. The literature points to a serious lack of studies measuring the psychosocial well-being of teachers and possible interventions to alleviate their challenges. The context of the study is the Afri Twin project. The Afri Twin project is a collaboration between a British school, a South African town/city school, and/or a school from a township or rural community in South Africa. The intention of Afri Twin is to create camaraderie between school principals, teachers and learners/students in South African and British schools. As the relationships between the different schools develop, schools will have the opportunity to visit one another, exchange experiences and teaching ideas, and gain first-hand experience of the different conditions in which the individual schools function. The first article determined the psychometric properties of the Adapted and Revised Organisational Climate Description Questionnaire (AAROCDQ), and was validated for school climate as experienced by teachers. Participants were 394 school teachers (72 male and 322 female) from 40 schools in South Africa. The AAROCDQ correlated positively with other measures of optimal functioning (The Mental Health Continuum - Short Form MHCSF], the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale [CSE], and the Core Self-Evaluations Scale [CSES]). The internal consistency and factor structure were determined as well as the evidence for concurrent validity. The results of the study indicated that the AAROCDQ was reliable and also indicated construct validity in a sample of South African teachers. It was concluded that further validation and standardisation of the AAROCDQ could be done in mixed method studies as well as that future studies could further analyse the scale on item level to give a more coherent perspective on the psychosocial well-being of teachers. The second article explored the prevalence of well-being in Afri Twin and non Afri Twin teachers. A quantitative survey design was implemented and the sample consisted of 97 Afri Twin teachers (20 male and 77 female) and 297 non Afri Twin teachers (52 male and 245 female) from 40 South African schools (13 Afri Twin and 27 non Afri Twin). The MHC-SF, the CSE and CSES were used to determine the well-being of teachers. The results indicated a moderate to high level of well-being, with an almost significant difference in social well-being and core self-evaluations between Afri Twin and non Afri Twin teachers. It was concluded that the social context of the 'twinning' process in Afri Twin schools could influence the social well-being of teachers positively. The aim of the third article was two-fold. Firstly principals', teachers' and learners' experiences of the Afri Twin project were investigated, and secondly the aim was to develop an intervention for resilience in schools participating in the Afri Twin project. The sample consisted of 158 teachers (42 male and 116 female), 14 school principals (10 male and 4 female), and 65 learners (34 boys and 31 girls). The results indicated that leadership, school climate (culture), the people that are involved, and promoting optimism and self-efficacy through support and sharing are essential for the development or improvement of resilience in schools through the Afri Twin project. The main conclusion from this thesis is that teachers' experience of the school as an environment in which they work is influenced by such factors as social support and sharing that can influence the psychological well-being (specifically social well-being) of the educators. This is indicated by the correlation between the findings in article 3 which support the findings in article 2. The benefits from being involved with a project like the Afri Twin could also influence the resilience of the educators and learners/students. / Thesis (PhD (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The aim of this study was to come to a better understanding of possible neuropsychological mechanisms underlying psychosocial well-being and therefore to determine whether a relationship between neuropsychological executive functions and psychosocial well-being does indeed exist. Research was conducted in the domains of neuropsychology and positive psychology. This thesis consists of three articles, namely I ) Neuropsychological executive functions and psychosocial well-being: A review, 2) Attentional switching and psychosocial! well-being, and 3) The relationship between generativity as neuropsychological process and psychosocial well-being. The first article argued the possibility of a relationship between neuropsychological and psychosocial aspects, with reference to a pluralistic ecosystems perspective, neuropsychological and other positive psychological theories, such as Miller's neuropsychodynamic model and Frederickson's broaden-and-build theory, as well as existing empirical studies. Numerous neuropsychological studies have indicated that the prefrontal cortex is involved in executive functions, with its main function to regulate both cognitive and affective functioning. Analyses of existing empirical studies indicated an established relationship between prefrontal lobe / executive / regulatory dysfunction and psychopathology, but also that the relationship between normal or optimal prefrontal executive functions and psychosocial well-being is still unclear. The first article concluded that evidence correlating neuropsychological functioning with human flourishing, or indicating possible neuropsychological mechanisms involved in psychosocial well-being, is sparse, presenting a serious lacuna in scientific knowledge. The following two articles focused on contributing to filling this lacuna. "Attentional switching and psychosocial well-being" and "The relationship between generativity, as neuropsychological process and psychosocial well-being" focused on attentional switching and generativity, as part of neuropsychological executive functions, as potential mechanisms associated with psychosocial well-being. These studies aimed to determine whether the capacity to switch attention, as measured by the Color Trails Test (CTT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the capacity to generate novelty, as measured by the Controlled Verbal Fluency Task (CVFT) (Benton, 1967) and Uses of Objects Test (UOT) (Getzels & Jackson, 1962), are related to the degree of psychosocial well-being experienced. As part of the interdisciplinary POWIRS (Profiles of Obese Women with Insulin Resistance Syndrome) project, black African women (article 2 n=66; article 3 n=72) completed the above mentioned neuropsychological measures, as well as indices of psychosocial wellbeing, in a cross-sectional design. The psychosocial measures included the Affectometer (AFM) 2 (Kammann & Flett, 1983); Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI) abbreviated version (Epstein & Meier, 1989); Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC- 29) (Antonovsky, 1987, 1993); The Fortitude Questionnaire (FORQ) (Pretorius, 1998); JAREL Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWS-H) (Hungelman et al., 1989); Psychological Well-being Scales (SPW-B) (Ryff & Singer, 1998); and the Cognitive Appraisal Questionnaire (CAQ) (Botha & Wissing, 2003). The main findings of these studies were hat the ease of attentional switching and generativity correlates statistically (p<0.5) and practically significantly with higher levels of psychosocial well-being. From a micro-deterministic perspective it can be concluded that frontal lobe executive functions may play a role in the regulation higher-order adjusting psychosocial functions related to quality of life. From a micro-deterministic perspective it can be concluded that psychosocial well-being, while being influenced by executive functions, may also influence the continuous development of neuropsychological executive functions. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

I ett samhälle där unga mäns välbefinnande utges vara utsatt för risk av deras engagemang i en virtuell värld önskar den här studien lyfta fram hur unga män själva upplever välbefinnande ur ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv. Fem spelare fick i kvalitativa intervjuer framföra sina egna upplevelser ifrån sina erfarenheter av att spela MMORPG-spel. Med detaljrika teorier om subjektivt välbefinnande, socialt välbefinnande och teori angående gemenskap har studien en teoretisk grund som tillämpades i en transcendental analysmetod. Resultatet klargjorde att socialt välbefinnande och gemenskap existerar i spelet och kan uppnås av de unga manliga spelarna.  Essensen  kretsade  kring  socialt  samspel  mellan  de  andra  spelarna  i MMORPG-världen och upptäcktes genom de tre teman grupp, kommunikation och framgång/utveckling. Slutsatsen var att unga män kan uppnå socialt välbefinnande inom MMORPG-spel och att det här har allt att göra med det sociala samspelet mellan alla spelarna i spelet. / In a society where young men’s well-being is proclaimed to be at risk due to their involvement in a virtual world this study wants to shed light upon how young men themselves experience well-being from a social psychological perspective. Five players partook  in  qualitative  interviews  to  express  their  own  experiences  from  their  time playing MMORPGs. With detailed theories of subjective well-being, social well-being and theory of fellowship, the study has a theoretical foundation applied in a transcendental analysis. The result made it clear that social well-being and fellowship exist in the MMORPGs and can be achieved by the young male players. The essence revolved around social interaction between the other players in the MMORPG world and was discovered through three themes related to their group, communication and success/development. The conclusion was that young men can achieve social well-being in MMORPGs and this was due to the social interaction between all the players within the game itself.