This study investigated the emotionally disruptive effects of double binding communication, as compared with overtly punitive, and warm, accepting interactions. Forty-two college undergraduates scoring above the mean on the Neuroticism Subscale of Eysenck's Personality Questionaire were each directed to play the part of a small child in a spontaneous role-played family interaction. A pre-post mood test (Multiple Adjective Affect Check List), sensitive to changes in depression, hostility, and anxiety was administered. It was found that subjects in the double-bind and punitive conditions evidenced significant mood disturbance while subjects in the control group did not (all ps < .05). Implications for Double Bind Theory were discussed.

Two teachers with two classes each participated in the research, which used a modified Campbell and Stanley equivalent time series design. Each class was randomly assigned four of eight filmstrips. Both experimental and control classes heard lectures on a module, the experimental group viewed the filmstrip, and both were posttested. Independent variables controlling for student differences, module difficulty, student attitudes, and the critical independent variable, viewing of the filmstrip (View), were regressed on student cognition. In the analysis, significant at the .001 level, View exerted a significant positive influence on cognition scores. No relation was discovered between student attitudes toward filmstrips and increased cognition.

The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the relationships among the contingency of teachers' reactions as perceived by the pupils, the pupils' academic performance, and internality. One might expect that children who perceive their teacher as contingently rewarding and punishing would achieve higher grades and test scores than those who view their teachers' reactions as unrelated to their behavior. It is believed that children's perceptions of the contingencies of their teacher's responses may be more highly related to achievement behavior than the teacher's actual distribution of rewards and punishments. Perceived contingency of punishments and rewards may be important determiners of achievement. The perception of punishments as noncontingent is likely to be negatively related to achievement; however, the same may not be true of noncontingent reward. Indiscriminate dispersion of rewards could have a motivating effect or, as one might infer from Paris & Cairns (1972), no effect at all. Internality and achievement are expected to be positively related, perhaps more so for boys than for girls, as the trend of previous evidence suggests. Because of conflicting reports, no firm expectation can be formulated with regard to sex differences and the effectiveness of IAR+ versus IAR- scores.

This study related college students' remembered early relationships with parents to their depression symptoms and to dependent and self-critical subjective feelings. Undergraduates (N = 217, 118 female, 99 male) provided information regarding their current level of depression, overall functioning, subjective feelings of depression (Depressive Experiences Questionnaire), negative thoughts, interpersonal functioning, and recollections of their parents' behavior and attitudes. Depression symptoms were related to dependent and self-critical feelings and to recalled low parental care and high parental control. However, for women, paternal affection and, for men, paternal control, were unrelated to depression symptoms. Other results are inconclusive but, overall, provide evidence for the usefulness of Blatt's theory in assessing depression via dependent and self-critical subjective feelings.

M.Ed. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. (Counselling Psychology) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Business Science, Human Resources Management) in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, June 2017 / For the past two years, South Africa has been gripped by a spate of demonstrations by university students demanding free university education. These demonstrations have been violent, and mediation efforts have not succeeded in yielding long-term results. According to the theory of rising expectations, in an economy that is improving and where the people are not oppressed, their expectations often outstrip the pace of actual change (Gale, 2008). When there is a mismatch between what people expect and what they actually get, theory suggests that rising expectations lead to civil unrest as demands for improvement continue to grow. It is the contention of this thesis that the theory of rising expectations is associated with the behaviour of the university students as they make demands for free education, better employment opportunities and more accountability from the government. Also associated with the behaviour of these university students in South Africa is generational cohort theory, which predicts that certain significant national and global events have a long-lasting impact on value systems of individual groups and social orders resulting in the formation of new generational cohorts (Smolla & Sutton, 2002). These individuals then share enduring distinctive sets of values, beliefs, and behaviours (Strauss & Howe, 2000). Furthermore, research suggests that Generation Y are materialistic, which is the value individuals place on possessions (Belk, 1985), have a high entitlement mentality, and their work values are mostly extrinsic. Entitlement has been defined as a “pervasive sense that one deserves more and is entitled to more than others” (Campbell, Bonacci, Shelton, Exline, & Bushman, 2004, p. 31). In the absence of literature that relates to the potential influence of the theory of rising expectations and generational cohort theory on the behaviour of Generation Y in South Africa, this research seeks to: (i) investigate whether Generation Y are indeed materialistic and entitled; (ii) investigate the potential influence of demographic factors on work centrality, work values, materialism, and an entitlement mentality; (iii) investigate the potential influence of work centrality, work values, and materialism on an entitlement mentality; and (iv) investigate the mediating effect of materialism on the relationship between demographic factors, work values, work centrality, and an entitlement mentality in the context of a private college and a public university in South Africa. This research employed a two-stage approach. The first stage, a quantitative study, applied a descriptive approach to validate and justify the research findings that link Generation Y with materialism and entitlement mentality. Entitlement mentality was measured using two dimensions: exploitative and nonexploitative entitlement. Based on a literature review, a model was then developed and tested in the second stage of the study using Structural Equation Modelling. Findings from Stage Two suggested that Generation Y are materialistic and highly entitled, but that their entitlement is non-exploitative. Men were found to be more materialistic than women, but women were found to be more entitled than men. However, both genders were found to have low levels of exploitative entitlement, albeit with men showing slightly higher levels of exploitative entitlement. Gender and age were also significantly associated with materialism and entitlement. However, gender and age were found not to be significantly associated with work centrality. Work centrality was found to be significantly associated with entitlement mentality. Work values, on the other hand, were found not to be significantly associated with entitlement mentality, but were significantly associated with materialism. Materialism was found to be significantly associated with entitlement mentality. On the basis of all of these results, it was concluded that the theory of rising expectations and generational cohort theory might be responsible for the entitlement mentality and materialism, which literature often associates with Generation Y. The results also suggested that for organisations to attract and retain Generation Y employees, managers need to pay attention to extrinsic aspects of the job, such as pay. / XL2018

Análise da leitura dos alunos de graduação- do Curso de Psicologia da Universidadee de São Paulo. O aluno/leitor constitui o objeto central da análise que tem como pano de fundo diversos contextos sociais e culturais dos quais participa. A leitura é abordada de forma abrangente, buscando-se, basicamente, as variáveis interrelaciona das em três momentos que se mostram significativos na vida do estudante universitário enquanto leitor: a leitura na sua prática acadêmica, a leitura no lazer e, por fim, os possíveis reflexos de tais experiências no uso da biblioteca do Instituto de Psicologia. A pesquisa abrange a população total de estudantes que freqüentaram aquele curso no segundo semestre de 1984. Utiliza como instrumento de coleta de dados questionário semi-estrututado, pré-codificado e apresenta análise descritiva dos dados, com base nas distribuições de freqüencia das variáveis consideradas, utilizando o pacotte estatístico BMOP. Aponta, entre outras, as seguintes características para a população analisada: a) tempo disponível para estudo e leitura individual de 11 horas semanais; b) comportamento, em relação à bibliografia recomendada para os cursos, dependente de algumas variáveis; c) leitura mais freqüente de material bibliográfico complementar a partir do 3º ano do curso; d) preferência, no lazer, pela leitura da prosa de ficção, de revistas noticiosas e de divulgação científica; e) prática freqüente da leitura no núcleo familiar em estreita relação com outras variáveis, entre outras, o nível de escolaridade dos pais; f) freqüencia de mais de uma vez por semana à biblioteca da instituição com demanda concentrada em material bibliográfico para os cursos, especialmente em português; g) utilização crescente da biblioteca da instituição à medida que avançam nas etapas do curso; h) atribuição de bom nível para o atendimento oferecido pe Ia biblioteca da instituição. O estudo procura ainda identificar o perfil do estudante de Psicologia e suas expectativas de atuação profissional e desenvolvimento cultural. A análise das diversas variáveis permite constatar que o es tudante focalizado na pesquisa mostra-se bastante influenciado por fatores psícossociais que determinam a maior ou menor presença da leitura nos vários contextos de que participam, suas preferências no lazer e o uso que faz de bibliotecas. / An analysis of Reading among undergraduate students of Psychology at the University of são Paulo. The student/reader constitutes the central object of the analysis which has at its base several social and cultural aspects the student has experienced during his 1ifetime. Reading is approached taking into consideration, basically, the varied interrelationship in three different moments which shows significantly in the life of the university student as a reader: academicreading, leisure reading and, finally, possible reflexes of these experiences in the use of the 1ibrary of the Institute of Psychology as well as other libraries. The research covers the total student population attending that course in the second semester of 1984 and uses a semistructured, pre-coded questionnaire as a data collecting means including a descriptive analysis of this same data based on the distribution of frequency of the variables taking into consideration applying statistical package BMDP. The fol1owing main characteristics surface as pertinent to this student population: a) e1even weekly hours dedicated to individual study and reading; b) attitude in relation to the courses recommended bibliography depending on some variables; c) more frequent reading of complementing bibliographical material from third grade onwards; d) preference, as far as leisure reading is concerned, for fiction, news and scientific pub1ications; e) frequent practi-ce of reading at home strictly related to others variables, such as parent\'s level of education; f) more than once a week attendance to the institution\'s library with great demand of bibliographical material related to the various courses, particularly in the portuguese language; g) crescent use of the institution\'s library as they advance in their courses; h) good appreciation given by the students referring\' to the services rendered by the institution\'s library. This study also tries to identify the psychology student\'s profile and their expectations as to professional life and cultural development.Analysis of the variables allows to state that the student in view is very much influenced by psyco-social factors that determine their greater or lesser use of reding in their various activities, their leisure reading preferences and the use they make of libraries in general.

by Michael Wah-cheong Leung. / Chinese title: / Bibliography: leaves 116-125 / Thesis (M.A.Ed.) -- Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981