The profession of psychology in South Africa has not always been regulated by a statutory body such as the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Currently, the profession of psychology is regulated by the HPCSA and psychologists and the HPCSA find themselves in a lawful and interminable relationship. The HPCSA’s motto is to protect the public and to guide the profession, but it was questioned whether psychologists actually experience guidance from the HPCSA. In response to this problem, this study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of a group of South African psychologists regarding the HPCSA as well as the ethical code which serves as a guideline for the conduct of psychologists. This study made use of a sequential mixed method design, which comprised of a qualitative phase followed by a quantitative phase. All participants in this study were qualified psychologists. Seven participants took part in the qualitative phase and 74 participants took part in the quantitative phase. The data from the qualitative phase was grouped into broad categories and served as the basis for compiling a questionnaire for the quantitative phase. After collecting the completed questionnaires, the data was read into SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences), which was used for the statistical analysis of the data. The data was analysed by means of frequency distributions and mean scores. During the analysis of the data, six themes where identified: five regarding the HPCSA as the regulator of psychology and one regarding the ethical code that guides the conduct of psychologists. The themes include “guidance and mentorship”, “the HPCSA as a watchdog”, “the HPCSA’s motive”, “reverence that psychologists have for the HPCSA”, “the competence of the HPCSA” and “psychologists’ view on the ethical code”. The results indicated that an ambiguous relationship exists between this group of psychologists and the HPCSA, as these two entities seem to function separately. Generally, psychologists who took part in this research have a negative view towards the HPCSA, although they realise the necessity for the HPCSA as a regulating body for psychology. The recognition of this need is a platform for a workable relationship between psychologists and the HPCSA. The participants provided less detail and responded more neutral regarding their views on the ethical code, and it is concerning that quite a number of psychologists indicated that they did not know the code. This study concludes with recommendations for the HPCSA to be more approachable and to provide psychologists with more support. / Thesis (M.A. (Research Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Memory conformity effects occur when witnesses report misleading suggestions they learned about from another witness. Using a new paradigm the present thesis investigated whether what subject-witnesses report about an event also implies what they personally remember or know about that event. Subjects were tested in pairs, with each member of a pair shown a different version of a video using the MORI technique. There were critical details (e.g., theft of an iPod) in each of the following conditions: visible to only one member of each subject spair, visible to both members of the pair, and not visible to either member of the pair. Pairs subsequently completed a questionnaire together to remember details from the video. Subjects then individually completed a similar questionnaire. A source monitoring and subjective experiences test revealed that co-witness discussion does not necessarily lead people to experience illusory recollections for details they did not witness themselves.

The object of the research was psychological loneliness and frustration of first-year students. The subject of the research was the correlation between subjective feeling of loneliness and frustration of students. The master's dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusion, list of references (49 sources) and an Appendix, including the forms of the applied research methods. The volume of the master's dissertation is 77 pages, which contains 8 tables. The introduction reveals the relevance of the research problem, the development of the problem, the purpose and objectives of the research, the object and subject of the research, the main and additional hypotheses are formulated, the methods and the empirical base are specified. In conclusion, the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, as well as conclusions on the hypotheses put forward, the practical significance of the study and the possible prospects for further development of this problem are described in a generalized form. / Объектом исследования явились психологическое одиночество и фрустрация студентов-первокурсников. Предметом исследования стала взаимосвязь субъективного ощущения одиночества и фрустрации у студентов. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, трех глав, заключения, списка литературы (49 источников) и приложения, включающего в себя бланки применявшихся методик. Объем магистерской диссертации 77 страница, на которых размещены 8 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируется гипотеза, указываются методики и эмпирическая база. Первая и вторая главы включают в себя обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы по теме исследования. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутой гипотезе, обоснована практическая значимость исследования и описаны возможные перспективы дальнейшей разработки данной проблематики.

Whether mentally ill individuals have the right to receive euthanasia is a controversial issue and today it looks different in different countries regarding how legislation relates to this. In this essay I will present philosophical arguments for and against euthanasia for individuals suffering psychologically. Based on the philosophical arguments, I will examine how and when a psychologically suffering individual can be morally entitled to euthanasia in a modern society. In this essay I will suggest that, based on the arguments, there are cases where it is morally justified within a modern society to perform euthanasia on a psychologically suffering individual who autonomously requests to end their suffering. / Huruvida psykiskt lidande individer har rätt till att få dödshjälp är en kontroversiell fråga och idag ser det olika ut i olika länder gällande hur lagstiftningar förhåller sig till detta. I den här uppsatsen kommer jag att presentera filosofiska argument för och emot dödshjälp för individer som lider psykiskt. Jag kommer utifrån dessa filosofiska argument att undersöka hur och när en psykiskt lidande individ kan vara moraliskt berättigad till dödshjälp i ett modernt samhälle. I uppsatsen kommer jag att driva tesen att det, utifrån argumenten, finns fall där det är moraliskt rättfärdigat inom ett modernt samhälle att utföra dödshjälp på en psykiskt lidande individ som autonomt begär att få sitt lidande avslutat.

Emergent change is a pervasive force in modern organisations. However, the subjective experiences of emergent change for frontline individuals and teams have not been explored in organisational change literature. The integrative field of applied neurosciences offers valuable insights into the underlying neural mechanisms that shape these experiences and drive responses in order to meet basic psychological needs. Using interactive qualitative analysis (IQA), this study involved a focus group and follow-up interviews with nine participants at a South African software development company to explore the experiences of emergent change at work. System dynamics reflected that these experiences are significantly more complex than literature and practice currently account for, and that individuals and teams find their experiences of emergent change to threaten their sense of safety and basic psychological needs. The physiological and emotional experiences were found to be driving elements. Peak performance state and the relational environment were found to be salient outcomes. Findings present the opportunity for the reconceptualisation of emergent change, a shift in focus from change itself to the human experiences thereof and the importance of embracing new possibilities, tools and practices for meeting needs and thriving in an ever-changing world. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)