Sevaral studies present evidence which supports the proposition that we infer our attitudes and internal states from observation of our overt behaviour and that these inferences are related to differential knowledge or attributions about the reasons for the behaviour. This proposition was examined in the teacher-student interaction from the student’s point of view. Sixty subjects participated in a learning experience. Half the subjects ware taught by a so called expert teacher (high-expert) and the remaining half were taught by a fellow student (low-expert). All subjects received success feed-back after the teaching period. It was expected that subjects in the high-expert condition would attribute success to the teacher more than those in the low-expert group. In addition it was predicted that subjects in the high-expert group would expect to do poorer on a second learning task without the help of the teacher, than subjects in the low-expert group. The results indicated that the experimental manipulation was successful in producing differential perception of teacher expertise. The two hypotheses, however, were not confirmed by the data. Several points of methodological and theoretical nature were raised, which suggest possible future avenues of research in the area of attribution in social interaction. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This study involving 43 intermediate and secondary level students with learning disabilities investigated two major areas. First, the relationship between four facets of self-concept and academic locus of control were examined. Second, the influences special education placement variables have on self-concept and locus of control were investigated. Academic self-concept, general self-concept, math self-concept and verbal self-concept were measured by the Self Description Questionnaire III. Academic locus of control was measured by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire; it also gives scores for internal locus of control for success and internal locus of control for failure. The special education placement variables were: age at first placement in a learning assistance centre (resource room); number of years spent in learning assistance centre; age at first placement in a self-contained special education class; number of years in a self-contained special education class; present placement (intermediate grade level or secondary grade level) and grades repeated. The data indicated that general self-concept and academic self-concept were not related. Math self-concept, verbal self-concept and academic self-concept tended to be negative and general self-concept tended to be positive. No statistically significant relationship was found between academic self-concept and internal academic locus of control. The sample tended to have negative academic self-concepts and internal academic locus of control. A positive relationship was found between general self-concept and internal academic locus of control. Internal locus of control for academic failure was positively correlated with internal locus of control for academic success. A positive relationship was found between mathematics self-concept and verbal self-concept, with the majority of students having negative self-concept in both areas. The age of first placement in a learning assistance centre and the number of years spent in the program did not influence either self-concept or locus of control. Age at first placement in a self-contained special education class did not relate to self-concept or locus of control. The number of years a child spent in a self-contained special education class was inversely related to internal academic locus of control. No differences in self-concept or locus of control were found between intermediate and secondary grade level students. An inverse relationship was found between grades repeated and internal academic locus of control. After failing only one grade, students still had an internal academic locus of control, but failing two or more usually indicated an external academic locus of control. Limitations of this study were the problems with definition of the term learning disabilities and classification for the purposes of programming. As a result of this study, it was concluded that further study of the influence special education programming has on the self-concept and locus of control of learning disabled students should be of a longitudinal or ethnographic nature. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study examined the ways in which women and men view themselves and their women and men friends, in the context of their friendships. Ninety-five female and 95 male undergraduates completed the Friendship Questionnaire, in which they rated each of their closest friends, and rated themselves with each of those friends, on 13 dimensions of friendship. Test-retest procedures demonstrated the measure had satisfactory reliability. The general results are reflected in three patterns of friendship: 1) relationships with men friends tend to be less reciprocal than relationships with women friends in self disclosure, empathic understanding, deepening other's self awareness, and responsibility; 2) men's same-sex relationships tend to be lower in appreciation, empathic understanding, deepening other's self awareness, responsibility, and empowerment; and 3) women tend to report that they give more than they receive in friendships with women and men, on empathic understanding, self disclosure, and connectedness. The results of this study support the notion that although there is more commonality than difference in women's and men's friendships, many significant differences do exist. Further, this methodology illustrates the importance of studying people's conceptions of themselves and their friendships within the context of their specific real-life relationships. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

M.Phil. / This research essay focussed on the nature and importance of emotional leadership in the school context within a personal leadership framework. Personal leadership in essence endeavours to guide an individual to personal mastery and focuses on three important questions, which will provide individuals with greater clarity namely: • Who am I? • Where do I want to go with my life? • How will I do this? Our schools are characterised by teachers and learners with a low morale and negative emotional problems. The emotional problems experienced in our schools are evident from media reports on suicidal tendencies, stress, depression and aggressiveness by teachers and learners. Teachers and learners do not understand their emotional reactions and are unaware of strategies to manage their emotions, as well as those of others. Emotional leadership is one of the areas where teachers and learners can benefit from the dynamics of personal leadership. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of emotional leadership in the school context. In order to realise this aim, a conceptual analysis of emotional leadership was conducted in chapter two. The essay is based on a literature study and the following steps were employed: library searches on words and concepts related to emotional leadership; research on authoritative sources, including consultation with books and journals. The outcome of this conceptual analysis was a definition of emotional leadership. Self-awareness, managing emotions appropriately, motivating oneself and others, empathy and handling relationships and managing emotions in others well, were described as the components of emotional leadership. Chapter three focussed on the importance of emotional leadership in a school context. Guidelines for the application of emotional leadership in a school context were formulated at the end of chapter three. The following findings were formulated as guidelines for the application of emotional leadership in a school context: • Teachers and learners are encouraged to make proactive choices for their lives and not blaming others for their circumstances. • In order to experience emotional security teachers and learners are encouraged to have a clear vision of the future. • Teachers and learners should perceive themselves more positively to improve their self-image. • Teachers and learners should develop a very strong sense of humour to assist them to get rid of negative emotions and increase their empathy and tolerance levels. • Leading a life of honesty and integrity will ensure emotional security for teachers and learners. • Teachers should continuously listen to their learners with empathy in order to enhance the self-confidence and self-esteem of their learners.

Failure to acknowledge their mental illness occurs in approximately half of all psychotic patients. Interest has been recently been refocused on insight (i.e., awareness of mental illness), and its associations with treatment compliance and better prognosis. Researchers have called into question the traditional factor structure of insight, instead viewing and defining it as a multidimensional and continuous construct. While factor analytic research has suggested that insight is an independent feature of psychotic disorders rather than a secondary manifestation of psychotic symptoms, several factor analytic studies have identified only one higher-order factor. Furthermore, a significant amount of the research literature has assessed insight or analyzed its relationships using only a single insight score. The current study evaluated the structural model of insight and assessed the associations between the different proposed dimensions of insight and psychotic symptoms. One hundred and six participants recruited from both inpatient and outpatient settings with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, psychotic disorder NOS, or bipolar disorder with psychotic features were rated on David's Schedule for Assessing Insight-Expanded Version (SAI-E), Birchwood's Insight Scale (IS), and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) or the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to provide stringent, confirmatory statistical tests of the hypothetical factor models while accounting for measurement error. Principal findings from the current study were that the three factor model of insight was supported and that the insight factors were meaningfully correlated to the two symptom factors. Moreover, the three factor insight model provided significantly better fit than a single factor model of insight.

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The purpose of this study is threefold. One is to find out if a positive self concept develops when four and five year old nursery school children are exposed to sensory activities, and secondly, to compare this growth with four and five year old nursery school children who have not participated in such a program. The third purpose is to find out if the younger children have a greater growth toward positive self concept than the older children.

The problem investigated was the effect of various methods of conceptual, physical, and conceptual-physical practice procedures upon performance of the basketball motor skill of foul shooting. The sub-problem under investigation was the effect of self-concept upon the performance of foul shooting.

No description available.