Resolving legal questions with psychological data.

Psychologists are ever finding new legal arenas for their psychological data and concepts. Findings about the character and operation of stereotyping have been introduced in sex discrimination litigation in the United States. Findings about conformity, obedience to authority, and bystander apathy have been introduced into death penalty cases in South Africa. These concrete and detailed applications of psychological science demonstrate the expanding role that psychology is playing in the legal world.     

Teaching Community Psychology into Obscurity: A Reflection on Community Psychology in South Africa

The terms “community” and “community psychology” need to be examined within the context of human diversity in order to understand the apparent marginalisation of community psychology in South Africa. Community psychology might be marginalized as the term “community” tends to be associated with black, poor individuals. Current teaching practices in community psychology in South Africa may unwittingly reinforce these stereotypes by having predominantly junior, black and female staff teach community psychology, by generally introducing community psychology at post-graduate level only, and by making community psychology courses predominantly elective. These common teaching practices might contribute to producing raced, gendered and classed student perceptions of community psychology which would devalue psychological activity in communities as less important than individual psychotherapeutic practice in middle class communities. South African psychology would be better able adequately prepare psychologists for public mental health service with a more thoughtful infusion of community psychology teaching into most graduate programmes. Some of the ways in which our teaching can challenge our own and others' views about community psychology in local and international perspectives are discussed.     

The Mission and Role of Psychology in a Traumatised and Changing Society: The Case of South Africa

At present there is a “crisis” in psychology in South Africa. A mental health investigation has been initiated and a national task force appointed in order to reform the profession in all its aspects. These events are the result of a deep sense of unease about the mission, relevance and image of the profession and an awareness that mainstream psychology is irrelevant to the nature and needs of the majority black population. Presently psychology in South Africa is at a crossroads. This paper identifies the mental health needs of the majority black population and suggests professional training programmes for future psychologists and the utilisation of services and resources in delivery systems. The article also re-defines the psychologist's role in a divided and traumatised society.     

Counselling psychology in South Africa

The origin and development of counselling psychology in South Africa has been profoundly influenced by the country’s sociopolitical history and the impact of apartheid. As a result of this, counselling psychologists in the country face a number of challenges and opportunities for the future. In this paper we provide a portrait of counselling psychology in South Africa by describing the current character of the specialty and the context in which South African psychologists work. We critically discuss the challenges that the specialty faces to meet the country’s mental health care needs, contest the current Scope of Practice; affirm multiculturalism without essentialising or reifying race and ethnicity, and build an evidence base for community interventions in the country. We also consider how, in the future, counselling psychologists in South Africa may make a more meaningful contribution within public health and the country’s health care and education systems.     

An overview of South African psychology

This overview of psychology in South Africa presents a concise and historical account of its science and practice, from its early origins in the late nineteenth century to the present, and traces seminal influences on the discipline. It is a review of how psychology in South Africa developed over more than a century to become one of the most popular subjects in universities and an established and recognized profession, whose members play a variety of roles in the South African polity and larger society. The impact that apartheid racism had on key aspects of psychology's development is traversed, and the influences that previous ruling party politics had on professional psychological organizations are delineated. The unification of psychology under the Psychological Society of South Africa, a few months before the advent of democracy in South Africa, is explicated. The protection of the title of psychologist in law and certain other changes in the legislative environment, enabling a greater role for psychologists, are reported. The primary research sites for psychology and its funding and the main university psychology programs are described, as are the requirements for registration and licensure. The genesis and the importance of the work of internationally acclaimed South African psychologists, such as J. Wolpe and A. A. Lazarus, are contextualized. With the increased participation of progressive black psychologists in leadership and research in the past two decades, a transformed psychology has the potential to play a significant role in addressing human issues confronting South Africa.     

Counselling on Rails: Social Accountability Learning Among South African Psychology Students

This study investigated the utility of train transportation health care service in a North Eastern South African region. Participants were seven psychology graduate students at a South African university. They completed reflective journals on their subjective experience and objective reporting of their activities. While on the train, they provided psychological services to the local community members. Data were thematically analysed. Aspects such as problem-solving driven by community needs, personal motivation for community service, and awareness of differences in socioeconomic status and cultural orientation were highlighted by students. This process highlights the value of service learning and social accountability, particularly in South Africa and Psychology where a chasm exists between contextual challenges and the conventional training and interventions.     

Integral approach to South African psychology with special reference to indigenous knowledge

In order to redress imbalances in South African psychological service provision, honor indigenous, transpersonal, community based perspectives, and introduce fresh insights and direction, this article presents an integral approach to psychology in South Africa. Areas highlighted for future research and praxis include integral and transpersonal psychology; spirituality; consciousness; especially moral consciousness, ancestral consciousness and reverence; indigenous knowledge systems, particularly indigenous healing; harmonisation of old and new, African, Eastern and Western forms of psychology; well-being and community development through health promotion practices and multicultural counselling.     

Jung in the academy: a response to David Tacey

It is argued that responsibility for academia's disdain for Jungian psychology needs to be accepted by the Jungian community to the extent that it remains unrelated to contemporary literature, academic concerns and modes of enquiry in the social sciences. Several illustrative examples are presented. Of special concern is that the most powerful marketing of the name of Jung comes from American publishing companies that produce New Age Jungian pop, which is, even in Jungian terms, theoretically weak and further damages the academic standing of Jung. Reasons for the relatively good standing of Jungian psychology in South Africa are discussed. Special mention is made of the contributions of Vera Buhrman and several other academics. It is argued, however, that the academic criticisms of Buhrman's cross-cultural writing have merit. In the current intellectual climate in South Africa, Jung's cultural essentialism is anachronistic, and to endorse it will be to forfeit credibility in South African academic circles. In contrast to Tacey it is argued that academic excellence is not to be equated with dispassionate, liberal objectivity and balance. Instead, I argue for the cultural and epistemological importance of our complexes, and for the transformative personal and intellectual significance of falling in love with Jung. This defence of the complexity of knowing and thinking leads into a discussion of the tricksterlike strategies involved in successfully teaching Jungian psychology, for both the sceptical intellectual elite and the star-struck Jungian lovers need to be seduced into richer, more informed thought. It is concluded that the tensions between analytical psychology and related fields in the social sciences need to be more centrally integrated into the Jungian field itself.     

Mapping the state of the field of social psychology in Africa and patterns of collaboration between African and international social psychologists

Patterns of collaboration in social psychology from 2000 to 2010 were mapped to analyse the position of African authors in the international co‐authorship network using bibliographic records from the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge. There are very few social psychologists working in Africa, with the majority of these located in South Africa. Indeed, some small European countries boast more social psychologists than the entire continent of Africa. African authors published less than their non‐African collaborators, but had comparable status on joint publications. Co‐authorship relationships between African researchers from different African countries were generally mediated by partners from other continents, and direct collaboration between non‐compatriot African authors was very rare. The small size, and extremely sparse connection of the African co‐authorship network, is likely to be an obstacle both in the development of social psychology as a universally relevant discipline and in the penetration of social psychological knowledge in Africa.     

Putting the ‘heart’ back into community psychology: some South African examples

In this paper we explore the impact of emotional dynamics in the field of community psychology and the value of psychodynamic concepts in making sense of this. Emotional processes have often not been very well acknowledged or conceptualized in writing in the area of community psychology practice. This neglect is understandable given the individualizing, pathologizing and medicalizing assumptions underlying many psychological theories of emotion. Psychodynamic ideas may, however, make a useful contribution to understanding central concerns in community psychology in so far as they are able to shed light on emotional processes in groups, the political determinants of emotional response and the emotional dynamics of power, which are all central to the thinking of community psychologists. Using examples drawn from a long-term programme of consultation to community-based services in South Africa, we explore the potential of psychoanalytic understandings of emotional processes in illuminating some of the complexities and challenges faced in developing effective community partnerships and working towards the empowerment of communities.     

THE EFFECTS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN: A CONSIDERATION OF SOUTH AFRICAN AND RELATED STUDIES

This paper considers two propositions which have recently been advanced in debates in South Africa and elsewhere. The first is that children exposed to political violence will necessarily be emotionally damaged by the experience. The second is that exposed children will be socialised to endorse violence as a dominant mode of conflict resolution. Both these propositions are contested by referring to research conducted in South Africa and abroad. It is argued that attempts to understand the psychological sequellae of exposure to political violence need to take into account a number of interlinked factors. These include the type of political violence experienced, the child's developmental level and the availability of supports in the family and community. The evidence suggests that there is no simple relationship between exposure to violence and psychological disturbance or endorsement of violent conduct by children.     

Challenging the Frontiers of Community Psychology: A South African Experience

The development of community psychology is of vital importance in South Africa because of the historical context, questions about the relevance of mainstream western psychology and the current social change in the country in the post-apartheid era. Accordingly successful community psychology practices for a South Africa in transition need greater dissemination for access and utilization in the communities. This article draws on the community work conducted at the Itsoseng Clinic to show how and why community psychology could be made more relevant to the new South Africa. The Itsoseng Clinic is a psychology clinic that is situated in the township of Mamelodi. The clinic provides several services including counselling, psychometric assessment, psycho educational workshops, and HIV/AIDS pre and post-test counselling. The clients and community that the clinic serves are of low socio-economic status and struggle with a lack of material and personnel resources. The individuals working within the Itsoseng Clinic represent a diversity that is in itself a valuable resource for supporting the core activities of the clinic. This article explores various themes that were identified within the research study such as, making community, entering the ecology of life, closing the divide and bridging the boundaries.     

Broadening Mental Health Services to Disadvantaged Communities in South Africa: Reflections on Establishing a Community Based Internship

The need to provide mental health services in disadvantaged communities remains a priority in South Africa. This paper illustrates how in consultation and partnership with the peri-urban community of Jamestown, a counselling psychology internship was established to provide a range of mental health services at a primary health clinic. We describe how the internship also became an important catalyst for other community interventions. We also illustrate how values of community psychology informed the establishment and foci of the internship. Tensions encountered in reconciling community needs and professional training requirements discussed include the lack of resources at the primary health care level, the bio-medical bias of the primary health setting, and addressing the needs articulated by the community for more direct interventions.     

“There is soccer but we have to watch”: the embodied consequences of rhetorics of inclusion for South African children with cerebral palsy

Twenty years after the advent of democracy in South Africa (SA), there have been some successes in the achievement of greater equality, access and inclusion for many persons with disabilities. The move towards inclusive education may, however, have had unanticipated embodied consequences for people positioned discursively as included, but who in fact may in some respects be further marginalised than they had been under apartheid. We describe ethnographic research conducted in a special needs school in SA to explore the lived experiences of children with cerebral palsy and their involvement in physical activity. Our study shows how inclusive educational practices in SA have impeded involvement in sport for some children with motor impairments because of resource limitations and other historic reasons. This paper raises important questions about the role of community psychology in recognising, naming and contributing to action around injustices, which may be hard to see but which can have profound effects on the lives and bodies of those who experience exclusion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国西南少数民族心理研究的基本状况

西南少数民族心理研究是我国民族心理学的重要部分。20世纪80年代以来, 西南少数民族研究主要集中在儿童认知、智力发展、人格、价值观和品格等方面, 并取得了一些具有代表性的成果。目前, 西南少数民族心理研究主要有几个特点：(1)研究取样主要是青少年和学生; (2)研究取向主要是民族心理的发展; (3)民族心理研究大多与教育研究相联系; (4)民族心理研究的研究方法的科学性有待增强; (5)民族心理研究的核心是民族文化, 民族心理研究应该深入民族生活中去考察民族习俗; (6)民族心理研究多将民族和民族文化作为实验中一个变量, 对民族心理本质问题的重视程度不够。     

Psychological Dimensions of Unemployment: A Gender Comparison Between Belgian and South African Unemployed

This study sought to compare South African and Belgian unemployed in their subjective experience of unemployment, committed towards employment and job search behaviour. We also considered gender differences regarding the psychological dimensions of unemployment between Belgium and South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Unemployed people were sampled from the Potchefstroom area in South Africa (N = 381) and the Brussels area in Belgium (N = 305). The Experiences of Unemployment Questionnaire was administered. While no significant gender differences were found in South Africa, significant differences were found for all three psychological dimensions of unemployment in the Belgian sample. South African intervention programmes should be developed in order to cope with long-lasting unemployment, social isolation and further financial deprivation.     

“Communities isn't just about trees and shops”: students from two South African universities engage in dialogue about ‘community’ and ‘community work’

The question of what constitutes ‘a community’ or even ‘the community’ takes on an extra salience in a divided society such as South Africa where the entire environment remains imprinted with the legacy of enforced segregation along racial lines. Higher education institutions need to prepare emerging health and social service students for the world of practice in a context of diversity, continuing segregation and marked inequality. As one step to helping students deal with working in a divided society, academic departments from two different South African universities have been involved in a collaborative teaching and research project. Fourth year psychology and social work students from the two universities took part in a collaborative, practical course which formed part of their curricula. In this course, students were given the opportunity to engage with the notion of ‘community’ and ‘community work’ with each other. The students came from diverse racial, class and political backgrounds, and by engaging with one another as they did, had the opportunity to ‘visit’ worlds they have rarely had access to. While this course was able to achieve a broadening awareness among students from different backgrounds about the notion of community, it will take both more engagement with courses of this kind, and a continuing history of change in South Africa, for students to feel more comfortable in transcending both physical and psychological boundaries. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parenting styles and psychological needs influences on adolescent life goals and aspirations in a South African setting

The present study examined the role of parenting styles and basic psychological needs in the adoption of goals and aspirations of learners, as well as for their psychological wellbeing (positive versus negative affect) in a South African sample of learners. A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study with a sample of 853 learners at public schools in the Western Cape of South Africa (females?=?57%, mean age 16.96 years, SD?=?1.12). Data were collected using the Parenting Style and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), Psychological Needs Scale, Aspiration Index and the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The results suggest that authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles influence the adoption of life goals and psychological wellbeing of adolescents with fathers' negative parenting possibly reducing adolescent wellbeing. Extrinsic life goals was a significant predictor of positive affect, while need frustration was a significant predictor of negative affect. These findings suggest parenting styles and basic psychological needs influence life aspirations and psychological wellbeing of learners in a developing country context.     

再论我国心理学的分化现象

我国心理学正处于分化过程之中,其中两个明显的例证就是:基础心理学与应用及人文心理学的分化,以及对心理学研究和服务成果的评价标准摆脱SCI的束缚.这背后深层的原因在于,若以科学哲学认识论的视角,人类的知识大致可分为可靠有用的知识和无用虚幻(伪科学)的知识,可靠知识又可进一步分为科学的知识和非科学的知识.心理学从诞生之日起...     

Psychological Brain Drain: Interviews with Emigrant South African Psychologists

Interviews with 15 emigrant South African psychologists revealed that they left South Africa mainly for two reasons, the policies of the government and the academic situation. In this article, we report on this group's interest in psychology, commonalities between them, and their views on South African psychology.