Psychologia - Unisa

UNISA 

Psychologia 

Vol 26 No 1 & 2 1999

REDAKTEUR 

EDITOR 

HENNING VILJOEN 

ASSISTANT EDITOR ASSISTENTREDAKTEUR 

VASI VAN DEVENTER 

SUBEDITORS SUBREDAKTEURS 

VASI VAN DEVENTER: 

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES 

WETENSKAPLIKE ARTIKELS 

HENNING VILJOEN: 

STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS 

STUDENTEBYDRAES 

WORLD LITERATURE 

WEÃ RELDLETTERKUNDE 

MATSHEPO NEFALE: 

SUBDISCIPLINES 

SUBDISSIPLINES 

COMMUNITY 

GEMEENSKAP 

JOHAN KRUGER: 

BOOK REVIEWS 

BOEKRESENSIES 

KATE GRIEVE: 

CAREERS 

BEROEPE 

TUTOR NEWS 

TUTORNUUS 

LETTERS 

BRIEWE 

CAROL MOORE: 

CONGRESSES 

KONGRESSE 

NEWS 

NUUS 

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The contents of this journal do not necessarily 

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The review of a book in no way suggests 

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Set, printed and published by the University of 

South Africa, 1999 

# Copyright reserved 

ISSN 0256-8896 

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# Kopiereg voorbehou 

JOURNAL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNISA 

TYDSKRIF VAN DIE DEPARTEMENT SIELKUNDE, UNISA

C O N T E N T S . I N H O U D 

2 Editorial . Redaksioneel Henning Viljoen 

Psychology in South Africa . Sielkunde in Suid-Afrika 

4 Pioneers of South African Psychology (3): 

Dr P R Skawran Cornelis Plug 

Scientific articles . Wetenskaplike artikels 

8 Neuropsychological and psychosocial factors contributing 

to personality changes in multiple sclerosis Louise Henderson 

15 Living with childhood cancer Maria Papaikonomou 

21 Predicting the outcome of mild closed head injury Christa Foulis 

32 Police officials as victims of trauma and crises Juan Nel 

Student contributions . Studentebydraes 

43 Attitudes of teachers and street hawkers towards 

people who suffer from HIV/AIDS Paul Makena 

48 Gender socialization: boys will be boys and girls will 

be girls Sonia Roopnarain 

Usha Roopnarain 

Subdisciplines . Subdissiplines 

52 Community Psychology Ð the art and science of 

empowerment Martin Terre Blanche 

Matshepo Nefale 

56 Congresses . Kongresse 

60 Book reviews . Boekresensies 

64 News . Nuus 

72 Letters . Briewe 

World Literature . WeÃ reldletterkunde 

73 Let me tell you a story Wilhelm Jordaan 

_____________________ V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A 

1

2 

EDITORIALREDAKSIONEEL 

Health and health care 

one of the most important 

aspects of any individual's 

life is health. How many 

times do we not hear someone say: Ìf 

you have your health you have almost 

everything.' Health care costs form a 

great percentage of any country's 

gross national product. In their book 

Health Psychology: Challenging the 

Biomedical Model Charles Sheridan 

and Sally Radmacher foresee the year 

2055 as a kind of Armageddon if 

health care systems do not undergo a 

change in America. They state the 

following: 

2055 is the year when, given 

present growth rates, that health 

care costs in the United States are 

expected to reach 100% of the 

gross national product. If that 

happened, it would mean that 

every hour, every minute, every 

second of human production 

would be devoured by medical 

costs. Of course, this is an impos- 

Prof. Henning Viljoen, editor of 

Psychologia 

sible scenario. But it tells us one 

thing very clearly, that sometime 

between now and 2055 there is 

going to be a revolution in health 

care systems. 

Although we normally think of health 

only in physical terms, there is accumulating 

evidence demonstrating that 

the psychological and behavioural 

aspects of health play as important a 

role as the purely physical aspects, and 

that lifestyle and one's psychological 

make-up in relation to health are at 

least just as important to a person's 

well-being as the availability of physical 

health care. 

This evidence challenges the biomed- 

V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A ___________________

ical model as the dominating paradigm 

of health care during the 20 th century. 

Although the biomedical model laid 

the foundation for many great accomplishments 

in the medical profession, 

it seems that modern health care 

cannot be restricted to this model 

and that social and psychological 

factors should be taken into account. 

In Psychology the interest in health 

and health care is now broadened to 

include physical health. This is manifested 

in the development of new 

fields of specialisation such as Health 

Psychology and Community Psychology. 

In this issue of Psychologia 

several articles pay attention to this 

broadened sphere of interest focusing 

on various health problems such as 

cancer, multiple sclerosis, and head 

injuries. These problems were traditionally 

the sole domain of the medical 

profession, but are now also viewed 

from a psycho-social perspective. 

Like the new South Africa, Unisa as a 

university and the Department of 

Psychology, reflect the `winds of 

change' and transformation that is 

currently blowing through our country. 

Changes which affect every level 

of the university, from the compilation 

of the Senate, methods of teaching 

and the traditional existence of Departments. 

In the Department of Psychology, 

which in future might 

dissolve into a School of Health and/ 

or Social Science, the `winds of 

change' are not only sweeping 

through the development of curricula 

based on the principle of outcomebased 

education, and on the modularisation 

of courses, but in the wake of 

the transformation of staff the Department 

takes leave of nine of its staff 

members. As I am also one of the staff 

members taking leave of Unisa, this 

will be my last contribution as Editor 

of Psychologia and most probably the 

last edition of Psychologia in its 

present form. I wish the new Editor 

and editorial staff the best of luck with 

their new endeavour. 

Henning Viljoen 

Editor 


3

PSYCHOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA . SIELKUNDE IN SUID-AFRIKA 

4 

IONEERS OF SOUTH AFRICAN PSYCHOLOGY (3): 

Dr P R SKAWRAN 

paul Robert Skawran (1900± 

1986) remained active in his 

profession longer than any 

other pioneer of South African psychology, 

namely from the late nineteen-twenties 

to his retirement in 

1970. He was born in Magdeburg, 

Germany, and initially studied mathematics, 

physics and geology at university. 

However, he soon changed 

Dr P R Skawran 

CORNELIS PLUG * 

ÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐ 

* Dr Cornelis Plug is professor in the Department of Psychology, Unisa. 

over to the study of psychology and 

education, concluding his studies in 

1926 with a dissertation on volition in 

choice actions. A comprehensive article 

describing this introspective study 

of the workings of the will in performing 

complex muscle actions was published 

in Germany the next year 

(Skawran, 1927). 

Skawran emigrated to South Africa in 

1927 to become the first senior lecturer 

in psychology at the Transvaal 

University College (TUC), under the 

professor of philosophy, T Hugo. His 

students appreciated his frankness, 

good humour, and efficiency, but 

initially battled to understand his 

broken English. He sought and obtained 

the active cooperation of his 

postgraduate students in his research, 

setting them various tasks relating to 

the selection of pilots, vocational 

guidance, and the study of temperament 

and constitutional types. 

The Department of Psychology became 

an independent academic department 

under his leadership in 1929, 

and when the TUC became the University 

of Pretoria in 1935 he was 


promoted to professor of psychology. 

During this time Skawran played a 

leading role also in the advancement 

of cultural exchanges between the 

Afrikaans and German communities 

in South Africa. He was editor of Die 

Kultuurblad: Kwartaalblad van die 

Afrikaans-Duitse Kultuurunie, which 

was published in Pretoria from July 

1936 to 1938 or 1939. 

While Skawran was on study leave in 

Germany in 1939 World War II broke 

out. He spent the war years developing 

methods of selecting pilots in the 

German air force, and applying these 

methods on the front in Russia, Norway, 

Italy, North Africa, and along the 

English Channel. After the war he 

taught at the University of Hamburg 

for a while, returning to South Africa 

in 1948. He first practised psychotherapy 

for two years, following an approach 

somewhat similar to Victor 

Frankl's logotherapy. In 1950 he 

joined the South African Railways as 

Chief Vocational Officer, to develop its 

first Aptitude Testing Section. In 1958 

he was appointed at the National 

Institute for Personnel Research (later 

incorporated into the Human Sciences 

Research Council) as Head of its 

Personnel Selection and Vocational 

Guidance Division. He remained an 

active researcher there until his retirement 

in 1970 at the age of 70. 

SKAWRAN 

AND PSYCHOLOGY __________ 

Skawran was a prolific writer, producing 

well over a hundred publications 

between 1919 and 1970. Just more 

than half of these were written in 

German, with the rest about equally 

divided between English and Afrikaans. 

Some of his writings dealt with 

the philosophical basis of psychological 

ideas; others with the theory of 

personality; the psychology of intelligence; 

topics in educational, social 

and cultural psychology; individual 

differences; psychopathology; and applied 

psychology. He also published 

some biographical articles, including 

one on the well-known South African 

geologist Dr Hans Merensky, as well 

as some bibliographies. 

Skawran was critical of the materialism, 

rationality, and positivist empiricism 

of American and British 

psychology. He rejected behaviourism, 

and opposed what he saw as an overreliance 

on intelligence measurement. 

He proclaimed that psychology should 

focus on what it means to be human, 

and had a lasting interest in the role of 

the self in achieving a meaningful 

existence. He believed that a kind of 

inner contemplation, which he named 

intuitive thinking, could lead to fundamental 

truths, and hence to valuable 

psychological knowledge. Somewhat 

similar ideas later gained expression in 

phenomenological and existential psychologies. 

His interest in the human 

psyche was directed mainly at factors 

which contribute to the development 

of an individual's personality and 

character, and he consistently supported 

a holistic approach to psychological 

problems. 

In 1932 Skawran founded and edited 

our first psychology journal, the South 

African Journal of Psychology and 


5

6 

Education. It published research articles, 

news items, and useful bibliographies 

of South African psychological 

and educational research. Although 

the journal was discontinued after 

only two issues, it was a pioneering 

effort that was not equalled until the 

appearance of the South African Psychological 

Review in 1946. 

Despite his interest in the philosophical 

basis of psychology, Skawran 

made many and varied contributions 

to applied psychology. During the 

nineteen-thirties, he pioneered the 

development of aptitude tests for the 

South African Air Force. Although his 

work on the psychomotor aspects of 

pilot selection was not published at 

the time, it proved most useful as a 

basis for subsequent work on this 

topic after World War II. Another of 

his early contributions was his Manual 

of mental and physical tests standardized 

for South African conditions, 

which appeared in its final form in 

1931±1932. It described all the physical, 

sensory, and mental tests that 

REFERENCES 

were in use in South Africa at the 

time, most of them adapted from 

American and German originals. 

Kretschmer's technique of anthropometric 

measurement was included as 

one of the physical methods, and his 

results compared to the bodily dimensions 

of white South Africans. 

In a short review article published in 

1932 Skawran described South African 

work in applied psychology. 

Claiming that the TUC had the only 

well-established psychological laboratory 

in South Africa, he dealt with 

various studies conducted there on 

mental aptitudes, personality testing, 

vocational guidance, and work for 

industry. A second review article, 

published in the same year (Skawran, 

1932b), dealt with 28 local studies on 

intelligence testing, mental health, and 

child psychology. These, and his many 

other publications during the nineteen-thirties, 

illustrate the active role 

that Skawran played during the formative 

years of South African psychology. 

Anon. (1970). Publications by Dr P. R. Skawran, 1919±1970. Psychologia Africana, 13, 

69±72. 

Biesheuvel, S. (1986). In memoriam. Paul Robert Skawran, 1900±1986. South African 

Journal of Psychology, 16(4), 139. 

Editorial. (1970). Paul Robert Skawran. Psychologia Africana, 13, 60±63. 

Lighton, R. (1970). Dr Paul Skawran. Psychologia Africana, 13, 64±65. 

Oetling, W. (1970). Wegbereiter fuÈ r Afrikaans-Deutsche Kulturbeziehungen. Psychologia 

Africana, 13, 66±68. 

Plug, C. (1991). South African serial publication in psychology (Reports from the 

Psychology Department, No. 22). Pretoria: Unisa. 

Skawran, P. R. (1927). Experimentellen Untersuchungen uÈ ber den Willen bei Wahlhandelungen. 

Archiv fuÈr den gesammte Psychologie, 58, 95±162. 

Skawran, P. R. (1931±1932). Manual of mental and physical tests for South African 

conditions. Part I: Sensory and physical tests. Part II: Mental tests. Pretoria: Wallachs, 

and Johannesburg: F. Stich. 


Skawran, P. R. (1932a). Psychotechnischen Arbeiten in der Union von SuÈ dafrika. 

Industrielle Psychotechnik, 9, 254±255. 

Skawran, P. R. (1932b). Arbeiten auf den Gebiete der angewandten und differentiellen 

Psychologie in der Union von SuÈ dafrika. Zeitschrift fuÈr angewandten Psychologie, 

43, 510±515. 

TruÈ mpelmann, G. P. J. (1972). German newspapers and periodicals. Standard Encyclopaedia 

of Southern Africa, 5, 181±184). Cape Town: Nasou. 


7

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES . WETENSKAPLIKE ARTIKELS 

8 

m 

EUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL 

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO PERSONALITY 

CHANGES IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS 

Louise Henderson 

WHAT IS MULTIPLE 

SCLEROSIS? ________________ 

ultiple Sclerosis (MS) is the 

most common demyelinating 

disease of the central nervous 

system. It is a chronic progressive 

neurologic disease characterized by 

disseminating demyelisation of the 

LOUISE HENDERSON * 

nerve fibres of the brain and spinal 

cord. In a healthy nerve the myelin 

sheath protects and nourishes the 

nerve fibre. The consequences of the 

breakdown of this sheath and its 

replacement by sclerotic tissue plaques, 

mainly contribute to difficulties 

with impulse conduction. These plaques 

are predominantly in the white 

matter of the brain and the spinal cord, 

and to a lesser degree in the gray 

matter of the cerebral cortex and in the 

cranial or spinal-nerve roots. The 

specific areas typically populated by 

these plaques are (i) the optic nerves 

and chiasm, (ii) the periventricular 

regions and (iii) the subpial region of 

the spinal cord (Walton, 1985). 

Currently there is no definitive cure for 

MS. Treatment is aimed at lengthening 

the intervals between exacerbations 

(thus lengthening periods of remissions) 

and alleviating the symptoms. 

Treatment normally include immune 

suppression, typically using corticosteroids, 

the use of medication to 

improve conduction in demyelinated 

tissue and attempts toward remyelination. 


* Ms Louise Henderson is a junior lecturer in die Department of Psychology, Unisa. 


The disease is multifocal, having effects 

on the cognitive, affective and 

physical spheres of the patient's life, 

and as such poses unique problems 

not associated with other diseases. 

This disease has grave implications 

for the quality of life of the sufferer 

and causes great distress for the 

patients, their relatives and caregivers. 

Apart from the physical symptoms that 

are clearly evident, the patient also 

undergoes many psychological 

changes that are not as evident. These 

ùnseen' changes brought about by 

MS often cause the patient to behave 

in ways not usually associated with 

them. These are often misinterpreted 

by individuals who do not understand 

the broader implications of the disease. 

The patient is viewed as being 

`difficult', lazy, negative or deliberately 

insensitive, when in fact these behaviours 

are primarily due to underlying 

central nervous system dysfunction 

(McIntosh-Michaelis, 1991) or represent 

psychological adjustments being 

made by the patient in an attempt to 

adapt to the disease. It is on this 

complex issue that my own research 

is focussed. 

PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS 

OF MS _____________________ 

A striking feature of MS is that it 

occurs in young adulthood during 

peak years of education, career development, 

family life, and when the 

individuals are assuming many social 

and economic responsibilities. The 

individual with MS is threatened with 

many potential losses, including phy- 

sical independence, leisure and social 

activities, earning power, and role 

function. The periodic remissions and 

exacerbations with which the illness is 

associated, furthermore presents an 

uncertainty which causes lifelong 

stress. The impact of MS on the 

psychosocial aspects of the sufferer's 

life thus becomes painfully clear. 

MS clearly affects the emotional life of 

the sufferer, yet the actual mechanism 

by which it effects this still remains 

illusive. Some researchers suggest that 

the high prevalence of emotional disorders 

in MS is directly related to 

alterations in brain function caused 

by demyelisation while others suggest 

that this is due to the greater demands 

that MS places on the individual's and 

family members' coping, adaptation, 

and interpersonal skills (Rao, 1990). 

Some of the emotional and affective 

disturbances described in MS patients 

are emotional blunting, emotional lability, 

apathy, depression, irritability 

and less frequently psychosis and 

euphoria (Trimble & Grant, 1982). 

Recent research views depression as 

the predominant mood disorder in MS 

(Whitlock & Siskind, 1980) occurring 

at a rate of approximately 27 to 54% of 

MS sufferers. Clinical case reports 

have also described the occurrence 

hysterical conversion disorder (Caplan 

& Nadelson, 1980). It has become 

increasingly clear, however, that there 

is no single type of emotional disturbance 

observed in MS patients (Peyser 

& Poser, 1986). Emotional 

symptoms also do not appear to be 

clearly related to the length of illness 

(Rao, 1990). 


9

10 

Although depression can be a symptom 

of the actual organic dysfunction 

of brain tissue due to the disease 

process itself, research seems to indicate 

that there is a greater probability 

that the depression is caused by the 

psychosocial factors associated with 

MS (Lyon-Caen, 1986). Depression 

could occur as a result of a psychosocial 

process not unlike bereavement. In 

this case the patient has lost something 

very dear to him, namely his 

health. He is often reminded of this 

fact when he is brought face to face 

with the disease symptoms which 

might crop up at the most unexpected 

times. He is also reminded of his loss 

when he is not able to perform duties 

of daily living as he has before. He 

feels useless and dependent on others 

and then becomes depressed as a 

reaction to these feelings. MS patients 

may furthermore become depressed 

due to the inability of others to understand 

the disease. This is especially 

relevant when the disease is benign 

and few external symptoms can be 

seen. Others then often do not understand 

why the sufferer is acting differently 

or why he cannot partake and 

give as freely in his social and personal 

relationships and activities as he used 

to. 

Although no clearly established uniform 

psychological criteria for adjustment 

to chronic disease are apparent 

in all patients, several factors both 

outside and from within the individual 

patient can affect adaption (Schlebusch, 

1987). Studies searching for 

psychological constructs that mediate 

the patient's emotional response to 

physical disability has proposed that 

individuals employing an internal locus 

of control (Brooks & Matson, 

1982), maintaining relationships with 

able bodied individuals (Maybury & 

Brewin, 1984), experiences less anxiety 

about body image (Halligan & 

Reznikoff, 1985), and implementing 

problem-focused coping strategies 

(O'Brien, 1993), all appear to achieve 

better emotional adjustment to MS. 

The different roles that an individual 

fulfils within his/her daily life are also 

affected by MS. The disease causes 

certain roles to be changed or made 

redundant while new roles are ascribed 

to the individual. For example 

the individual's roles shift from being a 

provider to being the one provided for, 

from being autonomous to being 

dependent, from being a healthy individual 

to fulfilling the sick or impaired 

role. Marital and familial roles 

change, and consequently relationships 

change, as the individuals might 

not be able to raise their children as 

they would prefer to or experience 

physical intimacy within the marital 

relationship as before. This places 

great strain on the individuals suffering 

from MS as well as those close to 

them. 

Even though we have touched on only 

a very small number of the vast 

psychosocial factors that affect and 

are affected by MS, it is very clear that 

MS needs to be viewed as affecting 

not only the physical sphere of functioning 

of the sufferer but also having 

grave implications for the individual's 

psychosocial sphere of functioning. 

V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A 

___________________

COGNITIVE CHANGES IN MS _ 

Numerous neuropsychological studies 

have been undertaken to establish the 

extent of cognitive changes accompanying 

MS, as these are a major factor 

determining the quality of life of 

patients with MS (Rao, Leo & Ellington, 

1991). Some of the cognitive 

abilities that have been shown to be 

affected are attention and information 

processing speed, problem solving, 

visual and auditory processing, conceptual 

reasoning, and memory. 

Studies done by Rao (1991) found 

that MS patients showed impairments 

in rapid processing of information. He 

also found that compared to healthy 

controls, MS patients were impaired 

on tests of problem solving. MS 

patients' responses tended to show 

patterns of perseveration even though 

negative verbal feedback was given. 

MS patients' performances on tests of 

visual and auditory attention has 

shown impairment especially concerning 

visual attention tasks such as 

judging line orientation, discriminating 

faces and emotions conveyed by facial 

expressions (Rao, 1991). 

Conceptual reasoning skills are frequently 

reported to be impaired in 

patients with MS (Rao, 1986). Cognitive 

test findings suggest that MS 

patients have difficulties forming concepts, 

shifting mental sets and responding 

to environmental feedback 

(Peyser, 1980; Rao & Hammeke, 

1984). 

Memory disturbance in MS is highly 

variable and does not follow a dis- 

tinctive progression when data is 

studied on a cross-sectional basis 

(Peyser, 1990). MS patients have 

been found to exhibit deficits on 

measures of secondary (long-term) 

memory and verbal fluency but perform 

normally on measures of primary 

(short-term) memory, recognition 

memory and rate of forgetting from 

secondary memory. These results suggest 

that the memory disturbance in 

MS results primarily from an impaired 

ability to access information from 

secondary memory, while encoding 

and storage capacity is intact (Beatty 

1993). 

THE CURRENT STUDY _______ 

Since Jean-Martin Charcot, a nineteenth-century 

French neurologist 

credited with naming the disease, 

described and emphasised the neurobehavioural 

problems of MS in his 

Salpetriere lectures, MS has been 

linked to a high prevalence of personality 

alterations with affective disturbances. 

While psychosis or cognitive 

deficits are the primary presentation in 

a minority of cases, the patient with 

early MS may present a diagnostic 

dilemma in which the differential 

diagnosis includes personality disorder, 

hysterical conversion, depression, 

or dementia (Welch & Bear, 1990). It 

is thus a pity that so many studies have 

been done on the cognitive changes 

associated with MS, while very few 

studies have investigated the reasons 

for the personality changes occurring 

in MS. 

Personality changes can be ascribed to 

11 

_____________________ V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A

12 

various factors of which neuropsychological 

factors (especially frontal lobe 

dysfunction) and psychosocial factors 

(which include emotional reaction 

towards the illness, as well as depression) 

seems to be the most prominent. 

Previous studies (Lezak (1995), Damasio 

in Heilman and Valenstein 

(1985) and others) have shown that 

the constellation of symptoms manifested 

by individuals suffering from 

frontal lobe dysfunction (due to some 

organic disorder or brain injury) could 

just as well be described as these 

individuals undergoing a change in 

personality. Who is not yet familiar 

with the classic case of Phineas Cage? 

(Harlow, 1868). Stuss (1992), 

furthermore proposes that à disorder 

of personality' is the primary change 

after frontal lobe pathology. This implies 

a change in the stable response 

pattern that define an individual as a 

unique self. While the executive functions 

of the frontal lobes are necessary 

for the maintenance of everyday behaviour, 

Stuss and Benson (1986) 

also describe the special relevance of 

the frontal lobes to long-range planning 

and emotional control. It would 

then seem that the frontal lobe symptoms 

could account for a great majority 

of personality changes experienced 

by the MS patient. 

Personality changes may, however, 

also occur due to the psychological 

and emotional reactions towards the 

disease, not unlike the process of 

bereavement. In this case the patients 

have lost something very dear to them, 

namely their health. They are often 

reminded of this fact when they are 

brought face to face with the disease 

symptoms which might crop up at the 

most unexpected times. They are also 

reminded of their loss when they are 

not able to perform duties of daily 

living as they have before. They feel 

useless and dependent on others and 

then become emotionally distressed as 

a reaction to these feelings. It is thus 

very possible that the personality 

changes occurring in individuals with 

MS are largely attributable to these 

psycho-emotional difficulties that the 

patients are experiencing and their 

attempts at coping and adapting. 

The current study is investigating the 

nature of the personality changes that 

occur in MS. It concentrates specifically 

on the contribution of two 

possible causes for these changes 

namely neuropsychological factors 

(especially frontal lobe dysfunction) 

and psychosocial factors (such as 

adaption to the illness, emotional 

reaction towards the illness ± depression, 

and social environment). 

SOME ISSUES THAT HAVE SO 

FAR BEEN HIGHLIGHTED IN 

THE CURRENT STUDY _______ 

Although the research is still in progress, 

the researcher has come across 

some issues concerning MS that 

needs reporting. More emphasis 

should be placed on the important 

role adequate patient counselling and 

education has in making the disease 

process less alien and, in so doing, 

also alleviating many of the problems 

that the affected individuals, as well as 

their relatives and caregivers are faced 


with. This type of preventative strategy 

should not only include counselling 

on the physical symptoms and problems 

that could be expected, but also 

very importantly, should include counselling 

concerning the emotional and 

psychosocial implications of MS. It is 

for this reason that the researcher is 

approaching the study from a more 

holistic point of view, attempting to 

include various psychosocial factors 

that, in addition to the pure physical 

factors, are very important for effective 

coping with multiple sclerosis. 

A further issue that is generally ignored 

but which is very important in 

the management of this disease is the 

combined effort of the inter-disciplinary 

team. Approaching the care of the 

MS patient from this perspective could 

serve an invaluable experience for all 

parties involved. This approach is 

especially justified in cases of MS 

seeing that MS, by its nature, is a 

multifocal disease, affecting various 

levels of an individual's functioning 

and further also involving not only the 

sufferer but also his or her significant 

others, as well as the medical team. 

REFERENCE 

CONCLUSION _______________ 

It is thus clear that MS is indeed a 

complex disease and as varied as the 

individuals suffering from it. It exerts 

its effects over a large spectrum of 

human functioning and possesses the 

potential to disrupt not only the 

affected individual's life, but also the 

individual's family and friends, as well 

as the broader medical fraternity which 

is expected to possess adequate 

knowledge of the disease. The current 

study is concerned with one of these 

effects, namely personality change and 

to what extent these changes could be 

ascribed to frontal lobe dysfunction 

and/or psychosocial processes. A 

further concern that has become 

abundantly clear during the research 

process is the importance of thorough 

patient education, not only of the 

expected physical symptoms but also 

symptoms of a psychological and 

social nature. Thorough patient counselling 

is inevitable if the affected 

individual is to adapt successfully to 

the disease and if the disease is to be 

managed appropriately. 

Beatty, W. W. (1993). Memory and `frontal lobe' dysfunction in multiple sclerosis. Journal 

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Heilman, K. M. & Valenstein, E. (1985). Clinical Neuropsychology (2nd ed.). New York: 

Oxford University Press. 


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Lezak, M. D. (1995). Neuropsychological assessment (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford 

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Lyon-Caen, O., Jouvent, R., Hauser, S., Chaunu, M. P., Benoit, N., Widlocher, D. & 

Lhermitte, F. (1986). Cognitive function in recent-onset demyelinating diseases. 

Archives of Neurology, 43(11), 1138±41. 

Maybury, C. P. & Brewin, C. R. (1984). Social relationships, knowledge and adjustment to 

multiple sclerosis. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 47, 372±376. 

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New York: Wiley. 

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neuropsychological research in multiple sclerosis. Archives of Neurology, 47(1), 

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Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 8(5), 503±542. 

Rao, S. M. & Hammeke, T. A. (1984). Hypothesis testing in patients with chronic 

progressive multiple sclerosis. Brain and Cognition, 3, 94±104. 

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60(3), 349±59. 

Stuss, D. & Benson, F. (1986). Frontal lobes. New York: Raven Press. 

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IVING WITH CHILDHOOD CANCER 

Maria Papaikonomou 

INTRODUCTION 

w 

_____________ 

hen one looks at cancer one 

can instinctively understand 

the psychological impact on 

the family once the child has been 

diagnosed with cancer. 

As recently as twenty years ago, 

cancer was considered an acute but 

almost invariably fatal illness. The 

average life expectancy of a child with 

acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the 

most common form of childhood 

cancer, was less than one year. Med- 

MARIA PAPAIKONOMOU * 

ical advances in diagnosing and treating 

childhood cancer have been 

dramatically effective over the last 10 

to 15 years. Thirty years ago the 

median survival period for a child 

diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic 

leukemia (ALL), the most common 

form of childhood cancer, was only 3 

to 6 months. Today, over 60% of such 

children will survive 5 years or longer, 

with increasing numbers going on to 

be long-term survivors and totally 

cured (Siegel, 1980). Increased survival 

has become possible due in large 

measure to the adoption of progressively 

more potent methods of treatment. 

Unfortunately, survival does not 

ensure an adequate quality of life. 

These treatments may be painful, disfiguring, 

frightening and often have 

adverse effects that can alter one's 

physical and emotional well-being 

(Kellerman & Varni, 1982). 

PSYCHOLOGICAL MORBIDITY 

In recent years there is evidence of 

substantial psychological morbidity 

among children with cancer during 

the months following primary diagnosis 

(Hughs & Lieberman, 1990) and 

this has lead to a growing concern 


* Ms Maria Papaikonomou is a lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Unisa. 


15 

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES . WETENSKAPLIKE ARTIKELS

16 

about the psychosocial impact of 

cancer and its treatment. Complaints 

documented include fear, separation 

anxiety, sleep disturbance, regressive 

behaviour, anger/irritability, withdrawal 

along with more obvious symptoms 

of depression and anxiety 

(Lansky, 1974). These psychological 

sequalae may continue long after 

diagnosis and primary treatment and 

have serious implications for rehabilitation 

of successfully treated children. 

These problems are not confined to 

the child-patient. Studies indicate that 

approximately one third of mothers 

develop serious symptoms of anxiety 

and/or depression during the weeks 

following diagnosis (Maguire, 1983; 

Peck, 1979; Tiller et al, 1977). More 

recently there has been growing 

awareness that the whole family is 

profoundly affected and that the 

child's adjustment is closely linked to 

the social supports available to the 

parents and parental distress levels 

(Blotchy, 1985; Koocher, 1986). At 

the same time the demands on family 

members have increased in scope and 

complexity, requiring that they play a 

more active role in the care of a sick 

child (Conatser, 1986). Crucially, Maguire 

(1983) has drawn attention to 

the serious under-reporting of problems 

by parents who are reluctant to 

bother the doctors with such issues. It 

is likely, therefore, that the levels of 

psychological morbidity in pediatric 

patients and their families far exceed 

those of other better investigated 

groups. 

This growing concern over the quality 

of life span that medicine now pro- 

vides children with cancer calls for a 

series of direct, highly objective, and 

systematic studies of the children in 

their attempt at self-mastery over an 

illness that has become less invariably 

fatal. According to the literature the 

child's anxiety and distancing from 

meaningful figures in the illness environment 

is directly related to the 

family patterns of communication 

about the illness (Spinetta & Maloney, 

1978). Children whose mothers reported 

an open and honest attitude in 

the family regarding the illness, the 

treatment, and the potential effects of 

the illness had a better self concept, 

were less defensive, and placed family 

members closer in drawings than did 

children whose mothers reported a 

relatively closed family attitude regarding 

discussion of the illness and its 

possible consequences. 

METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES __ 

Conceptualizing and operationalizing 

the impact of chronic illness on the 

families psychosocial well-being is a 

complex task. Studies in this area have 

been heavily influenced by traditional 

research models that have searched for 

evidence of psychopathology or major 

disfunction as the primary impact of 

catastrophic disease on individuals 

and families. Consistent with this 

conceptual and methodological framework 

has been the use of measures 

that for the most part, were normed in 

psychiatric populations. Such assessment 

techniques may be inappropriate 

measures of family adaptation to 

chronic illness for two reasons. Firstly 

they often lack the sensitivity to detect 


subtle yet profound alterations in 

adaptation, and secondly they often 

lack the specificity necessary to define 

the particular issues contributing to 

family maladaptation when it does 

occur. Methodological shortcomings 

such as these have interfered with the 

ability to define the constellation of 

factors that may place a family at risk 

for problems in adaptation or, more 

important, promote or facilitate adaptation. 

A recent British Medical Journal 

(Mott, 1990) suggested that skilled 

professional support can help to cushion 

the impact and to sustain and 

restore family members through this 

crisis in their lives. Provision of psychological 

support for the whole family 

during the period following 

diagnosis is widely considered essential. 

However, what this form of support 

should take is unclear. (Pearce et 

al, 1992). Given the existing evidence 

on psychological morbidity and the 

increasingly good medical prognosis 

for pediatric oncology patients, it is 

remarkable that studies relating to the 

value of specific psychological intervention 

are extremely rare and that no 

clear guidelines regarding models of 

care exist. 

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK __ 

When confronted with the ongoing 

stress and demands of a chronically ill 

child, some families and their members 

appear to be strengthened and to 

adapt successfully. Other families experience 

repeated crises and have 

difficulty adapting. Because each family 

member is a dependent and 

integral member of the family system, 

the conceptual understanding of the 

F S C PERCEPTION POSITIVE 

A Y PARENT R OF CRISIS 

M S I (Intra-Psychic 

I T S Burden) MODIFIED 

L E CHILD I USE OF 

Y M S EXISTING 

! 

! 

AND NEW 

RESOURCES 

ADAPTATION 

EXISTING E 

DEMANDS V SUM OF 

PERCEPTIONS 

E 

N 

DEMANDS 

(Reality Burden) 

! 

RESOURCES T NEGATIVE 

! 

! 

! 

! 

! 

FIGURE 1 

Family systems model for conceptualizing parent adaptation to chronic illness. 

Adapted from J. McCubbin & J. M. Patterson (1983) 

COMMUNITY SYSTEM (Family/Social Network) 


! 

! 

! 

! 

! 

17

18 

variability in the families' adaptation to 

chronic illness can be approached 

from a family systems perspective. 

That is, the impact of chronic illness 

should be viewed as a result of 

intricate interrelationships among the 

various elements in the family system. 

Figure 1 presents a family systems 

model for conceptualizing the parents' 

adaptation to chronic illness, based on 

the work of McCubbin and co-workers. 

In the model, the family system, 

which is comprised of parent and child 

subsystems, is seen to exist as part of a 

larger community containing a network 

of family and social ties. Each 

family system has a characteristic style 

of functioning that can be viewed 

along a continuum of adaptation 

(highly adaptive to highly maladaptive) 

depending on existing demands, 

individual perceptions of the family, 

self and life circumstances, and the 

repertoire of available coping resources 

(psychological, interpersonal, 

community and material). When faced 

with a crisis event (eg a child family 

member being diagnosed with cancer), 

there are additional demands 

placed on the family (eg frequent visits 

to the hospital). In addition, each 

individual develops certain perceptions 

of the impact of the disease on 

the family and its members that may be 

idiosyncratic to the individual or 

shared collectively by all family members. 

Adaptation to a crisis is a function 

of the manner in which a family 

uses new and existing resources to 

deal with the added, physical and 

emotional demands imposed by the 

stress (reality burden) and handle the 

differing perceptions of each family 

member of how the stress has affected 

him or her (intrapsychic burden). 

Although systems theory has its limitations 

in investigating the psychosocial 

impact of chronic illness on the 

family this type of model provides a 

useful framework for identifying those 

specific family factors that, alone or in 

combination are likely to influence 

adjustment to chronic illness. 

ART AS SELF EXPRESSION ___ 

Children's drawings as a way to enter 

a child's world have long been a 

fascinating tool for psychologists. It 

is through the pictures children draw 

and the comments they make while 

they are drawing that they illustrate 

how they perceive their world and 

themselves. A number of experts (Di 

Leo, 1973), have formulated means for 

analysing children's drawings based 

on their structure. It is not possible to 

explore this in depth here but I would 

like to share with you one example to 

illustrate how professionals in this 

field make inferences about children's 

perceptions from their drawings. 

Figure 2 is a drawing done by an 8year-old 

male leukemia patient. The 

instruction was `draw a picture of 

yourself and your parents when you 

found out you were ill'. One of the 

most disturbing experiences that a 

child always remembers is the first trip 

to the hospital. Leaving the familiarity 

and security of a home setting the 

hospital building always seems like an 

overwhelming ominous set-up filled 

with people with missing hair, bandages, 

distraught faces, etc. 


Because children cannot see the cancer 

they often have difficulty understanding 

it. Usually they think of 

cancer as `good cells' and `bad cells'. 

They only feel the effects of the 

treatment and that makes them realise 

that something `bad' is happening to 

them. Some of the children's drawings 

FIGURE 2 

Draw a picture of yourself and your parents when you found out you were ill 

REFERENCES 

are shocking but cancer is a shocking 

disease. 

Our job is to encourage them to be 

open at all times to all their emotional 

experiences and to express them naturally. 

The child should be allowed to 

experience loss or hurt or frustration or 

fear whenever it occurs. 

Blotchy, A. D., Raczynski, J. M., Gurwitch R. & Smith K. (1985). Family influences on 

hopelessness among children early in the cancer experience. Journal of Pediatric 

Psychology. 10, 479±493. 

Conatser, C. (1986). Preparing the family for their responsibilities during treatment. Cancer, 

58, 508±511. 

Di Leo, J. H. Children's drawings as diagnostic aids. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1973. 


19

20 

Hughes, P. M. & Lieberman, S. (1990). Troubled parents: vulnerability and stress in 

childhood cancers. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 63, 53±64. 

Kellerman, J. & Varni, J. (1982). Psychosocial aspects of pediatric hematology-oncology. 

In M. Willonghby & S. E. Siegel (eds), Pediatrics 1: Hematology and oncology. 

London: Butterworth Scientific. 

Koocher, G. P. (1986). Psychosocial issues during the acute treatment of pediatric cancer. 

Cancer, 58, 468±472. 

Maguire, G. P. (1983). The psychological sequalae of childhood leukemia. Recent Result in 

Cancer Research, 88, 47±56. 

McCubbin, H. J. & Patterson, J. M. (1983). The family stress process: the double ABDX 

Model of adjustment and adaptation. In H. I. McCubbin, M. B. Sussman & J. M. 

Patterson (eds), Social stress and the family. Advances and development in family 

stress theory and research pp. 7±21. New York: A. A. Worth. 

Mott, M. G. (1990). A child with cancer: A family in crisis. British Medical Journal, 301, 

133±134. 

Pearce, G., O'Keeffe C., Faulkner A. & Clark J. (1992). Childhood cancer: psychosocial 

needs. Are they being met? Journal of cancer care, 1, 3±13. 

Peck, B. (1979). Effects of childhood cancer on long-term survivors and their families. 

British Medical Journal, 1, 1327±1329. 

Siegel, S. E. (1980). The current outlook for childhood cancer: the medical background. In 

J. Kellerman (ed), Psychological aspects of childhood cancer. Springfield: CC 

Thomas. 

Spinetta, J. J. & Maloney, L. J. (1978). The child with cancer: patterns of communication 

and denial. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 46, 1540±1541. 

Tiller, J. W. G., Eckhert, H. & Rickards, W. S. (1977). Family reactions to childhood acute 

lymphoblastic leukemia in remission. Australian Pediatric Journal, 13, 176±181. 


REDICTING THE OUTCOME OF MILD CLOSED 

HEAD INJURY 

Christa Foulis* 

closed head injury can be described 

as trauma to the head 

without the integrity of the skull 

being compromised. An exact definition 

of what constitutes mild closed 

head injury (MCHI) has not yet 

enjoyed consensus (Bigler, 1990; 

Bohnen & Jolles, 1992). The reason 

for this appears to be the vast array of 

neurobehavioural sequelae to MCHI 

injury, as well as the large number of 

CHRISTA FOULIS * 

ways in which the brain can be injured 

(Bigler, 1990). 

Authors such as Teasdale and Jennet 

(1974) and Diamond, Barth and Zillmer 

(1988) generally define MCHI as 

a non-penetrating cranial injury, resulting 

in a loss of consciousness of 

20 minutes or less. The Glasgow 

Coma Scale (GCS) evaluation shortly 

after the incident is 13 to 15, and 

hospitalization (due to the head injury, 

not concomitant injury) does not exceed 

48 hours. 

MCHI is often (over 50% of the time) 

followed by a range a symptoms 

which has been labeled as postconcussive 

syndrome (PCS) (Kay, 1996). 

Some authors (like Bohnen & Jolles, 

1992) believe that the incidence of 

PCS after mild head injury, can be as 

high as 80%. 

Where some professionals ascribe 

PCS to organic factors, others ascribe 

it to psychological factors, and prescribe 

rehabilitation according to their 

respective convictions. This paper argues 

that the onset and persistence of 

PCS do not only involve both these 

two categories of etiologies, but also 


* Mrs Christa Foulis is a research intern in the Department of Psychology, Unisa. 


21 

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES . WETENSKAPLIKE ARTIKELS

22 

wider contextual factors. A holistic 

approach to predicting the outcome 

of CMHI (or the onset and duration of 

PCS) which includes organic, individual 

and other factors (like interpersonal 

issues), is thus required. 

This paper firstly discusses the symptoms 

of PCS. Subsequent to this is an 

exposition of factors which have consistently 

been linked to the onset and 

duration of PCS, and the need for a 

holistic approach to PCS. 

POSTCONCUSSIVE 

SYNDROME ________________ 

Deficits which arise from mild CHI 

have been found to be relatively 

consistent and uniform (Bohnen & 

Jolles, 1992; Levin, Eisenberg & Benton, 

1989). So much so, that the 

concept of postconcussion syndrome 

(PCS) has been formulated. The 

symptomology of PCS can be categorised 

as follows: 

. Physical manifestations: Lishman 

(1987) names headaches and dizziness 

as the two most common PCS 

symptoms. 

. Cognitive deficits: Attention and 

concentration problems typically 

present in PCS. 

. Memory: Short-term memory impairment 

is especially affected in 

PCS (Lezak, 1995). For example, 

the chronic misplacement of keys is 

often reported. 

. Emotional deficits and behavioural 

changes: Spouses of head injured 

patients often report labile affect or 

loss of emotional reactivity and 

behavioural changes in the patient. 

Patients themselves often report 

irritability. 

. Social functioning: A reduced desire 

for social interaction and inappropriate 

socialization can form part 

of PCS (Kolb & Whishaw, 1990). 

The deficits associated with PCS as 

described above can recursively exacerbate 

one another. Some authors 

(for example Richardson, 1990) argue 

that the primary deficit of PCS is 

altered cognitive processing, and other 

deficits are secondary to this. Accordingly, 

an injured person may become 

aware of his/her cognitive decline and 

become uncomfortable socially and 

eventually avoid social interaction. 

In more than 50% of mildly head 

injured individuals, these symptoms 

manifest immediately after the injury 

(Binder, 1986). In most cases these 

symptoms fade within 3 to 6 months 

as the person gradually moves toward 

the level of premorbid functioning 

(Mittenberg, Zielinsky & Fichera, 

1993b). 

A significant number of cases do 

however not reach their previous level 

of functioning. Ruff, Camenzulis and 

Mueller (1996) refer to this group of 

individuals (approximately 10% of all 

MCHI cases) who do not regain 

premorbid functioning within 12 

months, as the `miserable minority'. 

It is also frequently reported that 

patients appear to function adequately 

until premorbid home, work or school 

demands resume. The handling and 

organizing of tasks which were previously 

considered simple, become 


problematic and efficiency decreases 

(Kay, 1996). 

Predicting the onset and persistence of 

PCS is complex and controversial, in 

that different individuals present with 

different permutations of post-injury 

symptoms for different periods (Deb, 

Lyons & Koutzoukis, 1999). This 

complexity and controversiality ties in 

with the argument that predicting the 

onset and course of PCS (or the 

outcome of MCHI) should entail a 

holistic approach. 

ORGANIC ETIOLOGY OF 

POSTCONCUSSIVE SYNDROME 

The argument which supports the 

organic etiology of PCS, implies that 

predominant factors affecting outcome 

of mild head injury, involves 

the physical nature of the injury. Bach- 

Y-Rita (1989) states that magnetic 

resonance imagining (MRI) shows 

that microscopic lesions are present 

in the majority of mild head injured 

cases. Others agree that it is `... inescapable 

that even mild head trauma 

may be associated with some pathology' 

(Kolb & Whishaw, 1990, p 819). 

Organic bases for PCS include the 

following types of physical injury/ies 

to the brain: 

. Primary injury 

Diffuse injuries: The brain is inelastic 

and has a jelly-like consistency. 

Should an adequate force be administered 

to this inelastic mass, the millions 

of nerve fibers twist and stretch. 

A larger force will cause the shearing 

and death of some neurons. Such 

brain injury is known as diffuse axonal 

injury (DAI) and typically occurs in 

whiplash injuries. Since DAI occurs 

throughout the brain, alternative pathways 

compensating for damaged areas 

(which happens in the case of focal 

injuries) can often not develop. 

. Functional deficits caused by diffuse 

injury 

Manifestations of this type of injury 

are not specific. Rather, general efficiency, 

speed, execution of functions 

and the integration of mental processes 

are compromised (Bigler, 

1990; Kay, 1996). Investigators such 

as Alexander (in Bigler, 1990) found 

`mildly' injured patients to have significantly 

higher prevalence of chronic 

pain and depression than did more 

severely injured subjects. This could 

possibly be due to the DAI affecting 

the functioning of the brain in a 

generalized manner. 

Focal mild injuries: Acceleration-deceleration 

forces can cause focal cerebral 

lesions. This type of injury is 

typical in motor vehicle accidents. 

Since the bony skull is less dense than 

the brain, it moves at slower rate. 

During rapid deceleration, when the 

skull is suddenly immobilised due to 

an impact, the brain continues to move 

causing the outer cerebral tissue to 

slam against a suddenly stationary 

skull. 

Sufficiently large static injuries also 

cause focal lesions. Such an injury 

occurs when an external object strikes 

23 


24 

the skull. This results in the brief 

inward compression of the skull onto 

the cerebral tissue, causing a contusion 

(bruise). The site of the damage 

on the brain is called a coup lesion. In 

addition to this, the force may cause 

the opposite side of the brain to 

impact against the skull, causing a 

contrecoup lesion. 

Compounding the static and acceleration-deceleration 

type injuries, is the 

fact that the hard skull has bony ridges 

at some places. This can lead to focal 

shearing of the soft cerebral tissue 

where the brain hits the skull. Since 

the frontal and the temporal lobes form 

the areas of the greatest brain-skull 

interface and considering the jagged 

nature of this interface, these two 

brain structures are considered to be 

high-risk areas in the event of head 

injury. The hippocampus, by virtue of 

its position, too has been identified as 

a high-risk structure. 

. Manifestations of focal deficits 

For many decades now, various aspects 

of behaviour and cognition have 

been associated with discrete brain 

areas. Investigators who argue in 

favour of organic bases for PCS, 

consider the site and depth of focal 

injuries as important factors affecting 

the outcome of mild head injury. The 

site and depth of the contusion largely 

determines the impact of injury to the 

brain on post morbid functioning. The 

depth of the contusion is important, 

since deeper damage has more severe 

consequences. 

Although a patient may suffer either 

diffuse or focal injury to the brain, 

these primary injuries typically cooccur, 

causing the manifestations of 

the injury to overlap. Lezak (1995) 

states that few patients present with 

focal lesions only. In addition to this, 

the disconnection of brain areas which 

are functionally hierarchically arranged, 

leads to an exacerbation of 

the injury. This means that the severing 

of a pathway between a sensory 

input area to a sensory integration area 

of the brain, will manifest as a deficit 

associated with both those areas, even 

if only the pathway between the two 

areas is damaged. If, for example, 

disconnection occurs in a pathway 

that facilitates input to the visual 

cortex (leaving the visual cortex itself 

totally intact), the patient may be 

partially (or totally) blinded. 

. Secondary damage 

Apart from the primary effects of brain 

injury, injury usually manifests as 

secondary insult too. The acute postconcussive 

state usually results in 

intracranial swelling and bleeding 

leading to an increase in the intracranial 

pressure. This pressure may give 

rise to permanent damage to neural 

tissue by acting on the neurons and 

blood vessels in a diffuse manner 

(Blakely & Harrington, 1993). Apart 

from being exposed to extreme pressure 

(the skull can not `give way'), the 

neurons are deprived of blood. Neurons 

are especially vulnerable to such 

alterations since they have high metabolic 

rates, do not store nutrients and 

rely on blood supply for nutrients and 

oxygen. 


PCS often develops without evidence 

of organic damage (Lishman, 1988). 

Ruijs, Keyser and Gabreels (1994) 

found that head injuries which initially 

appear to be mild, occasionally give 

rise to severe complications, even in 

the absence of specific neurological 

signs. These instances of PCS are 

often associated with non-organic 

factors by professionals. 

INDIVIDUAL FACTORS 

AFFECTING OUTCOME OF CHI 

. Premorbid personality 

Optimistic and extroverted individuals 

have better outcomes following head 

injury (Kolb & Whishaw, 1990). Kay 

and Lezak (in Corthell, 1990) believe 

that although a typical behavioural 

repertoire may be altered by the head 

injury, dominant personality characteristics 

usually persists post trauma. 

These dominant traits then have an 

effect on the outcome of the injury. 

Personality traits which include fighting 

spirit, motivation and resilience, 

together with the acceptance of assistance 

of guidance from others, are 

traits which facilitate the recovery 

process (Kay & Lezak in Corthell, 

1990). 

Poorer outcome appears to correlate 

with dysfunctional premorbid personality 

traits. Kay (1996) states that PCS 

is prolonged in individuals who were 

described as neurotic or anxious prior 

to the injury. Kay and Lezak (in 

Corthell, 1990) describe the personality 

types which often correlate with 

poorer outcome, as those who were 

chronically depressed, those easily 

overwhelmed by stress and those 

who refuse to accept the help of 

others. Rhawn (1990) found that 

many head injured patients with 

poorer outcome, suffered a bout of 

depression or other emotional disturbances 

(eg fight with significant 

other) immediately prior to the injury. 

People who have perfectionistic tendencies 

benefit from the motivation 

component of their personality, but 

suffer due to the high standards they 

set for themselves. The general outcome 

for such individuals is generally 

mixed (Kay & Lezak in Corthell, 

1990). 

Binder (1986) states that although 

various pre-injury characteristics may 

predispose an individual to lingering 

symptoms post injury, many high 

functioning premorbid individuals do 

develop the PCS symptomology. 

. Lifestyle 

The life-style of some individuals predispose 

them to head injuries. 30% of 

head injured individuals have had 

previous head traumas. Repeated head 

injury, in turn, is associated with 

successively poorer outcome (Naugle 

in Bigler, 1990). 

Also, regular alcohol abuse correlates 

with both the incidence and the outcome 

of head injury (Rhawn, 1990). 

. Concussion and coma 

In the event of head injury, there 

generally appears to be a correlation 

25 


26 

between length of coma and outcome 

(Stambrook, Moore, Lubusko, Peters 

& Blumenschein, 1993). This has not 

proven to be the case in `mildly' 

injured individuals. Kay (1996) reports 

that if consciousness is lost for less 

than an hour, there is no relationship 

between length of unconsciousness 

and severity of problems and people 

who never lost consciousness at all 

may suffer significant long-term deficits. 

Often such patients present with 

amnesia. 

. Post-traumatic amnesia 

Two types of memory loss are generally 

associated with head injury. 

These are retrograde amnesia and 

post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) respectively. 

The former is the forgetting of 

events immediately prior to the trauma 

and the latter is the memory loss for 

events that occurs after the accident. 

PTA has been used for some time 

now, as a useful predictor of outcome 

of CHI (McMillan, Jongen & Greenwood, 

1996; Bishara, Partridge, Godfrey 

& Knight, 1992). `Post-traumatic 

amnesia is considered to be the best 

single indicator of the severity of 

closed head injury' Mc Millan et al. 

(1996, p 422). Levin (in Wood, 1990) 

reports that if PTA duration is limited 

to two weeks, outcome is usually 

good. PTA duration of one month or 

more is usually consistent with persistent 

functional disabilities. 

Brooks (in Wood, 1990) found that 

PTA duration is related to cognitive 

deficits. Haslam, Batchelor, Fearnside, 

Haslam, Hawkins and Kenway (1994) 

found that diminished information 

processing speed specifically (a frequent 

sequel of MCHI) is best predicted 

by the duration of PTA. Authors 

such as Oddy, Humphrey and Uttley 

(1978) and Richardson (1990) cite 

statistically significant relationships 

between the length of PTA and other 

outcome variables (such as return to 

work). 

. Age 

Youthfulness is generally associated 

with better outcome. For example, 

Teuber (in Kolb & Whishaw, 1990) 

found that the outcome of head 

injured soldiers was better in the age 

group 17 to 20, when compared to 21 

to 25-year old soldiers. The latter 

group, in turn showed better outcome 

than 26 and over. Kolb and Whishaw 

(1990) suggest that being over 40 

years old negatively affects the individual's 

prognosis. Richardson (1990) 

also associates poorer outcome with 

older age. Mittenberg, DiGuilio, Perrin 

and Bass (1992) found that children 

have less cognitive deficits following 

mild head-injury. 

Age therefore is a variable to be 

considered when assessing the impact 

of MCHI, with young adults and 

children having a better outcome than 

older adults. 

. Intelligence 

Intelligent people have been found to 

recover better from head injury than 

those with lower intelligence (Kolb & 

Whishaw, 1990; Kay & Lezak in 

Corthell, 1990). Rhawn (1990) argues 

that head injury has a worse effect on 


less intelligent individuals, since they 

have fewer capabilities to fall back on. 

Ruijs et al (1994) found that higher 

preinjury IQ leads to greater IQ point 

loss, suggesting that more intelligent 

individuals suffer more from the effects 

of mild head injury than do those with 

lesser intelligence (even if they do 

eventually stabilize at a higher base 

line than lesser intelligent individuals). 

From this it appears that the effect of 

intelligence on the outcome of mild 

CHI is controversial, but higher premorbid 

intellectual functioning is associated 

with better outcome. 

. Gender and handedness 

Kolb and Whishaw (1990) state that 

females and left-handed people have 

better outcome in the event of head 

injury. The possible reason provided 

for this is that both females and left 

handed people are less `lateralized'. 

They tend to rely more on both 

cerebral hemispheres, than do males 

and/or right handed people. In the 

event of injury to a particular site in a 

hemisphere, the opposite hemisphere 

will absorb that function more readily, 

since the intact hemisphere is already 

`fit' to a particular function. 

. Expectations 

A study by Mittenberg et al (1992) 

hypothesized that symptoms following 

MCHI would be related to symptoms 

which individuals, in a control group, 

would expect in the event of a head 

injury. The result of the study suggested 

that PCS is indeed a manifestation 

of expectations. Mittenberg et al 

(1992) further verifies this finding by 

stating that children have fewer expectations 

of deficits following mild 

head injury, and also are less prone to 

PCS. It is however a possibility that 

children are simply less able to interpret 

and express their experiences. 

WIDER CONTEXTUAL 

FACTORS __________________ 

. Family system 

`Head injury happens to the entire 

family, not just the injured person' 

(Kay & Lezak in Corthell, 1990, 

p 57). According to these authors, a 

head injury to any one member of a 

family system instantly disturbs the 

homeostatic balance of that family 

system. The relationships within the 

family between all its members (not 

just between the head injured and 

others) are adjusted after a head 

injury, in an effort to restore an 

equilibrium. Families differ in their 

ability to negotiate this new equilibrium 

(Kay & Lezak in Corthell, 1990). 

Peters, Stambrook and Esses (1990) 

found that PCS is associated with 

social difficulties, especially when significant 

others become frustrated with 

the complaints in the absence of 

physical symptoms. 

The environment to which a head 

injured individual returns has a great 

impact on the outcome of the injury 

(Bergland & Thomas, 1991). Factors 

within the family which can foster a 

good outcome are the extent to which 

the family can balance hope and 

reality, the family's provision of ade- 

27 


28 

quate structure, the ability of the 

family to provide guidance and protection 

without encouraging dependence 

(Kay & Lezak in Corthell, 

1990). These factors are in turn 

affected by the expectations of the 

family, where realistic expectations 

following the injury is more conducive 

to good outcome (Mittenberg et al, 

1992). 

Kay and Lezak (in Corthell, 1990) 

estimate the impact of the family on 

the outcome of the head injury, to be 

predictable from previous crises which 

the family faced in the past. A family 

which was inflexible and showed 

difficulties in dealing with developmental 

issues and which shows a low 

stress tolerance, will more than likely 

display the same inflexibility and inappropriate 

stress mechanisms to head 

injury. 

. Socioeconomic status 

Socioeconomic status has been related 

to the period of persistent PCS. A 

study done by Rimel, Giordani, Barth, 

Boll and Jane (1981) found that 

100% managerial level patients who 

presented with PCS returned to work 

within 3 months after MCHI. On the 

other hand, just over half unskilled 

labourers with similar injuries had 

returned to work after 3 months. 

. Community and employer support 

Within a community, issues such as 

therapy and other programs and support 

groups, can have a positive effect 

on the outcome of head trauma 

(Oddy, Humphrey & Uttley, 1978). 

Work superiors who foster good outcome 

of head injury, display characteristics 

of interest and flexibility 

regarding work expectations. Such a 

facilitative superior does not constantly 

look out for `slip-ups' with the 

aim of dismissal (Kay & Lezak in 

Corthell, 1990). 

. Assessment/s 

Blakely and Harrington state that 

`... chronic post-concussive mental 

status can only be assessed through 

thorough examination which should 

be carried out about six or more 

months following injury' (1993, 

p 235). Unfortunately many MCHI 

patients are assessed at the acute 

phase of the injury only, and are 

usually discharged when other external 

concomitant injuries are healed. 

Should the patient later develop PCS, 

`cognitive dissonance' between the 

patient and the professional as well 

as the patient and his/her significant 

others may arise (Nell & Yates, 1998). 

This may very well lead to anxiety in 

the patient and the withdrawal of 

support by significant others. Frequently 

these patients are accused of 

malingering (Mittenberg, Azrin, Millsaps 

& Heilbronner, 1993a). This may 

be due to professionals being wary of 

`compensation neurosis' or `compensationitis' 

(Binder, 1986; Nell & Yates, 

1998). This is the malingering of 

symptomology due to the prospects 

of compensation in the event of 

litigation. 

Cognitive dissonance, accusations of 

malingering together with the lack of 


treatment, can severely affect the outcome 

of the injury. 

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH _ 

The epistemology from which a diagnosis 

is offered, typically guides rehabilitation. 

Should a diagnosis be made 

by considering only one of the etiological 

factors in isolation, the diagnosis 

can safely be called reductionistic. 

Such an approach can deny the 

sufferer rehabilitation based on the 

factors which have been excluded 

during the diagnosis. Reductionism 

can even deny this person rehabilitation 

altogether, in that a patient may 

be asymptomatic and healed according 

to the specific model. Compounding 

all of this is the fact that both the 

injury and the prediction of outcome 

provided by the professional, will 

affect the sufferer as well as the 

context in which he/she functions. 

From this it seems evident that when 

making a prediction of outcome of 

MCHI all factors affecting the onset 

and persistence of PCS necessarily 

need to be considered, calling for an 

integrated, holistic and multi-disciplinary 

approach. 

REFERENCES 

CONCLUSION _______________ 

The term `mildness', in general terms, 

implies transience. MCHI is therefore 

often assumed to be transient and 

associated with good outcome. Lezak 

(1995) defines `good outcome' as the 

regaining of employment abilities in 

young adults and the premorbid degree 

of independence for older people. 

Good outcome however, does not 

always occur in the event of MCHI, 

and a constellation of symptoms called 

PCS is commonplace. Where some 

investigators (like Conzen, Ebel, 

Swart, Skreczek, Dette & Oppel, 

1992) argue that PCS is a genuine 

neurological disorder, other investigators 

argue that PCS is a psychological 

disorder. 

This paper argues that predicting the 

outcome of MCHI requires a holistic 

approach. Such an approach considers 

organic factors, individual factors 

and contextual factors when assessing 

the impact of MCHI over a period of at 

least six months. Failure to include any 

of the factors (or worse, category of 

factors), when predicting the outcome 

of MCHI, not only denies the impact 

of that factor, but can also compromise 

the sufferer further. 

Bach-Y-Rita, P. (1989). Traumatic brain injury. New York: Demos Publications. 

Bergland, M. M. & Thomas, K. R. (1991). Psychosocial issues following severe head injury 

in adolescence: individual and family perceptions. Rehabilitation Counseling 

Bulletin, 35(1), 5±22. 

Bigler, E. D. (ed) (1990). Traumatic brain injury. Mechanisms of damage, assessment, 

intervention and outcome. Texas: PRO-ED. 


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Binder, L. M. (1986). Persisting symptoms after mild head injury: a review of the 

postconcussive syndrome. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology. 

8(4), 323±346. 

Bishara, S. N., Partridge, F. M., Godfrey, H. P. & Knight, R. G. (1992). Post-traumatic 

amnesia and Glasgow Coma Scale related to outcome in survivors in a consecutive 

series of patients with severe closed-head injury. Brain Injury, 6(4), 373±380. 

Blakely, T. A. & Harrington, D. E. (1993). Mild head injury is not always mild; implications 

for damage litigation. Medical Sciences Law, 33(3), 231±242. 

Bohnen, N. & Jolles, J. (1992). Neurobehavioural aspects of postconcussive symptoms 

after mild head injury. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 180(11), 683±692. 

Conzen, M. A., Ebel, H., Swart, E. & Skreczek, W. (1992). Long-term neuropsychological 

outcome after severe head injury with good recovery. Brain Injury, 6(1), 45±52. 

Corthell, D. (1990). TBI and vocational rehabilitation. Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin. 

Deb, S., Lyons, I. & Koutsoukis, C. (1999). Neurobehavioural symptoms one year after a 

head injury. British Journal of Psychiatry, 174, 360±365. 

Diamond, R., Barth, J. T. & Zillmer, E. A. (1988). Emotional correlates of mild closed head 

trauma: the role of the MMPI. International Journal of Clinical Neuropsychology, 

10(1), 35±40. 

Haslam, C., Batchelor, J., Fearnside, M. R. & Haslam, S.A. (1994). Post-coma disturbance 

and post-traumatic amnesia as nonlinear predictors of cognitive outcome following 

severe closed head injury: findings from the Westmead Head Injury Project. Brain 

Injury, 8(6), 519±528. 

Kay, T. (1996). Minor head injury: an introduction for professionals. Unpublished article 

presented to National Head Injury Foundation, USA. 

Kolb, B. & Whishaw, I. Q. (1990). Fundamentals of human neuropsychology (3rd ed.). San 

Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Co. 

Levin, H. M., Eisenberg & Benton, A. L. (1989). Mild head injury. New York: Oxford. 

Lezak, M. D. (1995). Neuropsychological assessment (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University 

Press. 

Lishman, W. A. (1987). Organic psychiatry. London: Blackwell Scientific Publishers. 

Lishman, W. A. (1988). Physiogenesis and pschogenesis in the `postconcussion 

syndrome'. British Journal of Psychiatry. 153, 460±469. 

McMillan, T. M., Jongen, E. L. M. M. & Greenwood, R. J. (1996). Assessment of posttraumatic 

amnesia after severe closed head injury: retrospective or prospective? 

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 60(4), 422±427. 

Mittenberg, W., DiGiulio, D. V., Perrin, S. & Bass, A. (1992). Symptoms following mild 

head injury: expectation as aetiology. Journal of Neurology, 55, 200±204. 

Mittenberg, W., Azrin, R. Millsaps, C. & Heilbronner, R. (1993a). Identification of 

malingered head injury on the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised. Psychological 

Assessment, 5(1), 34±40. 

Mittenberg, W., Zielinsky, R. & Fichera, S. (1993b). A treatment manual for patients. 

Psychotherapy in Private Practice, 12(2), 37±52. 

Nell, V. & Yates, D. W. (1998). An extended Glascow Coma Scale (GCS-E) with enhanced 

sensitivity to mild brain injury: Part 1. Rationale and field trails. Unpublished report. 

Unisa and University of Manchester. 

Oddy, M., Humphrey M. & Uttley D. (1978). Subjective impairment and social recovery 

after closed head injury. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 41, 

611±616. 


Peters, L. C., Stambrook, M. M. & Esses, L. (1990). Psychosocial sequelae of head injury; 

effects on the marital relationship. Brain Injury, 4, 39±47. 

Rhawn, J. (1990). Neuropsychology, neuropsychiatry and behavioural neurology. 

California: Plenum Press. 

Richardson, J. T. E. (1990). Clinical and neuropsychological aspects of closed head injury. 

New York: Taylor & Francis. 

Rimel, R. W., Giordani, B., Barth, J. T., Boll, T. J. U. & Jane, J. A. (1981). Disability caused 

by minor head injury. Neurosurgery, 11, 344±351. 

Ruff, R. M., Camenzulis, L. & Mueller, J. (1996). Miserable minority: emotional risk factors 

that influence the outcome of a mild traumatic brain injury. Brain Injury, 10(8), 551± 

565. 

Ruijs, M. B. M., Keyser, A. & Gabreels, F. J. M. (1994). Clinical neurological trauma 

parameters as predictors for neuropsychological recovery and long-term outcome in 

paediatric closed head injury: a review of the literature. Clinical Neurology and 

Neurosurgery, 96(4), 273±283. 

Stambrook, M., Moore, A. D., Lubusko, A. A., Peters, L. C. & Blumenschein, S. (1993). 

Alternatives to the Glasgow Coma Scale as a quality of life predictor following 

traumatic brain injury. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 8, 95±103. 

Teasdale, G. & Jennet, B. (1974). Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness. 

Lancet, 2, 81±84. 

Wood, L. I. (ed.) (1990). Neuro-behavioural sequelae of traumatic brain injury. New York: 

Taylor & Francis. 

31 

____________________ V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A

SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES . WETENSKAPLIKE ARTIKELS 

32 

OLICE OFFICIALS AS VICTIMS OF TRAUMA AND 

CRISES 

Juan Nel 

INTRODUCTION _____________ 

a 

t the end of February 1998, a 

national conference on police 

officials as victims of trauma 

and crises was held at the Technikon 

South Africa (SA) Conference Centre in 

Johannesburg. The two-day conference 

was hosted by the Division: Public 

JUAN NEL * 

Safety and Criminal Justice of the 

Technikon SA. 

The conference was attended by more 

than 340 delegates. Participants included 

a substantial number of police 

officials (representing functional 

members, administrative personnel, 

the Helping Professions ± social workers, 

psychologists and spiritual workers; 

and management), other 

government departments (such as the 

SA National Defence Force and Correctional 

Services), academics, private 

practitioners, community policing forums, 

as well as a number of nongovernmental 

organisations providing 

counselling and social services. 

The aim of this article is to draw 

together the wealth of information 

and ideas shared at the conference, 

and present it in an accessible form, 

suitable for distribution to the various 

decision-makers, stakeholders, conference 

delegates and interested parties 

in the field. 

The conference took the form of 

parallel workshops, thus providing 

delegates not only a choice, but also 


* Juan Nel is a senior lecturer and director of the Centre of Applied Psychology, Department of 

Psychology, Unisa. 


the opportunity to actively participate 

in sessions. The vast amount of functional 

police officials who attended 

the sessions allowed for interesting 

debates and a useful marriage of 

academic perspectives and experienced-based 

sharing. Many workshops 

allowed police officials the 

opportunity to voice their frustrations 

and as such, to `debrief' as it were. The 

sharing of very personal and traumatic 

experiences by some police officials, 

whether formally, as part of a presentation, 

or informally during workshop 

discussions, further provided some 

`catharsis' and deepened the understanding 

of the Helping Professions 

and managers alike. 

The conference programme was structured 

according to the following 

themes: 

. Causes of trauma and crises in the 

work of police officials 

. The impact and effect of trauma and 

crises on the police official 

. The solution and management of 

the effect of trauma and crises on 

the police official 

. The prevention of trauma and crises 

in the lives of police officials. 

CAUSES OF TRAUMA AND 

CRISES IN THE WORK OF 

POLICE OFFICIALS __________ 

Presentations and the subsequent discussions 

concluded that the causes 

could primarily be divided into two 

main areas or trends. These are causes 

internal to the SA Police Service as 

organisation; and those external to the 

SA Police Service. 

Internal causes _______________ 

Internal causes can once again be 

divided into those at the level of the 

organisation; at unit or station level; 

and at a personal level. 

At organisational level _________ 

The trauma and crises associated with 

periods of transitions, whether political, 

within an organisation, or in the 

life of an individual, are well documented. 

When political and social 

transformation occurs in a society at 

the rate with which it has happened in 

SA, it obviously goes hand in hand 

with much anxiety and uncertainty. It 

is no simple task for police officials to 

adapt to all the changes which clearly 

affect their own lives and work, while 

also having to ensure the stability and 

law and order within a society in the 

process of adapting to these changes. 

Many theorists believe that police 

officials prefer operating according to 

rules that are certain, in a context of 

goals that are specific, and that the 

need for security and a clear role 

definition, is precisely what makes a 

career as police official attractive to 

many. Police officials in SA are, however, 

not only faced with political and 

social transformation. There have also 

been very significant changes in the 

last four years with regard to ideas 

about what policing ought to entail. 

The SA Police Service is at present still 

involved in a process of reform and 


33

34 

redefining their roles from state to 

community policing, and to establish 

their legitimacy. Several changes have 

also been made to organisation structures, 

such as the dissolving of certain 

sections and redeployment of personnel. 

Similarly, it can be hypothesised 

that change within the SA Police 

Service, as an organisation, is presently 

happening at a faster pace than 

in individual police officials, once 

again contributing to feelings of discomfort, 

dis-ease and job insecurity. 

Conference presenters and delegates 

are of the opinion that police culture is 

in many ways opposed to transformation 

as is demonstrated by undemocratic 

management practices, the lack 

of equality and representivity in the SA 

Police Service, and discrimination. 

Changes have, however, occurred in 

terms of personnel composition, albeit 

slow when measured against the expectations 

of certain groupings, such as 

black members. These changes include 

the increased recruitment and promotion 

to more senior positions of black 

and female police officials, although it is 

felt that incumbents are often not 

empowered to manage or lead. Changes 

in personnel composition also refer to 

the very high turnover in personnel, with 

especially a greater number of senior 

officials leaving the service, often leaving 

young and new recruits unprepared 

for the demands of their jobs. Related to 

this, is that present personnel selection 

procedures are deemed ineffective in 

terms of not succeeding in excluding 

applicants who have insufficient stress 

tolerance. 

A major contributor to the trauma and 

crises experienced by police officials is 

the inadequate preparation of members 

by management for the magnitude of 

the changes, whether through more 

effective communication strategies, relevant 

training and skills enhancement, 

and/or provision of required resources. 

Similarly, much criticism was raised 

during the conference with regard to a 

perceived lack of commitment of management 

to the well-being of members; 

inadequate resources (human and material); 

the general lack of management 

support and other support systems for 

members; and the general conditions 

under which police officials have to 

perform their work. 

At unit/station level ___________ 

Conference delegates are of the opinion 

that police management not only 

lack understanding and sensitivity 

with regard to the trauma and crises 

experienced by members, but furthermore 

lack the skills to manage these 

crises. The implications hereof are 

clear, with the trauma of members 

often going unnoticed, appropriate 

steps such as debriefing or referral 

not taken, etc. This situation is exacerbated 

by a general lack of problem-solving 

skills among both 

managers and members, resulting in 

the escalation of small crises, feelings 

of being overwhelmed, and an increase 

in experiences of stress. 

There is an over-exposure to trauma at 

station level, given the cycle of violence 

which places police in constant contact 

with victims, while often becoming 

victims themselves, or being forced to 


use violence against criminals. The 

aforementioned often has a debilitating 

effect on police officials and their work 

performance, as will become clear in the 

next section when we address the 

impact on police officials of this exposure 

to violence and trauma. 

An inadequate working environment, 

such as not having sufficient bulletproof 

vests and other protective measures 

available, also contributes negatively 

to the high levels of operational 

casualties in the SA Police Service. 

At a personal level ____________ 

The police have several roles, many of 

which place them in gruesome or 

terrifying situations. Police officials are 

often described as secondary victims 

because of their daily exposure to 

Critical Incident Stress. As part of their 

duties, the police are present in most 

situations which can be described as 

critical incident stressors, such as shootings 

(whether shooting someone, being 

shot at, or seeing someone being shot) 

andtaxiviolencewherethepoliceare 

often caught in the middle of fighting 

factions; dealing with mutilated bodies 

of victims; and the violent deaths of 

colleagues. 

Conference delegates are of the opinion 

that police officials are not 

adequately trained to deal with the 

high exposure to violence and death 

and as a result become blunted and 

insensitive, joking about the plight of 

victims or resorting to potentially 

destructive coping mechanisms, such 

as alcohol abuse. The `macho culture' 

which prevails within the SA Police 

Service does little to alleviate the 

problem of over-exposure to violence, 

but rather contributes to the limited 

expression of personal feelings and the 

misperception that police officials are 

expected to maintain their composure 

and distance themselves from emotional 

reactions, even under the most 

dreadful circumstances. 

It goes without saying that the lack of 

support for members in crises and the 

inexperience and limited understanding 

of management of the importance of 

debriefing, and their neglect to routinely 

refer members who have been exposed 

to trauma, serve only to allow the 

debilitating effects of trauma to persist. 

Furthermore, the support offered by the 

Helping Professions within the SA 

Police Service, is deemed inadequate 

by conference delegates. They primarily 

ascribe this to the limited access members 

have to the Helping Professions, 

due to non-referrals and the restricted 

numbers of especially psychologists and 

social workers brought about by budget 

constraints and managements underestimation 

of the importance of the roles 

of the Helping Professions within the 

organisation. Problems that exacerbate 

the situation, include the culture of nonconfidentiality 

that prevails among police 

officials and the stigma and fears 

attached to utilising the services of the 

Helping Professions. 

External causes ______________ 

These include the socio-political 

changes in the country mentioned 

earlier. Understandably it is no easy 

task to be a police official in SA during 


35

36 

these troubled times, and the demands 

associated with the job have undoubtly 

increased substantially. Negative 

public attitudes, the lack of trust 

by the community, subsequent criticism 

of the police and the limited 

support for the efforts of the police, 

do little to alleviate the situation. 

Given the human rights abuses and 

injustices perpetrated by the police in 

the past and the extent to which they 

were utilised to uphold the system of 

apartheid, many still perceive the 

police to be `legitimate' targets. Poor 

gun control in SA in terms of the 

society as a whole, but also the easy 

access of the police to weapons, add 

to the culture of violence and associated 

trauma. 

Long working hours and often being 

away from home contribute to strained 

family relations. Poor salaries and 

associated financial constraints add 

to the stress many police officials 

experience. Often having inadequate 

housing and living environments 

(especially in the case of those single 

and other members living in barracks) 

also do little to support the police 

official or to make them feel valued. 

THE IMPACT AND EFFECT OF 

TRAUMA AND CRISES ON THE 

POLICE OFFICIAL ___________ 

In this regard a division can be made 

between the impact and effects on the 

police official as individual; on the 

family of the police official; on the SA 

Police Service as organisation; and on 

the community at large. 

On police officials ____________ 

Continuous and excessive exposure to 

critical incidents without counselling 

can eventually lead to Posttraumatic 

Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, 

even when help is available some 

critical incidents are so acute that 

people exposed to these events will 

develop PTSD, regardless of the assistance 

that is offered. Psychological 

reactions can include symptoms of 

intrusion (dreams and flashbacks); 

disruptions of the body's biological 

cycle, such as sleep difficulties, loss of 

appetite or overeating, and loss of sex 

drive; avoidance; and emotional reactions 

like anger or crying. 

The masking of symptoms often 

occur. An increase in alcohol and 

drug abuse, extramarital affairs, suicidal 

thoughts and actual suicides 

have been reported among emergency 

workers who have been exposed 

to intense trauma. Other 

symptoms reported include moodiness;tension;anxiety;isolation;depression; 

emotional numbness and 

insensitivity; low esteem; loss of 

motivation; and loss of interest in 

the outside world. 

The ability to function in the family, 

social and professional worlds may 

also be adversely affected as will be 

indicated in the relevant sections. 

On the family ________________ 

Clearly the distress and changed behaviour 

of the official will have a 

severe and negative impact on the 

family. In relating to family and friends 


the official may show emotional unresponsiveness 

and a sense of preoccupation. 

The negative impact 

could furthermore include dysfunctional 

relationships; displaced anger 

and aggression resulting in family 

murders, wife battering, and other 

forms of violence in the family; an 

increased rate of divorce and break up 

of relationships; and increased anxiety 

and feelings of insecurity among the 

spouse and children. 

On the SA Police Service as 

organisation _________________ 

In the workplace the police official 

may experience low morale; a lack of 

job satisfaction and feelings of inability 

and low esteem; may illustrate low 

productivity and a decrease in overall 

performance level; ill discipline, such 

as an Ì don't care' attitude, a disrespect 

for human life, corruption, and 

accident proneness with a subsequent 

increase in expenditure for damages 

incurred and legal costs; physical illness 

and absenteeism, with the accompanying 

increase in medical 

expenditure; and may even experience 

temporary or permanent incapacity 

with the subsequent increase in expenses 

and loss of expertise due to 

medical retirements and resignations. 

Except for the clear financial implications 

of the above, there is also a very 

high cost involved with regard to the 

tainting of the image of the organisation 

and loss of credibility. 

On the community at large _____ 

A police service hampered in its 

performance by low morale and productivity, 

a high rate of absenteeism of 

members, and with increased expenditure 

due to legal, medical and retirement 

costs, clearly will also negatively 

affect and impact on the community at 

large. Surely this can only contribute 

to a sense of impunity among criminals 

and a subsequent increase in 

levels of criminality per se. Losing faith 

in the criminal justice system, could 

again contribute to a sense of hopelessness, 

an erosion of values and a 

culture of lawlessness in the SA 

society. 

THE SOLUTION AND 

MANAGEMENT OF THE EFFECT 

OF TRAUMA AND CRISES IN 

THE SA POLICE SERVICE _____ 

The roles and responsibilities of the 

different stakeholders in the solution 

and management of the effect of 

trauma and crises in the SAPS were 

identified as: individual members; 

peers; police management; the organisation 

as a whole; the SAPS Helping 

Professions; family and friends of 

police officials; and the community. 

As mentioned earlier in the report the 

four themes (causes, effects, solutions, 

and prevention) have areas of overlap 

and similarly, many presentations combined 

solutions, management strategies 

and prevention of trauma. Several of the 

following suggestions and recom- 


37

38 

mended interventions are therefore preventative 

in nature and could also have 

been included under the heading of 

`Prevention'. 

Role of individual member _____ 

Some presenters at the conference 

called for a stronger emphasis on 

self-help and an ìnternal locus of 

control'. In many instances responsibility 

for change rests with the individual 

and not necessarily with top 

management. Individual police members 

need to take responsibility and 

initiative for their own well-being. In 

the light thereof they ought to be 

empowered with information and 

knowledge about the psychological 

process of trauma and its resolution. 

Assisting police officials to recognise 

and deal more effectively with their 

own stress and trauma, and enabling 

them to recognise and deal effectively 

(i e in an empathic, culturally sensitive 

and professional manner) with the 

stress and trauma of victims of crime 

and violence in the community, is 

required. 

Role of peer support __________ 

The value of peer support within the 

context of policing to counteract the 

negative effects of trauma has been 

well established. In the light thereof, 

the development of peer support programmes 

for the SAPS is an urgent 

priority. This implies the education and 

training of members in Peer Support; 

encouraging the formation of self-help 

groups and peer counselling among 

members. 

Role of police management ____ 

With regard to the role and responsibilities 

of police management in managing 

the effect of trauma and crises, 

several aspects were highlighted. 

Firstly, management has to realise that 

according to the new Labour Relations 

Act, police officials have a 

fundamental right, given their daily 

exposure to trauma and crises, to 

effective support from within the organisation. 

Management has to declare 

itself àvailable' to members to 

assist in seeking solutions and should 

adopt a policy of a `Duty of Care'. 

Managers and supervisors ought to 

have practical information (possibly in 

the form of an action guide?) at their 

disposal about the psychological process 

of trauma and its resolution. The 

recognition of dangerous signs and 

symptoms in members (such as excessive 

mood changes, severe depression, 

unnecessary accidents, threat to 

physical harm, etc), and how and 

when to refer members for counselling 

and/or support should be included in 

the training programmes of all managers. 

This implies that managers 

ought to know their employees well 

enough to be able to recognise 

changes in their general behaviour. 

They should also be equipped with 

basic counselling skills. 

The regulation of fire-arms and discontinuation 

of fire-arm possession of 

officials at risk of suicide, and career 

management of members, should be 


added to the job descriptions of 

managers. 

Role of the SAPS as organisation 

In seeking solutions for the effects of 

trauma and crises on police officials, the 

majority of suggestions forthcoming 

from this session seem to emphasise 

the role and responsibilities of the SAPS 

as organisation. Organisational transformation 

to excellence is encouraged, on 

the proviso that strategies, such as more 

effective internal communication to ensure 

the free flow of information, are put 

in place to support employees during 

these processes of transformation. Democratic 

management structures and 

greater consultation of members are 

required, as is management and/or 

leadership development. The fast tracking 

and equipping of black and female 

candidates who display good potential 

will assist in the required transformation 

of the organisation. More effective 

utilisation of management information 

(i e suicide statistics, etc) and also of 

resources (human and material) are 

deemed essential. 

Reconciling effective investigations of 

the use of force by police officials with 

the management of possible trauma 

experienced by the official, following 

the use of force, is rather difficult. 

Effective policies, such as the speeding 

up of criminal investigations and 

disciplinary procedures following the 

use of force, and clarification of the 

role of the Internal Complaints Directorate, 

can, however, be of some 

assistance in this regard. 

Policies providing for the rotation, 

where necessary, of personnel allocated 

to units exposed to high trauma 

situations, also need to be prioritised. 

The approachability/client-orientation 

of Management Services needs some 

investigation, as their present modus 

operandi illicits much anger and resentment. 

Conference delegates were of the 

opinion that the organisation has the 

responsibility to ensure the availability 

and accessibility of effective and highquality 

medical/social/psychological 

and organisational support for all 

members. The Employee Assistance 

Programme (EAP) ought to be driven 

from the highest possible level, preferably 

from top management. 

The organisation needs to endorse the 

Helping Professions. Understanding 

their necessity within the organisation 

also implies increasing their resources 

(human, material and with regard to 

technology), and providing for the 

appropriate renumeration of the Helping 

Professions to ensure their continued 

services. Inclusion in the 

decision-making processes of the organisation 

at the highest level will also 

contribute to the improvement of their 

status within the organisation. 

Related matters are the urgent need for 

structures and policies to aid the referral 

of traumatised members to the Helping 

Professions and other service providers; 

addressing the stigma attached to the 

utilisation of these services; and addressing 

the culture of non-confidentiality 

within the organisation. 

Furthermore, a pro-active approach is 

required, which includes the selection 


39

40 

of applicants with an above-average 

stress tolerance, an internal locus of 

control, assertiveness, interpersonal 

efficiency and flexibility. Programmes 

for the prevention of substance abuse 

and other symptoms of trauma and 

stress within the organisation are also 

required. Supporting not only police 

officials themselves, but also significant 

family members, should be seen 

as part of the responsibilities of the 

organisation. An example hereof can 

be the adoption of Psycho-educational 

deployment resilience programmes 

(i e dealing with separation 

stress, etc). 

Another priority for the organisation is 

the empowerment of all members 

(including management) through life 

skills training programmes emphasising 

self awareness, interpersonal skills 

and how to face life challenges. 

Possible training modules could include: 

Understanding the self; Relationships 

and interpersonal skills; 

Decision-making and problem-solving; 

Discretion and good judgement; 

Conflict-resolution and anger management; 

and Dealing with stress. A 

further priority is a focus in training on 

diversity awareness. 

Role of SAPS Helping Professions 

The Helping Professions ought to be 

positioned within the organisation as 

neutral (ie not siding with management 

nor individual members). Closer 

cooperation between the Helping 

Professions and policies prohibiting 

the duplication of services are long 

overdue. The decentralisation of the 

Helping Professions to station level is 

strongly recommended. 

An onus rests on the management of 

the Helping Professions to facilitate 

improved understanding of the treatment 

of victims of trauma and the use 

of different interventions. This includes 

promoting a contextual understanding 

of trauma situations; 

employing a pro-active, multi-levelled 

model to address traumas; enhancing 

the coping mechanisms of police 

officials to deal with trauma; and 

developing the skills of the personnel 

of the Helping Professions with regard 

to Professional Critical Incident Stress 

debriefing; the utilisation of various 

outpatient treatment procedures, such 

as Traumatic Incident Reduction 

Technique; Stress Reduction Programmes; 

Transcendental Meditation 

Programmes; Eye Movement Desensitisation; 

Brainwave training; and Neurolinguistic 

Programming. Members of 

the Helping Professions furthermore 

need to understand when admission 

to inpatient programmes is essential. 

Expertise should be sourced in when 

required to work in collaboration with 

the Helping Professions. 

Role of family/friends _________ 

The importance of support from significant 

family and friends in managing 

the trauma of police officials, is 

often underestimated. As far as practically 

possible, family members should 

be engaged in appropriate services 

that specifically target identified problems 

and needs. 


Role of the community ________ 

The strengthening of community ties 

is deemed essential in combatting the 

feelings of alienation police officials so 

often experience. Improvement of the 

image of the police, and counteracting 

the `them-us' paradigm, will assist in 

this regard. The reduction of the 

alienation between community and 

police can also be achieved through 

mediation, joint problem solving, etc. 

Communities ought to be encouraged 

to guard against unnecessary or unfair 

criticism of police. The forming of 

partnerships between state and 

NGOs/CBOs should be encouraged, 

also in the field of managing and 

combatting the trauma of police officials. 

PREVENTION _______________ 

The final conference session focused 

on strategies aimed at prevention of 

trauma and crises. The recommendations 

made in this section should be 

read in tandem with those made under 

the previous heading `Solutions and 

management of trauma'. 

A first strategy to be adopted with 

regard to prevention is the training of 

management and other significant role 

players in the issues at hand. More 

reliable personnel selection procedures 

and placement (i e the right 

person in the right position), but also 

setting higher minimum standards for 

entry into the SA Police Service with 

regard to stress tolerance, an internal 

locus of control, interpersonal efficiency, 

etc are deemed essential. As 

previously highlighted, the implementation 

of lifeskills training for all police 

personnel, has a lot of merit. Prevention 

programmes (i e with regard to 

substance abuse, etc) should receive 

higher priority. Trauma programmes, 

such as proactive debriefing and 

counselling, are crucial. Career development 

and management is long overdue 

and an attempt ought to be made 

to prevent the high turn-over in personnel. 

Democratisation of the organisation 

and the promotion of equality 

and representivity could contribute in 

this regard. Similarly, better preparing 

of members for changes and improved 

communication is required. Embracing 

of police by the community should be 

encouraged. 

CONCLUSION _______________ 

The establishment of effective support 

mechanisms for police officials within 

the SAPS as victims of trauma and 

crises, should be seen as an essential 

part of the National Crime Prevention 

Strategy Victim Empowerment Programme. 

Assisting police officials to 

recognise and deal more effectively 

with their own stress and trauma, will 

also enable them to recognise and deal 

more effectively (i e in an empathic, 

culturally sensitive and professional 

manner) with the stress and trauma 

of victims of crime and violence in the 

community. 

A suggestion forthcoming from the 

conference is that a Position Paper or 

policy should be drafted as a matter of 

great urgency to guide the manage- 


41

42 

ment and prevention of trauma and 

crises within the SAPS. 

Similarly, a strategy to communicate 

the findings and recommendations of 

the conference to top management 

and decision makers in the SA Police 

Service, is essential. 

Finally, translating the findings and 

recommendations of the conference 

into practice would be the proof that 

the conference was a success. 


TTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND STREET HAWKERS 

TOWARDS PEOPLE WHO SUFFER FROM HIV/AIDS 

with the rising number of 

Human Immunedeficiency 

Virus (HIV) positive 

people, the number of those dying or 

becoming seriously ill due to problems 

related to the Acquired Immunedeficiency 

Syndrome (AIDS) is increasing 

steadily. In the context of our society's 

past socio-economic and political his- 

Paul Makena 

PAUL MAKENA * 

tory, the added burden of HIV/AIDS is 

leading to enormous costs and hardship, 

especially in the rural areas. It is 

mostly in these rural areas that there is 

a growing need for assistance in 

caring for AIDS/HIV sufferers. There 

are very few hospital care facilities, 

which are under-resourced, resulting 

in many people being cared for and 

nursed in their own homes by their 

families. 

This research focuses on the attitudes 

of rural people toward those with 

AIDS/HIV. This will help in the future 

planning of awareness programmes 

and programmes of care, counselling 

and support. 

LITERATURE ________________ 

Attitudes can be described as any 

general evaluations people have of 

others, themselves and other issues 

and they are manifested in feelings of 

like, dislike, favour and disfavour. We 

tend to hold these feelings because of 

the functions that they serve for us. 

These feelings of like or dislike are 


* Paul Makena is currently an MA Clinical Psychology student at Unisa. This article formed part of an 

assignment in the Social Psychology Honours course of 1997, under the guidance of Johan Kruger. 

Paul Makena was at this time working as an AIDS/HIV counsellor and educator. 


43 

STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS . STUDENTEBYDRAES

44 

manifested in our memory, behaviour 

and affect as the components of 

attitudes (Baron & Byrne, 1991; Eagly 

& Chaiken, 1993; Petty, 1995). 

Attitudes can be both negative and 

positive. Due to the amount of social 

information available to us, we resist 

taking short-cuts in understanding any 

new encounter. It becomes easier for 

us to classify others in terms of groupings 

different from ours. With these 

groupings formed in our minds, we 

assign similar characteristics to those 

belonging to other groupings other 

than ours. We then respond to individuals 

as members or representatives of 

their groups rather than as individuals 

on their own. This is called social 

categorisation, and it explains why we 

hold particular stereotypes as being 

members of in- or out-groups. Here 

stereotypes are defined as the belief or 

knowledge that we have of others and 

their groups and they guide our 

behaviour towards those about whom 

we have these representations (Baron 

& Byrne, 1991; Dexine, 1995). 

Because of these stereotypes our 

processing of information about these 

other people and their groups becomes 

biased. This implies that social 

categorisation is couched in stereotypical 

perception of others. We develop 

the us/them distinction or the ingroup/out-group 

dichotomies. The 

consequence of this distinction is the 

development of prejudice which is the 

negative attitudes towards members of 

the out-group due to their category 

membership. Negative attitudes are 

often manifested in discriminatory behaviour 

towards the out-group mem- 

bers. Previous research findings 

(Baron & Byrne, 1991) indicate that 

one of the reasons we tend to hold 

stereotype views of others and their 

groups, leading to negative attitudes 

or prejudice towards them, is because 

we are less familiar with them and their 

groups, as opposed to our own groups 

and behaviour. 

People in the rural areas, especially 

those with below average educational 

qualifications, are less likely to have 

adequate access to information about 

people with AIDS/HIV, leading to an 

increased likelihood of stereotypical 

views and prejudices. 

RESEARCH _________________ 

The research undertaken tests the 

hypothesis that higher education is 

associated with less stereotyping and 

less negative thinking about HIV/ 

AIDS sufferers. Teachers and street 

hawkers are distinct groups are likely 

to hold divergent attitudes towards 

people with HIV/AIDS. They are also 

likely to hold certain stereotypes about 

them, which might shape their consequent 

attitude, be it positive or 

negative. It was expected that how 

these groups, i e teachers and street 

hawkers, form their attitudes is a 

similar process of social categorisation 

and stereotyping as indicated in other 

intergroup findings, where people 

hold negative attitudes towards others 

in terms of their category membership, 

seeing them as undifferentiated despite 

the individual differences 

amongst them. 

V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A 

___________________

DESCRIPTION OF THE METHOD 

USED TO COLLECT THE DATA 

Respondents ________________ 

A sample size of 20 respondents was 

used. This constituted 10 teachers 

from a high school at Tafelkop village, 

and 10 street hawkers at Groblersdal, a 

nearby town. The respondents are 

mostly from Tafelkop and some of 

the nearby villages. I was unable to 

arrive at a randomly chosen sample, 

hence a sample of convenience was 

selected. An equal number of males 

and females was used in both of the 

subgroups; i e five males and five 

females for both teachers and the 

hawkers. There was no intention to 

sample people of any specific age 

category. 

Materials ___________________ 

A 12-item questionnaire was created 

to gather data. Six of these statements 

were negatively worded whilst six 

were positively worded. It was hoped 

that the nature of these statements 

would reveal the true attitudes the 

respondents have on the people who 

suffer from HIV/AIDS. 

TABLE 1 

Mean age and HIV/AIDS attitude scores 

Procedure ___________________ 

Each of the subgroups in the sample 

was approached separately. Respondents 

were made aware that this is 

research conducted to meet Unisa BA 

(Honours) degree requirements for the 

Social Psychology paper; that it is an 

investigation into the difference in 

attitudes towards people with HIV/ 

AIDS between people of different 

educational levels, i e teachers and 

street hawkers. Respondents were also 

made aware that there are no correct 

or incorrect responses on the questionnaire 

and that the confidentiality 

of their responses will be maintained. 

Finally, they were informed that feedback 

of the results will be given to 

them when the research project is 

completed. 

For the subgroup of teachers, the 

questionnaire was administered as a 

self-completion form. As for the hawkers, 

the questionnaire was administered 

as an interview. An individual's 

score was taken as the total of his/her 

individual scores on the scale. A high 

point scoring indicated a positive 

attitude, whilst lower scores indicated 

a negative attitude towards the people 

with HIV/AIDS (after the questions 

had been appropriately re-coded). 

Teachers Street hawkers 

Mean SD Mean SD 

Age 34.80 6.43 36.70 12.78 

HIV/AIDS Attitude Score 44.00 9.06 31.20 8.23 


45

46 

Results _____________________ 

To test the hypothesis a t-test statistical 

technique was used, to ascertain 

the mean difference in attitude between 

two groups, i e hypothesis of 

difference. 

The teachers have a mean age of 34.8 

and a mean HIV/AIDS Attitude Score 

of 44.0. The street hawkers gave a 

lower mean age of 36.7 and a lower 

HIV/AIDS attitude score, indicating 

less positive stereotypes regarding 

people with HIV/AIDS. Higher HIV/ 

AIDS attitude scores imply a more 

positive and tolerant attitude towards 

people with HIV/AIDS. 

The teachers all have a diploma or 

degree and the street vendors show 

varied levels of education, up to 

Standard 10/Grade12. Male and female 

respondents are represented 

equally in both groups. 

Emphasis was put on comparing the 

mean attitude scores of the two 

groups. Because it was of interest to 

compare the difference in means of the 

two groups, a t-test statistical proce- 

TABLE 2 

dure was performed. There is a significant 

difference in their mean 

attitude scores as measured on the ttest 

(t=3.35, p

access to information about HIV/ 

AIDS. This could lead to negative 

attitudes and prejudicial behaviour 

towards HIV/AIDS victims. Urgent 

REFERENCES 

action is needed, to address this 

discrimination and to avoid adding 

more stress and injury to HIV/AIDS 

victims and their families. 

Baron, A. T. & Byrne, D. (ed) (1991). Social psychology, understanding human interaction. 

USA, Allyn and Bacon. 

Dexine, P. G. (1995). Prejudice and out-group perception. In A. Tesser (ed). Advanced 

Social Psychology (pp 467±524). McGraw-Hill, Inc. 

Eagly, A. H. & Chaiken, S. (1993). The psychology of attitudes, chapter 1, pp 1±21. In 

Mynhardt, J. C., Appelgryn, A. E. M., Moore, C, & Nieuwoudt, J. M. (1996). 

Readings in Social Psychology. Pretoria: University of South Africa. 

Petty, R. E. (1995). Attitude change. In A. Tesser (ed), Advanced Social Psychology 

(pp 195±255). McGraw-Hill. Inc. 


47

STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS . STUDENTEBYDRAES 

48 

ENDER SOCIALIZATION: BOYS WILL BE BOYS AND 

GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS 

SONIA * ROOPNARAIN AND USHA** ROOPNARAIN 

Sonia Roopnarain 

ha ent values and attitudes regarding 

uman societies are filled with 

gender biases, more especially 

children regularly learn to adopt 

to gender roles which are not always 

fair to both sexes. Parents have differ- 

male and female children. Children 

behave differently based on gender, 

with certain typical behaviors of girls 

and others typical of boys. 

As children move from childhood and 


* Ms Sonia Roopnarain is a third-year Psychology student at Unisa. 

** Dr Usha Roopnarain is a political researcher in KwaZulu-Natal. 

into adolescence they become exposed 

to many factors which influence 

their attitudes and behaviors regarding 

their gender roles. These attitudes and 

behaviors can be traced to early 

socialization. Socialization of children 

(through child rearing techniques and 

educational practices) reproduces and 

reinforces social gender differences. 

For example, mothers tend to pay 

more attention to girls' hair and to 

dress them in feminine clothes. 

The strongest influence on gender role 

development seems to occur within 

the family setting where parents impart 

(overtly or covertly) their own beliefs 

about gender. According to Kaplan 

(1991) parents are the primary influence 

on gender role development 

during the early years of life. Gender, 

is also produced psychologically and 

socially rather than physiologically. At 

this point it is also important to make a 

distinction between sex and gender. 

Sex means the biological sex of the 

child: it is born anatomically as a male 

or female member of the human 

species. Gender is a culturally and 

socially shaped cluster of expectations, 

attributes and behaviors (Eisenstein, 

1984:7) 


More often than not a child will grow 

up without experiencing some form of 

gender bias or gender stereotyping. 

Often boys are considered `tough' and 

girls `sweet' or `you're a naughty boy', 

or `that's a good girl'. These verbal 

appellations lead children to identify 

with the same gender. Parents tend to 

give insinuated messages regarding 

gender and what is acceptable for 

each gender, and these messages 

become internalized (Arliss, 1991). 

As children grow and develop, gender 

stereotypes are reinforced by other 

elements in their respective environments, 

namely the media. In particular 

television, peer and the social environment 

are the most predominant 

facilitator used. A typical example 

would be disposable nappy companies 

that have made this point really 

explicit. Also differences are achieved 

through canalization ± which involves 

the direction of boys and girls towards 

different objects. Girls are given soft 

toys, miniature domestic objects. 

Boys, on the other hand are given 

aggressive and practical objects such 

as bricks and guns. 

Studies in psychology depict that 

children are nurtured to fulfil the 

expectations made of their sex and 

their socialization into gender roles. 

Sociologists, on the other hand are 

often concerned with explaining how 

particular gender expectations become 

prominent in a culture or subculture. In 

India, females are often devalued and 

subjected to sexual and psychological 

abuse (Gordon, 1988). Male children 

are accepted, while females are rejected. 

A UNICEF report found that: 

A quarter of the 12 million girls 

born in India annually are dead by 

the age of 15, many of them victims 

of neglect, discrimination, and 

sometimes infanticide because of 

their sex ... although girls are 

biologically stronger, 300 000 

more of them die each year than 

boys. The World Health Organization 

(WHO) reports that in many 

countries, girls are fed less, breast 

fed for shorter periods, taken to 

doctors less and die or are physically 

and mentally maimed by malnutrition 

at higher rates than boys 

(Nicarthy, 1995:53). 

Studies have also shown that most 

parents prefer male children to female 

children (Basow, 1992:129) ± this is 

especially prevalent in India. Traditional 

culture is often used as a 

justification for differential treatment 

of boys and girls. The birth of a son is 

considered a positive event; this is not 

true for girls however. 

The ideology of male superiority has 

been revived among Chinese people, 

giving rise to ugly practices such as 

female infanticide, abuse of women 

and maltreatment of women who give 

birth to girl babies (Kelkar, 1988:136). 

At times people who prefer sons are 

more likely to use technology for 

selecting the sex of their child (Steinbacher 

& Gilroy, 1990). The development 

of reproductive technology 

works on the basis of selection and 

elimination. Y chromosomes (males) 

are selected while X (females) chromosomes 

are eliminated. 

How often have parents encouraged 


49

50 

their sons and daughters to participate 

in sex typed activities, i e, doll playing 

for girls and truck playing for boys? 

Moreover, even children's toy preferences 

are also related to sex typing. A 

study of children's rooms has shown 

that girls have more pink in their rooms 

and boys more blue. The process of 

canalization (i e, the direction of boys 

and girls to different objects), is also 

important since girls are often directed 

towards soft toys and boys towards 

guns or bricks, etc. These insinuations 

are internalized and become part of the 

child's self-concept. Children begin to 

imitate individuals of their own gender. 

Thus parents, as a socializing 

factor has had significant influence in 

terms of gender roles. According to 

social learning theory, children also 

learn gender roles through observation, 

modeling and reinforcement. 

Let's look briefly at other theories. 

Sigmund Freud, an influential and 

controversial theorist, argued that 

learning of gender differences in in- 

fants and young children centred on 

possessing of different erogenous 

zones. Freud attempts to understand 

gender identity too closely with genital 

awareness, however. 

A number of biologically explanations 

have also emerged. Many studies also 

state that roles for women and men 

can be explained in terms of hormones. 

There are also claims that 

hormones indirectly have an effect on 

male and female brain development. 

One issue of research concentrated on 

brain lateralization ± it is widely believed 

that the right- and left-hand 

sides of the brain are allotted different 

tasks ± the left hemisphere is supposed 

to specialize in language and analytical 

skills, while the right hemisphere is 

involved in visuospatial abilities, i e, 

related to arts, mathematics. Theorists 

such as Gray and Buffery believe that 

the left hemisphere of the brain is more 

dominant in girls. Sociobiologists, on 

the other hand assert that different 

reproductive strategies produce differ- 


ent behaviour in males and females 

and hence this leads them to occupy 

different social roles. In contrast to 

these theories, it is obvious that human 

behaviour is shaped by the 

environment rather than instinctual. 

Children learn behaviour that is expected 

in society. Whatever the biological 

differences between males and 

females, it is the culture of society that 

exerts an important influence. Often 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

biological tendencies can be overridden 

by cultural factors. 

Many parents who tend to stress 

certain gender specific outcomes, tend 

to ignore the fact that the emotional 

development of children is directly 

related to the presence of nurturing 

and sustained interaction with parents 

whether they are boys or girls. Parents 

also need to realize that children 

require parental warmth, support and 

not simply girl toys or boy toys. 

Arliss, L. P. (1991). Gender communication. Engelwood Prentice Hall. 

Basow, S. A. (1992). Gender stereotypes and roles. Brooks: Cole Publishing Company. 

Fagot, B. I., Leinbach, M. D. & Hagan, R. (1986). Gender labeling and the adaptation of 

sextyped behaviours in Development Psychology, 440±443. 

Gordon, M. & Riger, S. (1988). The female fear. New York: Free Press. 

Kaplan, P. 1991. A child's odyssey. St. Paul. West Publishing company. 

Kelkar, G. (1988). Two steps back? In Structures of Patriarchy, edited by Agarwal, London: 

Zed Books. 

Mies, M. (1993). Ecofeminism. London. Zed Books. 

Nicarthy, G. (1995). War against women, edited by Ashworth, G. in The Diplomacy of the 

oppressed. London: Zed Books. 

Steinbacher, R. & Gilroy, F. (1990). Sex selection technology: a prediction of its use and 

effect. Journal of Psychology, 124, 283±288. 


51

SUBDISCIPLINES . SUBDISSIPLINES 

52 

OMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY ± THE ART AND SCIENCE 

OF EMPOWERMENT 

MARTIN TERRE BLANCHE * & MATSHEPO NEFALE** 

Matshepo Nefale & Martin Terre Blanche 

s 

ay the word psychologist, and 

most people think of somebody 

who does therapy with individual 

clients. However, much of the 

action in psychology has moved away 

from treating individual cases to include 

large-scale social interventions. 

Increasingly, psychologists no longer 

wait for clients to visit them in their 

consulting rooms, but go out to 

address the sources of distress in 

communities. 

The health care sector in South Africa 

has become much more focused on 

community-based preventative work 

(rather than on curative treatment), 

and this trend is also evident in the 

profession of psychology. The Psychological 

Society of South Africa 

(PsySSA), is currently considering 

instituting `Community Psychology' 

as an additional registration category, 

and several South African universities 

have already started undergraduate 

and postgraduate courses in the field. 

At Unisa, an honours course (to be 

called Community and Health Psychology 

from the year 2000 onwards) 

was initiated a few years ago, and is 

attracting increasing numbers of students. 

Key individuals involved in the 

structuring and development of the 

course include Alex Butchart, Martin 

Terre Blanche, Matshepo Nefale, Juan 

Nel and Mohamed Seedat. This process 

was largely based on some of 

these lecturers' practical experience at 

the Unisa Centre for Peace Action in 

Eldorado Park, and at various other 

community initiatives. 


* Dr Martin Terre Blanche is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Unisa. 

** Ms Matshepo Nefale is a junior lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Unisa. 


BUT WHAT IS COMMUNITY 

PSYCHOLOGY? ______________ 

Consider the following scenario, 

loosely based on real events. In 1997, 

the government, supported by a consortium 

of big businesses, started a job 

creation project near a large rural 

settlement which we shall call Sikisiki. 

The project entailed the employment 

of large numbers of unemployed people 

on public works projects such as 

the eradication of invasive non-indigenous 

plants and road-building. Sikisiki 

was a very poor community 

before the arrival of the project, with 

almost two thirds of adults unemployed. 

Since 1997, several million 

rands have been spent on employing 

some of the people in the community 

as well as building a school, a clinic 

and other facilities. Almost from the 

start, however, the project was plagued 

by difficulties. The incidence of 

social problems such as alcoholism, 

venereal diseases and spouse abuse 

increased dramatically. The school 

building was vandalised, and racial 

tensions developed among African 

and Coloured members of the community 

and between the community 

and the predominantly White project 

management. 

Community members put the blame 

both on themselves and the project ± 

attributing much that had gone wrong 

to a decline in their own moral 

standards, but also complaining that 

the project management was more 

concerned with impressing visiting 

dignitaries than with addressing the 

community's real needs. Project management, 

on the other hand, saw the 

problem in racial, cultural and class 

terms. To their way of thinking, social 

problems are just a 'natural' part of 

(African and Coloured) working class 

life, which they also attributed to this 

community. All involved were quite 

fatalistic about the situation, believing 

that little could be done to fundamentally 

improve matters. 

What could psychology contribute 

towards understanding and resolving 

a situation such as this? 

Different approaches would be useful. 

Clinical and counselling psychologists 

could, for example, help individuals 

and families deal with emotional and 

relational difficulties arising from the 

situation. However, if we wish to 

address the wider problem a different 

level of analysis and intervention, 

which is provided by community psychology, 

would be required. Community 

psychology sees problems such as 

alcoholism and spouse abuse as, at 

least in part, symptomatic of processes 

that occur in the community as a 

whole and therefore targets its interventions 

at groups rather than at 

individuals. 

In the case of the Sikisiki community, 

most community psychologists would 

immediately recognise the way in 

which change was imposed on the 

community as an important source of 

current problems. Although individual 

community members freely chose to 

take up employment with the project, 

the community as a whole had no say 

in the establishment of the project nor 

in how the money would be spent. 

There is therefore little sense of ownership 

of facilities such as the clinic 


53

54 

and the school, and the project itself is 

perceived as a form of charity ± bringing 

in much-needed money, but 

further degrading community members' 

sense of self-worth. It would 

also be clear to a community psychologist 

that the project changed the 

delicate ecology of power in the 

community in an unplanned manner 

± in this case, for 

example, reducing 

the status of women 

who used to 

bring in most of 

the money by selling 

handicrafts at 

a nearby tourist 

market. 

Armed with such 

analyses, community 

psychologists 

are able to intervene 

in ways that 

foster greater participation 

and a 

New Book 

sense of co-ownership, identify and 

build on sources of community 

strength rather than focusing only on 

problems, and empower all groups in a 

community rather than just an elite 

few. Techniques which are used to 

`diagnose' strengths and weaknesses 

in a community include participatory 

research, community capacity analysis, 

rapid rural appraisal, needs analysis, 

risk factor analysis and epidemiological 

surveys. Such analyses often form 

an integral part of intervention processes, 

but there are also a myriad 

other ways in which interventions can 

be structured, such as psycho-educational 

programmes, socio-economic 

upliftment projects, changes to the 

The first South African textbook of 

community psychology is due out 

later this year. Edited by Mohamed 

Seedat (one of the developers of our 

Community Psychology course) it 

contains contributions from community 

psychologists across the country. 

We hope to carry a review of the 

book in the next edition of Psychologia. 

built environment and (on a larger 

scale) legislative changes. Once a 

project is well established or has been 

completed, community psychologists 

use the principles and techniques of 

programme evaluation to assess its 

effectiveness and identify areas for 

possible improvement. 

Community psychology 

is very 

much an interdisciplinary 

field, 

drawing not only 

on psychology, 

but also on fields 

as diverse as 

public health 

(which deals 

with techniques 

for preventing 

rather than curing 

disease) and 

community development 

(which traces the 

process of economic and social empowerment). 

In their daily practice, 

community psychologists also find 

that the boundaries between professions 

are becoming eroded and that 

they frequently have to work in a team 

context with other professionals such 

as medical personnel, legal experts, 

social workers, management practitioners 

and economists. Although it 

can be quite unsettling to operate 

without clearly demarcated professional 

boundaries, interdisciplinary 

and cross-disciplinary work is increasingly 

becoming the norm, and studying 

community psychology can 

provide one with excellent preparation 

for such situations. 


As a young discipline, community 

psychology has already developed a 

formidable body of critical literature, 

and the Unisa course gives due attention 

to this as well. To be a competent 

community psychologist, one should 

know more than mere techniques. One 

should also be able to engage in 

theoretical critiques that point, for 

example, to a tendency to romanticise 

communities as the source of everything 

that is good and to treat prominent 

and vocal members in a 

community as if they were authentic 

spokespersons for everybody else. 

If the idea of becoming a community 

psychologist appeals to you, feel free 

to contact us for more information, 

and please do consider studying community 

psychology during your honours 

year. We would also be interested 

in hearing about your ideas on 

whether community psychology is 

useful in the South African context, 

given our history of unequal distribution 

of resources. 

Towards more contextualised psychological services 

Individual Psychology Community Psychology 

Focus on intra psychic or interpersonal 

elements) 

Ecological perspective (interdependence 

of all elements) 

Based on individualist philosophies Based on social context and cultural 

diversity 

Treatment Prevention 

Reductive of maladaptive patterns Promotion of health and well-being 

Expert treatment model Self-help/community development 

model 

Focus on deficits/weaknesses Focus on competence/strengths 

Value-neutral stance Strong emphasis on values 

Can lead to victim-blaming Can lead to glorifying `the community' 


55

56 

CONGRESSES KONGRESSE 

PSYCHOLOGY IN AFRICA IN 

THE NEXT MILLENIUM _______ 

THE FIRST NATIONAL PSYCHOLO- 

GICAL CONFERENCE IN KENYA, 

held in Nairobi from the 7th±11th 

September 1998, was to a great 

extend jeopardized by the bomb blast 

at the American Embassy in Nairobi 

earlier in the year, resulting in a 

number of cancellations of the papers 

already being accepted. These cancellations 

also caused that the venue of 

the conference that was initially 

planned to be held at the Safari Park 

Hotel, had to be changed to the 

United States International University-Africa 

in Nairobi. A number of 

Americans also did not turn up without 

notifying the organizers, leaving a 

number of sessions just vacant. 

The conference was nevertheless attended 

by 120 enthusiastic psychologists, 

social workers, educationists, 

nurses and psychology students from 

mainly Kenya, but countries like South 

Africa, Nigeria and the USA was also 

represented by a few attendants. 

The focus of the conference was 

`Psychology in Africa in the next 

millenium'. Most of the papers, however 

addressed more practical interdisciplinary 

or borderline psychological 

issues (such as drug abuse, 

aids, support of the bomb blast victims 

and the problems surrounding street 

children) rather than mainstream or 

theoretical psychological topics. The 

keynote address by a medical practitioner, 

Dr Moruf Adeleken (University 

of Illorin, Nigeria) on the topic `Distinguished 

contribution award to the 

advancement of research in drug 

abuse' reflected this trend in the 

conference. 

Matshepo Nefale, Henning Viljoen and 

Mabel Radebe at a Conference in Kenya 

The paper of Dr Joseph Njoroge (KIE, 

Nairobi) on `Client expectation about 

counseling from a cultural perspective' 

addressed the problem of the applicability 

of Westernorientated counseling 

techniques within an African 

context. It was, however, mainly the 

papers from the South Africans that 

really focused on the theme of the 

conference with topics such as, `Local 

knowledge as the basis for development' 

(Dr Hilda van Vlaenderen, University 

of Rhodes), Àfrican families in 

the time of transition' (Dr Mabel 


Radebe, Unisa), `The impact of spiritualism 

in problem conceptualization 

and treatment in psychotherapy: an 

African context' (Ms Matshepo Nefale, 

Unisa) and `Personology from an 

African perspective?' (Prof. Henning 

Viljoen, Unisa). These papers were 

very well received, making a great 

contribution to a country were psychology 

as a discipline is still in its 

infancy. 

Relevant and Effective 

Psychotherapeutic Techniques in 

an African context ____________ 

The Second African Conference on 

Psychotherapy was held at the University 

of the North (South Africa) 

during Nov/Dec 1998. This was an 

international conference, with delegates 

from all over the world ± including 

Canada, France, Austria, South 

America, Switzerland, Germany, Ghana, 

Tanzania and Nigeria. Sadly, however, 

representation from South Africa 

was disappointing. The President of 

PsySSA even commented on this 

underrepresentation of South African 

delegates in his keynote speech. He 

posed some perhaps controversial 

questions in a quest to understand 

the lack of attendance, some of which 

include: Ìs this perhaps reflective of 

the status of psychotherapy in S.A. ± it 

being largely Western-based in origin?' 

Ìs it because the conference is 

being hosted by a Province like The 

North? ± What can we, Western-based 

therapists, learn from such a province?' 

Ìs it because the conference was NOT 

organized by well-known figures in 

the psychology/psychotherapy circles?' 

These were very challenging 

questions. And we, as South African 

therapists/health professionals, perhaps 

need to reflect on these issues if 

we are committed to offer meaningful 

and effective treatment to our South 

African clients. 

The aim of the conference was to try 

and produce documentation on effective 

methods of healing, especially in 

the African context. It is asserted that 

80% of patients in Africa consult 

traditional and spiritual healers, and 

their methods of healing are never 

documented. The other aim of the 

conference, which is a medium- to 

long-term goal, is the establishment of 

training programmes particularly 

aimed at the African client in an 

African setting. 

Key note speakers at the conference, 

apart from Dr S. Cooper, included Dr 

S. N. Madu (The President of the 

World Council for Psychotherapy, 

African Chapter), Prof. Dr A. Pritz 

(President of the World Council for 

Psychotherapy) and Dr N. Crisp 

(Superintendent General ± Department 

of Health and Welfare ± Northern 

Province). 

These addresses, which centered 

around the theme of the conference, 

`Psychotherapy in the African context', 

were very informative. In his speech, 

Prof. Dr Pritz highlighted the importance 

of engaging in a dialogue in 

which there is networking and sharing 

of ideas within different cultures. The 

intention is to find effective cooperative 

ways of healing mental illnesses, 


57

58 

especially at a time when globalization 

has become the buzz word. 

Another crucial issue involved the 

modification of Western techniques 

so far as they become effective in the 

African continent. 

A traditional healer was also invited to 

the conference to provide insight into 

how traditional healers deal with 

mental illnesses from their `school(s) 

of thought'. It was interesting to note 

that causes of mental illness from Pedi 

Traditional Healing, as with many 

other forms of traditional healing, do 

not differ much from the Western 

causes of mental illness. Some of the 

causes, however, sounded too farfetched, 

especially if one comes from 

a highly Western training model. The 

causes include: alcohol, dagga, witchcraft, 

losing too much blood from an 

accident or birth, any form of abuse, 

convulsions, personal problems, drug 

abuse, marital problems, reading too 

much, being a widow and not having 

received `proper' treatment and having 

a miscarriage and subsequently not 

having received proper treatment. 

The traditional healer then proceeded 

to highlight essential differences between 

Western Psychotherapy and 

Traditional Healing. She pointed out 

that the first main difference lies in the 

fact that Western psychotherapists 

choose to become therapists, while 

traditional healers are compelled by 

their gods/spirits to become healers. 

Second, she stated that Western therapists 

invited their clients to talk about 

their problems so that they could 

diagnose the problem(s). With traditional 

healers, communication with 

the gods/spirits through the use of 

bones, is the essential tool for diagnosis. 

Thirdly, Western therapists use 

speech for treatment while traditional 

healers sometimes use sleep therapy, 

but mainly use herbs from bushes at 

the directive of the spirits. 

Matshepo Nefale's contribution at the 

conference was a paper entitled: Ìmplications 

of cultural sensitivity on 

diagnostic and psychotherapeutic effectiveness 

± a spiritual focus'. A case 

study was used to illustrate how a 

specific cultural issue viz spirituality, 

can affect (mis)management of a case. 

The danger of (mis)diagnosis and 

ineffective treatment were also illustrated. 

The thrust of the argument lies 

in the fact that Africa, with its multicultural 

setting, deserves a treatment 

package that is particularly tailored for 

its clients, not one that results in 

iatrogenic disturbances. 

The conference proved to be an exciting 

and enlightening experience, with 

a lot of hope for the future in the 

(South) African psychotherapeutic 

fraternity. 

America and the Netherlands ± 

two continents who have no 

answers for psychology in an 

African context _______________ 

During his sabbatical Prof. Henning 

Viljoen paid a visit to several wellknown 

academic institutions in San 

Francisco, (University of Stanford, 

California State University ± Berkeley, 

San Francisco State University, Uni- 


versity of Santa Clara and the College 

of Notre Dame) after which he also 

paid a visit to some prominent academics 

in the Netherlands and Belgium 

(University of Nijmegen in the 

Netherlands and the University of 

Leuven in Belgium). 

The main purpose of his visit was to 

have discussions with experts such as 

Prof. Hazel Markus (University of 

Stanford) and Prof. David Matsumoto 

(San Francisco State University) 

about the applicability of the self as a 

concept within various cultures. Both 

academics have undertaken research 

on the self in Western and Eastern 

contexts, but seemed to be at a loss 

when it comes to the applicability of 

the concept within an African context. 

This, however, is not only a problem 

reserved for the self as a concept, but it 

encapsulates almost the whole field of 

traditional Psychology (with its dominating 

Euro-American database) ± the 

applicability of Western orientated 

psychology within an African context 

remains an unresearched territory. 

Prof. Viljoen was invited by Prof 

Matsumoto to address the doctoral 

students and members of staff of the 

Culture and Emotion Research Laboratory 

at the San Francisco State 

University on the topic of `Personology 

within an African context'. 

The visit to Prof. Hubert Hermanus 

(University of Nijmegen) raised very 

Vasi van Deventer and Henning Viljoen in 

front of the library of the Catholic University 

of Leuven. 

promising hopes in so far as his 

concept of the dialogical-self and the 

`self-confrontation' method seem to 

be a concept and a method which 

surpass cultural barriers. This method 

could possibly be used within an 

African context ± it will now be up to 

Prof. Viljoen or some other researcher 

to test this applicability. 

In Leuven he was joined by Prof. Vasi 

Van Deventer in discussions with Prof 

Philippe van Haute (Professor of Philosophical 

Anthropology) on various 

issues surrounding the theories of 

Freud and Lacan, and the postmodern 

view of the self as a concept. 


59

60 

BOEKRESENSIES 

BOOK REVIEWS 

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA: A 

VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES 

Edited by: Elirea Borman, ReneÂ van 

Eden and Marie Wentzel. 1998 

HSRC Press. ISBN 0-7969-1858-9 

Violence in South Africa contains 

contributions on various issues relating 

to the explanation and understanding 

of violence and discusses 

appropriate interventions. It states that 

the causes of violence are complex 

and densely interwoven, suggesting 

that a single perspective or universal 

explanation has little predictive or 

explanatory power. 

The book draws together chapters on 

political violence, community vio- 

lence, violence and reconciliation, 

criminal violence, the psychology of 

violence and policy options for violence 

prevention. 

Particularly noteworthy are the sections: 

`Crowds, psychology and crowd 

control' by Don Foster and Kevin 

Durrheim; À gender perspective of 

violence during the 

struggle against 

apartheid' by Beth 

Goldblatt and Sheila 

Meintjies, and 

Àn exploratory 

study of insider accounts 

of necklacing 

in three Port Noteworthy 

Elizabeth townships' 

by Ntuthu Nomoyi and Willem 

Schurink. 

The book serves as a valuable textbook 

in the field of violence and related 

issues, providing a comprehensive 

overview and analysis of these issues 

in the South African context. It deserves 

serious attention as a valuable 

resource handbook on the subject. 

Johan Kruger 

BODY POLITICS. POWER, KNOWL- 

EDGE AND THE BODY IN THE 

SOCIAL SCIENCES edited by Martin 

Terre Blanche, Kum-Kum Bhavnani & 

Derek Hook. 1999. Johannesburg: 

Histories of the Present Press. ISBN 

1-8638-248-6 


This challenging new cross-disciplinary 

text with contributions by Martin 

Terre Blanche, Vasi van Deventer and 

Johan Kruger of the Unisa Psychology 

Department, draws together an international 

range of academics in a 

critical focus on the body as a relay 

and target of knowledge. Most of the 

chapters in the book follow a radical 

constructionist line, namely that the 

body is `fabricated not found, invented 

not discovered' by the powers that 

bring it into being as both an object of 

knowledge and subject of intervention. 

The argument is that the body is 

not only shaped, but indeed fabricated, 

by psychological and other 

regimes of conduct, training and education, 

through which the human 

subject comes to know and understand 

both its own bodily self and the 

greater social body of which it is part. 

Thus the book is an attempt to 

radically politicize our understanding 

of the body, collapsing, Foucaultstyle, 

the distinction between knowledge 

and power, between transgression 

and disciplinary-production and 

between curative process and subjectifying 

control. Some of the areas 

explored in the process of carrying 

out this agenda are the spatial organization 

of crowds of bodies, Western 

perceptions of Black bodies, female 

versus male bodies, technology and 

the body, and various deviant practices 

such as paedophilia and body 

piercing. In addition several chapters 

also consider a variety of analytic 

techniques such as discourse analysis 

and phenomenology in relation to the 

body. 

This is a stimulating, and in places a 

shocking book, but certain to make 

one think differently 

about one's 

own and others' 

bodies. The body, 

it would appear, is 

irreconcilably political, 

and its physical 

boundaries can 

no longer keep at 

Transgressive! 

bay the multiple 

power-relations 

that define us materially and discursively. 

Body Politics can by found in most 

good bookshops or can be ordered 

from Histories of the Present Press, 

Box 54, Wits, 2050. 

Bennis Williams, 

University of the Witwatersrand 


61

62 

THEORY AND METHOD IN SOUTH 

AFRICAN HUMAN SCIENCES RE- 

SEARCH: ADVANCES AND INNO- 

VATIONS 

Edited by: Johann Mouton, Johan 

Muller, Peter Franks and Themba 

Sono. 1998 ISBN 0-7969-1864-3 

Series (HSRC series in methodology). 

This publication forms part of a recent 

programme to assess the state of the 

social and human sciences in South 

Africa. The Analysis of Research in the 

Human Sciences programme, as it was 

known, commenced in 1993 under the 

auspices of the Human Sciences Research 

Council. The programme was 

concluded in 1995 (final report entitled 

`Social Knowledge for Societal 

Transformation'). Although some of 

the materials are a bit dated, this book 

provides a useful introduction to theoretical 

and methodological issues in 

South Africa, and is highly recommendable 

to the serious student and 

researcher in psychology (and the 

social sciences). 

Four main areas of analysis were 

identified by the steering committee 

early on in the programme. These 

were: issues related to research resources; 

the implementation and usefulness 

of human sciences research; 

quality of research; and methodological 

and epistemological issues. 

There are useful overviews of the 

development of quantitative, qualitative 

and participatory research methodological 

approaches in South Africa. 

Then more technical aspects of methodology 

are covered, such as crosscultural 

measurement, action research 

and participatory research, programme 

evaluation, organizational survey interventions, 

geographical information 

systems, and sampling. 

Theoretical issues covered include: 

Post-Marxism, Post-Colonialism, 

Afrocentrism, and 

Feminism in South 

African social 

science. For readers 

wanting an introduction 

to the local 

debates around any 

of these themes, 

these chapters are Enlightening! 

an excellent start. 

The theoretical areas covered are also 

well chosen and appropriate. 

Disciplinary histories are also covered, 

and Peter du Preez, from UCT, writes 


on `Deconstructing and reconstructing 

South African psychology'. He investigates 

to what extent South African 

psychology is a product of apartheid; 

to what extent psychology is rhetorically 

construed as a unitary subject; 

does a case study on the Biesheuvel- 

NIPR tradition of cross-cultural research 

(essential reading on the construction 

of IQ and race); and suggests 

the reconstruction of SA psychology 

as cultural psychology. Against the 

background of a monological `pseu- 

do-dialogue' in cross-cultural psychology, 

he argues for an openness 

to different voices and a diversity of 

positions. As always his writing is 

provocative and witty. This chapter is 

essential reading for the undergraduate 

student at Unisa, who may not 

have come into contact with these 

critical and alternative views on psychological 

reality. 

Johan Kruger 


63

64 

NEWSNUUS 

RECENT MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL GRADUATES 

The following people received master's 

or doctoral degrees in Psychology 

at our graduation ceremonies in September 

1998 and April/May 1999. 

Prospective master's or doctoral students 

who have a particular interest in 

any of the topics listed below may 

write to the editor of Unisa Psychologia 

who will forward your letters to the 

graduate concerned. 

MASTER'S DEGREES _________ 

Hotz, T. L. An assessment battery for the 

diagnosis and evaluation of attention 

deficit hyperactivity disorder. 

(Supervisor: Dr A. Grundlingh. Joint 

Supervisor: Dr S. Fine) 

Kottler, S. H. Wives' subjective definitions 

of and attitudes towards wife rape. 

(Supervisor: Prof. R. A. Butchart) 

Moore, C. Academic motivation and performance 

as a function of cognitive 

factors. 

(Supervisor: Prof. J. M. Nieuwoudt) 

Murray, S. A. Time changes everything ± or 

does it? The grief and frustrations of 

adventitiously visually impaired adults. 

(Supervisor: Dr R. C. MacKay) 

Wardle, W. J. Aandagtekortversteuring met 

en sonder hiperaktiwiteit: 'n neurosielkundige 

ondersoek na verskille in die 

onderliggende elemente van aandag. 

(Studieleier: Dr K. W. Grieve) 

MASTER'S DEGREES IN 

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY ______ 

Du Toit, M. Y. Art in therapy with neuropsychologically 

impaired clients. 

(Supervisor: Prof. F. J. A. Snyders) 

Gronum, M. Die ko-konstruksie van betekenissisteme 

deur vertelling in terapie. 

(Supervisor: Mr P. J. Johnson) 

Joubert, K. D. Queer sexuality: defining a 

new way of being. 

(Supervisor: Prof. S. H. van Deventer) 

Rose, C. B. Early onset anorexia nervosa. 


Thoo, S. A. Individuation: experience in 

search of theory. 

(Supervisor: Prof. D. P. Fourie) 

Waisbrod, J. H. Order out of chaos ± an 

alternative meaning construction for 

loss. 


DOCTORAL DEGREES IN 

PSYCHOLOGY _______________ 

Joffe, M. G. Toward a predominantly male 

analysis of the annoyance/rage continuum 

in intimate heterosexual relationships. 

This thesis addresses the notion of male 

rage from the psychoanalytic and systemic 

paradigms. He manages to redefine 

the illusion of male omnipotence by 

deconstructing male sexuality, violence, 


and subjectivity. In this controversial 

document the author provides a novel 

and startling perspective on the battle of 

the sexes. 

(Promoter: Prof. F. J. A. Snyders) 

Shirley, D. W. Theory and intuition in 

psychotherapy. 

This thesis recounts the remarkable story 

of Shirley's sojourn into the world of the 

shaman. It is also the story of his journey 

into the further reaches of the Self. His 

message is this: We in the healing 

professions have been duped by the 

scientific enterprise. We have been 

robbed of our sense of magic. We have 

been taught to focus on the material 

world at the expense of the spiritual. 

Unwittingly we have come to ignore the 

transpersonal domain of intuition. Ingwazi 

Shirley invites us to reconsider this 

awesome, yet largely untapped, source of 

healing. Given his profound experience of 

thwasa and his scholarly analysis of its 

epistemological implications, his invitation 

to us is very difficult to resist. 

(Promoter: Prof. G. Rademeyer) 

COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE LEFT 

UNISA END OF 1998 _________ 

Our fond farewells and best wishes to 

Dr Joachim Mureriwa who was involved 

in Psychology 1, Psychopathology, 

and MA Clinical 

Psychology. He has opened his own 

practice as a neuropsychologist. 

Mr Bongani Nhlapo who was involved 

in Psychology 1 and Psychology of 

Work. He has accepted a post as a 

researcher for Labat-Anderson Consultants. 

Dr Mabel Radebe who was involved in 

Personology at a second and honours 

level. She accepted a post as Deputy 

Divisional Head, Human Resource 

Career Management for National Intelligence. 

Bongani Nhlapo 

Mabel Radebe 

COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE 

TEMPORARILY LEFT UNISA ___ 

Miss Louise Henderson who is involved 

in Psychopathology at a third 

and honours level is currently doing an 

internship at the Medical Research 

Council's Research Unit on Stress 

and Anxiety in the department of 

Psychiatry of the University of Stellenbosch. 

She is researching the oc- 


65

66 

currence of obsessive-compulsive disorder 

symptoms in Huntington's disease. 

She will be returning to Unisa at 

the beginning of September 1999. 

Miss Emily (Mapula) Mojapelo, Liaison 

Officer, is doing her internship in 

Clinical Psychology at Weskoppies. 

She will be back in January 2000. 

COLLEAGUES WHO HAVE 

RETIRED END OF 1999 _______ 

At a function on 11 August 1999, 

members of the department bade a 

fond farewell to five senior colleagues 

who have decided to take early retirement. 

A toast was proposed to each 

person and, rather than providing an 

impersonal reÂ sumeÂ of each person's 

role in the department, we are giving 

you a personal glimpse into the lives of 

these individuals in the form of these 

toasts. 

Dr Vivien Willers has been with the 

department for nine years, involved 

largely with teaching research methodology. 

Prof. Fred van Staden proposed 

the following toast: `Vivien, 

from personal experience I can say 

that we, particularly those of us who 

have worked closely with you, have 

developed a healthy respect for your 

academic skills over the years. As an 

inferential methodologist, you could 

hold your own with the best amongst 

them. As a lecturer you have always 

focussed on the concerns of our 

students. As a department, we shall 

truly be the poorer without you. But as 

it is with most things in life, we'll only 

realise the truth next year when the 

Vivien Willers 

new study guide needs to be written 

and you're not around to help out. In 

the meantime, whilst we are busy 

writing, your only responsibility will 

be to have yourself a whole lot of fun 

doing completely new and different 

things and consciously experiencing 

the goodness of life anew. Our wish 

for you to is truly enjoy this new phase 

of your life and we drink a toast to 

your future. Fare thee well!' 

Prof. Henning Viljoen joined the department 

in 1980. The toast to Prof 

Viljoen was proposed by Prof. Cora 

Moore who has known him since she 

was at university and remembers when 

they used to gather at Prof. Viljoen's 

house to enjoy food for both the mind 

and body! Prof. Moore said: `My first 

meeting with Henning in the academic 

sphere was as a lecturer when I was an 

honours student at the University of 

Pretoria. Already at that stage I was 

impressed by Henning's sharp intellect. 

I remember my words to my 

fellow students (of whom Cas Coetzee 

was one) ``That man will go far''. In 

the years that followed, those words 

remained true. Besides his intellect, 


Farewell luncheon held at Pretoria Buiteklub on 11 Septeber 1999 Ms Val Rapmund, Dr 

Alta van Dyk, Prof. Henning Viljoen, Prof. Cora Moore and Ms Marieta Oostuizen 

there are other outstanding attributes. 

The first of these is the variety of 

interests and talents that have contributed 

to the depth of his persona. 

This is probably the reason for his 

affinity for Jung's theory that can 

accommodate this sort of complexity 

and for his total aversion for behaviourism. 

We often had to stop Henning 

trying to remove Skinner and his 

doings from our curriculum. Thank 

you Henning, for the variety of nuances 

that make you an interesting 

person. We have learned a great deal 

from the richness of your experiences. 

Secondly, there is Henning's almost 

fearless daring that sometimes lands 

one in difficulty but that has prompted 

Henning to attempt the strange, the 

unfamiliar and the mystical, allowing 

him to step into the uncertain zone. 

This is not something for which we 

always had the courage but from 

which we reaped dividends. In this 

way he brought, for example, postmodernism 

thought as well as Eastern 

and African perspectives into our lives. 

The psychology of religion was also a 

first. We will always appreciate you for 

opening up barren areas on which we 

can build in future. 

Thirdly, a very special attribute is the 

particular amalgamation of your sensitive 

awareness of the arts and psychology. 

No wonder that your 

inaugural lecture was a plea for the 

psyche to be put back in psychology. 

For those of us who were present at a 

recent social evening and were priviledged 

enough to listen to the wonderful 

music that Henning chose to 

capture the various phases in his life, it 

was an unforgettable experience that 

touched us deeply. 

Now a new era has dawned. Most 

people will say that this is an era that 

differs from previous phases in one 

way in particular, in that whereas 

decisions were made for you in the 

past, you now have the opportunity to 

make decisions for yourself. More than 

ever before, you can now decide what 

music will typify this phase in your life. 

We wish you the best and hope that 

life ahead really will be a song.' 

Prof. Kerneels Plug `got bored' with 

the field of the natural sciences and 

decided to study psychology, with the 


67

68 

Farewell luncheon held at Pretoria Buiteklub on 11 Septeber 1999 

Prof. Kerneels Plug, Prof. Eefke Beyers and Ans Appelgryn 

result that he was offered a post in the 

department in 1972. In his toast to 

Prof. Plug, Prof. Johan Niewoudt 

recalled some amusing incidents from 

those early days. Ìmagine it is 2 

January 1972. I am wearing a safari 

suit and am sitting in my office in the 

President centre in the city. There is a 

knock at the door. Prof. Roux comes in 

followed by a thin man in a blue suit. 

Prof. Roux clears his throat, rolls his 

eyes and says: ``Let me introduce you 

to our new colleague, Cornelius Plug. 

He comes from Iscor.'' Man of steel, 

the thought flashes through my head. 

We shake hands and the new colleague 

says ``Just call me Kerneels.'' My 

first impression that this was a nononsense 

man, was right. Even after 

Kerneels became a full professor in 

1976, he stayed just Kerneels. After 

the introduction, Kerneels went to his 

office, sat at his desk and started 

working and working. The fruits of 

his labour can be seen, apart from his 

doctorate, in a psychological dictionary 

and many articles on a wide variety 

of subjects in and beyond psychology. 

In this way his made his identifying 

mark as a true academic ± someone 

who is motivated by the desire to 

accept the challenges posed by a task 

or problem. 

But Kerneels was not only an office 

man. Over the years he made collegial 

or friendship bonds that enriched our 

lives. This is clear from comments 

made by some of you: Kerneels was 

always there for me; he is a rock, and 

nice too; he was an approachable, nononsense 

sort of guy; a role model in 

more than one respect; old world 

integrity, humility; he doesn't put on 

airs; he was my mentor and my friend; 

he never made you feel inferior; I will 

remember him for his level headed 

calmness; he has the ability to communicate 

clearly and to explain the 

most complicated matters without 

wasting words. 

Kerneels, we appreciate your years of 

commitment, of unselfish service to 

students and for our department. We 

are grateful to you for the standard you 

set in your work and in your interpersonal 

relationships. We wish you 

good luck and know that you will find 

meaning in whatever you are going to 


do, just as you did here. I conclude 

with a short poem that comes from the 

heart: 

Today we bid you goodbye 

dear friend 

Our hearts are heavy 

at the parting of our ways. 

We have accepted your presence as 

a given 

but now we know 

we are priviledged 

to have known you so.' 

... 

We subsequently said goodbye to two 

other members of staff, Prof. Gert 

Rademeyer and Mrs Claudette Nothnagel, 

at a departmental tea on 21 

September 1999. Mrs Nothnagel has 

been a member of the administrative 

staff for 22 years and was thanked by 

Prof. Snyders for her caring dedication 

to her work and the clinical students in 

particular, who will remember her with 

great affection. Prof. Stan Lifschitz, in 

taking leave of Prof. Rademeyer, 

pointed out that he will always be 

remembered for the legacy of ecosystemic 

thinking that is now an important 

part of teaching psychology at 

Unisa. Prof. Rademeyer and Ms Nothnagel 

will be missed in the clinical 

section. 

The process of separating from colleagues 

who have had a formative influence 

on the department, is a difficult 

one. We wish them well and may even 

be envious of their new kind of freedom 

but there are enormous challenges 

left by the depletion of 

resources in the department. We will 

rise up to meet them. 

A FAREWELL TO HEAD OF 

DEPARTMENT 

Prof. Eefke Beyers 

Our head of department, Prof. Eefke 

Beyers, was a pioneer in the department 

± she joined the department for the first 

time in 1965 and although she resigned 

and then worked on a part time basis, 

she has served the department for some 

thirty years. Here is an extract from the 

toast proposed by a longstanding friend 

and colleague, Prof. Wilhelm Jordaan: 

I have known Eefke for the best part of 

thirty years and I have dreaded this 

moment ever since I was asked to say 

something today because, colleagues, 

it's terribly difficult to say goodbye to a 

colleague who also happens to be a 

personal friend. To condense these 

thirty years into a few minutes, I can 

only provide fleeting images, as fleeting 

as life itself. To say something 

about her and to her, it is perhaps best 

(even if it sounds peculiar) to start 

with something of myself in the form 

of a dream I had the night after I 

submitted my own application for 

early retirement. In this dream, I sat in 

the film projection chamber in the 


69

70 

dilapidated house of the small platteland 

town of Oranjeville in the Free 

State where I saw `moving pictures' 

for the first time in my life. The film 

started to roll. To my astonishment, it 

was a film about my thirty years at 

Unisa. To my further amazement, the 

images did not contain the stock and 

trade of academic enterprise ± no 

published books, no articles, no journals, 

no study guides, no documents ± 

just images of colleagues and myself, 

smiling, laughing, reasoning, talking, 

gesticulating, drinking tea and making 

fun. Almost all of you who I have 

known for so many years, were there. 

All in a wonderful panorama of academic 

life in its rich variety of intense 

social, interpersonal involvements; a 

tapestry of relationships rather than 

academic achievement. It made me 

feel extremely happy ± my very own 

Cinema Paradiso. Then, suddenly, as 

often happens in platteland 16 mm 

film shows, the high wattage bulb 

started burning the film as it ran 

through the projector passing the lens. 

Consequently, the images on the 

screen started melting and with that, 

the soundtrack came to a grinding 

halt, making all kinds of dissonant 

sounds. I awoke, only slightly anxious, 

still feeling content about the wonderful 

images of academic paradise. Only 

then did I realise that this is a film 

without the usual The End. The script 

for the conclusion still needs to be 

written ... 

Telling you this dream has a purpose. I 

related it because it is about the 

human mind searching for and finding 

connectedness between the self and 

others. And this is how I have come to 

know the searching Eefke ± a lifelong 

academic and personal pilgrimage. 

Therefore her presence in my dream 

is not my self indulgence but a 

celebration of established connectedness 

between all of us ± between her 

and me and between her and you, 

especially those of you who have been 

here for many years. 

The next images suggest themselves: 

the how of Eefke's searching. She is 

straight and honest as the dusty road 

that runs from Warrenton and Windsorton 

to Vaalharts, where her heart 

lies; and the source of her closeness to 

and appreciation of the openness of 

nature whose wisdom translates into 

the openness of things like friendship 

and collegiality. As you know, 

straightforwardness and honesty in 

relationships are often difficult to cope 

with but you can always rely on them. 

They are consistent, always there. 

Secondly, Eefke searches with integrity. 

She has a love of the mathematical 

and methodical and it is perhaps 

no coincidence that her integrity as a 

person resonates in mathematical language. 

The mathematical term integer 

actually means a whole number which 

suggests an unbroken undivided 

whole and hence the wholeness of 

being and character. Thirdly, the 

searching is done intelligently, responsibly 

and with commitment. All these 

qualities translated into Eefke's becoming 

an extremely efficient and 

caring head of department. From a 

faculty perspective she was appreciated 

for her promptness and ability 

to analyse problem situations in a nononsense 

manner, moving from premises 

to appropriate conclusions. All 


these things made the department a 

centre of stability in a sea of transformational 

confusion around issues like 

outcomes based education, SAQA and 

the legalisation of the workplace. 

There are a few more things that need 

to be said about this remarkable woman. 

Eefke is a model for all working 

women, with her ability to cope with 

work, house, home and children in 

demanding times. She is a model of 

how suffering is not allowed to get you 

down and despite of, or perhaps because 

of her basically serious na-ture, to 

find and evoke humour and laughter 

from a deep down earthly temperament. 

Finally colleagues, I wish to end my 

tribute and thank-you to Eefke by 

reading part of a poem by Walt Whitman 

which comes from the volume 

Leaves of Grass. The poem, despite 

being titled Song of Myself, is not 

about self-indulgence. It is a visionary 

poem written in 1855 about the self 

connected to others, a rejection of 

what Eefke often called `the evils of 

self-contained individualism'. 

I celebrate myself 

And what I assume you shall assume, 

For every atom belonging to me as 

good belongs to you. 

I will go to the bank by the wood 

and become undisguised and naked, 

I am mad for it to be in contact with 

me. 

I depart as air .... I shake my white 

locks at the runaway sun, 

I effuse my flesh in eddies and drift it 

in lacey jags. 

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow 

from the grass I love, 

If you want me again look for me 

under your bootsoles. 

You will hardly know who I am or 

what I mean, 

But I shall be good health to you 

nevertheless, 

And filter and fibre your blood. 

Failing to fetch me at first keep 

encouraged, 

Missing me one place search another, 

I stop somewhere waiting for you. 

We have many shared memories, both 

happy and sad, that will continue to 

unite us even though our lives follow 

different paths and we wish our 

colleagues well.' 

... 

CONFERENCES ______________ 

Students (and lecturers) who wish to 

find out about forthcoming national 

and international conferences can 

nowdosoontheinternet 

(http://www/.hsrc.ac.za/nexus.html). 

This interesting site gives 

an indication of present trends and 

interests in a variety of disciplines 

including psychology. 

Thought for the day: 

Definition of an adolescent: one 

who is well informed about anything 

he does not have to study. 


71

72 

LETTERSBRIEWE 

A student from Siyabuswa recently 

sent us a letter that we would like to 

share with you. 

`There are some unsubstantiated beliefs 

and myths that surround our daily 

lives and are not scientifically proven 

but I believe that they exist metaphysically. 

Basically, a human being has 

five sense organs through which information 

is acquired from the environment 

and this is scientifically 

proven. Now in my culture there is a 

belief that the diaphragm, the part that 

separates the abdominal and thoracic 

cavities, forms part of our conscience, 

through which some things are detected 

or discerned. Is the diaphragm 

or this conscience a sense organ?' The 

student goes on to describe a situation 

where he was relaxing with his family 

when he suddenly stopped talking, 

started shivering and could not move. 

Everyone else stopped talking and 

laughing too. They then became aware 

of a snake coming towards them. The 

question arises: What caused the 

perception or feeling that something 

was wrong before it happened? In a 

similar way, it may happen that you 

get a feeling that something bad is 

happening to a loved one, even if you 

are far away. It then turns out that the 

loved one is ill or injured. What is this 

sense of prophecy? The student asks 

whether this could be one of the 

senses or perhaps the diaphragm or 

conscience. 

If you have some ideas on this topic 

that you would like to share, please 

write to us. 


ET ME TELL YOU A STORY 

WILHELM JORDAAN * 

The emergence of narrative psychology 

as an alternative way of understanding 

humanity can best be 

appreciated if one contrasts two apparently 

antithetical styles of knowing 

the things we know. 

These antithetical styles can be 

summed up as knowing through `setting 

up experiments' and knowing 

through 'narration' or story-telling. 

What these differences entail are described 

as follows by the Russian 

linguist Mikhail Bakhtin (1986): `The 

exact sciences constitute a monologic 

form of knowledge: The intellect contemplates 

a ``thing'' and expounds 

upon it. There is only one subject here 

± cognizing (contemplating) and 

speaking (expounding). In opposition 

to the subject there is only a voiceless 

thing. Any object of knowledge [including 

humankind] can be perceived 

and studied as a thing. But a subject as 

such cannot be perceived and studied 

as a thing, for as a subject it cannot, 

while remaining a subject, become 

voiceless, and consequently cognition 

of it can only be ``dialogic'' '. 

What Bakhtin describes as the monologic 

form of knowledge is, of course, 

associated with knowing/understanding 

through experimentation, and a 

host of other modes of thinking ± 

linear, modernist, propositional, logico-deductive, 

etc. One can, for the 

sake of convenience, lump together 

under the monologic thinking mode all 

scientific inquiries characterised by 

positivistically inclined rational analyses, 

empirical data-hunting expeditions, 

elegant experimental designs 

and powerful statistical inferences. In 

brief, all inquiries that may be seen as 

emanating from the tough-minded 

view that the human sciences can only 

enhance their scientific status if they 

would emulate the natural sciences. 

How compelling this metaphor is, is 

demonstrated by the types of phrases 

we often employ to justify our arguments: 

`Scientific experiments have 

proved that ...; the scientific evidence 

indicates that ...; science has proven 

that ...; the existing body of knowledge 

says ...' 

It is as if many people consider the 

scientific word, announced in these 

ways, as the final word about almost 

anything. But in the process, to use 

Bakhtin's frame of reference, we allow 


* Prof. Wilhelm Jordaan is professor in Psychology and Subdean of the Faculty of Arts, Unisa. 


73 

WORLD LITERATURE . WE Ã RELDLETTERKUNDE

74 

things, including people, to become 

voiceless. 

Numerous examples of how the 

monologic thinking mode has contributed, 

and still is contributing, to 

`voicelessness' can be cited. South 

Africa's apartheid past is riddled with 

examples. To mention but one: 

In South Africa there is a serious lack 

of contextualized knowledge concerning 

the psychosocial dynamics towards 

creating a humanising society. 

Why this lack of relevant knowledge? 

In the heydays of apartheid intercultural 

research was by and large characterized 

by a politically-driven 

research focus on dividing differences 

rather than the unifying similarities 

through which people could have 

learned to appreciate sameness, to 

cherish difference and, consequently, 

to learn to appreciate and cope with 

human diversity. 

Stated differently: Research projects of 

some research institutes, and also 

university research projects and university 

curricula, often `confirmed' the 

notion that a workable reconciliation 

between the nations of South Africa 

was impossible. Through such endeavours 

apartheid was justified academically, 

and great knowledge gaps ± a 

voiceless humanity if you will ± ensued; 

consequently harming the discovery, 

description, development and 

application of human potential. 

I now turn to the second metaphor ± 

narration as a method of knowing 

humanity: 

Bakhtin's insistence that human cognition 

can only be dialogic, points at 

the dialogical dependence of the human 

mind. Amongst academics from a 

variety of discplines there is consensus 

that story-telling is one of the primary 

forms through which the essentially 

dialogical nature of the human mind 

emerges. 

The urge to tell stories comes so 

natural that one may view the narrative 

thinking mode in humans as an instinct 

± in the same way that spiders 

instinctively weave webs and beavers 

instinctively build dams. 

I think it was Roland Barthes who 

proclaimed that narration (story-telling) 

is simply there like life itself; that it 

is international, transhistorical, transcultural. 

This narrative mode of thinking 

creates an image of the human 

person in terms of lifelikeness; exemplifying 

the urge to discover what is 

authentically human and to expand 

the focus of inquiry to meaning-making 

processes in real-life contexts. 

Hence the emphasis is on the essentially 

social foundation and dialogical 

dependence of the human mind. Accordingly 

intersubjectively shared 

meanings, produced by language and 

other symbols, become the very basis 

of a human science. 

For the purposes of my argument I will 

lump together under the narrative 

thinking mode the so-called tenderminded 

qualitative approaches to understanding 

what humanity is. These 

approaches, in many different ways, 

suggest that the human sciences are of 

necessity value-laden. As such these 

V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A ____________________

_________________ 

disciplines are not only about people, 

but also for people and hence they are 

compelled (obligated) ± via its bodies 

of knowledge researched and taught 

at universities ± to contribute towards 

the reconstruction of society and improving 

the lot of humanity. 

This would, inter alia, entail that the 

intellectual ramifications of the narrative 

thinking mode should become 

part of curricula design and research 

practice at our universities. Stated 

differently: the knowledge gaps of 

the apartheid past and the voicelessness 

it produced need to be redressed 

in order to confirm the therapeutic 

possibilities of a humanity locked 

together by the inventive power of 

shared meaning. 

In this context it is perhaps worth our 

while to reflect on the inventive power 

of shared meaning as it manifested 

itself in story-telling ± where and 

when diverse people discover their 

inherent sameness as human beings 

more or less in the way that the 

German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey 

indicated: that understanding (Verstehen) 

is based on entering the lifeworld 

of the other, of identifying with 

another, and to recognise yourself in 

the other. 

Similarly, in the American playwrite 

Tennessee Williams' drama `The Sweet 

Bird of Youth' a character says: Ì don't 

ask for your pity, but just for your 

understanding ± not even that ± no. 

Just for your recognition of me in 

you ...' 

In the same context of understanding, 

but closer to home, I quote from the 

work of the South African black poet 

Sipho Sepamla. He speaks about 

occurrences in the apartheid past 

(1976) that gave him the blues: 

the blues is the shadow of a cop 

dancing the immorality act jitterbug 

the blues is the Group Areas Act 

and all its jive 

the blues is the Bantu Educational 

Act. 

The poet then complains about his 

father's screams at night, about people 

crowded together on station platforms, 

about empty promises and 

forgotten intentions. Finally he joins 

all people, white and black, since ± as 

he says ± we are all blues people: 

I want to holler the how-long blues 

because we are the blues people all 

the white man bemoaning his 

burden the black man offloading 

the yoke 

the blues is you in me 

The key words ± recognising you in me 

and finding me in you in me ± coming 

from the different worlds of Wilhelm 

Dilthey, Tennessee Williams and Sipho 

Sepamla contain the true essence 

of human encounters where compassion 

and respect compel us to discover 

sameness and difference; to realise 

that there is a universal sense of 

belonging and intuitive understanding 

of what constitutes humanity. 

The American philosopher, biologist 

and anthropologist, Gregory Bateson, 

(1979) maintains that stories (narrative) 

have scientific explanatory 

power. By this he means that the 

75 

V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A

76 

human sense organs (on which traditional 

scientific observation is based) 

were not designed to serve a people's 

sole access to reality. A `detour' is 

necessary. 

This detour consists in finding, 

through the root motifs and structure 

of narrative, the organising principles 

that lead to a comprehensive understanding 

of human universalia in their 

contextual particularities. If this would 

become possible, narrative (story-telling) 

will carry no less weight than 

logic and poetry will speak as clearly 

as pure mathematics. 

This line of thinking reverberates as 

follows in Pierre ReÂ verdy's depiction 

of the poet: `He dreams reality, his 

dream is a hypothesis about reality in 

much the same way as the natural 

scientist's hypothesis is a scientific 

dream.' 

This poses a major challenge to narrative 

psychology. Since the dawn of 

time stories ± as narrated and/or 

written in all cultures ± have occupied 

a special place in people's understanding 

of life's great puzzles, and 

of their humanity. 

What this tells us is that story-telling 

and story-listening should be regarded 

as a powerful epistemological lens 

which explores in life-like fashion the 

ingredients of a shared humanity, and 

allows us to appreciate anew what it 

means to be human. Storytelling and 

story-listening tell us things in dialogical 

fashion that monological forms 

of knowing cannot. 

The specific challenge to narrative 

psychology is to design rigorous qualitative 

methodologies to expose and 

interpret thematic purpose and pattern 

in human story-telling in a variety of 

discursive contexts in real-life ± in 

literary works, therapeutic situations, 

everyday gossip, TV soapies, urban 

legends, limericks, cultural proverbs, 

advertisements, bar talk and popular 

publications in all its variety. 

Such methodological designs should 

be guided by the general premiss that 

the ways in which different people talk 

(narrate) about matters of life and 

problems of living, is the very stuff of 

life. 


__________________ 

THE UNISA CENTRE FOR APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY OFFERS: 

YEAR 2000 

THERAPEUTIC WORKSHOPS 

. Logotherapy: its premises and application in Life, Psychotherapy and 

Counselling 

(by Dr Teria Shantall, Prof Cora Moore & Ms Van Rapmund), R650,00. 

. Working with Gay and Lesbian Individuals in Psychotherapy 

(by Mr Juan Nel & Mr Kevin Joubert), R650,00. 

. An Ecosystemic Approach to Social Work Practice 

(by Mr Peter Johnson), R650,00. 

. A Postnarrative Approach to Therapy 


. Advanced Therapeutic Skills 


. Ecosystemic Hypnotherapy 

(by Prof David Fourie), R650,00. 

RESEARCH WORKSHOPS 

. Programme evaluation 

(by Mr Johan Kruger & Dr Martin Terre Blanche), R650,00. 

. Discourse Analysis 

(by Dr Martin Terre Blanche & Prof Vasi van Deventer), R650,00. 

. General Qualitative Research Methodology and Research Design 

(by Ms Catherine Payze), R450,00. 

. Qualitative Research in Practice: Individual Interviewing 

(by Ms Catherine Payze), R650,00. 

PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENT 

. Interpretation of the 16PF 

(by Ms ReneÂ van Eeden), R650,00. 

. Interpretation of the SSAIS-R 

(by Ms ReneÂ van Eeden), R650,00. 

Workshops will all be held in Pretoria. To register, to obtain more 

information, or to be placed on the mailing list, please contact: 

Juan Nel 

Director: Unisa Centre for Applied Psychology 

PO Box 392, UNISA 0003. 

Tel.: (012) 429-8544 

Fax: (012) 429-3414 

E-mail: nelja@alpha.unisa.ac.za 

77 

V O L 2 6 N O 1 & 2 1 9 9 9 U N I S A P S Y C H O L O G I A

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