OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Saayman, Graham"

Browsing by Author "Saayman, Graham"

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A clinical investigation of the role of family functioning in childhood learning disorders
(1984) Madden, Alison Mary; Saayman, Graham
The lack of clarity both of definition and of aetiology of the Learning Disability Syndrome prompted this clinical research. The family unit served as the focal point of analysis and various aspects of family functioning were investigated in order to trace the role of the family in the manifestation of this controversial childhood disorder. The interrelationships between family interaction and the cognitive, affective and personality characteristics of learning disabled children were analysed extensively. The family was regarded as the microsystem of an educo-political society which in turn forms part of history. Forty-two families in which a learning disabled child was present were compared with a control sample of thirty non-learning disabled families. A total of sixty variables was identified in each group and the resulting profiles were analysed statistically by means of a multi-variate analysis and one-way analyses of variance. The results indicated that there were significant differences between the two groups in areas of family functioning and that numerous correlations emerged in the learning disabled sample between these family characteristics and aspects of the learning disabled child. In contrast to this, the control sample revealed very few significant correlations in any of the areas and there was clearly little carry-over between the areas of family interaction and the children under discussion. In the learning disabled families the interaction was characterised by inadequate decision-making, a lack of consistent structure in the home and an unsettled emotional climate. The spouse dyad emerged as playing the dominant role in these areas of family functioning, with the mother linked to the poor problem-solving and the father being associated with the vacillating family structure. Marital upheaval was strongly connected to the emotional imbalance in the family, which was linked to a tendency toward explosive anger, little communication of happiness and misdirected sadness. In addition, many of the mothers worked and this fact appeared to be related to the inadequacies in family interaction. Closely associated with these family characteristics were the affective and cognitive areas of the learning disabled child. The quality of the family interaction appeared to be reflected specifically in his anxiety, his limited coping mechanisms, his lack of inner control, his labile emotional structure, his poor community interaction, his inability to analyse and synthesize problem-situations and in his dysfunctioned non-verbal cognitive skills. These aspects of the learning disabled child form a large proportion of the symptomology of the syndrome and suggest that the child has become the product of inadequate family functioning. His limited awareness of responsibility and purpose, his inability to deal with abstract and unknown tasks effectively, his fluctuating attention span, his heightened emotional responsiveness were all interrelated with the inadequate application of cognitive principles. In fact, the Learning Disability Syndrome might be the combination of emotional and cognitive aspects of the child in response to an unsettled family and societal environment. The implications of these findings point to the significance of the contextual setting of the family with the emphasis on the quality of reciprocal interaction between the members of the unit. Cause and effect are so closely interwoven with a markedly high incidence of the ripple-effect in these families. An element of self-perpetuation was also present due to the families tending to focus attention on the child exclusively while maintaining the same form of behavioural interaction. Treatment should be aimed at early prevention and intervention should take place at the level of aetiology - which appears to be the family. Detailed clinical assessments of families are necessary and the actual development of certain patterns of interaction within the unit where a child is at risk should be traced. The fallibility of Intelligence tests should be noted and the criteria for intelligence should pertain directly to the needs of society.
Open Access
A comparative analysis of outcome with various psychotherapeutic methods
(1977) Shamley, Dorothy Antoinette Frances; Saayman, Graham; Du Preez, Peter
The University of Cape Town Child Guidance Clinic had never evaluated its efficacy as a community service nor its efficacy as a training ground for trainee clinical psychologists. Furthermore, client satisfaction with services offered had not been assessed. Hence this study was undertaken. The unique features of this study are: two types of control groups are used, a non-referred, untreated group of children and a referred untreated group of children and not the problematic defectors extensively used. Inexperienced clinical psychology trainees and experienced registered clinical psychologists conducted therapy for the two experimental groups. A survey of the literature shows that when institutions survey their efficacy the majority of studies are ex post facto. Moreover, when child guidance clinics undertake either ex post facto or prospective investigations, professionals from varying disciplines and training backgrounds are included in the survey thereby confusing the controversial issue of efficacy even further. Therefore, it was thought only to assess the efficacy of psychologists. Finally, the study gives a clear detailed description of the pitfalls of prospective research in a child guidance setting. Details are given of how research strategies had to be altered to take into account the various resistances and difficulties encountered.
Open Access
Complementarity and the practice of psychotherapy : an alternative to eclecticism
(1984) Jordan, Ann Burns; Saayman, Graham
The problem of competing theories in psychology presents major difficulties for the practicing psychotherapist. These difficulties have traditionally been addressed in mono-theoretical, eclectic and integrative approaches. This work critically examines the problems associated with these traditional methods. It draws on the philosophy of complementarity as postulated by Niels Bohr in order to develop an alternative approach. This philosophy stresses the indeterminate nature of the object of study in psychology, and therefore holds that it is necessary to entertain multiple perspectives. It also holds that in order to counteract the problem of indeterminism there is a need for clarity of theoretical descriptions. For psychotherapy practice this implies, in contradistinction to eclecticism, the separate rather than mixed use of diverse approaches. The practical options suggested by therapeutic complementarity are outlined and their benefits are discussed.
Open Access
The difficulties of stepmotherhood : a comparison between stepmothers who have no children of their own and stepmothers who have their own children
(1987) Price, Ruth Nanette; Dawes, Andrew; Saayman, Graham
Relatively few studies have examined the difficulties of the stepmother, but research suggests that compared to other stepparents, stepmothers without their own children have the most difficult task. This preliminary study describes the difficulties of the stepmother by comparing two groups of stepmothers; those who have no experience of their own children, with those who have children of their own, either from a previous marriage or from their present marriage, or from both. A convenience sample of thirty-one volunteers, who are full-time stepmothers, constituted the sample. Subjects were limited to white middle class South Africans. A two-part, semi-structured interview was conducted on each subject: Part one consisted of open-ended questions intended to provide an overall view of the particular circumstances of the stepmother. Part two consisted of information elicited by means of psychometric testing. The McMaster Family Assessment Device is used to assess the family functioning and thereby investigate the difficulties of the stepmothers. The Rutter Child Behaviour Questionnaire is used to determine the range of behaviours with which the stepmother might need to cope. Information regarding the stepmother's early childhood relationships is elicited by means of the Adult Family Relations Test. After the interviews and tests had been scored. the subjects were divided into two groups: One comprised of twelve stepmothers who had had no experience of mothering prior to their stepmother status; the other comprised of 19 stepmothers who had either one or two children of their own. Statistical analysis was conducted on the scores derived from The Rutter Child Behavior Questionnaire (t-test) and The McMaster Family Assessment Device (Hotellings Tz). The Family Relations Test was analysed by means of percentages and standard deviations. The demographic details were presented as percentages, and where applicable. Chi squared tests were conducted. Findings suggest that stepfamily functioning in the situation where the stepmother has no children of her own is different and less healthy from that in the family where the stepmother has children of her own. These results are largely consistent with the literature, but as regards the actual difficulties that contributed to the differences between these groups,findings remain tentative.
Open Access
The effects of altering respiratory parameters upon certain autonomic and somatic variables
(1978) Gibson, Mary Ann; Saayman, Graham
Psychophysiological research has shown that high physiological arousal in the autonomic and somatic nervous system is associated with emotionality, e.g. anxiety. It was the aim of the present research to investigate the use of a deep breathing technique which would be easily amenable to voluntary control, in order to train subjects to lower their level of physiological arousal.
Open Access
An experimental and qualitative investigation of the relationship between archetypal imagery in waking fantasies and nocturnal dreams
(1987) Faber, Phillip A; Saayman, Graham
In On the Nature of the Psyche (1946), Jung proffers what is probably his most systematic and articulate formulation of the theory of archetypes. A pivotal role is ascribed to his clinical observations of the interrelationships between waking and nocturnal fantasy in the genesis of the theory. Fantasy-activity is conceptualised as constituting the medium par excellence through which archetypal activity is apprehended and experienced. In providing an empirical basis for archetypal theory, Jung cites his clinical observations of a decrease in the frequency of occurrence of dream material of an archetypal nature in association with the practice of the therapeutic method of Active Imagination. This method, which he characterised as a form of "visionary meditation", involves the experience of archetypal activity in the waking state. When employed with patients who exhibit an increased frequency and intensity of archetypal dream material, it functions as an avenue of discharge for, or expression of, the dream material, with the result that it decreases in frequency and intensity in sleep. On the other hand, Jung also asserted that the experience of archetypal material in the waking state could result in a general activation or "constellation" of the unconscious, with the result that the Individuation process is stimulated, facilitated or accelerated. This intensified unconscious activity is invariably manifested in an increased frequency of archetypal dream material. The present investigation subjects hypotheses derived from these two mutually exclusive sets of observations to experimental investigation using hypothetico-deductive and qualitative methodology. Thirteen experimental subjects were matched with a control group on age, sex, socio-economic and marital status. Both groups recorded their nocturnal dreams in standardised diaries for a period of 63 days, divided into the Pre-Experimental (21 days), Experimental (21 days) and Post-Experimental (21 days) phases. During the Experimental phase, extended sequences of waking fantasy were induced in the Experimental subjects for a total of six sessions. The archetypal content of the dreams of both groups was then measured and compared. There was a highly significant increase in archetypal content in the dreams of the Experimental group during the Experimental phase. No such changes were evident in the dreams of the Control group. The archetypal material in the waking fantasies and dreams of the Experimental group was then analyzed for structural and thematic continuities using the Jungian method of amplification, which yielded a complex matrix of anticipatory and retrospective connections. The results are discussed in relation to the support they provide for Jungian theory and their relevance to experimental research on the relationship between fantasy-activity in waking and sleeping states.
Open Access
An exploratory study of the families of bulimics from a systems perspective
(1987) Ing-van der Poel, Lilian; Saayman, Graham
Previous research into the families of eating disordered individuals appears to have focused almost exclusively on the families of anorexics. In view of the problems associated with the conceptualization of bulimia as a syndrome distinct from anorexia nervosa, it seems possible that research into the families of anorexics may have included the families of bulimics. Following the introductory overview of some of the literature on bulimia, highlighting the lack of diagnostic clarity in this area, previous research into the families of both anorexics and bulimics is reviewed. In view of the lack of documented research into the families of bulimics from a systems perspective, the present study aimed to explore these families' functioning. Family functioning was assessed according to the McMaster Model of Family Functioning (Epstein and Bishop, 1981): clinical interviews with 13 bulimics provided qualitative data on their families' functioning: quantitative data were elicited from the family members of 10 of these bulimics by means of the Family Assessment Device (Epstein and Bishop, 1983). Clinical assessment of the families of bulimics reveals unhealthy family functioning. The ratings of all family members as well as those of the researcher indicate that there is familial dysfunction on all dimensions of family functioning. The main emphases in these families appears to be on instrumental issues, while affective issues are inappropriately handled. Discussion centres on the findings of the present study, which show some variance with the results of previous research into the families of anorexics; and an understanding of bulimia from a systems perspective is presented.
Open Access
Family-functioning, sex-role ideology, psychological androgyny and self-actualisation in dual-career and traditional families
(1984) Singer, Vivien Sorelle; Saayman, Graham
The steadily increasing numbers in employed married women and the rise of feminist sex-role ideology are factors indicating change in the role and status of women in Western society. There is movement away from the traditional gender-based role allocation towards increased role-sharing. This trend is embodied in the dual-career family, which necessitates adaptive changes in individual men and women and in government and institutional policies. To better understand the current nature of the dual-career family, this study compared fourteen dual-career husbands and wives with fourteen traditional husbands and wives on four selected variables, namely: (1) family-functioning, primarily to assess whether dual-career and traditional families function equally well; (2) sex-role ideology, which provides a context in which role changes are occurring; (3) psychological androgyny, a concept which finds expression in an age seeking alternatives to masculine and feminine stereotypes; and (4) self-actualisation, as theoretically the dual-career family offers opportunities for increased personal fulfilment. The scales used were: Smilkstein's Family APGAR (1978), Smith et. al.'s FEM-scale (1975), Bern's Sex-Role Inventory (1974) and Shostrom's Personal Orientation Inventory (1963). Previous research, particularly regarding the role of dual-career husbands, has not consistently confirmed predictions based on theory. Consequently, this study is observational, not predictive. The results indicated no significant differences on family-functioning; dual-career and traditional husbands and wives all rated their families as well-functioning. Self-actualisation scores, though not statistically significant, suggested trends inconsistent with theory and previous research, in indicating that traditional husbands, dual-career husbands and dual-career wives are similarly inner-directed and that traditional husbands are more inner-directed than traditional wives. This may have been due to difficulties with the POI. Statistically significant differences were found in sex-role ideology scores, with dual-career wives scoring more pro-feminist (p < 0,05) than traditional wives and dual-career husbands. Although the scores for psychological androgyny could not be statistically assessed, the results suggested a trend for more dual-career wives to be androgynous than traditional wives and dual-career husbands. The median test indicated a significant statistical relationship between sex-role ideology and androgyny and "cross-sex-typedness" (p = 0,0007). No other statistically significant relationships were found between the variables, except for a significant positive correlation (p < 0,05) between the two sub-scales of the POI. Discrepancies between dual-career husbands and wives on sex-role ideology and androgyny did not appear to affect family-functioning adversely. Possible explanations for this include their hiring of domestic servants, thus reducing the need for husbands to make adaptive role changes; and several indications that the wives continue to identify with the traditional female role. These features imply that these dual-career families are not fully egalitarian; husbands and wives still tend to allocate responsibility and commitment to roles in accordance with the traditional model.
Open Access
A Jungian formulation of incest as revealed in a clinical case study of an incest perpetrator
(1987) De Kock, Yvonne; Saayman, Graham
The aim of the present study is to provide a psychological understanding of the issues pertinent to the perpetration of father-daughter incest. An analysis of incest in the context of Jungian theory provides the theoretical basis. To elucidate the unconscious meaning of incest, the relationship between the incest impulse, symbolic incest and actual incest is examined. It is argued that actual incest constitutes a gross distortion of the individuation process and, due to its regressive component, a defence against total psychic extinction. It is, at the same time, a plea for rebirth. What emerges from the theoretical analysis is that the essential motivation for sexual union with an adolescent daughter unconsciously represents an attempt at integrating the anima in her positive, nurturant and 'desirable' aspect. A clinical case study is then presented in which these themes are elucidated and discussed. It is concluded that the understanding of actual incest should be located in a symbolic/developmental framework and that the unconscious meaning of incest has implications for psychological, moral and legal definitions.
Open Access
Meditation and nocturnal dreams in the psychology of C. G. Jung : an experimental investigation
(1977) Faber, Phillip Anthony; Saayman, Graham
Meditational practices and sleep states have been viewed as related in the traditional doctrines of Yoga. Recent research on the physiological correlates of meditation has tended to confirm this relationship, although some controversy has arisen. Moreover, C.G. Jung postulated a relationship between the therapeutic technique of Active Imagination, which he described as a form of meditation, and dreaming. In the present investigation, the laboratory and home dreams of seven experienced practitioners of Yogic meditation are compared to those of a group of seven matched control subjects on measures of dream recall, amount of dream material and archetypal (transpersonal) content of dreams. In addition, the two groups are compared on measures of manifest sexuality, physical and verbal aggression, hedonic tone and active participation in dreams. The dreams of the meditators contained significantly more archetypal elements, reflecting universal, moral themes than did those of the non-meditators, which were characterised by a predominance of personal, everyday issues. Furthermore, there was a significantly higher recall rate and amount of content in the laboratory dreams of meditators. Archetypal dreams were reported at greater length than non-archetypal dreams. The dreams of the meditators contained significantly less manifest sexuality and significantly more active participation than those of the control group. No significant differences emerged between the two groups on the measures of physical and verbal aggression, and hedonic tone in dreams. The findings are discussed with reference to the possible differential effects of the practice of Active Imagination and Yogic meditation upon dream content.
Open Access
A methodological study of the effect of experimentally induced demand characteristics in research on nocturnal dreams
(1977) Stern, Derek Alan; Saayman, Graham
This experiment tested the hypothesis that demand characteristics, as outlined by Orne (1962), may affect dream content. Twelve subjects, allocated to two matched groups balanced for age and sex, were selected on the basis of good dream recall from 94 volunteer psychology I students. Subjects were involved in the study for 15 consecutive nights, three of which were laboratory recording nights, when subjects were woken to report their laboratory dreams during rapid eye movement (stage REM) sleep. Night 1 served as an habituation night (Hall, 1967). On nights 2-7 subjects recorded their home dreams on blank diary forms, from which baseline measures were derived. Night 8 served as the laboratory baseline night prior to the introduction of the independent variable on the following morning. The independent variable was a simple form administered to each group requesting that the subjects in the respective groups pay special attention to either the outdoor/nature or urban settings of their nocturnal dreams. The forms were administered in sealed envelopes and the experimenter was blind as to which form and thus to which group subjects were assigned. The remaining nights served as the treatment condition. Home dreams were again recorded on nights 9-14 whilst night 15 served as the third laboratory night. A post experimental enquiry was conducted in the week following night 15. Subjects did not consciously construe the forms as representing an attempt to influence their dreams. Nevertheless in the treatment condition, the dream settings of both groups changed significantly in the predicted direction as assessed by two quantitative indices; a scale giving a global impression of the dream and a content analysis of words in the dream text. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to both laboratory dream research and psychotherapy.
Open Access
A psychophysiological investigation of the effects of a psychotropic agent (clozapine) upon sleep parameters of normal young adults
(1976) Touyz, Stephen William; Saayman, Graham
Hypnotic and sedative drugs have been regarded as the most expedient method for the treatment of insomnia in contemporary western culture and their prescription has increased dramatically (Karacan and Williams 1971; Oswald 1968). However, many of these drugs suppress REM sleep (Oswald 1968), cause death when taken in overdose (Johns 1975), produce dependence (Kales and Kales 1973), become relatively ineffective in the treatment of insomnia after chronic administration (Johns 1975) and the abrupt withdrawal after continuous administration may result in a drug withdrawal insomnia characterised by difficulty in falling asleep, an increased vividness in REM mentation as well as the occurrence of nightmares (Kales et al 1968(a)(b), 1969(a)(b)). Recent research has suggested that clozapine, a psychotropic agent, may have pronounced sleep inducing properties (Hemphill et al 1975; Ruch et al 1976; Gross and Langner 1966,1969; Berzewski et al 1969). However, its role as an hypnotic agent has yet to be systematically investigated. In the present study, therefore, the effects of clozapine upon the sleep patterns of twenty normal young adults were investigated during both short- and long-term administration at two different dose rates (25mg and 12,50mg/night respectively). In addition, the short-term effects of 12,50mg clozapine/night upon REM dream content were also investigated. The present study required a total of 2190 hours of recording over a period of 219 nights.
Open Access
The role of prenatal auditory stimulation in the development of filial behaviour in the domestic duckling
(1974) De Wet, John Manning; Saayman, Graham
The aim of the first three experiments was to delineate the physical characteristics of an artificial call for which naive Peking X Aylesbury ducklings show the greatest natural preference. In each experiment SO ducklings were tested at 20 ± 2 hrs. posthatching, for following and approach responses to one of four auditory stimulus conditions or a silent model. The responsiveness of subjects was greatest when the call contained tone frequencies of 500, 800, and 1600Hz and was presented at a repetition rate of 4/second with a note duration of 50 milliseconds (Optimal call). In Experiment 4 Peking X Aylesbury eggs were exposed to intermittent prenatal stimulation with the optimal call and the hatchlings were tested for responsiveness to this call at 20 ± 2 hrs. posthatching. Subjects with prenatal auditory experience of the optimal call showed significantly greater responsiveness to this call than non-stimulated control subjects. The aim of the final experiment was to determine whether the natural auditory stimulus preferences of ducklings could be overridden through sheer prenatal experience of a non-preferred call. Ducklings with prenatal experience of the non-preferred call continued to show as strong a preference for the optimal call as non stimulated control subjects. The responses of both stimulated and non-stimulated subjects to the optimal call were significantly stronger than the responses of stimulated and non-stimulated subjects to the non-preferred call. The responses of stimulated subjects to the non-preferred call were only slightly stronger than responses of non-stimulated subjects to the same call. These results indicate that responsiveness to calls for which naive birds show the greatest preference is enhanced by prenatal experience of the preferred call. This effect is not evident, however, when subjects are stimulated prenatally with a non-preferred call.
Open Access
Wilderness experience : a Jungian model
(1989) Petrie, W J; Saayman, Graham
The aim of the present study is to produce, and to begin to illustrate the use of, a theoretical model by which varying attitudes to, and experiences of, wilderness may be understood. A classical Jungian developmental framework is utilised for these purposes. The paper begins with brief definitions of the concepts pertinent to this work followed by a fairly comprehensive summary of Neumann's developmental model. The author's model, constructed on this theoretical basis, is then outlined and applied at a mythological level to the attitudes to wilderness manifest in the Judaeo - Christian religions. In the discussion, indications are given as to how the model might be applied at individual and cultural levels. One person's experience of wilderness is interpreted within the context of the theory followed by a brief discussion on the use of the model in informing therapeutic wilderness programming. Traditional North American Indian and contemporary Western attitudes towards wilderness are then briefly interpreted. It is concluded that this paper illustrates the usefulness of a Jungian model in understanding wilderness experience. Within the context of this framework, the value of a developmental perspective is noted.

Browsing by Author "Saayman, Graham"

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