ETD Collection

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Item
    What's really disgusting
    (2009-07-28T12:14:34Z) Carman, Mary Elizabeth
    Abstract Finding something disgusting involves a particular sensuous experience and an evaluation that the thing is of little or no value. Sensuous properties such as digustingness are constituted by these two aspects, the sensuous and the evaluative. In “The Authority of Affect” (2001a), Mark Johnston argues for a detectivist account where our affective states detect mind-independent properties of sensuous value, like disgustingness. He argues that the other two standard positions, projectivism and dispositionalism, do not account for the authority of affect or are incoherent. In this paper, I argue that he is wrong to rule out dispositionalism for being incoherent and that it does account for the authority of affect. In addition, I argue that it is best able to capture the nature of sensuous properties and that it should be the default account of the relation between sensuous properties and affect.
  • Item
    Goals, affect and appraisal within the stressful transaction.
    (2008-12-24T08:38:09Z) Leibowitz-Levy, Stacey
    This study explored how personal strivings constructs of Goal Conflict and Complementarity and primary appraisal dimensions of Motivational Relevance and Congruence (separately and in combination), related across time to immediate and long-term effects of a stressful transaction. The study was located within the transactional model of stress and integrated aspects of motivational theory, focusing on the theoretical position that within the stressful transaction the relationship between motivational factors and the individual response to an event is mediated by cognitive processes, including appraisal. Advances in transactional theory highlight the role of motivational factors (such as personal strivings) as linked to primary appraisal in the form of Motivational Relevance and Congruence. The utility of personal strivings in exploring the role of motivational factors in the stress process were highlighted. Despite an increasing theoretical focus on motivation and appraisal, research in the area is limited. Data was collected for the study through the administration of questionnaires to university students (N=152) prior to (time 1) and into (time 2) an examination period. The questionnaires used a range of self-report measures. Correlations, partial correlations and ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that Goal Complementarity and Conflict directly influenced primary appraisal processes but not affective and wellbeing outcomes. It was proposed that primary appraisal processes were the conduit through which the impact of Goal Complementarity and Conflict were expressed within the stressful transaction. The results also suggested the impact of anticipatory Motivational Relevance which seemed to imply a highly “loaded” event with negative affective and long-term consequences into the event. Subjects entering the event wit h an “optimistic” demeanour indicated by high anticipatory Congruence and positive affect had increased Congruence into the event with consequent amplified positive emotions and dampened negative effects. Subjects with high anticipatory Relevance and low Congruence across the event had relatively higher scores on negative outcomes. High anticipatory Relevance and Congruence was associated with negative immediate and long-term outcomes into the event. High Relevance Congruence was generally associated with a strong emotional response, which also elicited strong positive emotion as the event unfolded. Subjects with low Relevance did not seem to hold as strong an investment in the event and reported reduced emotions and symptomology. These findings were discussed in relation to the stress, appraisal and motivation literature and their limitations and implications were explored.
  • Item
    The hole in holism : a critical appraisal of the "holistic development of learners" with specific reference to the emotions
    (2008-06-23T09:20:51Z) Dix-Peek, Dominique
    The National Curriculum Statement argues that it takes all of the different components of the individual into account when attempting to educate each learner. It states that one of the goals of the National Curriculum Statement is to promote the “holistic development of learners”, and within this area to take each learner’s emotions into account. This is a bold statement that has many practical implications for the learner, the educator, and the lecturers in teacher training programmes. There appears to be very little guidance provided in the National Curriculum Statement or teacher training programmes with regards to how one should take the “holistic development of learners”, and specifically the emotions into account. For this reason, this research focuses on whether it is possible to prepare teachers to take the “whole child” into account, with particular reference to the emotional dimension of the learner. The research also focuses on whether educators in schools feel adequately prepared to look at the emotions, and what different factors come into play when attempting to look at the both the emotions and the “holistic development of learners”. In order to do this, the current research focuses on Life Orientation, since it appears to be the subject that is most able to deal with the cognitive, spiritual, physical social and emotional needs of the learners. With the purpose of achieving the abovementioned objectives, the researcher conducted a qualitative research study which involved the interviews of six Life Orientation Educators from six different public schools in the Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg; as well as three lecturers who lecture Life Orientation at the University of the Witwatersrand. The findings of this research report indicate that most of the educators and lecturers who participated in the research feel inadequately prepared to take the emotions, and the holistic development of learners, into account in the teaching /learning process. There are a number of reasons for this. First, many participants felt that both the emotions and holism are implied within the curriculum. However, the participants felt that there is not an explicit explanation for what these elements of the individual are. As a result of the lack of a coherent explanation of the different elements of the individual, the participants felt that it is difficult to teach the non-cognitive aspects of the individual. Second, because the emotions and holism are implicit rather than explicit, it was felt that there are no clear indications provided by the National Curriculum Statement, or in the Life Orientation courses or workshops on how it is possible to teach or assess the whole child, and the emotions specifically.