Faculty of Humanities (ETDs)

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    The lived experiences of caregivers: psychological and social implications of caring for patients with Bipolar Disorder
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-05) Nicolau, Mikaela Diane; Kasese-Hara, Mambwe
    Due to the nature of the illness, bipolar disorder (BD) has detrimental effects on the diagnosed patients as well as their caregivers (Hajda et al., 2016). Vast amounts of research have been published on the impact and implications experienced by caregivers of mentally ill patients however, a majority of research assessing the psychological and socio-economic status of the caregivers has been quantitative in nature (Sharif et al., 2020). This study sought to understand the psychological and social implications of caring for a patient with BD, with a specific focus on caregivers in the Gauteng region. The middle-class was chosen as Ayalew et al. (2019) found that the higher the caregiver’s income, the fewer implications they experienced as a caregiver. A phenomenological framework was used to conduct this study. The qualitative method of data collection was face-to-face, in-depth interviews with six participants (two males, four females), who were selected using purposive sampling. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the data analysed by means of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. For the caregivers in the current study, managing the patient’s unpredictable behaviour and dealing with the varying symptoms of the disorder presented a challenge. They described the caregiving role as an emotional rollercoaster, signifying the chaotic, up-and-down nature of the disorder. Being a mother-caregiver led to shared experiences among the caregivers, with similar implications being expressed. Being a wife, however, presented significantly greater caregiver implications. The male caregivers have adapted to their roles better than the females. The theme of financial implications was interesting in this study, as these implications varied among the respondents. The researcher found it interesting that five of the participants spoke about neglecting their needs without any probing, yet they also acknowledged the importance of self-care and being aware of their mental state. The participants in this study expressed the need for support groups, which are lacking in the country. Whilst the findings of this study were in line with much published research, the researcher notes that there is a scarcity of literature covering some of the themes and subthemes presented, and therefore further research should be conducted.
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    Understanding Anxiety, and its Implications for Teaching and Learning: A Perspective on Freud and Others
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-06) Ally, Adila; Aloka, Peter
    This dissertation is conceptual in nature rather than empirically-oriented and explores an understanding of learning and motivational theory in an attempt to study various formulations of the concept of anxiety, dating back to those presented by the foundational figure of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. It is noted that Freud did not develop a single theory of anxiety- but at least three and arguably as many as eight over the lifetime of his career. Such hesitancy and uncertainty is not interpreted by this dissertation as indecision, rather it is read as uncertainty being a core element in the meta-modelling of anxiety itself. Refracted through Lacan -- who performs a reinterpretation of Freud in a way that produces a unique formulation of the concept that seems to invert Freud's own definition -- and through J. B. Watson, this dissertation develops a novel concept of anxiety as being mimetic in nature, relying Girard's concept of mimetic desire for this purpose. Moscovici's social representation theory, Latour's inter-objectivity, Bandura's triadic structure of observational learning, Foot's studies on Double-Effect problems, the Rashōmon Effect in the narrativisation of data and Seligman's learned helplessness are also used in developing the novel concept of mimetic anxiety. Thus after recognising four variants of anxiety -- a unified Freudian "object-loss" anxiety, Lacanian "overabundance" anxiety, Watsonian "commodity" anxiety and the novel concept of "mimetic anxiety" -- this dissertation proceeds to gauge interaction between these and the learning theories of Pavlov, Skinner, Piaget, Vygotsky and Gagné, and the motivational theories of expectancy value, achievement goal, and self-determination theory. In observing a case study of the flipped classroom model of teaching, Gagné and expectancy value seem to predict the emergence of Watsonian anxiety, the only variant of the four which allows for extinction of anxiety. However, the flipped classroom model, expectancy value motivation and Gagné's methodology together continue to address deeper challenges developed by mimetic anxiety and the synetic (not synthetic) demand placed on Girardian interdividual subjects by technology. Further use of the flipped classroom study is made to explore Freud's throwaway comment that economics might explain the concept of anxiety-as-signal, whereupon Hayek is found to introduce the concept of price-as-signal. This synchronicity forms the basis for considering Freud as necessarily heterogeneous and yielding of increased depth if paired with outside disciplines. In conclusion, the Flynn Effect is suggested as a significant driver of Freudian recession into insularity and from digitally mediated interaction, insinuating advocacy for the flipped classroom model.