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The role of cognitive factors, such as working memory, in psychological resilience has not been widely investigated, although a few studies tentatively suggest a positive association. Given the contextually embedded nature of resilience, sociocultural factors may also influence any relationship between working memory and resilience, and so a concurrent triangulation, mixed method design, located in a socioecological model, was employed to explore this relationship in South African emerging adults from disadvantaged circumstances. A total of 38 participants completed biographical, working memory, and resilience measures. Around 14 of these participants were also interviewed about the perceived role of working memory processes in resilient behaviours. The results suggest that working memory processes indirectly promote resilience-enabling behaviours, while the sociocultural environment also facilitates behaviours which engage working memory and foster resilience. These findings have implications for the development of cognitive-based, resilience-promoting interventions for young adults.

The practice of neuropsychological assessment in South Africa is complicated by the lack of norms that are representative of clients’ educational and linguistic experiences. In an attempt to address this challenge, we argue that Crawford and Howell’s Single-Case Methodology in Neuropsychology is a good option for the neuropsychological investigation of cases that are not well represented by the available norms. This research design and inferential statistical method compares the scores of one case to the performance of a carefully matched sample of modest size. In order that practitioners and researchers might use this methodology, we provide a set of norms for South Africans with specific demographic profiles on a range of well-researched and commonly used neuropsychological tests. We provide an illustrative case study to demonstrate the application of Crawford and Howell’s Single-Case Methodology, which shows how the selection of an appropriately matched norm (control) group is an effective way to reduce test biases for individuals who are not represented by the original test norms.

Resilience, or the process of adjusting well to adversity, draws on personal and social ecological resources (i.e., caregiving and community supports). Previous research—conducted mostly in the Global North—has shown that bibliotherapy offers a way to support children in identifying and utilizing resilience-enabling resources. In so doing, bibliotherapy has the potential to facilitate resilience. In this article, we confirm the resilience-supporting value of bibliotherapy for African orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). To do so, we report the quantitative and qualitative pre- and post-test results of the Read-me-to-Resilience Study ( N = 345). This quasi-experimental study showed that African children who listened to indigenous resilience-themed stories had a significantly increased awareness of personal and community-based protective resources post-intervention, than those who did not. Interestingly, there was no significant increase in their perceptions of caregiving resources. The findings suggest that school psychologists and teachers should include resilience-enabling stories in their support of children who are orphaned. However, further research is needed on how best to use stories in ways that will enable children to identify caregiving resources.

In 2014, South Africa is into its 20th year since the 1994 elections which ushered in a democratic government and marked the official end of apartheid. The discipline of Psychology has in this time attained many milestones, several of which relate to the sub-discipline of psychological assessment. Prior to, during, and post-apartheid, psychological assessment featured as one of the most contentious areas in the history of the country, as well as the history of Psychology. In this article, we provide some critical insights into those aspects in the history of psychological assessment in South Africa that have led it to be the provocative field it is today. We also identify the positive contributions of psychological assessment that have facilitated South Africa’s movement towards a more just and equitable society. The article concludes with suggestions for the future development of psychological assessment and how it can serve to enhance the discipline of Psychology and the wellbeing of South Africans.

This study examined relationships between the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices, the Similarities subtest of the South African Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales and an adaptation of the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test Reading Comprehension subtest. Comparisons between these relationships were drawn on the basis of home language and gender in a sample of 100 university students. Results indicated significant relationships between the Advanced Matrices and both verbal tests, with no significant differences between the correlations on the basis of either gender or home language. This suggests that convergent validity is supported across these groups, and provides impetus for future research about the suitability of the Advanced Matrices for use within cross-cultural, multi-lingual contexts such as South Africa.

In this paper we discuss the results of a study that identified the relationships between different cognitive functions, as measured by selected subtests of the Senior South African Individual Scale — Revised (SSAIS-R) and the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability — Revised (Neale). The SSAIS-R subtests included Vocabulary, Similarities, Story Memory, and Coding. The Neale assesses three different components of reading, namely, rate, accuracy, and comprehension. The sample consisted of 32 Grade 2 boys attending an English-medium, private school in Gauteng and a matched group of girls attending the sister school. Moderate, significant correlations were found between the Vocabulary and Similarities subtests and components of the Neale for both girls and boys. The Story Memory subtest was correlated with components of the Neale for the girls sample only, while no significant relationship was found between the Coding subtest and any aspects of reading for either gender group. The boys scored significantly higher than the girls on the Vocabulary and Similarities subtests, as well as on the reading comprehension component of the Neale, while the girls scored significantly higher on the non-verbal Coding subtest. The implications of these findings are discussed.

This article presents a discourse analysis of the constructions of male sexuality in the South African publication Men's Health. The focus of the analysis was a series of monthly featured articles on best sexual practices and behaviour. Since the magazine's content appears to confront men with, on the one hand, the construction of the ideal, potent phallus, and, on the other hand, the fallibility inherent in attempting to live up to this ideal, the overarching discourse in the texts was termed the ‘Fallible Phallus’. By stipulating ideal sexual experiences and then juxtaposing these descriptions with the threat of those moments not occurring, a paradox is created in the texts between the phallic dominance of masculinity and the anxieties and insecurities that may result from sexual failure. The Fallible Phallus discourse is a synthesis of four subsidiary themes derived from the texts, namely the male sexual drive theme, the inadequacies of male sexuality, the rule book of sexual practices, and the problematic nature of female sexuality. In the discussion of these themes, it is suggested that the texts use male sexual performance as a yardstick for assessing level of masculinity.

This article reports on a preliminary investigation into the impact of non-attendance at lectures on the performance of students in a second-year psychology class. Results suggest that the frequency of lecture attendance is significantly, but moderately, related to better academic performance and that ‘always’ attending lectures is the best indicator of academic performance. These results are discussed in relation to understanding lecture non-attendance and improving academic performance.

Extracted from text ... 160 Title: International handbook of intelligence Editor: R. J. Sternberg Date: 2004 Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 0521004020 (paperback, 496 pages) Given the interest in, and accessibility to, the topic, it is hardly surprising that volumes have been written about intelligence in the past few decades. Yet, after more than a century, any single definition of intelligence still yields much debate. These debates are reflected in this handbook and its contents also show the significant progress that has been made in the study of intelligence over the last century. For example, one of the most important advances made recently is the acknowledgment that intelligence ..