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Hierdie artikel is gebaseer op 'n oorsig van onderskeie dissiplines se bydrae tot die konseptualisering van plekidentiteit. Dit blyk dat die verhouding tussen plek en persoonlike identiteit deur drie interafhanklike dimensies heen sny, naamlik, kulturele faktore, sosiale groepsfaktore, en individuele faktore. Stokols (1982) se subjektiewe lewenstadiummodel is ook op die verband tussen plek en persoonlike identiteit toegepas. Riglyne vir toepaslike navorsing en die verdere konseptuele ontwikkeling van hierdie begrip is verskaf.

In hierdie vraelysondersoek is daar van die veronderstelling uitgegaan dat blanke houdings teenoor die desegregasie van openbare fasiliteite verband hou met 'n aantal psigologies gefundeerde faktore. Die steekproef het uit 1 062 tweede- en derdejaar sielkundestudente aan die Universiteit van Suid-Afrika gedurende 1985 bestaan. Deur middel van 'n tweegroep diskriminantontleding is bevind dat die metings van Outoritarisme, Aanvaarding van Ander, en Behoefte aan Privaatheid betekenisvolle bydraes tot die krag van die afgeleide diskriminantfunksie gelewer het. Dit blyk dus dat bogenoemde metings verband hou met die proefpersone se houdings teenoor die desegregering van openbare fasiliteite. Hierteenoor het die metings van Selfaanvaarding en Lokus van Kontrole nie betekenisvolle bydraes tot die onderskeiding tussen houdings (van aanvaarding en weerstand) teenoor die desegregasie van openbare fasiliteite gelewer nie. Afrikaanssprekende proefpersone was meer outoritêr geneigd en het meer weerstand teen die desegregasie van openbare fasiliteite as die Engelssprekende proefpersone getoon. Verder is 'n ontleding van houdings teenoor die desegregasie van spesifieke openbare fasiliteite verskaf. Die bespreking van die bevindings het op die volgende faktore wat bydraes mag lewer tot houdings van weerstand teenoor die desegregasie van openbare fasiliteite gefokus: (a) outoritêre interaksiestyle, (b) onsekerheid betreffende die aard van interpersoonlike interaksies, en (c) verwagtings van verhoogde stimulusinsette in gedesegregeerde omstandighede.

AbstractThis review of research published in the SAJS over the past 10 years includes analyses of theoretical versus review conlributions, populations, methods of sample selection, some aspects of sample composition, types of research design employed and statistical techniques used. Altogether 181 articles were reviewed. In comparison with the substantial number of review type articles which were published few articles dealt with theory development or concentrated on original empirical research. Accessible populations were defined in 6.5% of the contributions, but in only 17% of the studies were useful descriptions of these populations provided. Only 24% of the studies made use of randomized sample selection procedures while 24% did not explain the procedure used to select their samples. Explicit recognition of population and sample limitations in drawing conclusions was respectively found in only 11% and 15% of the studies. Seventy-seven percent of the studies were intra-culturally oriented, but 40% of these made use of only white samples. A fairly small number of cross-cultural studies (23%) were recorded. Research designs most frequently adopted were correlational type studies (47%), while experimental studies involving random assignment to treatments constituted only 2.7% of the articles. The use of basic statistical techniques was clearly favoured (constituting 75% of all techniques used) above more sophisticated methods of data analysis. The results were compared with similar analyses of American journals and implications of the findings are discussed.

This cross-cultural study was designed to investigate children's development of spatial representation as measured by the sketch map technique (cognitive mapping). The sample (N= 526) consisted of white, black, Asian and coloured South Africans of both sexes varying in age from 5 to 13 years. The maps were assessed according to a Piagetian constructivist framework and the quality of accompanying verbal descriptions was evaluated. The sketch maps differed in terms of age but not race, gender or socio-economic status. Evaluative verbal descriptions were provided by more girls than boys and by more white subjects than black subjects. The developmental trends shown were similar to those described in the existing literature.

This is an exploratory study of the stress experiences of 20 flood victims in the Bloemfontein area. Measures consisted of demographic variables, Rotter's Locus of Control scale, Horowitz's Impact of Event scale and unstructured interviews. Whereas female subjects reported higher levels of stress than male subjects, no differences in the subjects' experiences of stress were found with regard to age, occupation or the measure of internal-external locus of control. In accordance with Lazarus's stress model, the interviews revealed that the subjects' initial reactions to the disaster (primary appraisals) included feelings of numbness, despondency, helplessness and reduced control over their circumstances. With regard to secondary appraisals the subjects reported having employed a number of successful as well as inadequate coping strategies. Sex differences occurred especially with regard to the subjects' accounts of primary appraisals and their use of external (outwardly directed) coping strategies.

A brief summary is provided of the development of environmental psychology in South Africa. Discussion focuses on contributions to human -environment theorizing, completed research, and university training in environmental psychology. In conclusion it is argued that the development of a socially responsive environmental psychology in South Africa is dependent upon the extent to which attention is paid to sociopolitical factors influencing human — environment relationships.

Psychological interest in crowding has tended to focus on density-related phenomena and their experiential attributes. A synopsis of psychological models and methods is presented, followed by an overview of diverse research interests with relevance to high density situations. The review is organized around personal, social and physical characteristics. Finally it is argued that an ecological analysis of density distributions would involve recognition of temporal, social and physical dimensions, and its relation with the individual's subjective experiences of density conditions.