Exploring Fatalism in Adolescents psyssa 2014 (ed)
Transcript of Exploring Fatalism in Adolescents psyssa 2014 (ed)
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Exploring Fatalism in Adolescents
SEPTEMBER 2014
Ryk BrinkMarietjie OswaldMariechen Perold
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Fatalism• argued to be a cognitive phenomenon constituting of specific beliefs in
the individual,• beliefs may consist of a combination of the following: (a) the
individual’s perceived lack of (internal) control over external events in his or her life
• notions of fate, luck, destiny and predetermination of a specific circumstance or set of circumstances
• perceptions of powerlessness, hopelessness, and meaninglessness due to negative outcomes of specific circumstances
• A given combination of such beliefs could be described as a fatalistic mind-set.
• The existence of a fatalistic mindset conjures with nihilism as a social-psychological phenomenon
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History
• Historically viewed from the perspective of philosophy, theology and social psychology
• Beliefs about external locus of control • Beliefs about “chance”• Specific description by Barbara Powe of a
fatalistic mind-set with regard to the mind-set of cancer patients.
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Why the research was done• argued to be a cognitive phenomenon constituting of specific beliefs in
the individual,• beliefs may consist of a combination of the following: (a) the
individual’s perceived lack of (internal) control over external events in his or her life
• notions of fate, luck, destiny and predetermination of a specific circumstance or set of circumstances
• perceptions of powerlessness, hopelessness, and meaninglessness due to negative outcomes of specific circumstances
• A given combination of such beliefs could be described as a fatalistic mind-set.
• The existence of a fatalistic mindset conjures with nihilism as a social-psychological phenomenon
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Research Questions
• What are the possible manifestations of fatalism in adolescents?
• How does fatalism possibly colour their lived experiences?
• How does adolescent fatalism possibly affect educational attainment in adolescents?
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This studyRESEARCH DESIGN• QUALITATIVE EXPLORATORY
DESIGN• INTERPRETIVE PARADIGM
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK• SOCIAL-COGNITIVE LEARNING
THEORY• COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
DATA ANALYSIS• QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS
DATA COLLECTION• CREATIVE STRATEGY PHASE• FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS• PERSONAL INTERVIEWS
INTEGRATION OF THE DATA• OPEN AND AXIAL CODING• THEMES
DISCUSSION OF THE DATA
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:• VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION• PERSONAL/PARENTAL CONSENT OR
ASSENT.
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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
(B)BEHAVIOUR
Motor responsesVerbal responsesSocial interactions
(P)PERSON
Cognitive abilitiesPhysical
characteristicsBeliefs and attitudes
(E)
ENVIRONMENTPhysical
surroundingsFamily and Friends
Other social influences
BANDURA’S MODEL OF RECIPROCAL DETERMINISM (TRIADIC RECIPROCAL CAUSATION)
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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKBECK’S HIERARCHY OF COGNITION
Core beliefs
Intermediate beliefs (rules, attitudes and assumptions)
Situation
Automatic thoughts
Reaction (emotional, behavioural and
psychological)
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PERCEIVED REALITY / LIVED EXPERIENCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL.(Personal, social and demographic factors, beliefs, perceptions about the self and others)
CORE BELIEFS:• DETERMINISM• CHANCE / LUCK
INTERMEDIATE BELIEFS e.g.:EXTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL,NIHILISM
COGNITION: application of core and immediate beliefs to the perceived reality / lived experience
FATALISM: result of interpretation of perceived reality / lived experience (inter alia ANGST)
FATALISTIC RESPONSE: EMOTIONAL (Angst, etc.)BEHAVIOURAL (Coping etc.)PSYCHOLOGICAL (Depression etc.)
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SAMPLE
• Purposive and Convenience sampling• 164 grade 11 learners from five schools in the
Western Cape• Schools selected according to the national
quintiles (rated according to the income of the school population)
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CREATIVE STRATEGY
• “This T-shirt cries out for you to fill the empty space with something that is so YOU….something that tells the world how you feel about life right now.”
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FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS• How would you describe the world you live in
today?• How does your description of the world make
you feel?• What is it that makes you do things in a
specific way or informs the decisions you take?
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FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS EXPLORING RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL DETERMINISM• What is it that makes you do things in a specific way or
informs the decisions you take?• If you agree with the idea that a higher power determines
how your life is going to work out; do you think that this higher power’s will is stronger than your will and determines the choices you are going to make?
• What do you feel about the idea that there may be a larger plan for your life that you cannot go against and determines how your life will work out?
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QUESTIONS EXPLORING BELIEF IN FREE WILL OR CHANCE• How do you feel about the idea that one is absolutely
free to make one’s own decisions?• How do you understand the idea that some people
are luckier than others?• How do you feel about the following statement? I
have an influence on the way my life will turn out.
FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
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FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS EXPLORING SOCIAL DETERMINISM• What do you think about the idea that one can do absolutely as you please and
the opinions and influence of others have no influence in the choices you make.• Do you think that your gender influences the choices you are allowed to make in
South Africa? • Do you think that your race influences the choices that you are allowed to make
in South Africa?• Do you think that your wealth and social status have an influence on the choices
you are allowed to make?• which you were brought up with certain customs and traditions influencing the
decisions you are allowed to make?
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Findings
• Fatalism seems to be a cognitive mind-set, consisting of a combination of specific beliefs.
• A cognitive mind-set is a specific combination of beliefs through which the world is interpreted and according to which behaviour is shaped.
• Fatalistic beliefs can be deterministic, in other words, they are seen as external influences that take control away from the individual and render him/her powerless to affect any change or improvement.
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• POSITIVE BELIEFS Life is good• “Tevrede met dit wat na my kant toe kom” / “Satisfied with what comes my
way” (A4)
• NEGATIVE BELIEFS Life is bad• “When people put you under pressure you feel that you can’t get out.
Then you would rather do nothing and think: OK, then I’ll just leave everything” (A7)
• AMBIVALENT BELIEFS Life is confusing / negative and positive
• “Life is very confusing…I must make decisions and I am scared to make decisions” (A49)
BELIEFS ABOUT LIFE
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BELIEFS ABOUT EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Beliefs about God and religion
• Beliefs about God’s control over life
• “If God decides that I am going to be [passage unclear] then I am going to
be. It is not that I am lucky”
• Beliefs about a higher power’s predetermined plan
• Beliefs that God has created us with predetermined abilities
and potential
• Beliefs about God as an enabling force in one’s life
• Beliefs about the devil as a disabling force in one’s life
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BELIEFS ABOUT EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Beliefs about the influence of the
environment• Effect of the economic environment• “Your environment influences your decisions – your wealth determines what
you are able to do”
• Beliefs of the social environment• “Sometimes when you are with someone who has a negative attitude
in life, it rubs off on you …you also start to think negatively because you are in their company”
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BELIEFS ABOUT EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Beliefs about the relations between the self and others • Influence of peers• “One cares about someone, then he leaves you because of something on
Facebook and then he makes up shit about you”• Influence of parents• “Sometimes life is difficult. I sometimes feel as if I don’t want to live anymore.
Maybe I should commit suicide. My parents make me struggle with many things. It will be better if I die. I am just in the way. They only see what I am doing wrong”
• Beliefs of the other as a threat to the self• Beliefs of the effect of economic injustice on the self• Beliefs of the effect of racial injustice on the self• Beliefs of the effect of gender inequality on the self
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BELIEFS OF SELF-AGENCYBeliefs about self-efficacy• Beliefs of freedom of the will within a greater plan.
• Fixed beliefs about own potential
Beliefs about self- efficacy based on perceptions of others• Beliefs of self-efficacy based on feedback from others• “There are bad things that make you to want to give up – if at home you are not
treated well…if your mother keeps telling you that you’ll never succeed…and then you ask yourself: What am I going to do at school, because my mother already told me that I am not going to succeed. So I will just sit down and do nothing
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What are the possible manifestations of fatalism in adolescents?
• Fatalism stemming from beliefs about the self• Fatalism emerging from beliefs about the
influence of others• Fatalism grounded in the physical and social
environments in which adolescents grow up• Fatalism, as influenced by the psycho-neural
and hormonal processes of adolescents
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How does fatalism possibly colour their lived experiences?
• Alienation and disengagement• Oppositional behaviour• The creation of feelings of pessimism, anxiety
and depression• Influencing their educational attainment
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How does adolescent fatalism possibly affect educational attainment in adolescents?
• Fatalistic thinking leading to low levels of motivation
• Fatalistic thinking as a contributing force in the phenomenon of adolescents leaving the educational system due to disciplinary procedure (oppositional behaviour)
• Fatalism as a social influence on learning (modelling)
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REFERENCES• Bandura, A., Caprara , G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Gerbino, M. & Pastorelli, (2003). Role of Affective
Self-regulatory Efficacy in Diverse Spheres of Psycholsocial Functioning. 74(3), 769-782., pp. (769-782)
• Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive Therapy. Basics and Beyond. London: The Guilford Press.• Martin, J. and Sugarman, J. (2002). Agency and Soft Determinism in Psychology. In
Atmanspacher, H. and Bishop, R. (Eds.). (2002). Between Chance And Choice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Determinism. Thorverton: Imprint Academic.
• Ncgobo, D. (1999). Nihilism in Black South Africa: The New South Africa and the Destruction of the Black Domestic Periphery. In Alternation, 6(1), 138-154. Retrieved from http://alternation.ukzn.ac.za/docs/06.1/09%20Ngc.pdf.
• Neff J. A, Hoppe S. K. (1993) Race/ethnicity, acculturation, and psychological distress: Fatalism and religiosity as cultural resources. Journal of Community Psychology. 21(1), 3–20.
• Powe, B. D & Johnson, A. (1995). Fatalism as a Barrier to Cancer Screening Among African-Americans: Philosophical Perspectives. Journal of Religion and Health, 34(2), 119-126.
• Powe, B. D. & Finnie, R. (2003). Cancer Fatalism: The State of the Science. Cancer nursing, 26(6), 454–465. Philadelphia: Lippencott Williams and Wilkins.
• Powe, B. D. (1994). Fatalism and Participation in Colorectal Cancer Screening among Poor, Elderly, Black Individuals. Unpublished doctoral dissertation.
• Ward, C., Martin E., Theron, C. & Distiller, G. (2007). Factors affecting resilience in children exposed to violence. South African Journal of Psychology, 37(1), 165–187.
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Contact details
• Ryk Brink (primary researcher)[email protected]• Marietjie [email protected]• Mariechen [email protected]• Department of Educational Psychology, Stellenbosch
University.