A comparative developmental study of the fear of snakes
- Authors: Bartel, P R
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Snakes , Fear
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3198 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009505 , Snakes , Fear
- Description: This study was conducted to determine the influence of age and culture on the fear of snakes. Five age groups, consisting of 20 White and 20 Xhosa subjects each, were tested. In addition to a behavioural and a GSR measure of fear, questionnaires were applied to determine the extent of the subjects' personal and vicarious aversive experiences of snakes and attitudes towards snakes. The behavioural measure showed a significant decrease in the fear of snakes between the 9 - 11 year and the 14 - 16 year White groups, while, for the Xhosa subjects, the fear of snakes increased significantly between the age groups 14 - 16 years and 18 - 20 years. The GSR measure showed a consistent level in the fear of snakes for White subjects. For the Xhosa subjects the mean GSR score for the 18 - 20 year .group was considerably higher than the means for the other age groups. The intensity of the fear of snakes for White and Xhosa subjects of the same age was remarkably similar. Xhosa subjects had significantly more negative attitudes towards snakes than white subjects. This finding was explained in terms of Whites having had greater opportunities to obtain factual information about snakes. No significant relationships were found between (a) the measures of the extent of the subjects' aversive experiences of snakes; (b) the degree of negative attitudes towards snakes; and the measures of the fear of snakes. On the basis of these measures, the etiology of the fear of snakes cannot be explained in terms of aversive experiences with snakes per se. The striking similarity of responses to a live snake by subjects from two widely different cultures suggests caution in an over-hasty dismissal of the theory of an innate fear of snakes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1972
- Authors: Bartel, P R
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Snakes , Fear
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3198 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1009505 , Snakes , Fear
- Description: This study was conducted to determine the influence of age and culture on the fear of snakes. Five age groups, consisting of 20 White and 20 Xhosa subjects each, were tested. In addition to a behavioural and a GSR measure of fear, questionnaires were applied to determine the extent of the subjects' personal and vicarious aversive experiences of snakes and attitudes towards snakes. The behavioural measure showed a significant decrease in the fear of snakes between the 9 - 11 year and the 14 - 16 year White groups, while, for the Xhosa subjects, the fear of snakes increased significantly between the age groups 14 - 16 years and 18 - 20 years. The GSR measure showed a consistent level in the fear of snakes for White subjects. For the Xhosa subjects the mean GSR score for the 18 - 20 year .group was considerably higher than the means for the other age groups. The intensity of the fear of snakes for White and Xhosa subjects of the same age was remarkably similar. Xhosa subjects had significantly more negative attitudes towards snakes than white subjects. This finding was explained in terms of Whites having had greater opportunities to obtain factual information about snakes. No significant relationships were found between (a) the measures of the extent of the subjects' aversive experiences of snakes; (b) the degree of negative attitudes towards snakes; and the measures of the fear of snakes. On the basis of these measures, the etiology of the fear of snakes cannot be explained in terms of aversive experiences with snakes per se. The striking similarity of responses to a live snake by subjects from two widely different cultures suggests caution in an over-hasty dismissal of the theory of an innate fear of snakes.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1972
A survey of South African English verse printed in Cape periodicals and newspapers from 1824-1851
- Authors: Hammond, Carol Anne
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Mass media and literature -- 19th century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism -- 19th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012146 , Mass media and literature -- 19th century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism -- 19th century
- Description: An interest in colonial literature is relatively new in the study of English. English-speaking South Africans especially, cut off as they are, a minority group in a new republic, have begun to re-assess their identity through a study of their existing literature. When asked what South African verse there was beside his own, Kipling remarked, "As to South African verse, it's a case of there's Pringle, and there's Pringle, and after that one must hunt the local papers." This thesis is the result of such a hunt - the hunt being limited to the years 1824 to 1851 - and on occasion, the writer has been tempted to conclude rather unfairly, "And there is only Pringle." It cannot be claimed that every poem ever printed during the period under review has been collected and examined, for the reason that many volumes of old newspapers are no longer available. Nevertheless, it has been possible to make a representative selection, which could provide the raw material for several theses to come. A detailed study of critical criteria prevalent at the Cape during this period, or public taste and the influence especially of the lesser British poets are some of the topics which might repay study. Intro., p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1972
- Authors: Hammond, Carol Anne
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Mass media and literature -- 19th century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism -- 19th century
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2301 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012146 , Mass media and literature -- 19th century , South African poetry (English) -- History and criticism -- 19th century
- Description: An interest in colonial literature is relatively new in the study of English. English-speaking South Africans especially, cut off as they are, a minority group in a new republic, have begun to re-assess their identity through a study of their existing literature. When asked what South African verse there was beside his own, Kipling remarked, "As to South African verse, it's a case of there's Pringle, and there's Pringle, and after that one must hunt the local papers." This thesis is the result of such a hunt - the hunt being limited to the years 1824 to 1851 - and on occasion, the writer has been tempted to conclude rather unfairly, "And there is only Pringle." It cannot be claimed that every poem ever printed during the period under review has been collected and examined, for the reason that many volumes of old newspapers are no longer available. Nevertheless, it has been possible to make a representative selection, which could provide the raw material for several theses to come. A detailed study of critical criteria prevalent at the Cape during this period, or public taste and the influence especially of the lesser British poets are some of the topics which might repay study. Intro., p. 1.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1972
The geography of the Bedford, Adelaide, Fort Beaufort, Stockenström and Victoria East magisterial districts
- Authors: Childs, Nicol Treloar
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Geography , Land use, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:4861 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006845 , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Geography , Land use, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: From introduction: This is a study of the physical landscape, climate, natural vegetation, historical geography and rural land use of the Bedford, Adelaide, Fort Beaufort, Stockenström and Victoria East magisterial districts. These five districts may be regarded as a natural region bounded by the crest of the Amatole-Winterberg range in the north and by the Great Fish River in the west. The southern boundary is a zone of semi-arid scrub bordering the Great Fish River valley. The Ciskei may be regarded as the eastern boundary of the region.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1972
- Authors: Childs, Nicol Treloar
- Date: 1972
- Subjects: Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Geography , Land use, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:4861 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006845 , Eastern Cape (South Africa) -- Geography , Land use, Rural -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: From introduction: This is a study of the physical landscape, climate, natural vegetation, historical geography and rural land use of the Bedford, Adelaide, Fort Beaufort, Stockenström and Victoria East magisterial districts. These five districts may be regarded as a natural region bounded by the crest of the Amatole-Winterberg range in the north and by the Great Fish River in the west. The southern boundary is a zone of semi-arid scrub bordering the Great Fish River valley. The Ciskei may be regarded as the eastern boundary of the region.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1972
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