Masters Degrees (Psychology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Psychology) by Author "Athawale, Reshma"

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    Cultural, gender and socio-economic differences in time perspective among adolescents
    (University of the Free State, 2004-02) Athawale, Reshma; Odendaal, D.
    English: The focus of this research was to determine the possible differences in time perspective among groups of adolescents from different cultures, socio-economic status and gender groups, within the South African setting. Time perspective is an important cognitive function that exerts a dynamic influence on important judgements, decisions and actions. Despite it's importance, this is a concept that has not been explored in depth. Consequently, little South African literature is available on this topic. Four schools were involved in this study. The schools were chosen on basis of the predominant cultural group of the learners, the gender of the learners that attend the school, and prevalent socio-economic status. All the four schools are situated in Bloemfontein, Free State. The research was carried out on all the Grade 9 learners in the four schools. The sample consisted of 390 learners. The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory and a biographical questionnaire were administered to the research sample. Analyses of the results indicated that the temporal orientation that the learners reported on being most inclined towards was the Future time perspective. Results of the statistical analyses suggested that in this particular research group socio-economic status, culture and gender do not have a significant impact on the learner's time perspective. A Future time perspective is one that is characterised by several positive traits such as high motivation, a high sense of responsibility, ability to organise and plan actions to name a few. The results that have been observed are encouraging as the Future orientation was found to be predominant in learners across the boundaries of culture, gender and socio-economic status.