People in context - Wilhelm Jordaan & Jackie Jordaan

3rd edition.

People in context is a comprehensive introductory textbook in psychology  which develops a conceptual framework through the continuous use of examples. This framework underlines the importance of context when attempting to understand human experience  and behaviour.

The lavish use of local examples and applications to the distinctive South African social context provides students with the opportunities to develop their skills of critical analysis and argument. At the same time this approach encourages an understanding of diverse points of view. Through this goal-directed contextualisation, the book provides students with the practical know-how they need to better understand their South African context.

The authors are critical of what might be termed 'indigenous' psychological approaches and show students how to analyse their South African context in terms of more universal elements of the discipline. So, for example, the book explores the concepts of motivation and stress in the context of a society marked by extremes. The authors illustrate how poverty, threat, deprivation and violence affect both individual  motivation and quality of life.