PYC4808
Assignment 2 - 2023
Guidelines & Explanations
, Question 1
Systems thinking (also referred to as systems family therapy) is described as
counter- cultural and is a shift from the modernist perspective. Danie, a psychology
student, describes himself as a modernist thinker. Which of the following premises
are consistent with the modernist way of thinking, and which you would expect to
be part of Danie’s descriptions of the world:
1 Causality is linear
2 Causality is recursive
3 We can discover reality which is separate from us
4 As an observer, we remain separate from that which we are observing
1 a) and c)
2 b), c) and d)
3 a), c) and d)
4 All of the above
The correct answer is 3) a, c and d. This implies that modernist thinking is linear, is
discoverable and the observer is seen as objective and separate from that which
they are observing. A recursive approach is linked to postmodernism and is
therefore incorrect
Question 2
At the heart of individualism, the individual is regarded as the primary agent. In order
to best understand the content, we are learning, and ensure logical consistency,
epistemologies, theories and assumptions must be logically linked. Although many
of the individualistic theories (e.g. psychoanalytic psychology) do appreciate one’s
Assignment 2 - 2023
Guidelines & Explanations
, Question 1
Systems thinking (also referred to as systems family therapy) is described as
counter- cultural and is a shift from the modernist perspective. Danie, a psychology
student, describes himself as a modernist thinker. Which of the following premises
are consistent with the modernist way of thinking, and which you would expect to
be part of Danie’s descriptions of the world:
1 Causality is linear
2 Causality is recursive
3 We can discover reality which is separate from us
4 As an observer, we remain separate from that which we are observing
1 a) and c)
2 b), c) and d)
3 a), c) and d)
4 All of the above
The correct answer is 3) a, c and d. This implies that modernist thinking is linear, is
discoverable and the observer is seen as objective and separate from that which
they are observing. A recursive approach is linked to postmodernism and is
therefore incorrect
Question 2
At the heart of individualism, the individual is regarded as the primary agent. In order
to best understand the content, we are learning, and ensure logical consistency,
epistemologies, theories and assumptions must be logically linked. Although many
of the individualistic theories (e.g. psychoanalytic psychology) do appreciate one’s
