Research article summary (published 30 Jan 2003):

Learned helplessness, therapy, and personality traits: an experimental study.

Full Abstract

The authors investigated 3 aspects of the learned helplessness (LH) phenomenon: the induction of helplessness in humans by a new instrumental task, the effects of a therapy technique that relies on direct retroactive reevaluation of the helplessness experience, and the role of personality characteristics in both helplessness induction and therapy. The sample consisted of 92 Turkish Bogaziçi University undergraduates, 42 men and 50 women. The authors exposed 2 experimental groups to an LH induction by presenting them with an unsolvable maze task; 1 group received therapy afterward, and the other group did not. There were also 2 control groups: a group that received only a solvable version of the maze and another group that received no treatment. Before the experimental procedure, all participants completed the Turkish version of the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (FFI). The authors evaluated picture-rating and anagram-solving performances to differentiate the cognitive and emotional deficits of LH. Results of the factorial analyses of variance and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test supported the success of both the helplessness induction and the therapy technique. Although no significant gender differences were found in the effects of the helplessness-induction and therapy procedures, correlation analyses revealed that individual differences, particularly in the interaction between gender and personality characteristics, can have an important impact on LH and on the capacity to benefit from therapy.

Author information

Author/s: Cemalcilar, Zeynep (Z); Canbeyli, Resit (R); Sunar, Diane (D);

Affiliation: Department of Psychology, Bogaziçi i University, Istanbul, Turkey. zcemalcilar(-atsign-)mail.utexas.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: The Journal of social psychology (J Soc Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Feb; vol 143 (issue 1) : pp 65-81

Dates: Created 2003/03/05; Completed 2003/04/01; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12617347, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 2/18/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MeSH Headings (categories) shown below.

Adult Depression Female Helplessness, Learned Humans Male

Maze Learning Personality Personality Inventory Prognosis Psychotherapy Sex Factors

Note: Bold headings indicate primary MeSH headings or qualifiers.

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