Sex role identity and the decision to regain control among women: a learned helplessness investigation.
In an investigation focusing on women's attempts to regain control of their environments, women from four sex role identity groups underwent either an initial loss of control (helpless) or control (nonhelpless) experience. Subsequently, they were allowed to choose their role in a team problem-solving task. They could either (a) have total control over the team's decisions, (b) have no control over the team's decisions, or (c) not participate in the task. Compared to women low on masculinity, women high on masculinity chose to be in control of team problem-solving in both the helpless and nonhelpless conditions. Particularly striking, none of the 14 feminine-sex-typed women chose to control the team's decisions in the helpless condition, whereas 10 of the 14 masculine-sex-typed women made this choice. Results are discussed relative to the high rates of depression among women.
D003657:Decision Making; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006380:Helplessness, Learned / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D014930:Women / Q000523:psychology*