Sex role identity and sex-stereotyped tasks in the development of learned helplessness in women.

80 undergraduate females participated in a study investigating the relation of sex-role identity and sex-stereotyped tasks to the development of learned helplessness in women. Half of the Ss from 4 sex-role identity groups received bogus feedback and were forced to fail on a concept formation task described to them as either a male- or female-stereotyped task; the other 40 Ss succeeded on the task. Failure on the concept formation task produced by dysphoric mood (as measured by the Depression Adjective Check Lists) in the Ss, regardless of their sex-role identity and regardless of how the concept formation task was described. However, cognitive/motivational symptoms of helplessness were found only among low-masculine Ss who failed on a male-stereotyped task. Results are compared with previous findings and suggest that feminine-sex-typed women may be particularly susceptible to some helplessness symptoms in contexts defined as male appropriate. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)