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Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences

March 21

Lecture 58

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Office Hour InvitationsMarch 21, 11:30-2:30, Kenny 3102

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A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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Mental Health:

1. Are there sex differences in depression? (continued)

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

1. describe Seligman’s model of learned helplessness.

2. distinguish between problem-focused coping and emotion focused-coping.

3. review research findings on sex differences in coping.

4. explain sex differences in seeking social support.

5. explain the relation between rumination and depression.

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3. Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness occurs when individuals come to believe that their responses will not influence their outcomes (Seligman, 1992).

Are there sex differences in depression? (continued)

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Model of Learned Helplessness (Seligman, 1992)

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According to some theorists, the female gender role (e.g., “self-silencing”) results in more “helplessness training” among females than males.

Consistent with this view, research has shown that (a) females obtain lower scores than males on feelings of control, and (b) feelings of control are negatively correlated with depression (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 1999).

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Females are more likely than males to attribute failure to internal, stable and global factors and success to external, unstable and specific factors.

4. Attribution Styles

This attributional style has been linked to depression (Peterson & Villanova, 1988; Whitley, 1991).

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5. Coping

Two broad categories of coping strategies have been identified: Problem focused-coping strategies and emotion-focused coping strategies.

In absolute terms, females are more likely than males to use virtually all coping strategies (Tamres et

al., 2002):

Coping Strategy Effect Size

PROBLEM FOCUSED

Active -.13

Planning -.04

Seeking social support (instrumental) -.07

EMOTION FOCUSED

Seeking social support (emotional) -.20

Avoidance -.03

Denial .00

Positive reappraisal -.03

Isolation -.03

Venting -.03

Rumination -.19

Wishful thinking -.13

Self-blame -.01

Positive self-talk -.17

Exercise -.04 12

Meta-Analysis of Sex Differences in Coping Strategies (Tamres et al., 2002)

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In relative terms, females are more likely to use emotion-focused coping strategies than problem-focused coping strategies; males are more likely to use

problem-focused coping strategies than emotion-focused coping strategies (Tamres et al., 2002).

Two coping strategies have received considerable research attention:

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(a) Seeking social support

• Taylor et al. (2000) argue that, in contrast to males who exhibit a “flight or fight” response to stress,

females exhibit a “tend and befriend” response to stress.

• This response among females is hypothesized to have emerged from evolutionary pressures and to be under the control of oxytocin.

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(b) Rumination

• Nolen-Hoeksema (1987, 1994) maintains that females experience higher levels of depression than

males because they are more likely to ruminate about negative events than males.

Sample Items from the Rumination Scale (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991)

When you feel down, sad, or depressed, to what extent do you:

1. think about how alone you feel.2. think “I won’t be able to do my work because I feel so badly.”3. think about your feelings of fatigue and achiness.4. think about how sad you feel.5. go away by yourself and think about why you feel this way.6. write down what you are thinking about and analyze it.7. analyze your personality and try to understand why you are depressed.8. think “Why do I have problems other people don’t have?”9. think “What am I doing to deserve this?”10. think “Why do I always react this way?”

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Model of the Relation BetweenRumination and Depression

(Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987, 1994)

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

1. describe Seligman’s model of learned helplessness.

2. distinguish between problem-focused coping and emotion focused-coping.

3. review research findings on sex differences in coping.

4. explain sex differences in seeking social support.

5. explain the relation between rumination and depression.