M.A. (Psychology) / Both the theories of Seligman (1975) and Beck (1976) provide an explanation of depression as a cognitive phenomenon. These theories are inadequate in the sense that no provision is made for individual differences and personality factors in the development of depression. This study postulates that perfectionism is related to learned helplessness and depression, with the intention of understanding mild depression. Forty first year students at the Rand Afrikaans University were selected on the basis of exceptionally high or exceptionally low scores on the P.Hs. (Perfectionistic Attitude Scale). The subjects were further divided into helpless and non-helpless groups. Helplessness was induced by confronting the subjects with a cognitive task which was impossible to execute. Hereafter, among other things, the subjects' attributions and level of depression (Beck Depression Inventory) were measured. The findings indicate that perfectionism is significantly related to depression, but not to learned helplessness. Furthermore, it was found that helplessness is not necessarily related to depression. It is suggested that helplessness in a laboratory situation is not aversive or important enough to cause depression. The recommendation is made that future helplessness studies Should preferably concentrate on actual life situations. Perfectionism was found to be an important factor in the development of depression, and it was found that perfectionists are essentially underachievers. The implications of these findings were briefly discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:13295 |
| Date | 12 February 2015 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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