Individual differences in formal operational thought: sex role and learned helplessness

Research on sex differences in the utilization of formal operations is equivocal, yet where such differences have been observed, males generally perform better than females. It is unclear, however, whether this sex difference reflects a difference in competence or performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate sex-role identity and learned helplessness as possible mediating factors affecting performance on formal operational tasks. Performance on 4 tasks requiring formal operations was assessed for 13-year-old males and females. Contrary to expectations, the performance of individuals with a feminine sex role did not differ significantly from that of individuals with a masculine sex role. While adolescents who were classified as both androgynous and helpless performed poorly on several of the measures, this result was not completely consistent across tasks. Possible explanations for this lack of consistency are explored.