Ravenna Helson

Ravenna Mathews Helson (born February 13, 1925 - 2020) was an American psychologist known for her research on the psychology of women and creativity.[1] Dacher Keltner has described her as "a pioneer in the study of women's lives".[2]

Ravenna Helson
Born
Ravenna Mathews

(1925-02-13)February 13, 1925
Austin, Texas
Died2020
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
University of California, Berkeley
Known forCreativity; Psychology of women
Spouse
​
(m. 1954⁠–⁠2010)​
Children3
Awards2017 Society for Personality and Social Psychology Annual Convention Legacy honoree
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology
InstitutionsInstitute of Personality Assessment and Research
University of California, Berkeley
ThesisRecall of Items as a Function of the Number of Categories Into which They Have Been Classified (1952)
Doctoral advisorsLeo Postman
Warner Brown
Notable studentsBrent Roberts

Career

Helson completed her PhD in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in 1952.[3] She joined the faculty of psychology at Smith College, but moved with her husband, mathematician Henry Helson, back to California in 1955 when he was offered a faculty position at UC Berkeley.[4] Helson began working at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research (IPAR) in 1957, when she accepted an invitation from director Donald W. MacKinnon to join the institute. She was promoted to the position of full-status researcher at IPAR in 1980, and became an adjunct professor of psychology at UC Berkeley the same year.[5]

Helson was a key figure in organizing and conducting the Mills Longitudinal Study,[6][7] a long-term study of personality development over the lifespan. The study involved more than 100 Mills College senior undergraduates (born 1937–1939), who were recruited in 1958–1959, and continues to the present day. The main purpose of the study was to examine personality in relation to creativity in women.[5] Over the years, the study expanded to address varied topics including changes in personality over the lifespan[8][9] and in relation to women's work lives,[10] marital satisfaction after child rearing,[11][12] and the impact of culture on individualism.[13]

Helson is an adjunct professor emeritus of psychology at UC Berkeley.[14]

Personal life

Helson was born in Austin, Texas to E. J. Mathews, Registrar and Dean of Admissions at the University of Texas and Ravenna Wakefield Mathews. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas and briefly worked as a newspaper reporter in Corpus Christi, Texas before returning to school to study psychology.[15]

Helson married Henry Helson in 1954. The couple had three children and remained married until Henry's death in 2010.[16] She died in 2020.[17]

Representative works
  • Helson, R. (1971). Women mathematicians and the creative personality. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 36(2), 210–220.
  • Helson, R. (1996). In search of the creative personality. Creativity Research Journal, 9(4), 295–306.
  • Helson, R., George, L., & John, O.P. (2009). Challenge episodes over middle age: A person-centered study of aging well in poor health. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 323–334.
  • Helson, R., Jones, C., & Kwan, V. S. (2002). Personality change over 40 years of adulthood: Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of two longitudinal samples. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(3), 752–766.
  • Helson, R., & Moane, G. (1987). Personality change in women from college to midlife. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(1), 176–186.
  • Helson, R., & Wink, P. (1992). Personality change in women from the early 40s to the early 50s. Psychology and Aging, 7(1), 46–55.

References
  1. O'Connell, Agnes N.; Russo, Nancy Felipe (1990). Women in Psychology: A Bio-bibliographic Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 151. ISBN 9780313260919.
  2. Keltner, Dacher (2009). Born to be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 113. ISBN 9780393065121.
  3. "Ravenna M. Helson | Society for Personality and Social Psychology". spsp.org. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  4. Emre, Merve (2018). The personality brokers : the strange history of Myers-Briggs and the birth of personality testing (First ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-385-54190-9. OCLC 1042077169.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. Davidson, Tal. "Ravenna Helson". Psychology's Feminist Voices. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  6. "Mills Longitudinal Study". millslab.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  7. "Is Your Personality Plastic Or Set In Plaster? | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  8. Boodman, Sandra G. (2002-09-22). "If you're not feeling like yourself, researchers wouldn't be shocked". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  9. Helson, Ravenna; Jones, Constance; Kwan, Virginia S. Y. (2002). "Personality change over 40 years of adulthood: Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of two longitudinal samples". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 83 (3): 752–766. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.3.752. ISSN 1939-1315. PMID 12219867.
  10. George, Linda G.; Helson, Ravenna; John, Oliver P. (2011). "The "CEO" of women's work lives: How Big Five Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Openness predict 50 years of work experiences in a changing sociocultural context". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 101 (4): 812–830. doi:10.1037/a0024290. ISSN 1939-1315. PMID 21859225.
  11. Chronicle, The San Francisco (2008-12-04). "Study: Marital happiness increases after kids grow up and leave". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
  12. Gorchoff, Sara M.; John, Oliver P.; Helson, Ravenna (2008). "Contextualizing Change in Marital Satisfaction During Middle Age". Psychological Science. 19 (11): 1194–1200. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02222.x. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 19076493. S2CID 12690080.
  13. Roberts, Brent W.; Helson, Ravenna (1997). "Changes in culture, changes in personality: The influence of individualism in a longitudinal study of women". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 72 (3): 641–651. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.641. ISSN 1939-1315. PMID 9120788.
  14. "Ravenna M. Helson". UC Psych. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  15. Helson, Ravenna (2008-04-17). "One Surprise After Another". Journal of Personality Assessment. 90 (3): 205–214. doi:10.1080/00223890701884780. ISSN 0022-3891. PMID 18444117. S2CID 41306980.
  16. "Ravenna M. Helson". Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology. Archived from the original on 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  17. Mitchell, Valory (January 2022). "Ravenna M. Helson (1925–2020)". American Psychologist. 77 (1): 148. doi:10.1037/amp0000859. ISSN 1935-990X. PMID 35357861. S2CID 247855362.
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