Ravenna Mathews Helson (February 13, 1925–2020) was an American psychologist known for her research on the

psychology of women Feminine psychology or the psychology of women is an approach that focuses on social, economic, and political issues confronting women all throughout their lives. It emerged as a reaction to male-dominated developmental theories such as Sigmund F ...

and

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...

Dacher Keltner Dacher Joseph Keltner is a Mexican-born American professor of psychology at University of California, Berkeley, who directs the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab. He is also the founder and faculty director of the Greater Good Science Center, host ...

has described her as "a pioneer in the study of women's lives".

Career

Helson completed her PhD in psychology at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

(UC Berkeley) in 1952. She joined the faculty of psychology at

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, but moved with her husband, mathematician

Henry Helson Henry Berge Helson (June 2, 1927 – January 10, 2010) was an American mathematician at the University of California at Berkeley who worked on analysis. Education and career Helson received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1947. ...

, back to California in 1955 when he was offered a faculty position at UC Berkeley. Helson began working at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research (IPAR) in 1957, when she accepted an invitation from director

Donald W. MacKinnon Donald Wallace MacKinnon (January 9, 1903 – January 20, 1987) was an American psychologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was known for researching the psychology of creativity. Career After receiving his Ph.D. from ...

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. Helson was a key figure in organizing and conducting the Mills Longitudinal Study, a long-term study of personality development over the lifespan. The study involved more than 100

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...

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. Over the years, the study expanded to address varied topics including changes in personality over the lifespan and in relation to women's work lives, marital satisfaction after child rearing, and the impact of culture on individualism. Helson is an adjunct professor emeritus of psychology at UC Berkeley.

Personal life

Helson was born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

to E. J. Mathews, Registrar and Dean of Admissions at the University of Texas and Ravenna Wakefield Mathews. She graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' from the University of Texas and briefly worked as a newspaper reporter in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

before returning to school to study psychology. Helson married

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

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

External links

Faculty pageMills Longitudinal Study
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helson, Ravenna 1925 births 2020 deaths American women psychologists People from Austin, Texas University of Texas at Austin alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni Personality psychologists University of California, Berkeley College of Letters and Science faculty 21st-century American women 20th-century American psychologists