Does Helping Behavior Change According to Seasons? The Moderating Role of Depression and Positive Emotions

Elvan Kiremitçi Canıöz

Article Details

Does Helping Behavior Change According to Seasons? The Moderating Role of Depression and Positive Emotions

Authors:

Elvan Kiremitçi Canıöz

Publisher:

Istanbul Ticaret University

Main Topics:

Sağlık Psikolojisi | Sosyal ve Kişilik Psikolojisi (Diğer)

Journal:

İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.24 Issue 53, pp.500-525

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

9/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001359378

pISSN:

1303-5495

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Seasonal changes affect individuals psychological health through variations in circadian rhythm, temperature, and daylight duration. Lower temperatures and reduced daylight in winter may increase depressive symptoms, whereas these symptoms tend to decrease in summer. Similarly, positive emotions are also influenced by seasonal changes. Moreover, helping behavior is associated with individuals well-being and differs across seasons. The present study, conducted in winter, aimed to examine how helping behavior varies between winter and summer and to investigate the moderating role of depression and positive emotions in the relationship between seasons and helping behavior. The sample consisted of 114 university students, including 90 women and 24 men. Data were collected using the Affect Scale, Seasonal Evaluation, Brief Symptom Inventory, seasonal manipulation, PERMA Scale, the helping sub-dimension of the Prosociality Scale, and a measure of helping intention. Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 using Hayes PROCESS macro. The results revealed that participants helping behavior scores and helping intentions differed significantly between winter and summer. Helping behavior scores were significantly higher in the summer condition compared to the winter condition, whereas helping intentions were significantly higher in the winter condition than in the summer condition. Furthermore, depression and positive emotions were found to moderate the effect of seasonality on helping behavior. Since no similar study has been conducted with a Turkish sample, the findings provide important implications for future research.

 Seasonal changes affect individuals psychological health through variations in circadian rhythm, temperature, and daylight duration. Lower temperatures and reduced daylight in winter may increase depressive symptoms, whereas these symptoms tend to decrease in summer. Similarly, positive emotions are also influenced by seasonal changes. Moreover, helping behavior is associated with individuals well-being and differs across seasons. The present study, conducted in winter, aimed to examine how helping behavior varies between winter and summer and to investigate the moderating role of depression and positive emotions in the relationship between seasons and helping behavior. The sample consisted of 114 university students, including 90 women and 24 men. Data were collected using the Affect Scale, Seasonal Evaluation, Brief Symptom Inventory, seasonal manipulation, PERMA Scale, the helping sub-dimension of the Prosociality Scale, and a measure of helping intention. Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 using Hayes PROCESS macro. The results revealed that participants helping behavior scores and helping intentions differed significantly between winter and summer. Helping behavior scores were significantly higher in the summer condition compared to the winter condition, whereas helping intentions were significantly higher in the winter condition than in the summer condition. Furthermore, depression and positive emotions were found to moderate the effect of seasonality on helping behavior. Since no similar study has been conducted with a Turkish sample, the findings provide important implications for future research.

 Seasonal changes affect individuals psychological health through variations in circadian rhythm, temperature, and daylight duration. Lower temperatures and reduced daylight in winter may increase depressive symptoms, whereas these symptoms tend to decrease in summer. Similarly, positive emotions are also influenced by seasonal changes. Moreover, helping behavior is associated with individuals well-being and differs across seasons. The present study, conducted in winter, aimed to examine how helping behavior varies between winter and summer and to investigate the moderating role of depression and positive emotions in the relationship between seasons and helping behavior. The sample consisted of 114 university students, including 90 women and 24 men. Data were collected using the Affect Scale, Seasonal Evaluation, Brief Symptom Inventory, seasonal manipulation, PERMA Scale, the helping sub-dimension of the Prosociality Scale, and a measure of helping intention. Data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 using Hayes PROCESS macro. The results revealed that participants helping behavior scores and helping intentions differed significantly between winter and summer. Helping behavior scores were significantly higher in the summer condition compared to the winter condition, whereas helping intentions were significantly higher in the winter condition than in the summer condition. Furthermore, depression and positive emotions were found to moderate the effect of seasonality on helping behavior. Since no similar study has been conducted with a Turkish sample, the findings provide important implications for future research.

 Mevsimsel değişimler bireylerin psikolojik sağlığını sirkadiyen ritim, hava sıcaklığı ve gün ışığı süresindeki farklılıklara bağlı olarak etkilemektedir. Kış aylarında hava sıcaklıklarının düşmesi ve gün ışığının azalması, bireylerde görülen depresif belirtileri artırabilmekte; yaz aylarında görülen bu belirtiler azalabilmektedir. Benzer şekilde, olumlu duyguların da mevsimlere bağlı olarak görülen değişimlerden etkilendiği bilinmektedir. Bununla birlikte yardım etme davranışı bireyin iyi oluş düzeyiyle ilişkilidir ve mevsimlere bağlı olarak farklılık göstermektedir. Kış mevsiminde yapılan bu araştırmada yardım etme davranışının kış ve yaz mevsimine göre nasıl farklılaştığı, ayrıca kış ve yaz mevsimlerinin yardım etme davranışı üzerindeki etkisinde depresyon ve olumlu duyguların düzenleyici rolünün incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında 90 kadın ve 24 erkek olmak üzere toplam 114 üniversite öğrencisi katılımcıya ulaşılmıştır. Veri toplama araçları olarak katılımcılara sırasıyla Duygu Skalası, mevsimsel değerlendirme, Kısa Semptom Envanteri, mevsim manipülasyonu, PERMA Ölçeği, Prososyallik Ölçeğinin yardım etme alt boyutu ve yardım niyeti ölçümü verilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler SPSS 23.0 analiz programı ve Hayes tarafından geliştirilen PROCESS makro eklentisi ile incelenmiştir. Yapılan analizler sonucunda, katılımcıların yardım etme davranışı puanlarının ve yardım niyetlerinin kış ve yaz mevsimlerine göre anlamlı olarak farklılaştığı, yaz mevsimindeki katılımcıların kış mevsimindeki katılımcılardan anlamlı olarak daha yüksek yardım etme puanına sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Yardım etme niyeti açısından ise, kış mevsimindeki katılımcıların yardım niyetleri yaz mevsimi koşulundaki katılımcılara göre anlamlı olarak daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Ayrıca, mevsimselliğin yardım etme davranışı üzerindeki etkisinde depresyonun ve olumlu duyguların düzenleyici rolü olduğu görülmüştür. Literatürde Türk örneklem grubu ile benzer bir araştırmanın yapılmaması nedeniyle, elde edilen bulgular gelecek araştırmalar için önemli bilgiler sunmaktadır.

Article Details

Does Helping Behavior Change According to Seasons? The Moderating Role of Depression and Positive Emotions

Authors:

Elvan Kiremitçi Canıöz

Publisher:

Istanbul Ticaret University

Main Topics:

Sağlık Psikolojisi | Sosyal ve Kişilik Psikolojisi (Diğer)

Journal:

İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.24 Issue 53, pp.500-525

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

9/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001359378

pISSN:

1303-5495

Depression

season

positive emotions

perma

helping behaviorDepresyon

mevsim

olumlu duygular

perma

yardım etme davranışı

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Elvan Kiremitçi Canıöz

Publisher: Istanbul Ticaret University

Main Topics: Sağlık Psikolojisi | Sosyal ve Kişilik Psikolojisi (Diğer)

Journal: İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.24 Issue 53, pp.500-525

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 9/2025

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001359378

pISSN: 1303-5495

Issues

Authors:

Elvan Kiremitçi Canıöz

Publisher:

Istanbul Ticaret University

Main Topics:

Sağlık Psikolojisi | Sosyal ve Kişilik Psikolojisi (Diğer)

Journal:

İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi Vol.24 Issue 53, pp.500-525

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

9/2025

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001359378

pISSN:

1303-5495