Biological - Personality Flashcards
What are the 3 components in a Type A personality?
- Time pressured
- Competitive
- Angry
What are the 3 components in a Type B personality?
- Relaxed
- Non-competitive
- Passive
How do psychologists measure Type A behaviour?
Personality questionnaires, tending to be designed by a Licket scale, with answers ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.
What was the method for Friedman and Rosenman’s study?
3200 participants (all men) were given questionnaires. From their responses, and from their manner, each participant was put into one of three groups:
Type A behaviour: competitive, ambitious, impatient, aggressive, fast talking
Type B behaviour: relaxed, non-competitive.
Type C behaviour: ‘nice,’ hard working but become apathetic when faced with stress.
They were looked at again 8 years later to see who had developed coronary heart disease. Other factors contributing to CHD were kept constant across all the participants
What were the results form Friedman and Rosenman’s study?
70% of those who had developed CHD were from the Type A group.
Suggests that a Type A personality can contribute to the likelihood of CHD
How does coronary heart disease relate to stress?
a factor contributing to coronary heart disease is stress and therefore if a Type A person has more occurrences of CHD, it is likely they are more stressed.
Make an evaluative comment on Friedman and Rosenman’s study
It had low population validity, because they’re only men from California, so it cannot be generalised to everyone
What did Shekelle find?
That there was no difference in incidents of heart disease between TAB and TBB groups, contradicting the findings from Friedman and Rosenma’s research, implying it is not reliable
Which component of Type A behaviour seems to be the most important in predicting coronary heart disease?
Hostility
What did Miller do and find?
Did a meta-review which identified hostility as a risk factor, independent of TAB
What are the three components in a hardy personality?
- Control
- Commitment
- Challenge
Explain Control in regards to a hardy personality
Influencing things in your life rather than attributing control to outside influences
Explain Commitment in regards to a hardy personality
Purpose and involvement in the world.
Tend to resist giving up in times of stress
Explain Challenge in regards to a hardy personality
Challenges are seen as stuff to be over-come, or as opportunities to change and grow
Explain why a person with a hardy personality may be less prone to stress related illnesses
Because being hardy would mean that the SAM and PAS systems would be activated less frequently, straining the heart less
Name and explain a study into hardiness
Kobasa
800 business executives of a large US company were tested using the SRRS. Those who scored highly were then examined and split into two groups; those who were frequently ill and those who were rarely ill. She found a difference in personality between the two with those reporting few illnesses being described as hardy.
State 2 evaluative points on Kobasa’s research into her own theory
- Based on self-report (unreliable)
- Issue of cause and effect
State and explain the procedure of a piece of research into hardness in old people
Langer and Rodin
Compared 2 groups of OAPs in nursing homes (all ppts were of a similar age, health condition and been in the ward for the same amount of time).
One group had quite a lot of control, whereas the other group was quite restrained.
What were the results from Langer and Rodin’s research?
Residents given more personal control were happier, more active and more alert, and after 18 months they were in a better condition than those who had less control.
Explain why TAB is more useful when considered in conjunction with hardiness than alone
Because Type A behaviour includes hardy characteristics; competitiveness is similar to commitment. So being Type A does include hardy traits as well.
This could explain inconsistencies in research about this topic
