Individual Differences In Stress: Personality Content Flashcards
What is personality?
What makes us who we are, categorised into types as the general population tends to have some stable behavioural characteristics which distinguish individuals into personality types
What are the main characteristics of type A personality type?
. Competitive
. Hostile and aggressive
. Impatient
How are individuals with a type A personality more vulnerable to stress?
They are constantly in some level of fight or flight, that being either through constant aggressive and perfectionist behaviour etc, meaning they are naturally more prone to high blood pressure due to high levels of stress hormones, making this type susceptible to stress and in turn illness
Which illness often arises from stress and is often studied?
Coronary heart disease (CHD)
What are the main characteristics of the type B personality?
. Easy-going
. Doing one thing at a time
. Patient
This means they are less vulnerable to stress-related illness due to their less stressful lifestyle, reducing the frequency that fight or flight is entered
What is the main study into the type A and B personality and what were they investigating?
Friedman and Rosenman: whether type A individuals or type B are more vulnerable to CHD, including the role of stress in this risk
How did Friedman and Rosenman assess the personality types of their sample?
. Interviewed the participants, observed their behaviour at the beginning and got them to fill out a questionnaire
- signs of impatience were noted down in the interview as the participants were deliberately interrupted
- interview consisted of 25 questions about how they would respond to everyday pressures
What were the personality types measured in the Rosenman and Friedman study?
Type A, B and X (mix of A and B)
- type X isn’t regarded as a personality type any more
How large was the Rosenman and Friedman study, where did it take place and for how long did the study go on for?
Around 3200 MEN, aged 39-59 from California. Assessed longitudinally over 8.5 years
How did Rosenman and Friedman exclude extraneous variables at the beginning?
. Assessed participants for signs of CHD so that any individuals who showed signs could be excluded from results so that a false conclusion wasn’t made that CHD was associated with a personality type
. Other risk factors for CHD such as smoking and being overweight were taken into account before the results were taken
What were the findings of the Friedman and Rosenman study after the 8.5 years?
. Of the 257 men who developed CHD, 70% were type A
. Type A’s had higher levels of stress hormones and cholesterol
. Twice as many Type A’s (2.7%) died of cardiovascular problems compared to 1.1% of type B’s. (Still small)
. Type A’s were more likely to smoke and have a family history of CHD (could be an extraneous variable)
. Moderate but significant positive correlation between type A and CHD
What is some practical application of Friedman and Rosenman’s research?
Behaviour modification programmes have been created to try and reduce type A behaviour’s to reduce stress levels so that individuals can try and become less vulnerable to stress-related illness such as CHD
What are the main characteristics of type C personality and what does it reportedly make you more vulnerable to?
. Self-sacrificing
. Compliant
. Avoid conflict
. Suppress emotions, especially negative ones
. Patient at the detriment of themselves
Makes you more vulnerable to cancer
How has the link between type C personality and cancer been explained?
Temoshok (1987): some stressors activate the autonomic nervous system, which is related to CHD. More chronic stressors affect the immune system and increase cancer risk
