Lecture 5- Wellbeing and Personality Flashcards
What broad areas of health can personality influence?
- Vulnerability to physical and psychological illness
- How we experience such illness (illness behaviour)
- likelihood of seeking support for health issues
- Recovery and outcome of illness
Outline the direct link between personality and health
- Personality has a causal role in health and illness
- E.g. “Disesase Prone” Personality (Psychosomatic Conditions)
- E.g. stomach ulcers, CHD,
PERSONALITY -> BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES-> ILLNESS
outline the correlational link between personality and health
- Correlational link between personality and illnss
- E.g. Matthews (2003) Genetic relationship between vulnerability to CHD and personality traits of hostility
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES -> PERSONALITY
&
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES -> ILLNESS
Outine personality traits influence behaviours as a link between personality and health
- Personality traits may influence our behaviours; which subsequently influence our risk for certain illness
- e.g more sensation seeking = substance use, risky sexual behaviour
PERSONALITY -> RISKY BEHAVIOUR -> ILLNESS
Outline changes in personality as a link between personality and health
- Having an illness may result in changes in our personality
- Brain disorders (Az), chronic conditions, illness in childhood (Psychosocial adjustment, sociability)
ILLNESS-> PERSONALITY
How is the big five linked to health
- Differing relations with psychological and physical illness for Big 5
- Evidence that lower levels of conscientiousness linked to lower treatment adherence
What were Smith (2006) 4 main features of links between personality and health/
- Role of anger and hostility
- Social dominance
- Neuroticisms and negative affect
- Optimism
How is neuroticism linked to health>
- Reduced longevity; serious physical disease
- Physical complaints with no identifiable medical caue
- More somatic symptoms
- Body dysmorphic disorder
Outline how optimism is linked to health
- Optimists are less susceptible to depression and anxiety
- Tend to live longer
- Experience fewer physical symptoms, recover better from surgery, report fewer complications (Scheier & Carver, 1987)
What are problems with research that links personality and health
X - could reflect psychological REACTION to disease
X - self-rated symptoms?
X - associations do not explain
Outline Williams et al (2011) study into illness beliefs and behaviours
- Explored Type D personality and illness beliefs/ behaviours
- Type D’s were Significantly different from non-type D on all illness perception dimensions
Outline Diathesis stress models of psychological disorders***
- individuals ability to cope with stress is a potentially important mechanism
- Stress is a response to perceived demands
- We vary in how we perceive demands and this effects how stressful it is
- Vulnerable individuals are more likely to have negative responses than resilient individuals
Outline 1. Health behaviour models of stress
- Personality impacts on engagement with health behaviours, and this impacts on illness
- Personality can also influence our appraisal and coping strategies when faced with stressful situations
PERSONALITY -> HELATH BEHAVIOURS -> ILLNESS
PERSONALITY -> APPRAISAL
PERSONALITY -> COPING
COPING -> HEALTH BEHAVIOURS
outline 2. Interactional Stress models
Personality moderates the physiological responses to stressors that can influence the subsequent likelihood of disease
PERSONALITY -> APPRAISAL & COPING
APPRAISAL & COPING -> PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE
PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE -> ILLNESS
outline 3. Transactional Stress Model
Personality influences exposure to stressefull circumstances
PERSONALITY -> APPRAISAL & COPING
PERSONALITY -> STRESSFUL CIRCUMSTANCES (and vice versa)
PERSONALITY -> SUBSEQENT CIRCUMSTANCES (and vice versa)
APPRAISAL & COPING -> PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE -> ILLNESS
Outline Locus of control as a related concept
Rotter (1966)
- Extent individuals believe they can control events and their experiences
- Internal LOC: believe our behaviour can influence the outcome of a situation or scenario
- External LOC: outcome is out of our control, and related to external factors
- Links with psychological and physical disorders
•Depression
•Therapy and Quality of life in illness
Outline Self-effficacy as a related concept
Degree of confidence in our ability to perform a particular task, in order to achieve positive outcome
- Positively related to health behaviours
- Related to motivation and persistence - important in recovery
- Important mediator between stressful life events and depressive symptoms
Define Personality Disorders
- Enduring, maladaptive patterns of behaviours and cognitions that deviate markedly from what is expected and accepted
- Extreme and severe disturbances of affecting not only the individual but also their interpersonal relations
What is the DSM-5’s criteria for personality disorder
•Patterns of behaviours and experiences that deviate from normal (Cognitions, affect, interpersonal functioning, impulse control)
- enduring, inflexible, pervaisve
- Stable over time (Traced from early childhood)
- Not caused by another disorder or substance
- Clinically significant impairment or distress
There are 10 disorders, grouped into 3 clusters
Outline Prevalence & Comorbidity of personality disorders
- 6% Cluster A - odd or eccentric
- 5% Cluster B - Dramatic, emotional, erratic
- 7% Cluster C - Anxious, fearful
Comborbidity with: Anxiety, mood, substance disorders
- PD’s often co-occur as well
What are the 3 characteristics of the healthy self
- Identity
- unique person
- Stable boundaries - Self-direction
- Meaningful goals
- appreciation of social norms and how to interact with others - Positive interpersonal relationships
- empathy
- understand impat of behaviour on others
- Intimacy and mutual connectedness
Which of the 5 factors are linked to
Saulsman & Page (2004)
Neuroticism and agreeableness -> related to all personality disorders
Extraversion related to histrionic/ avoidant PD
What are the 3 disorders in Cluster A
Odd or eccentric personality disorders
- Paranoid PD
- Schizoid PD
- Schizotypal PD
Outline Schizotypal PD
- Extreme discomfort with and reduced tendency for close relationships
- ODd beliefs or magical thinking (E.g. thinking your thoughts could affect the physical world
- unusual perceptual experiences
- Odd thinking or speech, peculiar dress or mannerisms
- Ideas of reference
- General Social Anxiety (paranoid fears)