Stress Personality Flashcards
IS A LIFE-LONG PROCESS”
LEARNING
a person’s unique pattern of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that persist (consistency) over time and across situations.
Personality (def.)
•characteristics by which each person can be distinguished from other people
Personality
Personality and Stress . Individuals differ dramatically in their response to a *. Some people are born with a temperament that predisposes them to higher or lower levels of **.
- problem or a stressor.
* *tolerance to stress
Your * to a situation plays a role in determining how stressful a situation is to you.
cognitive reaction
Methods of Assessing Personality
- Erroneous Method
- Pseudo-scientific Method
- Scientific Method
maybe based on physical appearance, facial features or expression, mannerism, style of dressing etc.
First Impression
Erroneous Method
First Impression
3 Pseudo-scientific Method
- Physiognomy
- *Phrenology
- **Graphology
- a person’s facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin.
Physiognomy
- is the study of the structure of the skull to determine a person’s character and mental capacity.
Phrenology
- the study of handwriting, for example, as used to infer a person’s character.
Graphology
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
-Objective test
-Behavioral method
Interview
Life History method
-Projective Techniques
- –traits
- –characteristics
- –behaviors
- –expressions
- –moods
- –feelings as perceived by others
Personality is thought to comprise several:
The complexity of one’s personality is thought to be shaped by:
- –genetic factors
- –family dynamics
- –social influences
- –personal experiences
Not all stress is caused by external pressures and demands. Your stress can also be *.
self-generated
- Uncertainty or worries
- Pessimistic attitude
- Self-criticism
- Unrealistic expectations or beliefs
- Perfectionism
- Low self-esteem
- Excessive or unexpressed anger
- Lack of assertiveness
Internal Causes of Stress
Studies have shown that people who display certain * are more likely to suffer from stress and so are prone to all the ill effects associated with stress, physical and emotional illnesses etc.
*characteristics and behaviour
Stress-prone personalities
These personalities do not cope with stress well:
•Type A personality
•Codependent personality
•Helpless-hopeless personality
- •Time urgency
- •Polyphasia (multitasking)
- •Ultra-competitiveness
- •Rapid speech patterns
- •Manipulative control
- •Hyper-aggressiveness and free-floating hostility
Type A behavior
Multitasking
Polyphasia
- Ardent approval seekers
- Perfectionists
- Super-overachievers
- Crisis managers
- Devoted loyalists
- Self-sacrificing martyrs
- Manipulators
- Victims
- Feelings of inadequacy
- Reactionaries
Codependent personality
- Poor self-motivation
- Cognitive distortion where perception of failure repeatedly eclipses prospects of success
- Emotional dysfunction
- External locus of control of reinforcing behavior
Helpless-Hopeless personality
Stress resistant personality
These personalities cope with stress well:
1.Hardy Personality
- Survivor Personality
- Type R Personality (Sensation Seekers)
Sensation Seekers
Type R personality
In hardy personality, Based on the work of Maddi and Kobasa
•Three characteristics noted in those who cope well with stress:
–Commitment (invests oneself in the solution)
•–Control (takes control of a situation, doesn’t run from it)
•–Challenge (sees opportunity rather than the problems)
A person who responds rather than reacts to danger/stress
Survivor Personality Traits
•Bi-phase traits (left and right brain skills)
Survival Personality Traits
Proud but humble –Selfish but altruistic –Rebellious but cooperative –Spiritual but irreverent -Considered optimists and good at creative problem solving
Survival Personality Traits
Bi-phase trait
identified the sensation-seeking personality as those people who seek thrills and sensations but take calculated risks in their endeavors; they appear to be dominated by an adventurous spirit.
Zuckerman (1971)
The Bottom-Line Defense
Self-Esteem:
–Focus on action –Living consciously –Self-acceptance –Self-responsibility –Self-assertiveness –Living purposefully
Practices of high self-esteem:
Characteristics of High Self-Esteem •Connectedness (*) •Uniqueness (**) •Empowerment (***) •Role models or mentors (****) •Calculated risk taking (*****)
- support groups
- *special qualities
- **uses inner resources
- ***has others to look up to
- **not motivated by fear
Refers to the process of resolving stressful situations and of finding ways of feeling less stressed.
‘coping strategy’
involves engaging in purposeful action to improve the situation
PROBLEM FOCUSSED COPING:
involves efforts to reduce the negative emotions of stress
EMOTION FOCUSSED COPING:
This refers to the behavioural and psychological efforts used to reduce, master or tolerate stress
Coping
thoughts and behaviours used to manage the internal and external demands of stressful situations
FOLKMAN
SKINNER’S FAMILIES OF COPING
Problem solving
2.Support seeking
3.Distraction
4.Emotional regulation
5.Positive cognitive
restructuringPositive Strategies
SKINNER’S FAMILIES OF COPING
- Escape, avoidance
- Rumination
- Helplessness
- Social withdrawal
Negative Strategies
Reducing type a behavior
•Find a friend who is more type B than type A - this will encourage you to copy there behaviours.
•Talk about your emotions more, bottle them up is stressful over time
•Take up a new hobby, one which is non competitive
•Decide what your working hors are and stick to them. Appointments outside these times are a no no.
Stop clock watching; take your watch off if this will helps
•Make time for yourself at lest one a week, go to the theatre, take a walk, whatever you like to do
Try not to butt in others conversations, allow others to take the floor.
•Learn to delegate more
•Take a fresh look at your priorities and decide which ones are truly important to you and focus on these.
•Do things one at a time
•Make time to eat and do nothing else whilst doing it.
•Learn to congratulate or praise people for their work.
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