Stress: Type A and B Personalities (ID Explanation) Flashcards
Who developed the theory?
Freidman and Rosenmann
How did Freidman and Rosenmann develop the theory?
They observed people in waiting rooms and found some were unable to sit for long periods of time
What is a type A personality?
Competitive
Sense of urgency
Hostile
Workaholic
What is a type B personality?
Slower in movement and speech
Calm
Relaxed
Able to express feelings
What points can be made when describing the explanation?
Personality types
Type A and stress
Western Collaborative Group Study
Which personality type is more likely to suffer from stress-related illness?
Type A
What can be said about type A personalities and stress?
More likely to have a fight or flight response which means they have higher levels of hormones and more pressure is put on the heart
They have a higher risk of strokes and heart disease
What was the western collaborative group study?
A prospective longitudinal study following 3154 men between 39 and 59 in 1960. Their personality type was identifyed.
In an 8 year follow-up, 70% of people who developed heart disease had type A personalities and 12% of the type A personalities had heart attacks
How many participants were there in the western collaborative group study?
3154 men
When was the western collaborative group study?
1960 to 1968
What was the age range of the participants in the western collaborative group study?
39-59
What was the procedure of the western collaborative group study?
Participants were interviewed and their personality type was identifyed.
The interview was conducted in a provocative manner to try and encourage type A behaviour
8 year follow up
When was the follow up in the western collaborative group study?
8 1/2 years
In the western collaborative group study, how many participants developed heart disease?
257
Out of the participants who developed heart disease in the western collaborative group study, how many were type A?
70%
How many of the type A participants in the western collaborative group study had heart attacks?
12.8%
How many of the type B participants in the western collaborative group study had heart attacks?
6%
What does the Western Collaborative Group Study show?
Type A personalities leads to an increased risk of heart disease even when other factors such as smoking are controlled for
What points can be made when evaluating the explanation?
Supporting evidence
Conflicting evidence
Gender and cultural bias
Hostility
What is the supporting evidence for the theory?
Freidman: Asked people to complete a puzzle in a noisy environment and found type A people were more stressed which demonstrates how their psychological responses differ
Who came up with supporting evidence?
Freidman
What is the conflicting evidence?
Ragland and Brand followed the WCGS after 22 years and found type A behaviour did not correlate to predicting illness as type A people are more likely to survive heart attacks
Who came up with conflicting evidence?
Ragland and Brand
How does the explanation show gender and cultural bias?
Conducted on Western males
Baker: Females show a greater arousal to stress
Hellman: Type A personalities are a western thing
What did Baker say about gender bias?
Women have greater arousal to stress when they are type A
What did Hellman say about cultural bias?
Type A personalities are Western things so the explanation is less useful when looking at eastern cultures
What can be said about the relationship between hostility and stress?
Some elements of the personality may be more important than others. Hecker found hostility has the most significant relationship with heart disease
What did Hecker find?
hostility has the most significant relationship with heart disease
