Personality as Resilience and Vulnerability:
Some personality factors make individual more able to withstand high levels of stressful experience without becoming emotionally distressed or physically ill
-Hardiness → differentiates people who do and do not get sick under stress
-Control refers to people's belief that they can influence events in their lives
-Commitment is people's sense of purpose or involvement in the events,
activities, and with people in their lives
-Challenge refers to the tendency to view changes as incentives or opportunities for growth rather than threats to security
Three examples of personality concepts similar to hardiness:
-Sense of coherence (Aaron Antonovsky) trait involves the tendency of people to see their worlds as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful
-Optimism: view that good things are likely to happen
-Resilience: refers to high levels of three interrelated
positive components of personality: self esteem, personal control, optimism (Resilient people appraise negative events as less stressful)
>Personality Strengths and Health
-Assets or strengths reflected in one's sense of coherence, optimism, and resilience should prevent spiralling process that can lead from stress to illness
-E.g. optimism associated with a reduced risk of developing physical illness
>Personality and Health in Old Age
-Old age is hard time because
reduced income, failing health and disability, loss of spouse, etc
-Measured stamina in elderly
High stamina → "A triumphant, positive outlook during periods of adversity"
>The five-factor Model of Personality
-Five broad traits provide a reasonably through description of normal variations in human personality
Neuroticism vs Emotional stability
Extraversion vs. introversion
Openness vs closed mindedness
Agreeableness vs. antagonism
Consciousness vs
unreliability
>Type A behavior pattern consists of 4 characteristics:
-Competitive achievement orientation: strive toward goals with a sense of being in a competition, feeling a sense of joy in accomplishments
-Time urgency: people seem to be in a constant struggle against the clock, impatient, schedule commitments too tightly
-Anger/hostility: easily aroused to anger and hostility
-Vigorous vocal style: speak loudly, rapidly, "talk over",
controlling conversation
>Type B behaviour pattern consists of low level of competitiveness, time urgency and hostility
>Behaviour and Patterns in Stress
-Type A and B react differently to stressors
-Type A react quickly and strongly, interpret stress as threats
>Age and Developmental Differences in Type A behaviour
-Type A behavior may have roots in person;s early temperament, some decline as age
-Type A individuals dying at earlier stages than type Bs
>Type A Behaviour and Health
-Type A more likely to be sick than B
-Type A twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD) than B
>Type A's "Deadly Emotion"
-Not as accurate because could not be completely honest and accurate in describing own behaviour on self report
-Type A's deadly emotions: anger/hostility
anger/hostility and CHD
anger/hostility → more conflicts → more stress → reduce social support → self-fulfilling prophecy
-Less sleep
quality
-Do not respond to social support with reduced physiological reactivity during stressful situations
-anger/hostility linked to heavy drinking, obesity, smoking
-> Refers to physical symptoms or illnesses that result from the interplay of psychosocial and physiological processes
-Uses biopsychosocial perspective
>Digestive System diseases
-Ulcers
-Combination of gastric juices eroding the lining of stomach that has been
weakened by bacteria infection + stress
-Inflammatory bowel disease (Stress related to up flare ups)
-Irritable bowel syndrome
>Asthma
-Attacks result from combination of allergies, respiratory infections, biopsychosocial arousal (stress or exercise)
-Get better when leave hospital but worse when at home why?(dust , stress, negative emotion)
>Recurrent headache
-Tension type
(Caused by combination of central nervous system dysfunction and persistent
contraction of head and neck muscle, very common)
-Migraine headache
(Result from dilation of blood vessels surrounding brain and a dysfunction in brain stem and trigeminal nerve extend throughout front half of the head. Triggered by hormonal changes, missing meals, sunlight, poor sleep, stress)
>Other Disorders
-Rheumatoid arthritis (Produces inflammation and stiffness of the small joints (e.g. hands), stress involved)
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