Chapter 18

Stress, Coping, Adjustment, and Health

Personality PsychologyPersonality Psychology

Health PsychologyHealth Psychology

Does personality type really predispose us to disease?

Do people with various illnesses develop some of the same personality traits?

How do stress and trauma affect personality?

How do our personalities influence the ways in which we handle stress and trauma?

Health PsychologyHealth Psychology

Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP)

Type B Behavior Pattern (TBBP)

Type C Behavior Pattern (TCBP)

Personality andPersonality and Cardiovascular DiseaseCardiovascular Disease

Type A Behavior

(Friedman and Rosenman, 1974)

A syndrome of several traits:

Achievement motivation and competitiveness

Time urgency

Hostility and aggressiveness

Personality andPersonality and Cardiovascular DiseaseCardiovascular Disease

Type A Behavior

Early research found a relationship between Type A and risk for heart attack

Later research couldn’t replicate—why?

What part of Type A is most lethal?

Personality andPersonality and Cardiovascular DiseaseCardiovascular Disease

Hostility

Is it the specific trait of Hostility, rather than the general syndrome of Type A, that is a better predictor of heart disease?

Personality andPersonality and Cardiovascular DiseaseCardiovascular Disease

Hostility

The “toxic-core”

Most significant feature for risk of heart disease and mortality

Explosive reaction to stress

Some theorists distinguish from “Type A” and call “Type H”

More noncompliant with medical advice

Personality andPersonality and Cardiovascular DiseaseCardiovascular Disease

How Are the Arteries Damaged by Hostility?

Flight or fight increases blood pressure

More blood going through small arteries

Arteriosclerosis

Personality andPersonality and DiseaseDisease

Type B

The absence of Type A behaviors; more relaxed and “laid-back”

Personality andPersonality and DiseaseDisease

Type C

“Cancer-prone personality”

Suppression of emotion

Compliant and conforming

Arousal Heightened activity No outlet Remain in state of heightened activation Reduction of immune system functioning Greater vulnerability to disease

Coping Strategies and StylesCoping Strategies and Styles

Disclosure and Telling Secrets

Keeping things to ourselves can be a source of stress

Getting something “off your chest” can be a relief from stress which can benefit your health

Models for Personality Behavior PatternsModels for Personality Behavior Patterns

Sample of People Measured on Emotional Expression of Any Type

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TypeC

TypeB

TypeA

TypeH

Personality Behavior Pattern

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HypotheticalSample

Models for Personality Behavior PatternsModels for Personality Behavior Patterns

Sample of People Measured on Physiological Arousal

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TypeC

TypeB

TypeA

TypeH

Personality Behavior Pattern

Phys

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Models for Personality Behavior PatternsModels for Personality Behavior Patterns

Sample of People Measured on

Emotional Inhibition

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Type B . Type C

Personality Behavior Patterns

Lev

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HypotheticalSample

Linear(HypotheticalSample)

Sample of People Measured on Hostility

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Type A . Type H

Pesonality Behavior PatternsL

evel

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HypotheticalSample

Models of Personality-IllnessModels of Personality-Illness

Interactional Model

Transactional Model

Health Behavior Model

Predisposition Model

Illness Behavior Model

Two kinds of appraisal in the Two kinds of appraisal in the Transactional ModelTransactional Model

Primary and Secondary Appraisal

Primary Appraisal: person perceives that the event is a threat

Secondary Appraisal: person concludes that they don’t have resources to cope with the threatening event

Coping Strategies and StylesCoping Strategies and Styles

Attribution Style

The dispositional way of explaining the causes of bad events

External vs. Internal

Unstable vs. Stable

Specific vs. Global

Coping Strategies and StylesCoping Strategies and Styles

Optimism and Physical Well-Being

Optimistic appraisal has been shown to predict:

Good health

Immune system functioning

Faster rehabilitation

Living longer

The Concept of StressThe Concept of Stress

A subjective feeling that is produced by uncontrollable and threatening events

Must have both primary and secondary appraisal to qualify as “stress”

Stressors:

Extreme in some manner

Produce opposing tendencies

Are outside of our power to influence

The Concept of StressThe Concept of Stress

Daily Hassles

Minor sources of stress in most peoples’ lives are termed “daily hassles”

Like major events, people with a lot of minor stress suffer more than expected from psychological and physical symptoms

The Concept of StressThe Concept of Stress

Major Life Events

Point system of determining stress levels

Most points = most likely to have a serious illness

When is Stress Overwhelming?When is Stress Overwhelming?

The Stress Response

When the body endures a prolonged “Flight or Fight” response

General Adaptation Syndrome Alarm Resistance Exhaustion

Breakdown in immune functioning, strength of cardiovascular system

Trauma and PersonalityTrauma and Personality

Definition of trauma

Those at increased risk for slow post-trauma recovery:

Outside factors

Personality factors

Coping with traumaCoping with trauma

Coping and personality characteristics Pennebaker’s research on illness support groups

Changes in personality due to trauma Tedeschi’s research on “post-traumatic growth”

Coping strategies Changing attribution style

Disclosure: Pennebaker’s research

Managing emotions