07 Role of Personality 2010

8/3/2019 07 Role of Personality 2010

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What was the aim of Marmot et als 1997 study?

Who were their participants, and what

independent variable were they investigating? What did they find?

What did they conclude?

What are the strengths and limitations of the

sample used? What type of research method was this?

What are the strengths and limitations of this?


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What are individual differences?

What individual differences may affect the

way people deal with stressful situations?


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Define personality as used by psychologists

Explain what is meant by Type A and TypeB personality.

Describe and evaluate a research study intothe link between Type A personality and

stress related illness.


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In its broadest sense, personality can be

thought of as a set of characteristic

behaviours, attitudes and generaltemperament that remain relatively stable

and distinguish one individual from another.


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What traits or characteristics would make

someone a) more vulnerable to the damaging

effects of stress, b) protected from thedamaging effects of stress.


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Friedman and Rosenman (1959) described a

Type A individual as:

Aggressive Ambitious

Having a competitive drive

Having a chronic sense of time urgency Characteristics lead to raised BP and

hormone levels


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Personality relatively lacking in Type A

characteristics

Which personality type are you?Complete

and score the questionnaire to find out


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX-

7azTwUC4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvx1nUYy8s0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxmisteXQTY&feature=related


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Aim: To assess hypothesis that CHD is associatedwith Type A personality

Method: Approx 3,000 men aged 39-59, living inCalifornia, examined for signs ofCHD (to excludethose already ill) and personality assessed in astructured interview.

Interview = 25 Qs concerned with how individualresponds to everyday pressures.Conducted inprovocative manner to elicit Type A behaviour.


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Findings: After 8.5 years, twice as many Type A

participants had died of cardiovascularproblems.

Type As had higher BP, cholesterol, lipoproteins

Type As had more cases of manifestCHD

Type As more likely to smoke and have familyhistory ofCHD (indirectly increasing risk)


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Suppress emotions, particularly negative

ones

Unassertive Likeable

Rarely get into arguments

Generally helpful to others


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Temshok (1987) suggests TypeCs cope with

stress in a way that ignores their own needs

in order to please others. Chronic stressors affect immune system and

increase risk for cancer whereas acutestressors activate ANS and endocrine system

and increase risk forCHD.


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Greer et al. (1979) found women with a

fighting spirit were more likely to recover

from cancer. Suggests behaviour patterns are a cause of

health or illness rather than an effect.


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Gloomy

Socially inept

Suppress emotional distress Higher risk of heart attack

Associated with depression and socialalienation


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Work out your scores for the three elements

of the Hardy personality.

Why do you have to subtract some scores andadd others? Why not design a questionnaire

so you can simply add them?


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Kobasa (1979) suggested some people are morepsychologically hardy than others.

See themselves as in c_____. Have sense ofc_________ to the world around

them dont stand and watch.

See change as an enjoyable c_______. Enables them to cope better with stress. Hardiness can be taught and used as

s_____m_________technique.


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Kobasa (1979) suggested some people are morepsychologically hardy than others.

See themselves as in control. Have sense ofcommitment to the world around

them dont stand and watch.

See change as an enjoyable challenge. Enables them to cope better with stress. Hardiness can be taught and used as stress

management technique.


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Nemeroff and Musselman (2000) found evidenceof direct link between personality and illness.

Depressed people had 41% more sticky platelets inblood than normal participants.

Giving Prozac almost got rid of platelets. Placebo also made no. platelets drop!

Suggests mood is influencing bodys systems

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07 Role of Personality 2010