PERSONALITY C + HARDINESS
Type C traits
inclined to perfection
taking everything seriously
thoughtful
working very hard
sensitive
easily stressed
introverted
Morris et al 1981
procedure:
findings:
Aim: to investigate the relationship between Type C behaviour and cancer
conclusion: supports a link between cancer and the suppression of anger, suggesting that type C personalities are more cancer prone
women attending cancer clinic were asked to participate in study
75 women were interviewed and asked about often they expressed affection, unhappiness by crying or losing control when angry
two years long
this was to assess typical patterns of emotional behaviour
the interviewer was not aware of the initial diagnosis of cancer
women whose breast lumps were found to be cancerous were also found to be cancerous were also found to have reported that they both experienced and expressed far less anger (type C) than those women whose lumps were found to be non cancerous
hardy personality
associated physiological arousal in the presence of stressors
enables people to cope better with stress and supposedly encourages resilience, protecting individuals against the negative effects of stress
three Cs
COMITMENT: involved in the world around them eg. relationships, activities and selves. they have a strong sense of self + purpose
CHALLENGE: see problems as challenges to be overcome and mastered rather than a threat or stressor. they see change as expected and opportunity
CONTROL: feel a sense of personal control over what they are doing. strive to influence environments rather than being controlled by external factors
Kobasa 1979
Kobasa then identified those who were either high stress/low illness (86 ppts in this group) or high stress/high illness (75 ppts)
findings
procedure
conclusion: highly stressed individuals do not experience illness because they have a hardy personality
Aim: to investigate why some people who where highly stressed managed not to become ill, whereas others did
asked to identify the life events they had experienced in the previous three years
also asked to list any illnesses they had experienced in this time
800 middle and upper level executives (all male) from a large utility company (US)
individuals in the high stress/low illness group scored high on all three characteristics of the hardy personality
the high stress/high illness group scored lower on those variables