Personality Types and Stress

Question 0

How to measure stress?

Answer 0

• Stress affects sympathetic nervous system. We can measure sympathetic nervous activity as indicators of the arousal of stress:
  
  • Respiration Rate
  • Blood Pressure
  • Heart Rate
  • Skin Conductance
  • Corticosteroids
  • Catecholamines

Question 1

What is Stress?

Answer 1

Generated when we think we may not be able to meet perceived demands and expect negative consequences to follow.

Stress involves negative emotional response affecting physiological functioning.

Stress Myers (1998)

Question 2

What is the “life events” scale?

Answer 2

• Developed by Holmes and Rahe in 1967
• Involves asking people to list events in their recent past that might be expected to be stressful and then giving a score to how stressful that is perceived to be
• Scale acknowledges that change in general can cause stress

Question 3

Stress and Cardiovascular System

Answer 3

Continued stress can damage the CV system over time. Stress can result in considerable wear and tear on the CV system and may cause a myocardial infarction

Question 4

Personality Types: Type A

Answer 4

• Very ambitious in relation to amount they try to get done in limited time
• More competitive and hostile towards others

Question 5

Personality Types: Type B

Answer 5

• Low on competitiveness, time urgency and hostility

Question 6

Stress and Immune Response

Answer 6

• Stress causes weaker immune response and slower wound healing
• Stress can reduce the Helper T (CD4) cell count

Question 7

Stress and Risk Behaviour

Answer 7

• People who feel stressed are less likely to take preventative measures
• May take risks with health through drug and alcohol abuse and sleep loss

Question 8

Who made up personality types A and B?

Answer 8

Friedman and Rosenman (1950)