Individual differences Explanation 1 - Ty

Question 1

What is the A01 content?

Answer 1

1. The hardy personality and the 3cs
2. Maddi and Kobasa
3. How do the characteristics buffer against stress.

Question 2

1. Outline the theory of hardiness

Answer 2

The idea that some people have a hardy personality whereas others don’t. Those who have this personality are better able to cope with stress.

Question 3

1. What are the 3s

Answer 3

• Control
• Commitment
• Challenge

Question 4

1. How does someone with a hardy personality see themselves in the terms of he 3cs

Answer 4

• Control, they view themselves as in control of their own lives not controlled by other factors.
• Commitment ( hardy people are involved with the world around them and engage in activities regularly )
• Challenge ( they view stressors as a challenge to overcome rather than something to stress about)

Question 5

2. What did Kobaso do and find?

Answer 5

Kobaso performed research on business men, he measured their life stress levels and their occuranece of sick days of work. He then asked them to complete a questionnaire to determine their levels of the 3cs. Those managers that were more resilient and had minimal days left proved to have high levels of the 3cs.

Question 6

2. What did Maddi do and find?

Answer 6

Maddi did longitudinal research on a telephone bell company, she asked them to self report on the personal view for hardiness survey and general health questionnaire . Within the time of the research the company was under going many big changes that meant it was extremely stressful for workers. Many workers reported high levels of stress and many health issues such as heart attacks and depression. Those that did not report any health issues reported high levels of the three Cs on the hardiness test.

Question 7

3. How does Control buffer against stress?

Answer 7

Hardy people are more likely to be proactive in controlling their stress levels, they may be better at managing their tasks and seeking help to avoid them becoming overwhelmed.

Question 8

3. How does Commitment buffer against stress?

Answer 8

Hardy people are more committed to their goals, they are more likely to get through set backs and preserver through any difficulty.

Question 9

3. How does Challenge buffer against stress?

Answer 9

Hardy people are less likely to view challenges as difficult, they view stress in a positive light and do not let it adversely affect them.

Question 10

3. What is hardiness training?

Answer 10

Hardiness training is reconstructing stress repose to help individuals adapt the ability to have higher levels of the 3s to help combat stress.

Question 11

3. Application of hardiness training

Answer 11

A study on university students that received hardiness training by stress management and enhancing their 3s found that they were less likely to be exposed to stress and scored higher on the hardiness test.

Question 12

Evaluation - Research support

Answer 12

Contrada et al found that individuals who scored higher on a hardiness questionnaire exposed to stressful situations within a lab had a lower resting blood pressure suggesting that they are less likely to expiernce the physiological response to stress making them less likely to experience health issues.

Question 13

Evaluation - Issues with supporting studies. (Methodology)

Answer 13

The study focused on individuals from one company and therefore lacks generalisability. The cause and effect can not be directly determine due to presence of external factors that may have affected results such as social support etc. The study also relied on self reports which are susceptible to social desirability bias.

Question 14

Evaluation - Application

Answer 14

Research from key leading studies such as Maddi has allowed for real world application/ E.g., in the military, highly stressful jobs are beginning to incorporate hardiness training into their programmes to help buffer against stress.