personality and physical health Flashcards
What are the four potential pathways proposed by Matthews et al. to explain the association between personality and physical health?
directional causation - biological differences cause health differences
correlation - extra factor causing personality and health differences
causal change - personalities linked with better health behaviours
somatogenic pathways - health influencing personality
Outline research into the links between Type A personality and CVD risk. What was suggested from the findings?
Inconsistent findings - meta-analysis found a modest effect of type A on CVD, inconsistencies due to personality assessments used
Glass - argued there are three main components of type A (competitively striving for achievement, sense of urgency, hostility) but hostility was labelled the toxic facet of CVD (hostility directly linked to reactivity to stress)
According to early research by Friedman and Rosenman, what are Type A and Type B personalities and what are their distinguishing features?
Personality types associated with CVD
Type A personalities are characterized by traits such as competitiveness, ambition, impatience, and hostility, while Type B personalities are more relaxed, uninterested in power and competition, and lack the aggressive drive.
What personality traits are associated with Type C and Type D personalities, and what health conditions are they linked with?
Type C: High E and Low N , high levels of emotional suppression and are associated with cancer (mixed-evidence)
Type D: distressed and socially inhibited, linked with poorer recovery from heart attacks and risk of future heart problems
Most of the effects of the Big 5 on health are caused by
MOST CAUSED BY A CAUSAL BEHAVIOURAL CHAIN MECHANISM
Why is the link between neuroticism traits and decreased longevity disputed?
Research indicates that socioeconomic status (SES) may confound this relationship (lower SES = associated with neuroticism and poorer health)
Friedman ‘Healthy neuroticism’ - (explains inconsistent research) personality that is high in anxiety but low depression and vulnerability. Associated with the engagement with preventative behaviours and increased longevity
What is the main conclusion drawn from research between the association of Big 5 traits and longevity?
It is not the personality itself, but rather the dominating facets, associated with the personality type, which dictate how you lead you lead your life and its associated longevity
Outline research into the protective and toxic facets of extraversion.
Chapman, Roberts, Duberstein (2011) – positive association between E and mortality partly explained by smoking
Wriss et al - rated 283 gorillas on extraversion, dominance, fear and understanding. Found that levels of E most predictive if survival due to better social ties, immune function and lower CVD.
What are somatogenic effects, and how do they influence personality?
Somatogenic effects refer to changes in personality resulting from alterations in health. For example, individuals born with very low birth weight may develop cautious personality traits as a survival mechanism to stressful environment and risk of disease/due to parental monitoring.
What did Jokela et al.’s meta-analysis reveal about the impact of chronic diseases on personality traits? What were the suggested neural mechanisms behind these changes?
Jokela et al.’s meta-analysis found that experiencing chronic diseases, can reduce levels of the Big 5 traits (exc agreeableness/neuroticism).
Greatest changes caused by stroke, least change for cancer.
dose-effect - more chronic illness experiences = greater reductions
mechanisms = changes in neural functions (like strokes), coping with distress and challenges of disease (changes in N), chronic illness causes fatigue (changes in E), lowered ability to organise (changes in C)
What are the “5 Ts” proposed by Hagger-Johnson and Pollard-Whiteman (2008), and how do they apply to health interventions?
TARGETING health campaigns to (risky) personality traits
TAILORING interventions to personality profiles
TRAINING for personality types – e.g making E have less impulsivity
TREATMENT to lower risky traits/toxic traits
TRANSFORMATION RECORDING – encouraging ppt to expect and recognise changes in their personality that may result from these health conditions and help them with coping with that/avoid developing negative traits
What factors did Waxman et al. (2013) suggest contribute to the development of cautious personality traits in adults born with very low birth weight?
Waxman et al. suggested that the development of cautious personality traits (low E and O, high N, A, C) in adults born with very low birth weight may be influenced by factors such as extra-uterine brain development, subsequent illness experiences , and higher parental monitoring and behavioral restrictions = all lead to a cautious personality
What did the study by Wriss et al. (2012) on gorillas reveal about the association between extraversion and survival?
The study found that higher levels of extraversion in gorillas were strongly associated with survival, suggesting that protective effects of extraversion, such as better immune functionin social tie and lower risk of CVD = imprinted in our evolutionary past.
Outline the Big 5 traits.
O - aesthetic appreciation, fantasy, novelty ideas, plasticity of ideas
C - competence, order, duty, achievement, deliberation
E - warmth, gregariousness. activity, positivity, excitement seeking
A - trust, altruism, straight-forward, compliance, modesty, tenderness
N - anxiety, depression, hostility, vulnerability, self-consciousness, impulsiveness
How is Type A personality measured?
Jenkins Activity Survey - self report
Challenging interview - focuses on anger and hostility
