Chapter 8: Trait approach Research
Type A/Type B Behavior
Research on the Type A behavior pattern developed out of predictions made by cardiologists about who suffers heart attacks. Among other behaviors related to this personality trait, Type A people generally perform better in achievement situations than Type B's.
Early researchers found a strong link between Type A behavior and cardiovascular problems, later studies did not always replicate these fndings. Two explanations for this failure concern the way researchers measure Type A and recognizing that anger and hostility is the Type A component related to health problems.
Social anxiety is a trait dimension indicating the extent to which people experience anxiety during social encounters or when anticipating social encounters
distinguish social anxiety from other kinds of anxiety: increased physiological arousal, inablitity to concentrate, and feelings of nervousness. In addition—recognize source discomfort from social encounter having or will have.
List and discuss the characteristics of socially anxious people.
Difficult time in many social situations.
Report feel awkward and nervous when talking to others.
Concerned with what others think of them, become self conscious
Think about what they are doing wrong—how stupid must sound, how foolish they must look.
Stumble over words, say wrong things show outward signs nervousness
Interpret feedback from others in negative way—so expect interactions to not go well.
How personality psychologists explain social anxiety—relatively stable tendency for people to experience social anxiety. Continuum—most everyone can be found on continuum of how much anxiety typically experience. Similar to shyness, stage fright, reticence.
Social anxiety and shyness most similar.
Dating anxiety and stage fright—specific examples
Differences between introversion and shyness—shy people report anxiety often very painful—want to be more sociable. Introverts—often choose to be by themselves.
Thought to be underlying cause--- Evaluation apprehension: A strong concern about receiving negative evaluation from others. Afraid of what other people think of them—fearful of others finding them to be foolish, boorish or immature.
Thinking about blind date, speech, or meeting new people horrible experience—situations that likely to consist of evaluation/judgement by others.
Do things to reduce fear of what others think—avoid encounter, skip parties etc., or reduce amount of social interaction. Short conversations, non threatening topics. Self protective
Methods of reducing social anxiety—findings that it is initiating conversation most difficult, once talking do ok at conversation.
Shy people thought to lack confidence in ability to make good impression—so therapy helps by focus on belief that capable of saying right thing and of making good impression.
Although emotions fluctuate considerably over time and across situations, emotions can be examined in terms of relatively stable individual differences. Researchers place emotions along two major dimensions, which they identify as positive affect and negative affect.
Emotional affectivity. The extent to which people typically experience positive and negative emotions. Emotions can be placed along two major dimensions-- positive affect--- Active, content, satisfied—other extreme--sad and lethargic.
Negative affect—nervousness, anger, distress—other end---calm and serene
Positive affect consistently related to social activity—higher in positive affect more likely to be involved in more social activities. More likely to be involved in satisfying romantic relationships. Able to act in ways that helps them make friends—pleasant and engaging.
Negative affect—related to psychological stress, suffer from emotional problems. Likely to complain about health.
Emotional intensity--- The strength or degree to which people typically experience their emotions. From typically mild to strong emotional reactions. High intensity experience emotion more intensely with more variability. (Highs and lows)
Emotional expressiveness: individual differences in the extent to which people express their emotions. The extent to which people outwardly express their emotions—highly expressive to show few outward signs of feelings
Women more expressive than men, more expression of feelings—fewer problems in romantic relationship, and those who express tend to be better at reading others’ emotions. Emotional expression linked to psychological health—expressive found to be happier, less anxious and guilty, than those low in expressiveness. Less likely to be depressed. High expression higher in self-esteem.
People can be identified along a continuum from dispositionally optimistic to dispositionally pessimistic.
Dispositional optimism The extent to which a person typically adopts an optimistic or pessimistic approach to dealing with life's challenges
Advantages of dispositional optimism: achieve more, high goals and believe can reach goals. Confident, do better with failure.
Differences between optimists and pessimists when faced with stressful events? Optimist less anxious and depressed
Coping strategies used by two kinds of personalities—active vs avoidant optimists typically deal more effectively with adversity, probably because they use more active and direct coping strategies than pessimists.
Defensive pessimism: The tendency to attend to and worry about failure on upcoming tasks in a strategic effort to motivate oneself to do well. individuals deliberately focus on all the things that can go wrong in an effort to motivate themselves to do well.
Terms from Thomason online study guide
defensive pessimism / The tendency to attend to and worry about failure on upcoming tasks in a strategic effort to motivate oneself to do well.dispositional optimism / The extent to which a person typically adopts an optimistic or pessimistic approach to dealing with life's challenges.
evaluation apprehension / A strong concern about receiving negative evaluation from others.
hostility / The component of the Type A pattern concerned with the tendency to express anger and irritability over minor frustrations.
social anxiety / A trait dimension indicating the extent to which people experience anxiety during social encounters or when anticipating social encounters.
Type A-Type B / A trait dimension indicating the extent to which a person typically acts in a driving, time-urgent manner.