Personality

BY: ANIA SYROWATKA M A R C H 5 TH, 2 0 0 8

Personality

Who we are our uniqueness

Influences our behavior, thoughts, moods,

attitudes, emotions, even our unconscious feelings Is reflected in our interactions with other people and the environment around us Can predict how we would act or react under different situations

Definition of Personality

A definition of personality:

Personality is a stable set of internal characteristics and tendencies that determine the psychological behavior of people. The behavior determined by personality is relatively consistent over time.

Definition of Personality

Picking up the theme of behavior, this has two classes of determinants: personality and environment
BEHAVIOR (B) = F [PERSONALITY (P), ENVIRONMENT (E)]

Personality variables represent internal causes of behavior, while environmental variables are external causes

Definition of Personality
A more detailed formula: BEHAVIOR = F [(a) HEREDITY or PHYSIOLOGY, (b) PAST LEARNING, (c) FLUCTUATING LEVELS OF AROUSAL, & (d) the ENVIRONMENT]. (a), (b), and (c) are internal, so personality includes physiological & learned aspects. It is generally agreed that personality variables are both internal and consistent over time.

Linking Personality to Disease

Possible routes: Personality directly causes the disease; personality disorders
Personality causes disease indirectly, mediated via

health behaviors or exposures

Personality moderates the link between the cause and

the illness making the illness worse or better (effect modifier)

Personality Disorders

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV)

-

Personality Disorders in 3 main clusters or groups Cluster A (the Odd Eccentric Group Psychotics)
paranoid, schizoid & schizotypal personality disorders

Cluster B (Dramatic, Erratic Group Extraverts)

antisocial, borderline, histrionic & narcissistic personality disorders

Cluster C (Anxious, Fearful Group Neurotics)

avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders

Timeline
1758 Franz Joseph Gall was born. He was the founder of phrenology, which links personality to head shape. 1848 - Phineas P. Gage was injured in a dynamite explosion, which blasted a rod into his brain. Gage survived, but his personality was drastically altered. 1902 Erik Erikson born. He created Eriksons stages of psychosocial development and described personality development from birth until death. 1916 - Hans Eysenck born. He created the factor model of personality, which includes Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism. 1921 - Hermann Rorschach's published his book Psychodiagnostik, introduced inkblot personality tests.

1923 - Sigmund Freud published The Ego and the Id.

1948 - Robert W. White's classic book The Abnormal Personality was published. It is an account of disordered behaviour. 1954 Abraham Maslow published his book Motivation and Personality, describing his theory of a hierarchy of needs.

1963 - Albert Bandura first described the concept of observational learning to explain personality development.
1980 - Carl Rogers published A Way Of Being, based in self-actualization theories.

Behaviourist Theories
Behaviourist theories propose that personality results

from an interaction between the individual and the environment.

Behaviourist theorists study observable and measurable

behaviours. They reject theories that include internal thoughts and feelings.

Behaviourist theorists include B. F. Skinner and Albert

Bandura.

Psychodynamic Theories
Psychodynamic theories of personality focus on the influence

of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences on personality.

Psychodynamic theorists include Freud and Erickson. Freud introduced three components of personality; the id,

ego, and superego. The id is in charge of needs and urges. The superego is responsible for ideals and morals. The ego moderates between the id, the superego, and reality. stages and conflicts arise at each stage. Success in each stage is dependent on overcoming the conflicts.

Erikson proposed that personality progresses via a series of

Humanist Theories
Humanist theories focus on the importance of free

will and individual experience in the development of personality.

Humanist theorists highlight the concept of self-

actualization. This is an innate need for personal growth and serves to motivate behaviour.
Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and

Abraham Maslow.

Attributional Style
Attribution Aspect of personality that explains how individuals interpret the cause of their, or other peoples, behavior. Can be relevant to interpersonal relations, and thereby indirectly affect health Internalizing vs. externalizing attributional styles Internalizing individuals: adopt health-enhancing behaviours, take interest in health promotion messages, and accept control over their health status Health locus of control: internal vs. powerful others vs. chance

Type A Personality

Time Urgency and Impatience,

e.g. individuals who are frustrated by waiting, interrupt conversations, walk or talk very quickly, etc.
Free-Floating Hostility or Aggressiveness

e.g. impatience, rudeness, easily upset by minute issues, have a short fuse, etc.

Type A Personality

Strenuous worker Poor sleep pattern Compulsive tendencies Aggressive Depressive and neurotic tendencies Angry Impatience Low on introspection Anxious Hard driving Little time for relaxation Conscientious

Type A Personality

Physical Characteristics:
Facial Tension (Tight lips, clenched jaw, etc.)
Tongue Clicking or Teeth Grinding Dark Circles Under Eyes Facial Sweating (on forehead or upper lip)

Type A Personality

Adverse Effects of Type A Personality:

Hypertension
Heart Disease Job Stress

Social Isolation

Type A Personality
Fixed Characteristic vs. Situational Reaction? Type A personality characteristics are considered to be a reaction to the environment. Hence, it may be relevant in understanding link between job stress and ill health For example, Many jobs put heavy demands on time
Some workplaces put heavy penalties on mistakes
Some jobs create forms of stress that make employees less patient Some individuals have a natural tendency of being more intense, this

can be exacerbated by environmental stress, or mitigated by conscious effort and lifestyle changes.

Type B Personality
- relaxed - not prone to outbursts of rage or anger - non-competitive & less driven - easy-going - patient - optimistic - have a sense of humor - at peace with their environment and themselves - able to express their emotions appropriately - pleasant demeanor - temporary fearlessness in face of trauma - hence able to cope with stress effectively - less susceptible to disease - though not driven over-achievers, they are often successful in their professions

Type A/B Personality Research Article

The Association between Type A Behaviour and

Change in Coronary Risk Factors among Young Adults (Garritty et al, 1990)

Individuals with a Type A personality had significant

increases in: - systolic/diastolic blood pressure - cigarette smoking

Type B personality experienced no change.

Type C Personality

Suppression of emotion Depression Learned helplessness Low emotional expressiveness

Type C Research Article

Colon cancer: personality factors predictive of onset

and stage of presentation (Kavan et al, 1995)

The Type C Personality factors were significantly

correlated with an increased risk of colon cancer

The matched control sample less likely to develop

cancer

Type C Research Article

Personality factors and breast cancer risk: a 13-year

follow-up (Bleiker et al, 2008)

Personality factors not statistically significantly

correlated with increased risk of breast cancer, with or without adjusting for the risk factors
Therefore, the cancer-prone personality was not

related to breast cancer development.

The Constitutional Predisposition Model

The Personality Induced Hyper-Reactivity Model

Precipitator Of Dangerous Behavior Model

Risk Taking Personality Models

Risk Taking Summary

The perception of risk produces a cascade of

physiological changes that cause high arousal and anxiety. Psychoanalytic theorists conclude that individuals who chose to take risks are illogical or pathological It can be argued that we have evolved as a species to take risks in order to survive Contemporary psychologists understand that all types of risk takers rate higher in the Sensation Seeking personality trait

Risk Taking Research Article

The Role of Personality Characteristics in Young

Adult Driving (Patil et al, 2006) Greater risk-taking propensity, physical/verbal hostility, aggression, and tolerance of deviance predicted a competitive attitude toward driving, risktaking during driving, high-risk driving, driving aggression, and drink & driving Greater risk taking propensity, physical/verbal hostility, aggression and expectations for achievement predicted a higher numbers of offences, more serious offences, and more points lost

Addictive Personality
Impulsive behaviour

e.g. difficulty in delaying gratification, antisocial personality characteristics and sensation seeking.
High value placed on nonconformity and a weak

commitment to goal achievement

Sense of social alienation and tolerance for deviance Sense of heightened stress

Spiral of Addictions

Enneagram Basics

The Enneagram is "a geometric figure that delineates the nine basic personality types of human nature and their complex interrelationships."

Evaluate your Personality

Please take the next few minutes to fill out the

personality test to determine your Enneagram type.

Enneagram Types
Type One (The Reformer) is principled, purposeful, self-controlled, and

perfectionistic. Type Two (The Helper) is demonstrative, generous, people-pleasing, and possessive. Type Three (The Achiever) is adaptive, excelling, driven, and imageconscious. Type Four (The Individualist )is expressive, dramatic, self-absorbed, and temperamental. Type Five (The Investigator) is perceptive, innovative, secretive, and isolated. Type Six (The Loyalist) is engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious. Type Seven (The Enthusiast) is spontaneous, versatile, distractible, and scattered. Type Eight (The Challenger) is self-confident, decisive, wilful, and confrontational. Type Nine (The Peacemaker) is receptive, reassuring, agreeable, and complacent.

Enneagrams Applied to Health

Type 1 The Reformer Excessive use of diets, vitamins, and cleansing techniques (fasts, diet pills, enemas). Undereating for self-control: in extreme cases anorexia and bulimia. Alcohol to relieve tension. Type 2 The Helper Abusing food and over-the-counter medications. Bingeing, especially on sweets and carbohydrates. Over-eating from feeling "love-starved." Hypochondria to look for sympathy. Type 3 The Achiever Over-stressing the body for recognition. Working out to exhaustion. Starvation diets. Workaholism. Excessive intake of coffee, stimulants, amphetamines, cocaine, steroids or excessive surgery for cosmetic improvement. Type 4 The Individualist Over-indulgence in rich foods, sweets, alcohol to alter mood, to socialize, and for emotional consolation. Lack of physical activity. Bulimia. Depressants. Tobacco, prescription drugs, or heroin for social anxiety. Cosmetic surgery to erase rejected features. Type 5 The Investigator Poor eating and sleeping habits due to minimizing needs. Neglecting hygiene and nutrition. Lack of physical activity. Psychotropic drugs for mental stimulation and escape, narcotics for anxiety.

Enneagram Application

Type 6 The Loyalist Rigidity in diet causes nutritional imbalances ("I don't like vegetables.") Working excessively. Caffeine and amphetamines for stamina, but also alcohol and depressants to deaden anxiety. Higher susceptibility to alcoholism than many types. Type 7 The Enthusiast The type most prone to addictions: stimulants (caffeine, cocaine, and amphetamines), Ecstasy, psychotropics, narcotics, and alcohol but tend to avoid other depressants. Wear body out with effort to stay "up." Excessive cosmetic surgery, pain killers. Type 8 The Challenger Ignore physical needs and problems: avoid medical visits and check-ups. Indulging in rich foods, alcohol, tobacco while pushing self too hard leads to high stress, strokes, and heart conditions. Control issues central, although alcoholism and narcotic addictions are possible. Type 9 The Peacemaker Over-eating or under-eating due to lack of self-awareness and repressed anger. Lack of physical activity. Depressants and psychotropics, alcohol, marijuana, narcotics to deaden loneliness and anxiety.

Conclusion
Personality has varying influence on:
Health and associated health behaviours in direct and

indirect ways
The main areas of study have been in heart disease and

cancer; chiefly Types A and C personalities

IMPORTANT: Personality effects do not mean that

individuals bring illnesses upon themselves.