This Document Contains Chapters 16 to 18 Chapter 16 Sex, Gender, and Personality Chapter Outline The Science and Politics of Studying Sex and Gender Study of sex differences is controversial Some argue that findings of sex differences merely reflect gender stereotypes rather than real differences Some argue that any discovery of sex differences merely reflects biases of scientists, rather than objective reality Some advocate stopping research on sex differences because findings of sex differences might conflict with ideas of egalitarianism But others argue that scientific psychology and social change will be impossible without coming to terms with real sex differences that do exist History of the Study of Sex Differences Prior to 1973, there was little attention paid to sex differences 1974, Maccoby and Jacklyn published a book, The Psychology of Sex Differences Set off an avalanche of work on sex differences Maccoby and Jacklyn presented an informal summary of research Researchers developed more precise quantitative procedures for examining conclusions across studies and thus for determining sex differences: Meta-analysis
Calculation of Effect Size: How Large Are the Sex Differences? Effect size or d-statistic: Used to express the difference in standard deviation units Effect size can be calculated for each study of sex differences, then averaged across studies to give an objective assessment of the difference Effect size (d): .20 = small, .50 = medium, .80 = large; positive d means men higher, negative d means women higher Even the large effect size for the average sex difference does not necessarily have implications for any one individual
Minimalists and Maximalists Minimalists describe sex differences as small and inconsequential Maximalists argue that the size of sex differences should not be trivialized—small effects can have important consequences Sex Differences in Personality Temperament in Children Else-Quest et al. (2006) meta-analysis (children 3 to 13 years) Inhibitory control = Largest sex difference (girls greater than boys) Perceptual sensitivity = sex difference favoring girls Surgency = sex difference favoring boys Negative affectivity = no sex difference, contrary to stereotypes Five-Factor Model Extraversion Women score slightly higher on gregariousness (d = –.15) Men score slightly higher on activity level (d = .09) Men score moderately higher on assertiveness (d = .50) Sex difference in assertiveness is revealed in the social behavior in mixed-sex groups (men interrupt more than women) Agreeableness Women score higher on trusting (d = –.25), tender-minded (d = –.97) Women smile more than men (d = –.60), but this may reflect submissiveness in some contexts and agreeableness in others Aggressiveness Men are more physically aggressive, as assessed on personality tests, in fantasies, and manifest behavior (moderate to large effect sizes) Profound consequences for everyday life Men commit 90 percent of homicides worldwide Men commit more violent crimes of all sorts Gender difference in violent crimes accompanies puberty, peaking in adolescence and the early 20s Conscientiousness Women score slightly higher on order (d = –.13) Emotional Stability Women are moderately lower than men on this dimension Older adults (65-98) show a mean difference in emotional stability, with women scoring lower than men Intellect-Openness to Experience No sex differences Basic Emotions: Frequency and Intensity Women experience both positive emotions and negative emotions more frequently and intensely than do men. No sex difference for pride Women experience fear and sadness more than men, especially in the reported intensity of the experience Minimal sex difference in intensity of guilt; no sex difference in frequency of guilt Other Dimensions of Personality Self-esteem—results from meta-analyses Across ages, effect size is small, with males scoring higher (d = .21), but Young children (ages 7–10) show slight difference (d = .16) As children age, the gap widens: 11–14, d = .23; 15–18, d = .33 In adulthood, the gap closes: 19–22, d = .18; 23–59, d = .10 Sexuality, Emotional Investment, and Mating: Many large differences Men are more likely to have more permissive attitudes toward causal sex (d = .45) and view pornography more often (d = .63) Men more than women also desire a larger number of sex partners, have more frequent sexual fantasies, and are more willing to accept offers of sex from stranger Women typically score higher in "emotional investment," a cluster of items including loving, lovable, romantic, affectionate, cuddlesome, compassionate, and passionate “People-things” dimension—vocational interests Men are more toward “things” end, women are more toward “people” end Masculinity, Femininity, Androgyny, and Sex Roles 1930s, researchers assumed sex differences on various personality items were attributable to differences along the single dimension of masculinity-femininity But perhaps someone could score high on both masculinity and femininity—this led to concept of androgyny The Search for Androgyny 1970s, researchers challenged the assumption of the single dimension, instead arguing that masculinity and femininity might be independent, separable Two new measures were developed to assess two dimensions, now assumed to be independent Those who scored high on both labeled androgynous, to reflect the notion that a person could have both masculine and feminine characteristics Researchers who developed measures believed androgyny was ideal Many criticisms of new measures and underlying ideas Contrary to researchers’ assumptions, both constructs are multidimensional, containing many facets Several studies documented that masculinity and femininity describe a single bipolar trait—i.e., not independent Researchers who constructed measures changed views Spence: Measure doesn’t assess sex roles, but instead personality traits of instrumentality and expressiveness Bem: Measure assesses gender schemas and cognitive orientations that lead people to process social information on basis of sex-linked associations Gender Stereotypes Three components: Cognitive, affective, behavioral Content of gender stereotypes: Attributes we believe men and women possess Similar across cultures—e.g., women are perceived as more communal and oriented toward the group, whereas men are perceived as more instrumental, asserting independence from the group Stereotypic sub-types of men and women Some argue that people do not hold single gender stereotype; rather, cognitive categories differentiated into sub-types of men and women Empirical data are lacking Prejudice and gender stereotypes Gender stereotypes can have important real-life consequences for men and women Consequences can damage people in health, jobs, odds of advancement, and social reputations Theories of Sex Differences Socialization and Social Roles Socialization theory: Boys and girls become different because boys are reinforced by parents, teachers, and media for being “masculine,” and girls for being “feminine” Bandura’s social learning theory: Boys and girls learn by observing behaviors of same-sex others Some research supports socialization and social learning theories of sex differences Cross-cultural evidence for different treatment of boys and girls Problem: Simple theory that causal arrow runs one way (parents to children) is open to question Problem: No account of origin of sex-differentiated socialization practices Social role theory: Sex differences arise because men and women are distributed differently into different occupational and family roles Some research supports social role theory Problem: No account of origins of sex-differentiated roles
Hormonal Theories Hormonal, physiological differences cause boys and girls to diverge over development Following puberty, there is little overlap in the levels of circulating testosterone (with men having about 10 times more) Sex differences in testosterone are linked with traditional sex differences in behaviors, such as aggression, dominance, career choice, and sexual desire Problem: Research suggests link between hormones and behavior is bi-directional Problem: No account of origins of hormonal differences
Evolutionary Psychology Theory Sexes are predicted to differ only in those domains in which people are recurrently faced with different adaptive problems (problems must be solved to survive and reproduce) Research supports many predicted sex differences, especially in sexuality Problem: No clear accounting of individual and within-sex differences
An Integrated Theoretical Perspective Integrated theory of sex differences would include all levels of analysis into account (socialization, hormonal, evolutionary), because they are compatible SUMMARY AND EVALUATION Some sex difference are real and not artifacts of particular investigators or methods Some sex differences are constant over generations and across cultures But the magnitude of sex differences vary greatly When questions about sex differences are posed, a person must ask: In what domains? Domains that show larger sex differences include assertiveness, aggressiveness, interest in casual sex, but there is an overlap in each domain 1970s saw the rise and fall of concept of androgyny—masculinity and femininity found to be independent, now termed instrumentality and expressiveness, respectively Cross-cultural work reveals universality of gender stereotypes, which correspond in many ways to actual sex differences Traditional theories of sex differences have emphasized the social factor Recent hormonal theories suggest the social factor does not tell whole story Evolutionary psychologists argue that men and women differ in those domains in which they recurrently confronted sex-linked adaptive problems Needed is integrative theory that includes each of these levels of analysis—social, physiological, and evolutionary KEY TERMS Sex Differences Androgynous Gender Instrumentality Gender Stereotypes Expressiveness Effect Size Gender Schemata Minimalist Social Categories Maximalist Socialization Theory Inhibitory Control Social Learning Theory Perceptual Sensitivity Social Role Theory Surgency Hormonal Theories Negative Affectivity Adaptive Problems Trust Tender-Mindedness Global Self-Esteem People–Things Dimension Rumination Masculinity Femininity Chapter Overview This chapter introduces students to theory and research at the interface of personality, sex, and gender. The authors begin with a brief review of the science and politics of studying sex and gender. In this section, the authors review the history of research on sex differences. Next, the authors discuss recent statistical developments such as meta-analysis and the calculation of effect sizes, which allow for more objective assessment of sex differences. The authors next distinguish minimalists, who downplay sex differences, from maximalists, who argue that sex differences are real and have important social consequences. The authors then review work on sex differences in personality, organizing the presentation according to the “Big Five.” The authors then review work on sex differences in other personality dimensions, including self-esteem, sexuality, and the people-things dimension of vocational interests. Next, the authors review historical and modern research and theory on masculinity, femininity, androgyny, and sex roles. In this section, they review the history of work on androgyny, and the eventual replacement of this concept with the dimensions of instrumentality versus expressiveness and with the cognitive notion of gender schema. The authors then review work on gender stereotypes. The authors present several major theories of sex differences, including those that highlight the causal role of socialization, hormones, and evolution. Learning Objectives Define and distinguish between the terms sex difference and gender difference. Identify and discuss the key positions regarding the appropriateness of studying sex and gender differences. Identify and discuss key developments in the history of studying sex and gender differences. Briefly define meta-analysis and effect sizes, including how effect sizes are interpreted. Define and distinguish the minimalist and maximalist positions regarding sex differences. Identify and discuss sex differences and similarities in the five major factors of personality. Identify and discuss sex differences and similarities in self-esteem, sexuality, the people- things dimension, and depression. Define masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. Identify the key developments in research and theory on sex roles, including a discussion of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny. Define and distinguish instrumentality and expressiveness. Define and briefly discuss gender schemas. Define gender stereotypes and discuss the three key components of gender stereotypes. Discuss the socialization theory of sex differences, including a brief discussion of social learning theory. Discuss the sex role theory of sex differences. Discuss hormonal theories of sex differences. Discuss evolutionary psychological theories of sex differences. Discuss the key features of an integrated theory of sex differences. Lecture Topics and Lecture Suggestions The Effect of Target Age on the Activation of Gender Stereotypes (Powlishta, 2000). This lecture is designed to provide students with an example of recent work on gender stereotypes. This work is notable in the attempt to identify whether the activation or triggering of gender stereotypes might vary predictably with the target’s age and with perceiver’s age (that is, with the ages of the person being judged and the person doing the judging, respectively). Students will find this research intriguing. Challenge students to think about why gender stereotypes appear to be differentially activated, depending on the age of the target. How might a social role or socialization perspective explain these findings? How might an evolutionary psychological perspective explain these findings? Two studies investigated the impact of target age on gender stereotyping Study 1 examined whether the attribution of gender-stereotypical traits to unfamiliar individuals varies as a function of target and participant age Adults (aged 20–42 years) and children (aged 8–11 years) viewed photographs of men, women, boys, and girls Participants rated each pictured individual on the possession of masculine, feminine, and gender-neutral personality traits Both adult and child participants showed evidence of gender stereotyping The strongest level of stereotyping was seen when adults rated child targets Adults were particularly unwilling to attribute feminine characteristics to male children Finally, participants of both ages viewed adult targets (regardless of sex) as more masculine and less feminine than child targets Study 2 examined the generality of the latter finding Adult participants rated traditionally masculine and feminine traits on the likelihood of the possession by adults versus children Confirming the results of Study 1, feminine traits were believed to be more childlike, less adult-like than were masculine traits Powlishta (2000) discusses implications for gender-role development, socialization, and measurement are discussed Reference: Powlishta, K. K. (2000). The effect of target age on the activation of gender stereotypes. Sex Roles, 42, 271–282.
Distress about Mating Rivals (Buss et al., 2000). This lecture presents the results of a cross-cultural series of studies on sex differences and similarities in distress as a function of the characteristics of a romantic rival (i.e., someone interested in one’s mate). This research is informed by an evolutionary psychological perspective and, as such, represents a nice example of how sex differences and similarities can be investigated from an evolutionary perspective. In addition, the collection of cross-cultural data adds an important dimension to research on sex differences and similarities. Challenge students to offer alternative explanations for the findings of this research. In particular, how might a sex role or socialization perspective explain these findings? If the students argue that men and women are simply socialized differently in the different cultures, ask students to consider why these sex-differentiated socialization practices are found across the different cultures represented in this research. Buss et al. (2000) tested the evolutionary psychological hypothesis that men and women would be most distressed about threats from rivals who surpass them in sex-linked components of mate value Participants were 208 college students from the United States (aged 17–22 years), 174 college students from Korea (aged 18–37 years), and 349 college students from the Netherlands (aged 18–31 years) Participants were given a list of 11 rival characteristics and were then told to rank them on how upsetting they found them from the most to the least Five out of the six predictions that were made at the beginning of the experiment were supported in all three cultures Korean, Dutch, and American men, more than corresponding women, report greater distress when a rival surpasses them on financial prospects, job prospects, and physical strength Korean, Dutch, and American women, in contrast, report greater distress when a rival surpasses them on facial and bodily attractiveness Discussion focuses on possible proximate psychological mechanisms underlying distress over rivals and the theoretical importance of intrasexual competition Reference: Buss, D. M., Shackelford, T. K., Choe, J., Buunk, B. P., & Dijkstra, P. (2000). Distress about mating rivals. Personal Relationships, 7, 235–243. Classroom Activities and Demonstrations Larsen and Buss review several different perspectives on whether sex differences should be investigated. This activity is designed to give students a chance to reflect on their own perspective on sex differences, including whether they should be studied, and why or why not. Distribute Activity Handout 16–1 (“Should Sex Differences be Studied?”). Give students about five minutes to complete the handout. Ask several students to volunteer their responses. Challenge students to provide clear logic for their position, and encourage conflicting viewpoints. Larsen and Buss review the technique of meta-analysis as a statistical method for summarizing the findings of a large number of individual studies. The most commonly used statistic in meta-analysis is the effect size or d statistic. The d statistic expresses a difference in standard deviation units. A d of .20 is considered small, .50 medium, and .80 large. Larsen and Buss provide several examples of small, medium, and large sex differences in this chapter. Challenge students to come up with their own guesses as to other small, medium, and large effect sizes. The point of this activity is to get student to think about sex differences of different sizes. Distribute Activity Handout 16–2 (“Sex Differences of Different Sizes”). Give students five to seven minutes to complete the handout. Ask several students to volunteer their examples for each effect size. Ask students to provide logical reasoning for why they expect a sex difference of a particular size. Larsen and Buss review three levels of theories for explaining sex differences—social, physiological or hormonal, and evolutionary. This activity is designed to get students to think deeply about the causes of sex differences, and to assess and reflect upon their own perspective on the causes of sex differences. Distribute Activity Handout 16–3 (“Explaining Sex Differences”). Give students five to seven minutes to complete the handout. Ask several students to volunteer their responses. Encourage contrasting viewpoints. If a student does not address the possibility of an integrated theory of sex differences, do so before concluding the discussion. Chapter 17 Culture and Personality Chapter Outline Introduction Several reasons personality psychologists believe it is useful to explore personality across cultures Discover whether concepts of personality that are prevalent in one culture are also applicable in other cultures Discover whether cultures differ in the levels of particular personality traits Discover whether the factor structure of personality traits varies across cultures Discover whether certain features of personality are universal Three key approaches to the interface of culture and personality: Evoked culture, transmitted culture, cultural universals Cultural Violations—An Illustration Some aspects of personality are highly variable across cultures Other aspects are universal—features are shared by people everywhere What is Cultural Personality Psychology? Culture: Local within-group similarities and between-group differences of any sort—physical, psychological, behavioral, attitudinal Cultural differences also are termed cultural variations Cultural personality psychology has three goals Discover principles underlying cultural diversity Discover how human psychology shapes culture Discover how cultural understandings shape psychology Three Major Approaches to Culture Evoked Culture Evoked culture refers to a way of considering culture that concentrates on phenomena that are triggered in different ways by different environmental conditions Two ingredients are needed to explain evoked culture A universal underlying mechanism Environmental differences in activation of underlying mechanisms Evoked Cooperation (Food Sharing) Cultural differences in degree to which groups share food depend, in part, on external environmental conditions, notably the variance in the food supply When variance in food supply is high, more sharing Early Experience and Evoked Mating Strategies According to Belsky and colleagues, harsh, rejecting, inconsistent child-rearing practices, erratically provided resources, and marital discord evoke short-term sexual strategy in children Sensitivity of personality and mating strategies to early experience may explain cultural differences in the value placed on chastity or virginity in a potential mate In China, marriages are lasting, divorces are rare, and parents invest heavily in children—high value on chastity, virginity In Sweden, divorce is more common, more children are born outside of marriage, fewer investing fathers—low value on chastity, virginity Mating strategies might be differentially evoked in different cultures, resulting in enduring cultural differences in mating strategies Honors, Insults, and Evoked Aggression In cultures of honor, insults are viewed as highly offensive public challenges that must be met with direct confrontation and physical aggression One theory attributes the development of culture of honor to the history of herding economy, where resources are subject to mass stealing Thus, the assumption that all humans have the capacity to develop high sensitivity to public insults and the capacity to respond with violence These capacities are evoked only in certain cultures, however, and lie dormant in others (non-herding economies) Cultural Difference in Conformity One hypothesis: the prevalence of disease-causing pathogens cause cultural pressure to conform Conformity to group norms may also help to avoid diseases Transmitted Culture Transmitted culture: Representations (ideas, values, beliefs, attitudes) that exist originally in at least one person’s mind that are transmitted to other minds through observation or interaction with the original person Cultural Differences in Moral Values Many moral values are specific to particular cultures and are likely to be examples of transmitted culture Reaching Across the Great Divide: The Psychology of Cross-Cultural Marriages Two lines of inquiry of interest to personality psychologists Who is most likely to marry outside of his or her own culture? What happens in cross-cultural marriages that might make them different from mono-cultural marriages? Cultural Differences in Self-Concept According to Markus and Kitayama, each person has two fundamental “cultural tasks” that have to be confronted Communion or interdependence: Concerns how you are affiliated with, attached to, or engaged in the large group of which you are a member Agency or independence: How you differentiate yourself from the larger group Cultures appear to differ in how they balance these two tasks Non-Western, Asian cultures focused more on interdependence Western cultures focused more on independence Criticisms of the Interdependence–Independence and Collectivist–Individualist Concepts Matsumoto: the evidence for the theory comes almost exclusively from North America and East Asia (notably, Japan) and may not generalize to other culture; there is far more overlap in the self-concepts of people from different cultures than Markus and Kitayama imply Church: “attempts to characterize cultures of individuals in terms of such broad cultural dichotomies may be overly simplistic” Oyserman et al.: although European Americans tended to be somewhat more individualistic (valuing independence) and less collectivistic (valuing interdependence) than those from some other cultures, the effect sizes proved to be small and qualified by important exceptions Chen and West: characterizations such as independent–interdependent have been criticized on the grounds that they are too general Cultural Differences in Self-Enhancement Self-enhancement: Tendency to describe and present oneself using positive or socially valued attributes Research indicates that North Americans, relative to Asians, maintain positive evaluation of self Two explanations offered for cultural differences in self-enhancement: Asians are engaging in impression management (difference is not real) Cultural differences are accurate and reflect participants’ different self-concepts—this explanation has received some support Personality Variation Within Culture Social class may have an effect on personality Historical era may have an effect on personality Cultural Universals This approach to culture and personality attempt to identify features of personality that appear to be universal, or present in most or all cultures Beliefs About the Personality Characteristics of Men and Women Worldwide, people tend to regard men as having personalities that are more active, loud, adventurous, obnoxious, aggressive, opinionated, arrogant, course, and conceited Women in contrast, are regarded as having personalities that are more affectionate, modest, nervous, appreciative, patient, changeable, charming, and fearful Expression of Emotion Apparent cultural universals describe experience and expression of specific emotional states, such as fear, anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, and surprise People worldwide can recognize and describe these emotions when presented photographs of others expressing them, even if photographs are of people from other cultures Five-Factor Model of Personality A fundamental challenge to personality psychology—whether the core concept of traits is universal or, instead, is a local concept applicable only in Western cultures More indigenous tests are needed to determine whether the five-factor trait model of personality structure is universal or not SUMMARY AND EVALUATION Several reasons psychologists find it useful to explore personality across cultures Discover whether concepts of personality that are prevalent in one culture also are applicable in other cultures Discover whether cultures differ in levels of particular personality traits Discover whether factor structure of personality traits varies across cultures Discover whether certain features of personality are universal Three key approaches to the interface of culture and personality: Evoked culture, transmitted culture, cultural universals KEY TERMS Cultural Variations Acculturation Cultural Personality Psychology Holistic Evoked Culture Analytic High-Variance Conditions Self-Enhancement Egalitarianism Within-Culture Variation Culture of Honor Social Class Transmitted Culture Historical Era Balkanization Cultural Universals Interdependence Whorfian Hypothesis of Independence Linguistic Relativity Lexical Hypothesis Chapter Overview This chapter provides an introduction to the interface of culture and personality. The authors begin by discussing variability in cultural violations, to illustrate cultural variation. Next the authors define culture and cultural personality psychology. The authors then review the three major approaches to explaining and exploring personality across cultures: Evoked culture, transmitted culture, and cultural universals. Evoked culture refers to a way of considering culture that concentrates on phenomena that are triggered in different ways by different environmental conditions. The authors review theory and research on evoked cooperation, early experience and evoked mating strategies, and honors, insults, and evoked aggression. Transmitted culture is defined as representations (ideas, values, attitudes, beliefs) that exist originally in at least one person’s mind that are transmitted to other minds though observation or interaction with the original person. The authors review several examples of transmitted culture, including cultural differences in moral values, self-concept, self-enhancement, and personality variations within culture. Next the authors review theory and research on cultural universals, including beliefs about the personality characteristics of men and women, emotions, personality evaluation, and the potential universality of the five-factor model of personality. Learning Objectives Identify four reasons that personality psychologists believe it is useful to explore personality across cultures. Identify and discuss the key components of “culture.” Define “cultural variations” and present several examples of cultural variations. Define cultural personality psychology and identify the three key goals of this discipline. Define “evoked culture.” Discuss theory and research on evoked cooperation, early experience and evoked mating strategies, and honors, insults, and evoked aggression, as examples of evoked culture. Define “transmitted culture.” Discuss theory and research on cultural differences in moral values, self-concept, self-enhancement, and personality variations within cultures as examples of transmitted culture. Define “cultural universals” and present a few examples of likely cultural universals. Discuss theory and research on beliefs about the personality characteristics of men and women with reference to cultural universals. Discuss theory and research on the cultural universality of emotions, including a discussion of the difference between the experience and public display of emotions. Discuss theory and research on personality evaluation with reference to cultural universals. Discuss theory and research addressing the cultural universality of the five-factor model of personality. Lecture Topics and Lecture Suggestions “When You Call Me That, Smile!” How Norms for Politeness, Interaction Styles, and Aggression Work Together in Southern Culture (Cohen, Vandello, Puente, & Rantilla, 1999). This lecture is designed to present to students an example of recent research examining the “culture of honor” found in the southern United States. In particular, this research highlights the inter-relationships of norms for politeness, interaction styles, and aggression in the southern United States. The authors test the intriguing proposal that norms for politeness may promote aggression in the southern United States. Use this lecture as a springboard for discussing cultural differences in evoked aggression, in general, and the United States southern culture of honor, in particular. Norms for politeness may actually promote violence in the southern United States Whereas northerners may have behavioral rituals in which they give and receive small doses of hostility to regulate conflict, southerners seem not to have these In two laboratory experiments, southerners were less clear than northerners in both sending and receiving signs of hostility In Study 1, southerners initially showed little reaction to an annoying confederate only to end with bursts of anger far more sudden and more severe than northerners ever showed In Study 2, as participants watched objectively dangerous situations unfold; southerners were less sensitive to cues of hostility than were northerners And in Study 3, consistent with southern politeness norms inhibiting effective conflict resolution, it was shown that friendly, helpful cities had different patterns of argument-related violence in the North and in the South Results suggest a cycle in which norms for politeness and for violence can reinforce each other Reference: Cohen, D., Vandello, J., Puente, S., & Rantilla, A. (1999). “When you call me that, smile!” How norms for politeness, interaction styles, and aggression work together in Southern culture. Social Psychology Quarterly, 62, 257–275. Culture, Emotion, and Well-Being: Good Feelings in Japan and the United States (Kitayama, Rose, & Kurokawa, 2000). This lecture presents the results of a fascinating study in which the researchers tested the hypothesis that “good feelings”—the central element of subjective well-being—are associated with interdependence and interpersonal engagement of the self in Japan, but with independence and interpersonal disengagement of the self in the United States. Use this lecture as a springboard for discussing cultural variations in self-concept, in general, and cultural variations along the dimension of interdependence-independence, in particular. Kitayama et al. (2000) tested the hypothesis that “good feelings”—the central element of subjective well-being—are associated with interdependence and interpersonal engagement of the self in Japan, but with independence and interpersonal disengagement of the self in the United States Participants (college students): 630 Japanese (317 men and 292 women; the remaining 21 reported no gender) 283 American (96 men and 185 women; 2 reported no gender) Participants reported how frequently they experienced various emotional states in daily life In support of the hypothesis, the reported frequency of general positive emotions (calm, elated) was most closely associated with the reported frequency of interpersonally engaged positive emotions (friendly feelings) in Japan, but with the reported frequency of interpersonally disengaged positive emotions (pride) in the United States Further, for Americans the reported frequency of experience was considerably higher for positive emotions than for negative emotions, but for Japanese it was higher for engaged emotions than for disengaged emotions Implications for cultural constructions of emotion in general and subjective well-being in particular are discussed Reference: Kitayama, S., Markus, H. R, & Kurokawa, M. (2000). Culture, emotion, and well-being: Good feelings in Japan and the United States. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 93–124. Classroom Activities and Demonstrations Larsen and Buss review research on cultural differences in moral values, including research documenting several key cultural differences between Brahman Indians and American respondents. This activity is designed to give students an opportunity to think further about these cultural differences, and to participate in this research. Distribute Activity Handout 17–1 (“Cultural Differences in Moral Values”). Give students about five minutes to complete the handout. Ask students to volunteer, for each of the items, whether they indicated that it might be a cultural violation. Previous work indicates that items 1, 3, and 5 are viewed as cultural violations by Brahman Indians but not Americans, whereas items 2, 4, and 6 are viewed as cultural violations by Americans but not Brahman Indians. Use this activity as a springboard for discussing cultural variations in moral values. Larsen and Buss review empirical work in cultural differences in self-concept. Some of this work uses the Twenty Statements Test (TST). This activity provides students with the opportunity to take this test for themselves, and to see how their responses compare to the responses of participants in this research. Distribute Activity Handout 17–2 (“Who Are You?”). Give students about five minutes to complete the handout. Use this activity as a springboard for discussing the results of research using the TST, which documents, for example, that Asian participants describe themselves more in terms of their relationships to others, whereas North American participants describe themselves using independent, non-group-oriented terms. Ask students to volunteer some of their responses, and challenge them to consider whether their responses reflect more of an independent or interdependent self-concept. One approach to culture and personality is to attempt to identify features of personality that appear to be universal, or present in most or all human cultures. These universals constitute the human nature level of analyzing personality. Larsen and Buss review historical and recent work on apparent human universals, including Donald Brown’s work. This activity gives students a chance to think more deeply about the human nature level of analysis and of the relationships between culture and personality. Distribute Activity Handout 17–3 (“Cultural Universals”). Give students about five minutes to complete the handout. Ask students to volunteer one or a couple candidate universals. Use this activity as a springboard for discussing the human nature level of analysis in personality psychology and the interrelationships between culture and personality. Chapter 18 Stress, Coping, Adjustment, and Health Chapter Outline Models of the Personality-Illness Connection Interactional model Objective events happen to a person, but personality determines the impact of events by influencing a person’s ability to copy Personality moderates the relation between stress and illness Coping response influences degree, duration, and the frequency of a stressful event Problem: Researchers are unable to identify stable coping responses that are consistently adaptive or maladaptive Transactional model Personality has three potential effects Can influence coping Can influence how a person appraises events Can influence events themselves Appraisal suggests that it is not the event itself that causes stress, but how the event is interpreted by a person People don’t just respond to situations, they also create situations through choices and actions Health behavior model Personality does not directly influence the relation between stress and illness Instead, personality affects health indirectly, through health promoting or health degrading behaviors Predisposition model Associations may exist between personality and illness because of a third variable that is causing them both Association found between illness and personality because of some predisposition that underlies them both Illness behavior model Personality influences the degree to which a person perceives and attends to bodily sensations, and the degree to which a person interprets and labels sensations as illness Most models of personality and illness include a key variable of stress Stress is not “out there” in our lives, representing something that happens to us Instead, stress lies in part in how we interpret and respond to those events Thus, stress lies “in between” the event and the person The Concept of Stress Stress is a subjective feeling produced by events perceived as uncontrollable and threatening Stressors: Events that lead to stress and have several common attributes Extreme in some manner, in that stressors produce a state of feeling overwhelmed Produce opposing tendencies in us, such as wanting and not wanting some activity or object Perceive as uncontrollable
Stress Response Startle, heart beats fast, blood pressure increases, sweaty palms and soles of feet—fight-or-flight response, increase in sympathetic nervous system activity General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Alarm stage: Fight-or-flight response If stressor continues, stage of resistance: Body uses resources at above average rate, even though fight-or-flight response subsided Stress is being resisted, but takes a lot of person’s energy If stressor is constant, the person enters the stage of exhaustion: More susceptible to illness, because physiological resources are depleted
Major Life Events (Holmes & Rahe, 1967) Identified both positive and negative events that are stressors People who experienced most stress also are more likely to have a serious illness over the next year Subsequent experimental work suggests that people under chronic stress deplete bodily resources and become vulnerable to infections Current thinking is that stress lowers the functioning of immune system, leading to lowered immunity to infection and resulting in illness
Daily Hassles Major events stress, but infrequent Daily hassles provide most stress in most people’s lives Research indicates that people with a lot of minor stress suffer more from psychological and physical symptoms Varieties of Stress Acute stress Episodic acute stress Traumatic stress Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Chronic stress Stress has additive effects, cumulating in a person over time Primary and Secondary Appraisal Stress is the subjective reaction of a person to potential stressors According to Lazarus (1991), in order for stress to be evoked, two cognitive events must occur Primary appraisal: Person perceives an event as a threat to goals Secondary appraisal: Person concludes they do not have resources to cope with demands of threatening event Coping Strategies and Styles Attributional Style Answer to question, “Where does the person typically place the blame when things go wrong?” Three dimensions of attribution: External versus internal, unstable versus stable, specific versus global Different measures: Attributional Style Questionnaire, Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE) Refinements to the Attributional Style Construct Optimism-pessimism (Peterson, 2000): People who make stable, global, and internal explanations for bad events termed “pessimists,” whereas people who make unstable, specific, external explanations for bad events termed “optimists” Dispositional optimism (Scheier & Carver, 2000): Expectation that good events will be plentiful and bad events rare in future Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986): Belief that one can do behaviors necessary to achieve desired outcome Optimistic bias: People generally underestimate their risks, with the average person rating risks as below true average
Optimism and Physical Well-Being Optimism predicts good health and health promoting behaviors The typical correlations between optimism and health or health behaviors tend to run between .20 and .30 Management of Emotions Some theorists suggest that emotional inhibition leads to undesirable consequences Other theorists see emotional inhibition more positively Chronically inhibited emotion seems to come with certain “costs” to the nervous system Someone who characteristically inhibits emotional expression may suffer effects of chronic sympathetic nervous system arousal Also, emotions serve the function of communicating to others how we are feeling Research indicates that emotional expressiveness may be good for our psychological health and general adjustment
Disclosure Pennebaker argues that not discussing traumatic, negative, upsetting events can lead to problems Telling a secret can relieve stress, increase health Type A Behavior and Cardiovascular Disease Type A behavior pattern Achievement motivation and competitiveness Time urgency Hostility and aggressiveness Early studies of Type A found it was an independent risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease Early studies conducted by physicians using structured interview Later research used self-report surveys Studies using surveys less likely to find relationships between Type A and heart disease than studies using structured interview Structured interview gets at the lethal component
Hostility: The Lethal Component of the Type A Behavior Pattern Trait of hostility: reacting disagreeably to disappointments, frustrations, and inconveniences; also a subjective feeling that comes when one is blocked from an important goal Hostility is the lethal component of heart disease for Type A people How the Arteries Are Damaged by Hostile Type A Behavior Strong feelings of hostility and aggression produce the fight-or-flight response Part of this response is an increase in blood pressure, accompanied by a constriction of the arteries, plus an increase in heart rate and in the amount of blood pumped out with each heartbeat These changes can produce wear and tear on the inside lining of the arteries, causing microscopic tears and abrasions. These abrasions then become sites at which cholesterol and fat can become attached SUMMARY AND EVALUATION Some psychologists study the link between personality and health Personality influences health in many ways Understanding why some personalities are more resistant to stress, better able to cope, and better able to adjust is an important goal with a practical application KEY TERMS Health Psychology Secondary Appraisal Stress Positive Reappraisal Interactional Model Problem-Focused Coping Transactional Model Creating Positive Events Health Behavior Model Dispositional Optimism Predisposition Model Self-Efficacy Illness Behavior Model Optimistic Bias Stressors Emotional Inhibition General Adaptation Syndrome Disclosure Alarm Stage Type A Personality Resistance Stage Competitive Achievement Motivation Exhaustion Stage Time Urgency Major Life Events Hostility Daily Hassles Frustration Acute Stress Leukocyte Episodic Acute Stress Type D Personality Traumatic Stress Arteriosclerosis Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Chronic Stress Additive Effects Primary Appraisal Chapter Overview This chapter provides an introduction to the historical and current work on the interrelationships between stress, coping, adjustment, health, and personality. The authors begin by presenting five models of the links between personality and health: The interactional model, the transactional model, the health behavior model, the predisposition model, and the illness behavior model. Although the models present different perspectives on the relationships between personality and health, each model highlights the important role of stress. The authors next review the concept of stress, including a discussion of the stress response and general adaptation syndrome. The authors then review work on major life events and daily hassles as stressors that can lead to illness. The authors review the concepts of primary appraisal and secondary appraisal, noting that it is the interpretation of events and not the events themselves that produce stress. The authors review theory and research on the role of positive emotions in helping people cope with stress, highlight the coping strategies of positive reappraisal, problem-focused coping, and creating positive events. Next the authors review coping style, including discussions of attributional style, optimism-pessimism, and self-efficacy. The authors then turn to a review of the relationships between optimism and health. The authors next review theory and research on managing emotions and emotional inhibition, including discussions of the health benefits of disclosure and revealing secrets. In the final section of the chapter, the authors review theory and research on the relationships between personality and cardiovascular disease, highlighting the hostility component of Type A behavior pattern. Learning Objectives Define the features of the field of health psychology. Discuss the concept of a model and how it might help theorists and researchers understand the relationships between personality and health. Identify and discuss the five models of the personality-health link presented by Larsen and Buss. Define the key components of stress. Identify and discuss the key features of stressors. Discuss the key features of the stress response. Identify and discuss each of the three stages of the general adaptation syndrome. Discuss the relationships between major life events, stress, and illness. Discuss the relationships between daily hassles, stress, and health. Define and differentiate primary appraisal and secondary appraisal. Discuss the role of positive emotions in coping with stress. Discuss and distinguish attributional style, optimism, dispositional optimism, self-efficacy, and optimistic bias as coping strategies, including a review of how each concept is related to health. Briefly review work on the relationships between optimism and physical well-being, including a discussion of how optimism promotes health. Discuss the health risks of chronic emotional inhibition. Discuss the health benefits of self-disclosure and the revelation of secrets. Discuss the findings of research on the relationships between Type A behavior pattern and cardiovascular disease. Discuss hostility as the lethal component of the Type A behavior pattern. Review the application of each of the five models of the personality-health link to Type A behavior pattern and cardiovascular disease. Lecture Topics and Lecture Suggestions Effects of Future Writing and Optimism on Health Behaviors in HIV-Infected Women (Mann, 2001). This lecture presents students with an example of current research on the link between optimism and health. The research attempts to alter the participants’ levels of optimism, and thereby health behaviors, by having them write about a positive future. Interestingly, the strategy of writing about a positive future increased the health-promoting behaviors of pessimists, but not of optimists. Challenge students to consider what might account for this intriguing pattern of results. Use this lecture as a springboard for discussing the links between optimism and health. Optimists (people who have positive expectations about the future) have been shown to perform more health promoting behaviors than pessimists This study attempts to alter individuals’ levels of optimism, and thereby their health behaviors, by having them write about a positive future 40 HIV-infected women on combination therapies were randomly assigned to write about a positive future or assigned to a no-writing control group Among participants who were low in optimism, the writing intervention led to Increased optimism A trend toward increased self-reported adherence to medications, and Decreased distress from medication side effects, compared to controls who did not write Participants who were high in optimism showed the opposite effects after writing about the future Results suggest that a future-oriented writing intervention may be a promising technique to increase medication adherence and decrease symptom distress in pessimistic individuals Reference: Mann, T. (2001). Effects of future writing and optimism on health behaviors in HIV-infected women. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 26–33. Personality as Predictor of Mortality Among Patients with Congestive Heart Failure: A Two-Year Follow-Up Study (Murberg, Bru, & Aarsland, 2001). This lecture provides students with an example of a recent study investigating the relationship between personality and cardiovascular illness. This study specifically investigated neuroticism as a predictor of congestive heart failure. Use this lecture as a springboard for discussing the causes of the links between neuroticism and heart failure. In addition, challenge students to think about the features of neuroticism that are common to Type A behavior. Murberg, et al. (2001) evaluated the effects of neuroticism upon mortality risk among patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) Proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the effect of the enduring personality factor, neuroticism, on mortality among 119 clinically stable patients (71.4 percent men, mean age 65.7 years) with symptomatic heart failure Participants were recruited from an outpatient cardiology practice Twenty deaths were registered during the 24-month period of data collection, all from cardiac causes Results indicated that neuroticism was an independent, significant predictor of mortality According to the researchers, health care professionals should identify CHF patients with a tendency to express high levels of neuroticism and should try to provide appropriate treatment if possible Reference: Murberg, T. A., Bru, E., & Aarsland, T. (2001). Personality as a predictor of mortality among patients with congestive heart failure: A two-year follow-up study. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 749–757. Classroom Activities and Demonstrations Larsen and Buss review the classic research by Holmes and Rahe (1967), which identified the stressful events in people’s lives that can result in illness if not coped with properly. This activity is deigned to get students actively involved in thinking about the relationship between stressful life events and health, and to apply to their own experience the idea of the link between stressful life events and health. Distribute Activity Handout 18–1 (“Stressful Life Events”). Give student about five minutes to complete the handout. Note for students that this is an abbreviated and modified version of the actual Holmes and Rahe measure. Nevertheless, students who indicate experiencing fewer of these stressful life events are likely to be at lesser risk for illness in the next year. Use this activity as a springboard for discussing the links between stress and health, in general, and the links between stressful life events and health, in particular. Larsen and Buss review work on the relationships between daily hassles and health. This research indicates that people who experience a greater number of daily hassles are at greater risk for health problems than are people who experience fewer daily hassles, on average. This activity is designed to get students actively involved in thinking about the relationship between daily hassles and health, and to apply to their own experience the idea of the link between daily hassles and health. Distribute Activity Handout 18–2 (“Daily Hassles”). Give students about five minutes to complete the handout. Note for students that this list includes those hassles that the greatest percentage of participants reported represented a significant source of stress over a nine-month period. Students who indicate experiencing fewer of these daily hassles are likely to be at lesser risk for illness in the next year. Use this activity as a springboard for discussing the links between daily hassles and health. Challenge students to address how personality might moderate the link between daily hassles and health. Larsen and Buss review links between Type A behavior pattern and health. This activity is designed to give students an opportunity to see how they might score on a measure of Type A behavior. The measure is not an actual measure, but is constructed from items that appear to tap the three dimensions of Type A behavior (achievement motivation and competitiveness, time urgency, and hostility and aggressiveness). Distribute Activity Handout 18–3 (“Type A Behavior Pattern”). Give students about five minutes to complete the handout. Note for students that the more items they checked, the higher their score will be on this crude measure of Type A Behavior. Use this activity as a springboard for discussing Type A behavior, and the links between this constellation of personality traits and health, including cardiovascular disease. Instructor Manual for Personality Psychology: Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature Randy Larsen, David Buss 9780078035357
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