Stress And Personality Type

Robert Fettgather holds a PhD in psychology, master's degrees in psychology and special education, and a bachelor of arts in psychology. Interested in stress management, Robert Fettgather received additional training on the topic at the Institute for Personality and Ability Testing. For his own relaxation, Robert Fettgather enjoys reading and hiking.

Personality has been associated with stress-related health risks. In 1974, Meyer Freidman and Ray Rosenman published a book delineating the Type A/Type B personalities and their link to heart disease. Based upon case studies of their own patients, Freidman and Rosenman suggested that individuals with Type A personality (a person who is competitive, ambitious, workaholic, with a constant sense of pressure) were more likely to develop heart disease than someone with a Type B personality, people who tend to be slow to anger. 

The cognitive-mediational theory of emotions is a theory developed by Richard Lazarus. It asserts that the way people reflect upon and appraise a stressor is a very important factor in their overall stress response. The initial step in evaluating a stressor is referred to as primary appraisal and involves an estimation of the severity of the stressor, and classifying it as either a threat, a challenge, or a loss. In secondary appraisal, an individual decides what resources he/she has available for coping with that threat or loss.

Several studies of persons with Type A personality determined that the trait of hostility was the best predictor of future heart problems. A third personality type, labeled Type C (in which a person holds in their emotions and tends to be pleasant), was later delineated and is currently being investigated with respect to a possible link with cancer rates. Lastly, some research has proposed a fourth personality type, the hardy personality. It is has been associated with decreased illness related to stress. An individual with a hardy personality shows a healthy sense of control, commitment, and sees stresses more like challenges to be faced and answered.

In addition to personality, associations have been noted between an individual’s attitude and his/her physical reactions to stress. Specifically, pessimists ("glass half empty") have been found to have significantly more stress-related health problems than optimists ("glass half full"). One way to become more optimistic is to discern negative thoughts and to replace them with rational and positive alternatives.