Type D personality and Health: Gender Differences in
Psychophysiological Responses to Stress Siobhn Howard Department of
Psychology
Slide 2
Fight or Flight
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The Event Demands vs Resources Psychological Stress
RESPONSERESPONSE
Slide 4
Stress: Friend or Foe?
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Stress and Health: Sporting Results
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Cardiovascular System Vessels contract Heart pumps faster Pumps
more volume Increased blood pressure Leads to strain on the
cardiovascular vessels Leads to heart disease
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Cardiovascular Reactivity Hypothesis Higher reactivity Higher
resting blood pressure 20 years later Increased risk of
cardiovascular disease Children of hypertensives show higher
reactivity
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Personality Type?
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Type D: Distressed Personality Type Highly anxious and shy
person Measured using psychometric scales People with this
personality who have suffered a coronary event, more likely to Have
suffered another coronary event Increased disability as a result of
the event Be dead 10 years later
Slide 10
Method Participants 40 male, 36 female (mean age = 20.91, SD =
4.09) Materials Blood pressure monitor Psychometric scale to assess
Type D Mental arithmetic task Procedure 20 minutes to acclimatize
to laboratory 10-minute rest, 5-minute task
Conclusions Type D personality associated with increased blood
pressure reactivity in men Different pattern evident in women
Points towards potential mechanism through which Type D exerts its
effects Different effects in men and women