Hardiness (individual differences)

• Hardiness definitions

  • Kobasa = proposed hardiness is a set of personality characteristics that protect us against stress
  • Maddi = argues that hardiness gives us ‘existential courage’ (the determination to keep going despite set backs life throws at us and uncertainties about the future)
• 3 dimensions of hardiness

  • Commitment = hardy people deeply involve themselves in relationships and activities. They throw themselves wholeheartedly into life, optimistic they will learn something valuable
  • Challenge = hardy people are resilient and welcome change as an opportunity rather than a threat. They recognise life is unpredictable, but this is exciting
  • Control = hardy people have a strong belief that they are in charge of events. They actively strive to influence environments rather than being passive
• Kobasa hardiness and stress study (procedure)

  • Kobasa measured life changes of 670 male American middle and senior managers (aged 40-49 years)
  • Used schedule of recent experiences to identify who experienced high stress over previous 3 years
  • Also analysed absenteeism records and levels of illness
• Kobasa hardiness and stress study (findings/conclusions)

  • Managers responded to same stress very differently
  • Some were more resilient = they coped with higher stressful jobs without becoming ill or taking time off work
  • These resilient managers scored highly on the 3 Cs, confirming the role of hardiness
• Maddi hardiness at work study (procedure)

  • Maddi studied 400 managers and supervisors at the Bell Telephone company in the US over several years
  • The Bell Telephone company underwent one of the biggest reorganisations in American corporate history when thousands of people lost their jobs
  • Also extremely stressful experience for those who stayed
• Maddi hardiness at work study (findings/conclusions)

  • ~2/3 of pps = significant declines in performance and health (eg heart attacks, strokes, depression and drug abuse)
  • 1/3 of managers = scored highly on measures of the 3Cs and flourished
  • Their health did not deteriorate, they felt happier and more fulfilled at work and were rejuvenated by the whole stressful experience
• strength = hardiness has application in the real world

  • Bartone et al = measured hardiness in candidates for US Army Special Forces (a highly stressful job with a tough selection course)
  • Those who passed the course were significantly hardier than those who failed (elite US military units now routinely select hardy people)
  • => knowledge of hardiness might be useful in certain jobs to predict who can resist stress and who cannot
• strength = evidence to support hardiness

  • Contrada = looked at cardiovascular responses to a stressful lab task
  • pps who scored highest on hardiness had lower resting blood pressure
  • The lowest blood pressure was found in pps who were hardy and had a type B personality (interaction between personality characteristics)
  • Shows that hardiness affects the physiological stress response and may protect from some stress-related illnesses
• counterpoint to evidence supporting hardiness

  • Contarada’s study used five measures of hardiness, indicating that it is a poorly defined concept (only the challenge component was linked to blood pressure)
  • Suggests that much research into hardiness, stress and illness is based on measures that lack validity
• limitation = concept of hardiness may be too broad

  • Hull et al = argued that research should focus on control, as research shows it is so important to well-being (and to a lesser extent, commitment)
  • BUT = Contrada claims that challenge is the most important component of hardiness
  • Suggest the concept of hardiness is so broad it has very little validity and may not exist at all
• extra evaluation = direct or indirect effects

  • Hardiness may have direct beneficial effects on health = hardy people under stress have a reduced level of physiological arousal
  • BUT = the effects of hardiness could be indirect (eg hardy people may be more motivated to behave in healthy ways)
  • Means it doesn’t matter whether the effects are direct or indirect because hardiness is beneficial either way and should be developed through training