Personality Type C

Question 1

What are the characteristics of someone with a type C personality?

Answer 1

• compliant
• avoids conflict
• suppresses their emotions especially anger
• people pleasers
• patient
• passive and self sacrificing
• introverted
• thoughtful
• sensitive
• dependable
• work hard and easily stressed

Question 2

Who researched type C personality?

Answer 2

Dattore et al

Question 3

What was the method of the research into type C personality?

Answer 3

Studied 200 veterans of the Vietnam war. 75 were cancer patients and the rest were a control group. They all completed scales to measures repression of emotions and symptoms of depression several years before they were diagnosed

Question 4

What were the findings of the study?

Answer 4

Cancer patients reported significantly greater emotional repression and fewer depression symptoms than non cancer control. This shows that people repression their emotions and are unlikely to acknowledge they are depressed. Therefore showing a link between type c personality and cancer proneness

Question 5

What are three limitations with personality type C?

Answer 5

• sample issues
• correlational research so cause and effect can’t be established
• there is no evidence that people divide easily into separate personality types and could lead to self fulfilling prophecies where individuals adapt the characteristics ascribed to the label put on them