Coping Styles Used by Introverts and Extraverts in a High or Low Stress Situations

Daniella Posella

Coping strategies: Measured with the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS).

Passive coping strategies:

Emotion -focused coping: passive coping directed toward one’s feelings and thoughts

ex: running/eating/crying

Avoidant coping: passive coping occurs when a person manages their awareness in order to decrease unfavorable emotions (overlooking)

ex: napping

Active coping strategies:

Problem-focused coping: active coping which deceases anxiety by dealing with the problem or the stress by actively helping the problem

ex: making list of things you want to accomplish

Personality: Measured using the Eysenck personality inventory.

Introverts: quiet, controlled, careful

Extraverts: outgoing, optimistic, more sociable, active, carefree

Hans Eysenck theory:

~introverts and extraverts have different arousal levels

~introverts have higher than normal arousal levels and enjoy seclusion and environments not invigorating to keep arousal levels to a minimum

~extraverts have low arousal levels and attempt to reach homeostasis by searching for stimulating activity to bring arousal to a normal level.

Journals:

1)Stowell, Kiecoldt, and Glaser (2001): Found that situations of higher stress brought about more active coping mechanisms in people, such as problem-focused coping. Lower stress situations were found to be significantly associated with avoidance coping mechanisms, a passive coping skill.

Relevance: High stress is related to active coping and low stress is associated with passive coping

2) Baoyong (2000): Extroversion has been positively correlated with using adaptive coping (not avoidance) introversion is correlated with maladaptive manners of coping (avoidance and emotion-focused)

Relevance: Extroverts use active coping

Introverts use passive coping

3) Halammandaris and Power (1999): Found emotion-focused coping has been positively correlated with neuroticism.

Relevance: Introverts use passive coping

4) Blair (2000): Aggression is negatively correlated with avoidance coping behaviors and people who tend to be aggressive typically do not sue avoidance coping.

10) McCroskey and Heisel (2001): Extraverts view themselves as aggressive and often impulsive communicators and tend to have a tolerance for arguments.

Relevance: Aggressive people do not use passive coping skills and extraverts are characterized as aggressive and impulsive communicators

5) Harju and Bolen (1998): Pessimism is related to passive coping and introversion. Pessimists were found to use more alcohol as a manner of coping with problems rather than employing active coping skills

Relevance: Pessimists use passive coping skills and introverts are often characterized as pessimists

Proposed Study

IV #1: Personality Type: Introversion and Extroversion

IV #2: Stress: high and low

DV: Coping score: more passive or active coping

Hypothesis:

Introverts:

~ High stress situations will have low coping scores indicating passive coping and no active coping.

~Low stress situation will cause introverts to have medium coping scores indicating passive coping however also little active coping.

Extraverts:

~High stress they will have high coping scores and use active coping and no passive coping.

~Low stress level situations would cause extraverts to have low coping scores

Introverts Extraverts

High stress	10	100
Low stress	50	10

~An interaction is predicted in introverts with high stress and extraverts with low stress

See figure below.