We are watching you: Type D personality is associated with greater blood pressure, heart rate and hormone responses in socially stressful situations

Abstract

Individuals can be classified as having Type D, ‘distressed’, personality which is characterised by a tendency to experience negative emotions and to hide these emotions during social interaction. Type D personality has been linked to heart disease. A potential mechanism behind this association is large blood pressure, heart rate and hormone (cortisol) responses to stress. Previous studies examining stress responses in Type D individuals have reported mixed findings, potentially due to the social aspect of the stress task. The present study, therefore, examined whether blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol responses in 130 Type D and non-Type D students differed according to a social-evaluative or non-social version of the stress task. Within the social stress condition individuals with Type D personality had the greatest blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol stress responses (p < .05). Further, within the non-social stress condition, Type D individuals appeared to demonstrate lower stress responses. This study is important in highlighting individuals with Type D personality only have large physical stress reactions under socially stressful conditions, and this may lead to heart disease.