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The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the role of different

personalities on health behaviour. The aim will be to explore certain
personality traits which may bear an impact on the overall health and
well-being of individuals. Additionally, this paper will include personality
theories and perceptions to how they influence health and well-being.
A psychologist Dr. Rick Wirtz said: We take our personalities to work,
school, in our relationships, on the golf course, etc. In fact our
personalities are reflected in everything we do. They are reflected in the
TV shows we like to watch, what foods we eat, how much we drink, our
hobbies, political affiliations, etc. So it would only make sense that our
personality would be reflected in how we manage our health and the way
we react to illness. (http://www.healthcentral.com)
One can draw a distinction between physical health, mental health and
social health. The World Health Organization (WHO) draws such a
distinction of mental health by defining it as being a state of well-being.
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (www.who.int). George
Engel was another person who drew such distinctions, introduced the
major theory in medicine in 1977, the Biopsychosocial Model (BPS). He
argued consistently for the necessity and importance of a BPS to include
biological, psychological, and sociological consistent fields, in the same
fashion the systems of the body interact. The idea shifted focus from
disease to health. Recognizing that psychosocial factors (e.g. beliefs,
relationships, stress) greatly impact not only our daily health behaviour
and health but also the recovery of a patient and recuperation from illness
and disease. Engel stated: To provide a basis for understanding the
determinants of disease and arriving at a rational treatments and patterns
of health care, a medical model must also take into account the patient,
the social context in which he lives and the complementary system
devised by society to deal with the disruptive effects of illness, that is, the
physician role and the health care system. This requires a biopsychosocial
model. (Engel 1977).
Engel was not the only researcher that had a theory that included
psychological and sociological factors into health behaviour. Over the last
half century there have been a growing theory that ones personality traits
greatly influences ones health behaviour. In 1949 a researcher, D. W.
Fiske suggested that there are five fundamental personality traits
(Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and
Neuorotisism), that could be attributed by human behaviour. This theory
was expanded on by other researchers including Norman, Smith,
Goldberg, and McCrae & Costa (Buss 1995). These researchers suggested
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that by gathering personality inventory, one is able to understand certain

behaviour to the persons perception and judgement within their
personality.
In order to assess how Fiskes five fundamental personality traits can be
linked to health behaviour one needs to also understand how the five
traits are defined or recognised as:

Openness describes the breadth, depth, originality, and

complexity of an individuals mental and experiential life (Pervin &
John 1999). A person that is open minded would probably be
imaginative, independent minded and has divergent thinking. Studies have shown that individuals with high levels of openness to
be protective against earlier mortality (Hampson and Friedman
2008). However students with openness experience was the
strongest single predictor of substance use risk taking and was
related to higher risk taking.
Conscientiousness describes socially prescribed impulse control
that facilitates task and goal-directed behaviour, such as thinking
before acting, delaying gratification, following norms and rules, and
planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks (Pervin & John 1999)
Consvientiousness was related to engaging in more frequent
wellness behaviours and accident control behaviours and less
frequent traffic risk taking behaviours. Low conscientiousness often
referring to refer to people that tend to be disorganised,
irresponsible, and undisciplined is related to negative health
behaviours (e.g., smoking, drinking, poor diet, and lack of exercise
and negative health outcomes (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, urinary
problems, stroke, a variety of mental illnesses, and earlier mortality
(Turiano et al 2010).
Extraversion implies an energetic approach to the social and
material world and includes traits such as sociability, activity,
assertiveness, and positive emotionality (Pervin & John 1999) Those that are seen with great levels of extraversion tend to
experience greater amounts of positive affect and optimism, both of
which are also associated with positive health benefits.
Agreeableness Contrasts a prosocial and communal orientation
toward others with antagonism and includes traits such as altruism,
tender-mindedness, trust, and modesty (Pervin & John 1999) Agreeableness was associated to fewer traffic risk taking and
substance use risk taking
Neuorotisism contrasts emotional stability and eventemperedness with negative emotionality, such as feeling anxious,
nervous, sad, and tense (Pervin & John 1999) - people high in
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neuroticism also have a higher risk of developing hypertension,

obesity and metabolic syndrome (Turiano et al 2010).
Even though the five fundamental personality traits were discussed
individually, they all co-exist within all of us. One can take a personality
test (http://www.visualdna.com/quizzes/) to understand these traits better,
as an example of how these traits interact, and influence our behaviour,
an example of results of the afore mentioned test will follow. Note that all
the results below has been copied directly from the results page of the
above test.

As the above reflects there are many factors within a personality that
could influence our behaviour, including factors that could lead to positive
or healthy health behaviour for example; optimism and believes, and
factors that could lead to negative or unhealthy health behaviours such as
pessimism, Type A personalities and education. People that are optimistic
have an expectation that good things will transpire and should bad things
happen that is was the outcome of things that was out of their control.
Optimistic people with high self-esteem live a longer life by way of
reduced illness due to cancer and cardiovascular illness (Peterson et al.,
1998). Whereas on the other hand people who are pessimistic live a life of
anxiety and stress, thereby causing continuous imbalance in the body
systems and are more prone to illness and disease (McEwen and Medelson
1983). Outgoing and social individuals have high levels of energy, often
assume leadership roles, and seek challenges. (Spiro et al. 1990) found
that self-reported extraverts had fewer physiological and physical
symptoms. On the other hand you have people with Type A Personalities,
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a personality that is often considered linked to impatiences, prone to

anxiety, offer little time for relaxation and has poor sleep patterns. They
have compulsive/neurotic tendencies can become aggressive and hostile,
these are but a few links to negative behaviour that is linked to Type A
Personalities.
As previously mentioned the last 50 years have been heavily influenced
by theories on personality, some of these theories have been heavily
influenced by Sigmund Freuds psychodynamic approach. Dr Freuds
personality model included 3 parts; the ID (where the person is worried
about satisfying basics instincts), the EGO (this facilitates the stresses
between the ID and limitations of society), and the SUPEREGO (parental
and social values are internalised). Unlike the other theories, Freud theory
included an ongoing component of conflict, that these ever changing
conflicts were the main factors of personality. The best way to illustrate
how the 3 parts of Freuds personality model could relate back to the
impact on health behaviour, is to refer them within a dietary example;

You are on a weight loss diet and have gone out with friends for
afternoon tea. Throughout the coffee shop, the most luxurious cakes
has been displayed. The ID will convey a message of: "go ahead, it's
just one piece! Enjoy it!" whilst the SUPEREGO will make an attempt
to over rationalise: "You know are not hungry and eating cake will
have a negative effect on all the hard work you have done up until
now", until the EGO steps in and determine logically how important
it is for you to stay on your diet and if having the piece of cake
would make such a difference.

As the above demonstrates there are a number of theories on personality

and how personality influences our daily lives in everything one does.
Apart from the psychodynamic and behavioural theories as mentioned in
this paper, there are also type theories, (suggesting there are a limited
number of "personality types" linked to biological influences), trait
theories (views personality as the result of internal characteristics that are
genetically based) and humanist theory (emphasizing the prominence of
free will and individual knowledge in the development of personality.
Humanist theorists include Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.)
Ones behaviour and perception suggests that ones personalitys
influences the ways in which one make sense of the environment and how
to react to environmental stimuli. There are other factors that affect how
ones health behaviour that might include emotion, pain, needs, culture,
gender, age and society to name but a few, however it is a persons
personality that permits for evidences to understanding human behaviour
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References
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How your personality affects your life available at

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