Dispositional Factors & Health (DP IB Psychology)

What are dispositional factors?

• Dispositional factors are internal personal characteristics we possess, such as genetic makeup, beliefs, values, attitudes and personality 

• Situational factors are external to us and over which we have little or no control, such as socio-economic status, physical environment, cultural and social norms

• Situational factors may affect disposition and vice-versa and this is part of the interaction identified by the biopsychosocial model

• Attribution theory suggests that someone’s attitude towards the cause of their illness depends on whether or not they take responsibility for their health (a dispositional explanation)

Dispositional factors can control whether or not we take responsibility for our own health.

What is the link between dispositional factors & health?

• Much research into dispositional factors and health has focused on the ‘Big Five’ personality traits of:

  • Openness to experience - the willingness to investigate and try new things

  • Conscientiousness - being goal-directed, having the 

  • ability to plan, having impulse control

  • Extraversion - shown via level of engagement with the outside world

  • Agreeableness - shown via level of concern for others and general optimism

  • Neuroticism - the tendency to experience negative emotions and being prone to stress

• Openness, conscientiousness and extraversion are positively correlated with health, and while neuroticism is negatively correlated with health (Joyner et al., 2018)

• Agreeableness and health have a more complex relationship, as too much concern for others (i.e. not attending to your own needs)  can be related to poor health

• Psychologists also divide health-related dispositional factors into those which are positive and those which are negative

• Positive factors:

  • Optimism bias - those who are generally more optimistic about life tend to have better health and better coping skills and recovery rate if they do become ill (Sharot et al., 2011)

  • Self-efficacy - belief in one’s ability to control and manage one’s health

  • High self-esteem - a realistic belief in one’s own worth/value that leads to  good self-care along with the ability to accept help from others when necessary

• Negative factors:

  • Pessimism bias - an expectation that danger lurks around every corner which can lead to hyperarousal and worry, which increases stress

  • Learned helplessness - a belief that one is unable to cope with negative events such as ill-health

  • Low self-esteem - a feeling of low worth/value that inclines an individual to neglect their health 

  • Type A personality - someone who is tense, irritable, competitive and always in a hurry is more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease (Rosenman et al. 1976)

An optimistic outlook is linked to better health.

Evaluation of dispositional factors and health 

Strengths

• This explanation of health beliefs provides a coherent and evidence-based argument for how dispositional factors affect health

• The dispositional explanation highlights the variation in different people’s responses and outcomes to the same health problem, aiding individual diagnosis

Limitations

• Much of the research into dispositional factors and health is based on self-report methods such as questionnaires and so is subject to participant bias

• Bidirectional ambiguity - it is not clear whether healthy people are more optimistic and positive, or if their optimism is the defining factor in their health (i.e. they are healthy because they are positive)

Which study investigates dispositional factors and health?

• Rasmussen et al. (2009) conducted a meta-analysis of relevant research and found optimism to be a significant predictor of positive physical health outcomes

Rasmussen et al. (2009) is available as one of ‘Two Key Studies of Dispositional Factors and Health Beliefs’ – just navigate to the Dispositional Factors and Health Beliefs section of this topic to find them.