Temperamental Dimensions as Co-Determinants of Resistance to Stress

Abstract

This final chapter by Strelau provides a fitting conceptual framework, the Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT), in which to consider the reviews, data, and theory presented in the previous seven chapters. As have others, Strelau views stress as resulting from an interaction between the environment and the organism—thus if stress were solely an external factor, the need to understand differences among organisms would not be necessary. As this is not the case, the study of individual differences becomes the sine qua non for understanding stress. He decries the relative lack of attention that this aspect of stress has generated. If, as Strelau and others believe, stress is a state caused by a lack of equilibrium between environmental demands and the ability to cope, again the need to consider individual differences is underscored. In the context of the RTT approach, the major determinant of an organism’s response to stress is reactivity, the individual’s typical and stable intensity of response to a stimulus. Reactivity is viewed as the most important individual difference construct in understanding stress reactions. In the concluding portions of his chapter Strelau marshals an impressive array of evidence to substantiate this claim, covering such topics as performance, psychophysiology, and coping. The reactivity approach to studying the stress response may provide a perspective for many scientists that opens broad avenues of new thinking on an old issue.