AS AQA PSYA2 Psychology- Hardiness Training

Hardiness training was proposed by Maddi, and Kobasa identified the 3 C's to the hardiness personality.

These three stages were:

Focusing: Client identfies physiological reactions to stress, e.g. muscle tension. Then the source of stress will be identified

Relieving stressful encounters: Client relives stressful situation, giving an insight into current coping strategies and how they could be more effective

Self Improvement: Insights help develop new techniques to deal with stress. Central to hardiness training is the idea that lifes stressors should be seen as challenges rather than stressors.

Strengths:

• Williams et al found hardy peopel using more problems focused techniques when faced with stressors
• Fletcher et al 2005 studied UK olympic swimmers who were given hardiness training to ensure they were commited to the challgenge of increased oerformcance levels, whilst leading everyday lives
• It focuses on the cause of stress, and skills learnt are transferable

Weaknesses:

• Generalisability is limited as studies were done on white middle class men. Basic aspects of personality and habits of coping with stress have to change which is very difficult
• Effectiveness and practicality is good in some areas, however, it isn't always the more practical, as the training requires money, motivation and time.