A Framework for Emotions and Dispositions in Man-Companion Interaction - Coverbal Synchrony in Human-Machine Interaction - page 119

These assumptions are based on research regarding self-perception and
personality traits that show that mild and permanently positive illusions
about one's own person and overestimation of one's own control of
situations has a positive impact on self-confi dence and the manner in
which challenges are handled (Maruta et al., 2002).
In life event research, these abilities to meet stressful situations
with resistance are defi ned with the key word hardiness . Hardiness
is understood as the cooperation of three attitude and behavior
patterns: Control, Challenge and Commitment. This kind of ideal-
typical person always trusts in his/her own abilities, even under
diffi cult life circumstances. Such a person considers life a challenge, in
which every change can also be considered an opportunity and is mostly
without any ambivalence both in his/her private and professional life,
has few doubts, and is usually very dedicated and motivated.
The term coherence feeling is used for a global orientation that
expresses to what extent an individual has a generalized, lasting and
dynamic feeling of trust that his/her own inner and outer environment
is predictable and that things will, in all likelihood, will develop in the
manner that can be reasonably expected. Antonovsky (1987) proposes
three components that relate to each other: Comprehensibility refers to
the extent to which stimuli, events or developments can be perceived
as structured, orderly and predicable. Manageability refers to the extent
to which an individual perceives appropriate personal and social
resources that can help cope with internal and external requirements.
Meaningfulness finally refers to the extent to which an individual
perceives his/her life as meaningful. In particular, the meaningfulness
component puts the coherence feeling in a closer relation with emotional
behavior because the assignment of situational meaning is a central
emotional process.
The term personality refers to all mental characteristics of an individual
that it shares with others or in which it differs from others. Widely
accepted are fi ve-factor models of personality: Extroversion, neuroticism,
openness, conscientiousness and agreeability. These are described as
stable, independent and fairly culture-stable factors. Extroversion is
characterized by an outward-looking attitude. Individuals scoring
high on the extroversion scale can be described as active, social,
cheerful and/or talkative. Neuroticism, which is also referred to as
emotional instability, describes the experience of and coping with
negative emotions. Individuals scoring high on the neuroticism scale
often experience fear, nervousness, stress, sadness, insecurity and
embarrassment. The openness factor describes the degree to which an
individual shows interest in and seeks new experiences. Individuals