Explain Kobasa's concept of hardiness.

One of the dispositional constructs involving perceptions of control is hardiness. The hardiness construct emerged from stress research as a way of describing a stress-resistant personality that exhibits existential courage. Hardiness is defined as a synergy of three cognitive elements, the 3 Cs of control, challenge, and commitment.

When persons approach life with existential courage they do not shrink from life's challenges but rather actively engage them in a form of transformational coping that serves to shape the outcome. Hardy individuals also perceive stress and change as less threatening, thus lowering their overall reactivity to stressors. In many ways, the concept of hardiness is similar to the concept of resilience.