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Time Urgency and the Type A Coronary‐Prone Behavior Pattern 1
Author(s) -
Glass David C.,
Snyder Melvin L.,
Hollis Jack F.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1974.tb00663.x
Subject(s) - conceptualization , psychology , task (project management) , type a and type b personality theory , reinforcement , interpersonal communication , social psychology , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , personality , computer science , management , artificial intelligence , economics
Two experiments were conducted to examine behavioral consequences of a sense of time urgency, which presumably characterizes individuals classified as manifesting a so‐called “Type A” coronary‐prone behavior pattern. Experiment I indicated that time‐urgent Type A Ss were reliably less successful than noncoronary‐prone “Type Bs” in performing a task requiring a low rate of response for reinforcement (DRL). Type As were not only unable to delay their responses; they also showed greater evidence of tension and hyperactivity than Type Bs during DRL performance. Experiment II extended these results to the interpersonal domain. Time‐urgent Ss became more impatient and irritated than less urgent Ss when both types were systematically slowed down in their efforts to reach a solution on a joint decision‐making task. The results were discussed in terms of a conceptualization of the A‐B dimension as reflecting differential expectations of and needs for environmental control. Additional evidence was presented in support of this approach. Consideration was also given to possible physiologic mechanisms mediating the relationship between psychological variables such as the Type A pattern and actual occurrence of coronary heart disease.