Type a behavior,irritability, and cardiovascular response

Previous research suggests that high levels of hostility may augment the cardiovascular reactivity and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) associated with Type A behavior. In contrast, other research indicates that the tendency to deny or suppress anger is associated with enhanced cardiovascular reactivity and risk of CHD. To delineate further the combined role of anger processes and Type A behavior in CHD risk, this study examined the interactive effects of Type A behavior and self-reported irritability on cardiovascular response to a challenging mental task. Type A and Type B college students were further classified as either high or low in self-reported irritability. Type A subjects who were low in self-reported irritability evidenced greater cardiovascular reactivity (i.e., systolic blood pressure and pulse rate) than did Type B subjects low in irritability. However, Type A subjects who were high in irritability tended to demonstrate less cardiovascular response than Type B subjects high in irritability. Further, Type A's low in self-reported irritability evidenced greater cardiovascular response than high-irritability Type A's. It is suggested that reduced reporting of irritability by Type A's may reflect suppression or denial, and further that this reduced reporting is associated with enhanced cardiovascular responsivity.     

Attention to important versus trivial tasks and salience of fatigue-related symptoms for coronary prone individuals

The present study tested the hypothesis that individuals with the Type A coronary prone behavior pattern focus their attention more on important tasks, and less on trivial tasks than do Type B's. The study used a paradigm in which some subjects worked on math problems (important task) and rated intervening mood items (trivial task), whereas others rated mood items they were to memorize (important task) and worked on intervening math problems (trivial task). All subjects were later tested on recall of mood items. Results indicated that Type A's performed better on math problems and recalled more fatigue-related mood items when the task was important than when it was trivial; for Type B subjects, there was no difference in the number of math problems solved correctly or number of mood items recalled between important and trivial task conditions. Moreover, Type A's reported greater fatigue when mood recall was the important task than when math was the important task, whereas fatigue ratings of Type B's did not differ across these conditions. The findings suggest that Type A's suppress their attention to fatigue-related symptoms only when symptoms are not the objects of focus.     

Infant characteristics and anger reduction

Konrad Lorenz first suggested in 1943 that certain physical and behavioral characteristics common to infants (babyishness) serve as cues to attract adult attention and care as well as to decrease the likelihood of aggression. The present study was designed to determine whether the visual stimuli of a baby's face alone are sufficient to reduce anger. The subjects were 60 female students between 18 and 30 years of age. Anger was evoked by setting unsolvable tasks and by noise and maintained by adequate instructions and by continuing noise. Three procedures of measurement (heart rate, retrospective self-report, and interpretation of facial affect by two observers) were designed to show the reactions of the subjects viewing photos of babies and adults. We found a slight increase in heart rate to be an expression of happiness and a massive acceleration to be an expression of anger. The self-report measures and interpretation of facial affect supported the hypothesis that there is a more positive response to infants than to adults, and to cute babies also a more positive one than to less attractive infants. We found weak evidence that babyishness reduces anger. As a consequence of the length of the experiment, subjects who should not be aroused became angry. Thus, it was possible to register a reduction of anger as reaction to cute infants.     

Facilitating sexual arousal via anger,aggression, or dominance

The hypothesis that either an angry emotional state or the expression of aggressive behavior facilitates sexual arousal has been the subject of considerable speculation but relatively little research. In a series of studies, Barclay found that anger increased sexual arousal as measured by the amount of sexual imagery produced in response to TAT-like stimuli that depicted males and females in dominant and submissive roles. In the present research, a series of experiments was conducted to determine whether such facilitation can be generalized beyond the specific procedures used by Barclay. Subjects (151 males and 136 females) in three experiments were angered by being negatively evaluated by a confederate identified as a fellow subject. Some subjects were subsequently given an opportunity to aggress; additionally, some subjects were exposed to male- and female-dominant pictorial stimuli. Results indicated that neither anger instigation nor the opportunity to engage in aggressive acts influenced self-reported sexual arousal. There was consistent evidence, however, that portrayals of dominance influenced perceptions of the stimulus person's sexuality. Though anger and aggression do not seem to facilitate sexual arousal, dominance cues (which can be confounded with anger manipulation) clearly elicit perceptions of sexuality.     

Gender-related effects in the perception of anger expression

The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of sex of stimulus person, sex type of subject, and sex of subject on the social perception of anger expression. One hundred and sixty-six female and 100 male subjects completed a questionnaire that consisted of 10 vignettes depicting the expression of anger by either a female or a male stimulus person. For each vignette, subjects rated the psychological balance, expected frequency of behavior, perceived degree of anger, and appropriateness of behavior. Overall, female stimulus persons were rated higher on all dependent measures, but only male raters significantly differentiated between male and female stimulus persons. Generally, female subjects gave higher ratings, but viewed angry behavior as less appropriate than did male subjects. Ratings were also found to be related to subjects' scores on Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire scales that involved socially undesirable traits. Post hoc analysis indicated that the type of anger response (“aggressive” or “nonaggressive”) was also an important variable, especially for the female subjects.     

Type A behavior, personality hardiness, and cardiovascular responses to stress

Type A behavior and hardiness were examined as predictors of cardiovascular responses to stress in 68 male undergraduates. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) and heart rate were monitored while subjects performed a difficult mirror-tracing task. Type A assessments based on the Structured Interview, but not those based on the Jenkins Activity Survey, were associated with significantly enhanced SBP and DBP elevations. Hardiness was associated with significantly reduced DBP responsiveness. In addition, a significant interaction indicated that the Type B-high hardiness group showed the least DBP reactivity. A near-significant interaction (p = .06) suggested that Type B-high hardiness subjects also reported the least anger. Further exploration of the data indicated that the challenge component of hardiness accounted for its relationship to DBP reactivity. These results have implications both for the psychophysiologic study of Type A behavior and for understanding the health-promoting effects of hardiness.     

Assessment of anger and aggression in male offenders with developmental disabilities

Systematic assessment of anger among people with developmental disabilities has been lacking, especially for hospital inpatients. Reliability and validity of anger self-report psychometric scales were investigated with 129 male patients, mostly forensic. Anger prevalence and its relationship to demographic, cognitive, and personality variables and to hospital assaultive behavior were examined. High internal and intermeasure consistency, and some concurrent validity with staff ratings, were found. Retrospective validity regarding physically assaultive behavior in the hospital was obtained. Hierarchical regressions revealed that patient-reported anger was a significant predictor of assaults postadmission, controlling for age, length of stay, IQ, violence offense history, and personality variables.     

Criteria in lay self-judgment of anger control

The basis of judgment by laypersons in the self-evaluation of difficulties with anger control is examined. Responses to a set of 10 specific criteria of anger control problems and a self-rating of degree of problem were obtained on 190 subjects. The criteria and problem ratings were found to have satisfactory testretest reliability. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that certain criteria entered more than others into the self-judgments of anger control problems. Exploratory factor analysis produced three factors, interpreted as Personal Difficulties with Anger, Aggression, and Hostility, which replicated some of the previous research. Implications of the findings for a social constructivist view of self-judgment of anger and aggression and the development of self-report instruments are discussed. Additional studies with other samples are suggested.     

Differences between informants about type a,anger, and social support and the relationship with blood pressure

Abstract

In a study on the influence of different natural environments on self-perception and that of significant others, behavioral manifestations of Type A, Anger, and Social Support were assessed. It was hypothesized that due to different environmental demands, participants will be perceived as displaying differences in Type A behavior, anger, and social support at home and at work. Participants were 45 university employees, constituting a convenience sample. Assessment included Type A Structured Interview scores of participants and questionnaire scores for Type A, anger, and social support of participants who were also evaluated by their spouses and work supervisors. Other risk factors for coronary heart disease (i.e., blood pressure, smoking, previous heart condition, being sedentary, and family history) and their relationships with Type A, anger, and social support were also examined.

Participants and spouses agreed significantly on all measures, whereas participants and work supervisors agreed only on Type A behavior. Spouses' and work supervisors' evaluations of the participants' behavior were not or only marginally associated. Multiple regression analysis showed that the level of disagreement between the different informants with respect to Type A and social support were associated with elevated blood pressure. These results suggest that the perception of Vpe A behavior, anger, and social support may be situationally determined.     

Type A behavior and emotional responses to uncertainty: A test of the self-appraisal model

The self-appraisal model of Type A behavior holds that Type A's desire an accurate appraisal of abilities, and respond to uncertainty about abilities with exaggerated attempts to generate diagnostic information. The model also predicts that the major emotional response to uncertainty for Type A's is anxiety. In this study, Type A's and B's were induced to succeed or fail on a task where they were either very certain or very uncertain of their subsequent ability levels. Task failure produced greater depression, anger, and frustration for all subjects. Consistent with the self-appraisal model's prediction, uncertainty (regardless of success or failure) led to greater anxiety for Type A's than for Type B's. In fact, greater uncertainty produced lower anxiety for Type B's, indicating that Type A's and B's differ dramatically in their emotional responses to uncertainty about abilities.     

The Jenkins Activity Survey measure of type a and frustration-induced anger

The present study examined the physiological and self-report responses of Type A and B males, defined by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), to an anger-inducing frustration manipulation. Subjects jointly performed a task with a confederate and either were or were not frustrated by the confederate in their attempt to gain a prize. Physiological and self-report measures indicated that the frustration manipulation generated anger, but there was no evidence that Type A subjects were more angered than Type B subjects. Such findings may reflect a weakness in the Jenkins Activity Survey for adequately measuring the hostility component of the Type A pattern.The research reported here was supported by a Biomedical Sciences Support Grant RRO 7037 to the second author.     

Type A behaviour pattern and attentional bias in relation to anger/hostility, achievement, and failure

Type A subjects are characterised by dysfunctional cognitions related to themes of competitiveness, achievement, and hostility. The present experiment investigated attentional biases for words relevant to the content of these dysfunctional schemata in Type A individuals. After completing the MMPI-2 Type A Scale, subjects completed two alternative versions of a visual probe detection task (administered 4–12 days apart) which contained achievement, failure, and anger/hostility/aggression related words. Prior to testing at time 1, subjects were told that the purpose of the procedure was to collect normative data only. Prior to testing at time 2, subjects were told that performance on the test was known to be closely related to IQ and that they could compare their performance with that of other subjects following completion of the task. Type A subjects directed attention towards anger/hostility/aggression words under low performance motivation conditions but away from such words under high performance motivation conditions. Type A subjects also showed less selective attention to failure words than Type B subjects, and no group differences were detected for achievement related words. The results are discussed with reference to models of dysfunctional cognitive processing, and the role of anger/hostility, in particular, in Type A personality.     

Profiles of anger control in second-grade children: examination of self-report, observational, and physiological components

The current study used latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine anger control in 257 second-grade children (∼8 years of age). Anger was induced through losing a game and prize to a confederate who cheated. Three components of anger control were assessed: self-report of awareness of anger, observed intensity of angry facial expressions, and skin conductance reactivity. These components served as indicators in an LPA conducted to determine whether distinct groups of children who differed in anger control profiles would emerge. Five groups were found: (a) Physiology-and-Expression Controllers (high self-report, low expression, low physiological arousal), (b) Expression-Only Controllers (high self-report, low expression, high physiological arousal), (c) Non-controllers (high self-report, high expression, medium physiological arousal), (d) Non-reactive (low self-report, low expression, low physiological arousal), and (e) Non-reporters (low self-report, medium expression, medium physiological arousal). These findings are discussed in terms of implications for the assessment of children’s anger control skills and intervention programs for children’s anger management.     

Early affective antecedents of adult type A behavior

The early affective, apparently temperamental antecedents of Type A behavior were investigated in a Swedish longitudinal sample (N = 149). Four clusters of Type A items (describing irritability, hurried behavior, work achievement, and competitiveness) were regressed on maternal ratings of the child's poor appetite, sleep disturbances, liveliness, anger, and shyness, collected annually from infancy to adolescence. The child's liveliness, sociability, and poor appetite during infancy and childhood were positively related to the adult Type A irritability and hurried behavior clusters, as were the mother's liveliness, orderliness, and intelligence as rated by psychologists during the child's first 6 years. The two work-involvement clusters were predicted by interactive effects among shyness, poor appetite, and anger during adolescence but were unrelated to mother attributes. Sleep disturbances were only related to competitiveness and only in late adolescence. These findings indicate that the interrelated components of adult Type A behavior have contrasting developmental histories and that temperament-related constructs are important antecedents to the adult syndrome.     

The effects of analytical rumination, reappraisal, and distraction on anger experience

The manner in which individuals recall negative life events has important affective consequences. The present experiment investigated the effects of emotion regulation strategies on anger experience. One hundred and twenty-one undergraduates recalled an anger-inducing memory and were instructed to engage in either analytical rumination, cognitive reappraisal, or distraction for 20 minutes. In the remaining (control) condition, participants were instructed to write about their thoughts but were not given any emotion regulation instructions. Rumination maintained anger, whereas participants in the remaining conditions reported decreased anger following the writing task. Our results suggest that reappraisal facilitates adaptive processing of anger-inducing memories and distraction facilitates rapid reductions in anger experience. These findings have implications for the management of clinical populations that commonly experience difficulty with anger regulation.     

Interpreting coronary-prone behaviour: Relationships among type a behaviour,hopelessness, anger management and social contact

Abstract

Two approaches to interpreting relationships among psychosocial risk factors for coronary heart disease are contrasted: the profile approach which focuses on predictive validity and confounding; and the theoretical approach which emphasises internal validity. These approaches are explored by applying them to a set of correlations found among Type A behaviour, hopelessness, anger management and social contact in a female sample. Type A behaviour was positively correlated with hopelessness and with anger expression, whilst anger management was related to the availability of social contact. The relationships between Type A, anger expression and hopelessness also appeared to be moderated by degree of social contact. These results are interpreted from the profile perspective and from that of Price's cognitive social learning theory. The relative merits of the two approaches are considered and a case is made for encouraging more theoretically based research on coronary-prone behaviour.     

The effects of anger management and social contact on risk of myocardial infarction in type as and type bs

Abstract

The risk of myocardial infarction (MI) associated with Type A behaviour, anger management and social contact was examined using a retrospective case-control design. Binary multiple regression analyses were used to compare 206 male and 67 female MI cases with 454 male and 316 female controls. To examine the potential moderating role of sex and Type A behaviour, moderated and subgroup regressions were run. Type A behaviour was significantly more prevalent in cases than controls. MI risk was further increased in males who combined Type A behaviour and aggressive expression of anger. In females MI risk was associated with the combination of Type A behaviour and not expressing anger. In addition female cases were significantly less likely than controls to discuss their anger, and reported fewer available social contacts. Discussion of results includes consideration of the problems generated by the retrospective case-control design.     

Linkages between facial expressions of anger and transient myocardial ischemia in men with coronary artery disease

The authors examined whether facial expressions of emotion would predict changes in heart function. One hundred fifteen male patients with coronary artery disease underwent the Type A Structured Interview, during which time measures of transient myocardial ischemia (wall motion abnormality and left ventricular ejection fraction) were obtained. Facial behavior exhibited during the ischemia measurement period was videotaped and later coded by using the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman & W. V. Friesen, 1978). Those participants who exhibited ischemia showed significantly more anger expressions and nonenjoyment smiles than nonischemics. Cook-Medley Hostility scores did not vary with ischemic status. The findings have implications for understanding how anger and hostility differentially influence coronary heart disease risk.     

Modification of Type A behavior through aerobic exercise

This psychophysiological evaluation of an aerobic exercise program examined specifically whether aerobic training modified Pattern A for those individuals at behavioral risk for developing coronary heart disease, i.e., young Type A individuals. At pretest and posttest of this secondary prevention study, Type A and Type B subjects were assessed in three conditions: aerobic exercise program, nonaerobic activity (Aikido, a martial art) control, and notreatment control. After 10 weeks, Type A but not Type B subjects exhibited lower Pattern A behavior in the aerobic program than in control conditions. Average workout pulse rates and differentially reliable increases in aerobic capacity indicated that aerobic training was indeed aerobic, whereas aikido activity was not. Even though selected nonaerobic factors, such as locus of control and group participation, did not mediate the Pattern A decrease for Type A's when comparing aikido and aerobic conditions, changes in aerobic capacity may have been the mediator. Generalizability of the results and implications for theoretical development and clinical intervention are discussed.     

Evaluation of a domain-specific anger expression assessment strategy

Previous studies have shown that self-reports of an individual's anger expression vary between the home and the work domain. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of such self-reports by comparing them with reports of intimate partners and work colleagues in the respective domain. Participants (N= 86) rated their anger expression on the general and on domain-specific versions of the State-Trait-Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger, 1988). The self-rated anger-out-home scores correlated highly with partner ratings of anger-out-home scores (r = .61) and colleague ratings of anger-out-work scores correlated substantially with self-rated anger-out-work scores (r = .54). A similar but weaker correlation pattern emerged for anger control but not for anger-in. Self-other correspondence was higher for the domain-specific anger expression assessment than for the general anger expression assessment. These results demonstrate that the domain-specific strategy for the assessment of self-reported anger expression can validly measure differences in anger expression in different domains.