Type A behavior, attentional style, and symptom reporting among adult men and women

Type A behavior and its components (measured on the JAS) were examined in relation to attentional style and symptom reporting in 294 healthy adult men and women. The results showed that for both men and women the JAS Type A, Job Involvement, and Hard Driving factors were all associated with self-reported attentional effectiveness as measured by the Nideffer Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style. However, a fourth JAS factor, Speed and Impatience, was associated with Nideffer measures of cognitive overload. For both men and women, the Type A, Speed and Impatience, and Hard Driving factors were all positively associated with the number of medical and psychological symptoms reported on the Cornell Medical Index. In addition, acute psychological distress (Hopkins SCL-90R) was associated with Type A behavior for men and with Speed and Impatience for both sexes. Attention differences did not account for the observed positive relationships between Type A factors and symptom reporting with one exception; attentional overload (internal) appeared to partially explain the relationships between symptom reporting and Speed and Impatience in women. In summary, Type As described themselves as having a broader attentional focus and reported more naturally occurring physical and psychological symptoms than did Type Bs.     

Component analysis of the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern in male and female college students

Two studies investigated the psychological dimensions encompassed by the Rosenman Structured Interview (SI) method of assessing the Type A behavior pattern. In Study 1, female students completed the SI and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Factor analysis of the verbal stylistic and answer content components of the SI yielded a 5-factor solution, with one factor--Clinical Rating--accounting for most nonerror variance in Type A ratings. The remaining factors were derived from answer content and correlated more substantially with JAS Type A ratings than with SI Type A ratings. In Study 2, male and female college students completed the SI and JAS and a battery of questionnaires that tap trait dimensions implied by the conceptual definition of Type A. For both males and females, SI ratings of Type A could almost be completely predicted by scores on the Clinical Rating factor. For both sexes, content dimensions of the SI related to other measures of Type A and to Type A-consistent traits, whereas the Clinical Rating factor was only modestly associated with such traits. Moreover, sex differences were observed in the trait constellations composing SI and JAS definitions of Type A. These results suggest that a discrepancy exists between conceptual and operational definitions of the Type A pattern.     

Personality, type A behavior, and coronary heart disease: the role of emotional expression

The nature of the relation between personality factors and coronary heart disease (CHD, the nation's greatest killer) is one of the most important if controversial issues in the field of psychology and health. Although there is still a great deal of conceptual confusion, progress is being made in refining the key components of a predisposition to heart disease. In this article we examine the construct of a coronary-prone personality in the context of the relations among personality, emotional expression, and disease. Special consideration is given to mode of measurement of the Type A behavior pattern--Structural Interview (SI) versus Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS)--and to components and non-Type A correlates of the general coronary-prone construct. Fifty middle-aged men who had had a myocardial infarction were compared with 50 healthy controls in terms of relevant aspects of their psychological functioning. Results indicate that the SI is better than the JAS as a predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) because of its attention to emotional expressive style. Traditional emphases on hurry sickness in coronary proneness are deemed wholly inadequate. Furthermore, the results indicate that depression, anxiety, or both may relate to CHD independently of and in addition to Type A behavior. Other aspects of personality and social support are also discussed in the context of improving the construct of coronary proneness.     

Relationship between JAS- and FTAS-Type A behavior and non-CHD illness: a prospective study controlling for negative affectivity

In addition to posing a risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), Type A behavior has been suggested as a risk factor for non-CHD illness. Past evidence, however, has relied chiefly on retrospective studies of self-reported illness that failed to control for the potentially confounding effects of negative affectivity. The present investigation was an 18-month prospective study of Type A behavior and medical records of illness in which chronic negative affectivity was also assessed. Negative affectivity was associated with retrospective self-reported illness, but only Type A, as measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS), predicted medical records of subsequent illness severity and number of illness-related medical visits. Controlling for negative affectivity did not reduce these significant relationships. It was concluded that persons scoring high on the JAS or the FTAS may be a greater risk of minor illness when objective measures of illness are assessed over a period of 1 year or more. Alternative explanations and future directions for research are discussed.     

Social Skills Differences among Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Types in a Chat Room Assessment Task

This study assessed social skills in 116 children aged 7-12 with ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C; n=33), ADHD-Inattentive Type (ADHD-I; n=45), and comparison children (n=38), with consideration of the role sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) symptoms play in distinguishing profiles. Social skills were assessed using a novel computerized chat room task, in which participants were encouraged to join a conversation and type messages to interact with four computer-simulated peers. Every participant received the identical stimulus from the simulated peers, but was free to respond to it in his or her own unique way. Relative to comparison children, children with ADHD-C made off-topic and hostile responses; children with ADHD-I made off-topic responses, few responses and showed poor memory for the conversation. ADHD subtype differences remained after statistical control of IQ, reading achievement, typing skill, and comorbid disruptive behavior disorders. SCT symptoms, most prevalent among children with ADHD-I, predicted a distinct pattern of social withdrawal and lower hostility. Parent and teacher ratings and in-vivo observations of social skills correlate with this new measure.     

Type A behavior pattern, parental history of hypertension, and cardiovascular reactivity in college males

Two risk factors for cardiovascular disorders, parental history of hypertension and the Type A behavior pattern, were investigated concurrently with respect to cardiovascular reactivity to challenging situations. Sixty-four college males were given both the Structured Interview (SI) and Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) for the Type A behavior pattern and a family health questionnaire to determine parental history of hypertension. The students were monitored for blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), and pulse transit time (PTT) response to four tasks: cold pressor, isometric handgrip exercise, a reading comprehension task, and backwards digit span. Type As based on SI classification had significantly higher HR levels across all tasks than did Type Bs, as well as higher diastolic BP levels in the cold pressor task. No main effects for Type A-B using JAS classification were found. Positive parental history students had higher HR and shorter PTT levels across all the tasks. Type A and parental history did interact in a limited way on some tasks, but the interactions were also dependent on the Type A classification used.     

The inequivalence of self-reports of Type A behavior: Differential relationships of the Jenkins Activity Survey and the Framingham cale with affect,stress, and control

The Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) have been found to have different psychological correlates. The JAS is typically unrelated to anxiety, while the FTAS is consistently correlated with trait anxiety. The present study of 200 male and female college students clarifies further the psychological heterogeneity of these measures. Enhanced motivation to control the environment has been suggested as an underlying psychological component of Type A behavior (Glass, 1977). Dysphoric emotions and the perception of more environmental stresses, on the other hand, are typical of neuroticism or negative affectivity (Watson & Clark, 1984). Although the results indicate that the JAS and FTAS are highly correlated, the JAS is more closely related to control motivation than is the FTAS. Further, compared to the JAS, the FTAS is more closely correlated with dysphoric emotions and perceived daily stresses. Thus, the results indicate that the JAS is closely correlated with core psychological components of the Type A pattern, while the FTAS has a relatively unique association with general emotional distress. Such differences may account for the fact that these measures are related to different disease end points.     

Making it without losing it: Type A, achievement motivation, and scientific attainment revisited

In a study by Matthews, Helmreich, Beane, and Lucker (1980), responses by academic psychologists to the Jenkins Activity Survey for Health Prediction (JAS), a measure of the Type A construct, were found to be significantly, positively correlated with two measures of attainment, citations by others to published work and number of publications. In the present study, JAS responses from the Matthews et al. sample were subjected to a factor analysis with oblique rotation and two new subscales were developed on the basis of this analysis. The first, Achievement Strivings (AS) was found to be significantly correlated with both the publication and citation measures. The second scale, Impatience and Irritability (I/I), was uncorrelated with the achievement criteria. Data from other samples indicate that I/I is related to a number of health symptoms. The results suggest that the current formulation of the Type A construct may contain two components, one associated with positive achievement and the other with poor health.     

The Novacco Anger Scale and Jenkins Activity Survey as predictors of cardiovascular reactivity

This study investigated the relationship among anger, the Type A construct, and cardiovascular reactivity. The Novacco Anger Scale and the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) were used to measure anger proneness and Type A characteristics, respectively. Twenty-four college males were selected from the upper and lower quintiles of the JAS distribution. During the study, the subjects were exposed to varying levels of experimentally induced challenge, while measurements were taken of heart-rate and blood-pressure changes. The results showed a modest but significant correlation between scores on the Novacco Anger Scale and the JAS. More importantly, scores on the Novacco Anger Scale correlated significantly with heart rate and systolic blood pressure under all challenge conditions, while those on the JAS were unrelated to cardiovascular excitability. These results raise questions about the usefulness of the JAS as a predictor of CHD risk. They are also consistent with the beliefs of other investigators that anger and hostility are the most important Type A behaviors in predisposing patients to coronary heart disease. Additional implications of the study are discussed.     

Self-report measurement of type A behavior: toward refinement and improved prediction

Self-report measures of Type A personality receive wide research usage despite mounting evidence that they are poor predictors of coronary heart disease. It was proposed that the limited prediction results in part from the failure to restrict measurement to only those Type A characteristics that are demonstrably related to excessive stress. The first study in this article reports a factor analysis of all items on the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), the most popular Type A questionnaire, along with 25 stress symptoms. Self-ratings were obtained from both male and female college students. Only one stress-related factor emerged including 12 JAS items out of 44. These were relevant to (a) hard-driving and competitive, (b) time-urgent, and (c) hostile/irritated characteristics. Study 2 reports correlations of +.50 and +.43 between the stress-relevant JAS items and stress for new samples of female and male college students. Study 3 considers the broader personality correlates of scores on the stress-relevant Type A items and reports markedly different patterns for male and female college students. Predicted correlations were found on new samples between these personality correlates, considered as scales, and stress-relevant Type A scores and stress.     

Religion,Type A behavior,and health

In a study of air traffic controllers, religious differences are found in the way Type A behavior is associated with several health status indicators. Associations between the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and physical illness incidence, health-promotive behavior, diastolic and systolic blood pressure, subjective distress and impulse control problems, and alcohol consumption are examined by religious attendance, religious affiliation, and change in affiliation. Findings confirm that Type A does not vary significantly by religion. However, there are several significant findings between Type A and various health indicators. Type A is associated with illness incidence, overall and more strongly in several religion, subgroups. Type A and alcohol consumption are related positively in Protestants and converts, and negatively in churchgoing Catholics. Type A is related to impulse control problems in churchgoing Protestants and to subjective distress in churchgoing Catholics. Finally, in individuals with weak or no religious ties, Type A is associated with lower blood pressure. This last finding suggests that in some people (for example, the irreligious or unchurched), the coronary-prone behavior pattern may have cardiovascular effects which are salutary in at least one respect.The authors wish to thank Dr. Kyriakos S. Markides and Laura A. Ray for their assistance with this study. Address requests for reprints to Dr. Levin at the Institute of Gerontology, 300 North Ingalls, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.     

The Relationship Between Political Preference and Judgments of President Clinton's Integrity Depends on Cognitive Complexity1

Participants who varied in cognitive complexity and political preference for President Clinton read a brief news account of an episode in which the President was said to have altered his behavior when he realized it was public. They then evaluated him. In 2 studies, participants low in cognitive complexity and positively disposed toward President Clinton rated his integrity as higher, whereas those negatively disposed gave him lower ratings. Participants higher in cognitive complexity, regardless of their political preference, made more moderate judgments of his integrity. This pattern was not observed for ratings of Clinton's sensitivity, social skillfulness, or work ethic. The role of cognitive complexity in integrating seemingly inconsistent behavior is discussed.     

The effects of perceived parental rearing style on the development of Type A pattern

The aetiological antecedents of the Type A pattern have not been studied widely. In the present study the effects of parental rearing practices on the development of Type A pattern were evaluated. Perceived parental rearing style was assessed by the EMBU and Type A pattern by the JAS. Subjects were drawn from a random sample of residents (older than 21 years) of a Dutch community. Results suggested that a significant amount of variance of Type A behaviour can be accounted for by perceived parental characteristics, especially rejection and lack of emotional warmth. It is suggested that lack of emotional warmth and negative evaluation of children by their parents may lead to an internalized maladaptive cognitive set in the children which may be a developmental antecedent for eliciting the competitiveness, achievement striving, and sense of time urgency characteristic of Type A adults.     

Type A behaviour,financial performance and organizational growth in small business firms

Eight hundred randomly selected members of the Smaller Business Association of New England were mailed the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and a biodata questionnaire. A total of 368 chief executive officers completed both instruments, representing a response rate of 46***.0 per cent. Based on the JAS, 82 per cent of the respondents were characterized by the Type A or coronary-prone behaviour pattern. Corporate performance was plotted against Type A and B scores. Firms run by Type As showed a higher return on investment and greater five-year growth in sales revenue than firms run by Type Bs, but this pattern was found only for the Job Involvement subscale.     

Cognitive appraisal of daily hassles in college students showing Type A or Type B behavior patterns

To test the hypothesized role of cognitive appraisal in Lazarus' model of life stress, 312 male and female undergraduate students completed the Hassles Scale and the Jenkins Activity Survey, Form C. Based upon their scores on the Type A scale of the Jenkins Activity Survey, subjects showing Type A behavior pattern differed significantly from subjects showing Type B behavior pattern on both reported frequencies of hassles (higher for Type A scoring subjects) and hassles content pattern. This is interpreted primarily as supportive of the cognitive appraisal variable in Lazarus' life stress model.     

Type A behavior in employed women: relation to work, marital, and leisure variables, social support, stress, tension, and health

Ninety-one women employed full-time were administered the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS; Jenkins, Rosenman, & Zyzanski; 1974) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS; Haynes, Levine, Scotch, Feinleib, & Kennel, 1978). Information concerning various work and nonwork-related variables was obtained via questionnaire or interview. Type A women had higher occupational levels and reported more demanding jobs and higher stress and tension than Type B women. Type A and B women did not differ in their reports of marital adjustment or in total hours spent in leisure activities. Type A behavior was related to both self-reported stress and tension--and for married women only, poorer self-reported physical health. Social support from various sources was not found to be related to Type A or Type B. Curiously, Type A was related to more reported stress and tension for women who felt they had many sources of support but not for women who did not perceive their having many sources of support.     

The complexity of developmental predictions from dual process models

Drawing developmental predictions from dual-process theories is more complex than is commonly realized. Overly simplified predictions drawn from such models may lead to premature rejection of the dual process approach as one of many tools for understanding cognitive development. Misleading predictions can be avoided by paying attention to several cautions about the complexity of developmental extrapolations. The complexity of developmental predictions follows from the fact that overall normative responding at a given age derives from several different mental characteristics: (1) the developmental course of Type 1 processing, (2) the developmental course of Type 2 processing, (3) the acquisition of mindware usable by Type 1 processing, (4) the acquisition of mindware usable by Type 2 processing, and (5) the practicing of the mindware available to Type 2 processing to the extent that it is available to be processed in an autonomous manner. The complexity of all these interacting processes and sources of information can sometimes result in U-shaped developmental functions on some heuristics and biases tasks, making younger children look like they are responding more optimally than older children. This is particularly true when the youngest groups are ill-equipped to even understand the task and thus respond randomly. A final caution concerns terminology: The terms normative or rational should be reserved for responses and not attributed to subpersonal processes.     

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.     

The framingham Type A Scale: Cardiovascular and cognitive-behavioral responses to interpersonal challenge

Most of the primary measures of Type A behavior have been found to be associated with physiological reactivity to stressors, as well as coronary heart disease (CHD). While it does predict CHD, the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) has not been conclusively linked to physiological reactivity. Similarly, in contrast to other Type A measures, little is known concerning the cognitive behaviors associated with the FTAS in stressful situations. The present study was conducted to evaluate the cardiovascular and cognitive-behavioral responses to interpersonal challenge of Type A versus Type B subjects, as classified by the FTAS. Type A's evidenced increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) reactivity and a greater degree of negatively toned cognitive activity than did Type B's. The SBP findings are consistent with those obtained with other measures of Type A behavior, and with the hypothesis that neuroendocrine reactivity mediates the link between the behavior pattern and CHD. The somewhat unique cognitive-behavior findings, however, may reflect important psychological differences among the various Type A measures.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, Philadelphia, 1984.     

Type A behaviour and its relation to seriousmindedness (telic dominance)

A sample of 222 students in medicine and psychology, of both sexes, completed the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS: Norwegian translation of a Swedish student version) and the Telic Dominance Scale (TDS). The latter is a measure of an individual's tendency to take life seriously, i.e., to pursue important goals, to plan ahead, and to avoid arousal if possible. The total scores on both scales were found to be orthogonally related over the sample as a whole, and the same was true of the main factor extracted from the JAS in relation to both the TDS total scores and the scores of each of the subscales of the TDS (for the sample as a whole and for each of the subgroups). This implies that the JAS survey for Type A behaviour assessment and the TDS were measuring rather different psychological characteristics. It is argued that there are reasons for supposing that telic dominance may be a factor which predisposes the individual to high cardiovascular reactivity and that, since this factor appears to be different from the Type A personality as measured by the present JAS version, further investigation is called for.