Dissociation between sympathetic-adrenal and pituitary-adrenal responses to an achievement situation characterized by high controllability: Comparison between type A and type B males and females

Type A and Type B university students of both sexes performed a choice-reaction task that was designed to allow each subject to perform at his/her preferred pace and to maintain control over the stimulus rate throughout a period of sustained work. Type As selected faster stimulus rates, and coped more effectively with their total work load than did Type Bs with their lesser load. The superior achievement of the Type A group was not reflected in self-reports of subjective arousal, nor in physiological arousal indices, e.g. heart rate, and catecholamine and cortisol excretion. Comparison between sexes (Type A and Type B persons) showed that males reported exerting significantly more effort than females and, accordingly, secreted significantly more adrenaline. A common characteristic of all groups was the dissociation between sympathetic-adrenal and pituitary-adrenal arousal, catecholamine output increasing and cortisol output decreasing in response to the achievement demands. The rise in catecholamine output was interpreted in terms of the mobilization of effort induced by the task, and the decrease of cortisol in terms of the high level of personal control in performing the task.