Cardiovascular responses in Type A children during a cognitive challenge

The few studies which have examined stress-induced cardiovascular reactivity among Type A children have had equivocal results. In the present study, 41 extreme Type A and 46 extreme Type B children were monitored for heart rate and blood pressure during a challenging cognitive task under clear or ambiguous performance standards. Significant heart-rate and blood-pressure responses were observed, but no effects could be attributed to the behavior pattern or performance standards. Type A's were more self-involved, generally attributing their performance to effort. Under ambiguous performance standards, they perceived themselves more negatively and attributed performance to luck and task difficulty. These results do not support the exaggerated cardiovascular response hypothesis but do suggest that Type A children look toward external cues in the evaluation of both themselves and their performance, particularly when the external standards for performance are ambiguous.Selected data described in this paper were presented as part of a poster session at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, August 26–30, 1983, Anaheim, California. This work was supported by Grant R01 HL 19877 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.