| Abstract: | Two studies were carried out examining the relationship between coronary-prone behavior pattern and cardiovascular responses to an experimental stressor. Among 52 subjects of the Type A (coronary-prone) and Type B (non-coronary-prone) behavior patterns in Study I, Type A males showed greater elevations of systolic blood pressure than Type B males on exposure to a difficult cognitive task; no reliable differences were found for Type A and B females. Due to a conceptual similarity of the coronary-prone behavior pattern and the personality dimension of Internal External locus of control, 48 male subjects in Study II were selected with respect to four subject groups: Type A-Internals, Type A-Externals, Type B-Internals, and Type B-Externals. Again, Type As showed a more pronounced systolic response than subjects of the Type B pattern, though diastolic blood pressure and heart rate responses did not vary by coronary-prone behavior pattern. While locus of control-Internals tended to show greater task-related systolic elevations than Externals, this effect was not significant. Self-reports of anxiety increased during the period of the task, but revealed no differences among Type A and B subjects of either study. It was concluded that for male subjects the Type A-Type B dimension constitutes a salient variable of individual differences mediating the systolic pressor response. |
