Hostname: page-component-5b777bbd6c-2hk6m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-06-25T05:22:16.685Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Type A and Type B behaviour patterns, task type and sensitivity to noise

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Annie Moch
Annie Moch*
Affiliation:
U.E.R. de Psychologie, University of Paris VIII, France
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Annie Moch, 205 Boulevard Malesherbes, 75017 Paris, France.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

The present study examined sensitivity to noise in subjects with Type A and Type B behaviour patterns as a function of the type of task being performed. Twenty Type A and 20 Type B subjects, selected by means of Bortner's scale (French version), were exposed to steadily increasing noise levels (68–110 dBA) while performing two tasks. The first was simple (crossing out) and the second was more complex (memorizing nonsense syllables). There was no difference between the groups on the simple task, but on the more complex task Type A and Type B subjects reacted differently, the former maintaining their level of tolerance while the latter lowered theirs. High investment and the desire to succeed may lead Type A subjects to ignore the acoustic environment and/or to deny the aversive aspects of noise as cognitive strategies for coping with stress.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , August 1984 , pp. 643 - 646
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Barnett, C. D., Ellis, N. R. & Pryer, M. W. (1960). Absence of noise effects on the simple operant behavior of defectives. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 10, 167–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bortner, R. W. (1969). A short rating scale as a potential measure of pattern A behavior. Journal of Chronic Diseases 22, 87–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bortner, R. W. & Rosenman, R. H. (1967). The measurement of pattern A behavior. Journal of Chronic Diseases 20, 525–532.Google Scholar
Brunson, B. & Mattews, K. (1981). The type A coronary-prone behavior pattern and reactions to uncontrollable stress: an analysis of performance strategies, affect and attributions during failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 40, 906–918.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carver, C. S., Coleman, A. E. & Glass, D. C. (1976). The coronary-prone behavior pattern and the suppression of fatigue on a treadmill test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 33, 460–466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, S. (1981). Non-auditory effects of noise on behavior and health. Journal of Social Issues 37, 36–70.Google Scholar
Defourny, M. & Frankignoul, M. (1973). A propos du comportement prédisposant aux coronaropathies (overt pattern A). Journal of Psychosomatic Research 17, 219–230.Google Scholar
Dembroski, T. M., MacDougall, J. M., Herd, J. A. & Shields, J. L. (1979). Effects of level of challenge on pressure and heart rate responses in type A and B subjects. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 9, 208–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, M. & Rosenman, R. H. (1974). Type A Behavior and Your Heart. Fawcett: Greenwich, Conn.Google Scholar
Glass, D. C. (1977). Behavior Patterns, Stress and Coronary Disease. Lawrence Erlbaum: Hillsdale, N.J.Google Scholar
Glass, D. C. & Singer, J. E. (1972). Urban Stress. Academic Press: New York.Google Scholar
Goldband, S. (1980). Stimulus specificity of physiological responses to stress and the type A coronary-prone behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39, 670–679.Google Scholar
Jenkins, C. D., Zyzanski, S. J. & Rosenman, R. H. (1971). Progress toward validation of a computer scored test for the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. Psychosomatic Medicine 33, 193–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological Stress and the Coping Process. McGraw-Hill: New York.Google Scholar
Lévy-Leboyer, (1975). Psychologie différentielle des gênes dues au bruit. Institut de Recherches de Psychologie Appliquée: Paris.Google Scholar
Lovallo, W. & Pishkin, V. (1980 a). Performance of type A (coronary-prone) men during and after exposure to uncontrollable noise and task failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 38, 963–971.Google Scholar
Lovallo, W. & Pishkin, V. (1980 b). A psychophysiological comparison of type A and B men exposed to failure and uncontrollable noise. Psychophysiology 17, 29–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manuck, S. B. & Garland, F. N. (1979). Coronary-prone behavior patterns, task incentive and cardio-vascular response. Psycho-physiology 16, 136–142.Google Scholar
Moch, A. (1982). Le bruit comme facteur de stress. Revue d' Acoustique 62, 176–179.Google Scholar
Moch, A. (1984). Aspects cognitifs des stress de l'environement. Le Travail Humain (in the press).Google Scholar
Pascal, G. R. (1953). The effects of disturbing noise on the reaction-time of mental defectives. American Journal of Mental Deficiency 691–695.Google Scholar
Pichot, P., De Bonis, M., Somogyl, M., Degre-Coustry, C., Kittel-Bossuit, F., Rustin-Vandenhende, R. M., Dramaix, M. & Bernet, A. (1977). Étude métrologique d'une batterie de tests destinée à l'étude des facteurs psychologiques en épidémiologie cardio-vasculaire. International Review of Applied Psychology 26, 111–119.Google Scholar
Pittner, M. & Houston, K. (1980). Response to stress, cognitive coping strategies, and the type A behavior pattern. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39, 147–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rosenman, R. H. & Friedman, M. (1959). Association of specific overt behavior pattern with blood and cardiovascular findings. Journal of the American Medical Association 169, 1286–1296.Google Scholar
Sherwitz, L., Berton, K. & Leventhal, H. (1978). Type A behavior, self-involvement and cardiovascular response. Psychosomatic Medicine 40, 585–592.Google Scholar
Stephens, S. (1970). Personality and the slope of loudness. Journal of Experimental Psychology 22, 9–13.Google Scholar
Sullivan, R. (1969). Subjective matching of anxiety to intensities of white noise. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 74.Google ScholarPubMed
Wittersheim, G., Salame, P. & Spence, M. (1972). Effets du bruit sur les diverses phases du cycle d'acquisition–restitution dans une tâche de mémorisation sérielle. Le Travail Humain 35, 345–346.Google Scholar