Differential reactions of type A and type B males to negative feedback about performance.
Psychological and physiological reactions to a failure experience were studied in type A males and type B males both during task and no-task periods. Before failure was induced, no difference in sympathetic reactivity was found, neither during task nor during no-task periods. After an experience of failure type A subjects showed higher sympathetic activation and effort to perform well, compared to type B subjects. The higher activation in type A subjects was even more prominent during no-task periods. The results are related to differences in coping strategy between type A and type B individuals, and the situational dependency of increased activation in type A subjects is discussed.
Lulofs
R
R
van Diest
R
R
van der Molen
G M
GM
D000328:Adult; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D005246:Feedback; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D014434:Type A Personality