Coronary-prone behavior, control, and reactivity in female clerical workers

Coronary-prone (Type A) behavior has been shown to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. One mechanism by which this behavior pattern may lead to pathogenesis is by exaggerated sympathetic activity. Since Type As typically hyperrespond behaviorally to any threat to environmental control, this study examined cardiovascular reactivity associated with that behavior and performance on two tasks designed to produce and test learned helplessness.

Accordingly, 120 female clerical workers were given the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS) to assess coronary-prone behavior (CPB). Locus of control was also given as a personality measure of control. Subjects were divided into three groups, each of which received differing levels of learned helplessness training on a concept identification (CI) task. Condition 1 subjects received noncontingent feedback on their performance. Condition 2 subjects received noncontingent feed-back for one-third of the problems and no feedback for the remainder. Condition 3 subjects received no feedback at all. All subjects then worked on a timed anagram task. Heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), systolic (SBP), and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure were measured during the tasks and intervening rest periods.

Learned helplessness was exhibited by Condition 1 subjects as expected. Physiologically, it was accompanied by increased SBP and decreased HRV among Type As only. The Condition 2 subjects during the CI task exhibited differential Type and locus of control SPB and HRV effects with external As and internal Bs as the most reactive. The same pattern was also seen with HR during the CI task across conditions. DBP responses were greater in externals than internals during the CI task as well. These results are discussed in terms of the conflict arising from incongruent personality and environmental control interactions. It is suggested that these incongruencies can lead to greater reactivity in both Type As and Bs.