Type A behavior pattern and the judgment of control.

Investigated the control judgments of Type A (coronary-prone) and Type B (noncoronary-prone) actors and observers after 5 tasks in which actual response–outcome contingency and success were varied systematically. 40 male and 40 female undergraduates, classified as Type A or B on the Jenkins Activity Survey, performed the control task or served as observers in same-sex pairs. Overall, actors provided higher control judgments than did observers, and both actual contingency and success influenced judged control. Type A and B actors did not differ in their self-perceptions of control, but observers judged the Type A actors to have exerted more control than the Type B actors, primarily on positive contingency tasks. Findings suggest that Type A's, because of their more dynamic style, may be credited by observers with more control or competence than is warranted. By contrast, the more relaxed style of the Type B may lead to lower than warranted evaluations of control or competence. Type A's were found to learn the contingencies better than Type B's, which has important implications for the actual exercise of control. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)