Perceived control, Type A/B behavior, and quality of instruction.

Perceived control can impede achievement by interfering with instruction. College students who suffer temporary loss of control perform no better with an effective instructor than with an ineffective instructor. Type A students, however, may continue to benefit from effective instruction because of their intensified efforts to maintain control over academic outcomes when their control is threatened. Type A and B students received either contingent or noncontingent feedback on an aptitude test and then observed a half-hour lecture from either an unexpressive or expressive instructor. After the aptitude test they completed an attribution questionnaire, and after the lecture they took an achievement test and responded to a test-related questionnaire. Noncontingent feedback lowered both Type A and B students' perceived control and their internal attribution locus. It also reduced the effectiveness of instruction for Type B students but not for Type A students. Unlike those of Type B students, Type A students' self-perceptions were unaffected by instructional quality, which suggests a greater emphasis on self-directed, rather than other-directed, responsibility for achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)