3.3.3 Type A & B Personalities (Str)

Question 1

Give some features of a type A personality:

Answer 1

High stress
Enjoy achieving goals
Ambitious 
Self critical
Controlling
Competitive
Determined 
Feel pressure of time

Question 2

Give some features of the type B personality:

Answer 2

Laid back
Low stress
Don't mind losing
Relaxed 
Creative 
Emotive

Question 3

Who developed the theory of the type a and b personality?

Answer 3

Friedman and Rosenham

Cardiologists

Question 4

Who did Friedman and Rosenham observe and what did they do?

Answer 4

Patients in their waiting room

Split them into categories some would sit calmly and relax (B) others would pace (A)

Question 5

(Variation in physiological response) F and R - suggest characteristics of the type A personality makes them more likely to experience what?

Answer 5

Fight or flight response than type Bs

Question 6

(Type a and illness) F and R - if type As are more likely to experience the fight or flight they therefore are more likely to what?

Answer 6

Suffer from coronary heart disease

Question 7

(Type a and illness)F and R - why are Type As more likely to experience coronary heart disease (CHD)?

Answer 7

Adrenaline from fight or flight increasing blood pressure and heart rate

Question 8

(Type a and illness) what is the WCGS?

Answer 8

Western collaborate group study

Question 9

(Type a and illness) the WCGS aimed to investigate links between what?

Answer 9

Type a and b behaviour patterns and stress related illness (CHD)

Question 10

(Type a and illness) what type of study was the WCGS? What is a issue of this?

Answer 10

Prospective longitudinal study nobody had CHD at the start looked for outcomes over 8 and a half years
Drop out rates

Question 11

(Type a and illness) WCGS -what is a strength of using longitudinal prospective studies?

Answer 11

Large amount of qualitative data

Question 12

(Type a and illness) WCGS structured interviews were conducted on who?

Answer 12

3154 Californian men aged 39 - 59

Question 13

(Type a and illness) WCGS - what did the interview consist of?

Answer 13

25 questions asking about the men’s responses to everyday pressures

Question 14

(Type a and illness) WCGS - the questions were designed in a way to do what? Give an example:

Answer 14

Elicit type A behaviour
E.g. Interviewer reading slowly
Type a would find this irritating

Question 15

(Type a and illness) WCGS - what potential ethical issue is their of trying to elicit type a behaviour?

Answer 15

Frustrating participants possibly causing a stress response

Question 16

(Type a and illness) WCGS - the interview included observations on what?

Answer 16

How participants responded e.g. Their volume and pace

Question 17

(Type a and illness) WCGS - following the results of the interview what were men categorised into?

Answer 17

Type a or b

Question 18

(Type a and illness) WCGS - after 8 and a half years how many men developed CHD?

Answer 18

257

Question 19

(Type a and illness) WCGS - of the 257 men having CHD how many were from the type A group?

Answer 19

180 - 70%

Question 20

(Type a and illness) WCGS - what percent of the type a participants experienced heart attacks?

Answer 20

12.8%

Question 21

(Type a and illness) WCGS - what percent of type B participants experienced heart attack?

Answer 21

6%

Question 22

(Type a and illness) WCGS - how much more likely were type A men to develop CHD or experience heart attack?

Answer 22

2x

Question 23

(Type a and illness) the Framingham heart study found type A behaviour was associated with what?

Answer 23

Two fold increase in CHD

Question 24

(Type a and illness) the Framingham heart study increased the what of the WCGS?

Answer 24

External reliability

Question 25

(Type a and illness) one issue of the studies is what?

Answer 25

Confounding variables such as diet e.g. Type a person who is impatient may opt for fast food

Question 26

(Type a and illness) the WCGS found Type As had higher cholesterol and b.p even when controlling for what?

Answer 26

Risk factors e.g smoking or obesity

Question 27

(Type a and illness) research suggests a strong link between Type A personalities and developing what?

Answer 27

A stress related illness