Effects of Types of Challenge on Pressor and Heart Rate Responses in Type A and B Women

ABSTRACT Two studies examined the blood pressure and heart rate responses of female college students categorized as Type A or B according to the Rosenman and Friedman structured interview technique. In Study I, unlike male college students, the interview‐defined Types did not differ significantly in physiological response to either a cold pressor test or reaction time task under instructional conditions that emphasized the difficulty of the tasks. Consistent with data from male subjects, however, interview ratings of potential for hostility were found for both Types to correlate positively with changes in systolic blood pressure and heart rate for the reaction time task. In Study II, Type A women compared with Type Bs did show greater increases in systolic blood pressure during the structured interview and in the course of a challenging American history quiz, but as in Study I, not in a high‐incentive reaction time task. These results suggest that under some conditions (e.g., moderately challenging interpersonal exchanges) women evidencing the Type A pattern may show larger hemodynamic responses than Type Bs, but important differences may exist between the sexes in the types of situations which evoke such responses.