Synapse
⌘+K
Synapse
PulseExploreClubsResearchersJournals
Instagram
HomeClubsExplore
July 1, 1982Psychophysiology

Effects of Control Over Aversive Stimulation and Type A Behavior on Cardiovascular and Plasma Catecholamine Responses

View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Why the study?

Does control over aversive stimulation and Type A behavior affect cardiovascular and plasma catecholamine responses in male adults?

Population

87 Type A and B male adults

Comparison

Contingency treatment, with high or low… vs No Contingency treatment, with high or low…

Design

Other

Follow-up

Acute (during reaction time task)

Authors

RCRichard J. ContradaEnvironmental and Occupational Health Sciences InstituteDGDavid C. GlassRutgers, The State University of New JerseyLKLawrence R. KrakoffMount Sinai Hospital

Discussion

Loading...

Member takes

Overview

May link active coping and Type A behavior to sympathetic reactivity; hypothesis-generating for cardiovascular disease mechanisms.

Key Points

  • To evaluate how perceived control over aversive stimuli and Type A behavior pattern interact to affect cardiovascular, plasma catecholamine, and behavioral reactivity during a stressful task.
  • Assessed 87 Type A and B male adults performing a choice reaction time task coupled with noxious noise bursts and electric shocks.
  • Assigned subjects to perceived behavioral control (Contingency: avoiding shocks via fast reaction times) or no control (No Contingency: random shocks), combined with either high or low frequency of aversive stimulation.
  • Contingency conditions induced significantly greater increases in reaction time speed, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and plasma epinephrine relative to No Contingency, regardless of stimulation frequency.
  • Type A individuals exhibited higher systolic blood pressure and heart rate responses than Type B individuals.
  • Contingency, particularly with high frequency of aversive events, elicited greater hyperresponsiveness in reaction time speed and plasma norepinephrine among Type A participants compared to Type B participants.

Structured PICO

Does control over aversive stimulation and Type A behavior affect cardiovascular and plasma catecholamine responses in male adults?

P
Population
87 Type A and B male adults
I
Intervention
Contingency treatment (told they could avoid aversive noise and shock by attaining a predetermined criterion of reaction time speed), with high or low frequency of aversive stimulation
C
Comparator
No Contingency treatment (instructed that noxious stimulation would be delivered randomly, irrespective of performance), with high or low frequency of aversive stimulation
O
Outcome
Cardiovascular (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate), plasma catecholamine (epinephrine, norepinephrine), and behavioral (reaction time speed) responsessurrogate

Active coping with aversive stimuli (contingency) and Type A behavior are associated with heightened sympathetic and cardiovascular reactivity, which may play a role in cardiovascular disease.

Cite This Study

Contrada et al. (1982) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9156619cd6bcde3cfb5b77https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1982.tb02496.x
View Full Paper
Ask AI
Bookmark
Share

Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 4 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Effect of Harassment and Competition Upon Cardiovascular and Plasma Catecholamine Responses in Type A and Type B Individuals1980 · 228 citations
  2. 2Effect of Level of Challenge on Pressor and Heart Rate Responses in Type A and B Subjects<sup>1</sup>1979 · 171 citations
  3. 3The Relationship Among Heart Rate, Carotid dP/dt, and Blood Pressure in Humans as a Function of the Type of Stress1978 · 373 citations
  4. 4The Cardiovascular‐Behavioral Interaction—As It Appears Today1976 · 556 citations