CHAPTER 7: PERSONALITY

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CHAPTER 7 PERSONALITY

• RACING AGAINST YOUR HEART
• FRIEDAN,M ROSENMAN, r.h. (1959)

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OBJECTIVE

• This study was conducted in the late 1950s by
  two cardiologists, Dr. Meyer Friedman and Dr. Ray
  Roseman
• Their objective was to explain how different
  personality types can lead to serious illness.

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on the edge

• When having his office furniture reupholstered
  Dr. Friedman discovered his patients were
  literally sitting on the edge of their seats.
• The front edges of the seat cushions had worn
  away faster than the rest had
• Dr. Friedman wondered if there was something
  different about his patients in comparison to
  healthier people.

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method

• The two developed a set of characteristics for an
  observable behavior pattern which they believed
  was related to increased levels of cholesterol
  and coronary heart disease (CHD).

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Pattern A

• An intense, sustained drive to achieve ones
  personal goals
• A profound tendency and eagerness to compete in
  all situations
• A persistent desire for recognition and
  advancement
• Continuous involvement in multiple activities
  that are constantly subject to deadlines
• Habitual tendency to rush to finish activities
• Extraordinary mental and physical alertness

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Pattern B

• Described as the opposite of Pattern A
• These individuals were usually easy going and
  relaxed.
• Characterized by a relative absence of the drive,
  ambition, sense of time urgency, desire to
  compete, or involvement in deadlines.

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The Subjects

• Friedman and Rosenman found 83 men for each group
  fitting the designated Pattern A and Pattern B
  behaviors.
• All subjects were given several tests relating to
  the goals of the study.

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Testing

• First interviews were designed to assess the
  history of coronary heart disease among the
  subjects parents the subjects own history of
  heart trouble number of hours spent working,
  sleeping, and exercising per week and smoking,
  drinking and dietary habits.
• Researchers also determined 69 of 83 men in group
  A exhibited this fully developed behavior
  pattern.
• 58 of 83 subjects in group B were judged to be
  fully developed Type B

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Testing

• Second all subjects were instructed to keep a
  diary of everything they ate or drank during one
  week.
• These diets were then broken down and analyzed by
  a dietitian who was not aware of the patients
  identity or group.
• Third, blood was taken from all subjects to
  measure cholesterol levels and clotting time.

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Testing

• Finally, the number of subjects with arcus
  senilis was determined through illuminated
  inspection of the subjects eyes.
• Arcus Senilis refers to the formation of an
  opaque ring around the cornea of the eye caused
  by the breakdown of fatty deposits in the
  bloodstream.

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Results

• Group A
• Showed the men were chronically harassed by
  commitments, ambitions, and drives.
• The men were clearly eager to compete in all of
  their activities, both professional and
  recreational.
• They also admitted a strong desire to win.

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RESULTS

• Group B
• These men appeared to be satisfied with their
  present positions in life and avoided pursuing
  multiple goals and competitive situations.
• They were much less concerned about advancement
  and typically spent more time with their families
  and in noncompetitive recreational activities.

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RESULTS
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RESULTS

• Friedman and Rosenman compared the clotting times
  for those subjects who exhibited a fully
  developed Type A pattern (6.8 minutes) with those
  judged as fully developed Type B (7.2 minutes).
  The difference in clotting time was statistically
  significant.
• Cholesterol levels were clearly and significantly
  higher for group A subjects.
• The incidence of arcus senilis was three times
  greater for group A and five times greater in the
  fully developed comparison groups.

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RESULTS

• The key finding of the entire study was the
  striking difference in the incidence of clinical
  coronary heart disease found in the two groups
• In group A 23 of the subjects (28) exhibited
  clear evidence of CHD.
• In group B only 3 men (4) exhibited clear CHD.

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Smoking chd

• Freidman and Rosenman found that within group A,
  an equal number of light smokers (10 cigarettes
  or fewer per day) had CHD as did heavy smokers
  (more than 10 cigarettes per day).
• In group B there were 46 men who smoked heavily,
  yet only 2 exhibited CHD.
• These findings led the authors to suggest that
  cigarette smoking may have been a characteristic
  of the Type A behavior pattern, but not a direct
  cause of the CHD that was found

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Parental history chd

• Out of 30 group A men having a positive parental
  history, only 8 (27) had heart disease.
• Of the 53 men in group A without parental
  history 15 (28) had heart disease.
• NONE of the 23 group B men with a positive
  parental history exhibited clinical heart
  disease.

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Research significance subsequent findings

• 1.This was one of the earliest systematic studies
  to establish clearly that specific behavior
  patterns characteristic of some individuals can
  contribute in dramatic ways to serious illness.
• 2.This study began a new line of scientific
  inquiry into the relationship between behavior
  and CHD that has produced scores of research
  articles.
• 3. It has played an important role in the
  creation and growth of a relatively new branch of
  the behavioral sciences called health psychology

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Conclusions

• In 1976 Friedman and Rosenman published the
  results of a major 8 year study of over 3,000 men
  who were diagnosed at the beginning of the study
  as being free of heart disease and who fit Type A
  behavior pattern.
• Compared with Type B subjects these men were
  twice as likely to develop CHD, suffered
  significantly more fatal heart attacks, and
  reported five times more coronary problems.
• The Type A pattern predicted who would develop
  CHD independently of other predictors such as
  age, cholesterol level, blood pressure, or
  smoking habits.

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Conclusion

• In response to Friedman and Rosenmans research
  several successful programs to intervene in the
  connection between Type A behavior and serious
  illness have been developed.

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Follow Up Study

• Perry Baldwin in 2000
• Studied the relationship between Type A behavior
  pattern and driving.
• Study found a clear association between Type A
  personality and an increase in driving-related
  incidents more traffic accidents, more tickets,
  greater impatience on the road, display of road
  rage, and overall riskier driving behaviors.
• Friends should not let Type A friends drive!

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AM I a Type A Personality?

• Characteristics of those who exhibit Type A
  Personality are
• Frequently doing more than one thing at a time,
• Urging others to hurry up and finish what they
  are saying.
• Becoming very irritated when traffic is blocked
  or when you are waiting in line.
• Gesturing a lot while talking
• Having a hard time sitting with nothing to do.
• Speaking explosively and using obscenities often.
• Playing to win all the time, even in games with
  children.
• Becoming impatient when watching others carry out
  tasks.