Nonverbal behavior of the Type A individual

Abstract

Forty-one health professional students were videotaped during three consecutive conditions: a 5-min wait for a tardy interviewer, the structured interview for determining the Type A behavior pattern, and a 5-min relaxation period. Afterward, subjects were classified as Type A or B based on audiotapes of the interview. The total amount of activity and the frequency or duration of Type A behaviors were compared between Type A and Type B subjects. In all three experimental conditions, Type A subjects moved their arms more than Type B subjects. During both the waiting and the relaxation periods, Type A subjects sat still less and spent more time exploring than did Type B subjects. During the interview, Type A subjects gestured more frequently than Type B subjects. Nonverbal behaviors correctly identified behavior pattern in 71% of the subjects. The addition of nonverbal behaviors improved the discrimination of behavior pattern above that obtained from verbal behavior alone. The greater activity, restlessness, exploratory behavior, and gestures of Type A persons are consistent with the two major etiologies proposed for the Type A behavior pattern.

Detecting State and Trait Anxiety from Auditory and Visual Cues: A Meta-Analysis

“…Related studies of other personality traits, also very scarce, revealed, for example, that mutual gaze (Wiens et al, 1980) and smiling (Gilbert, 1991) were associated with extraversion. Type A individuals gestured, explored, and were generally more active than non-Type A individuals (Hughes et al, 1983). There seem to be no consistent face, body, and gaze cues associated with trait anxiety.…”

Type A behavior pattern and managerial performance

“…Linking type A behavior to organizational context, Brief et al (1981) observed that type A employees are the ones who:work long hard hours under constant deadlines pressures and conditions of overload;often take work home at night or on weekends and are unable to relax;constantly compete with themselves, setting high standards of productivity that they seem driven to maintain; andtend to become frustrated by the work situation, to be irritated with the work efforts of others, and to be misunderstood by superiors.An ironic situation for organizations is that when it comes to performance, the type A individuals are more hard driving, competitive, aggressive, and ambitious than type Bs (Friedman and Rosenman, 1974; Jenkins et al , 1967). Hughes et al (1983) observed that type As spend significantly more time moving about and exploring and less time sitting still than do type Bs, their less striving counterparts, during both waiting and relaxation periods. A direct consequence of these performance‐oriented behaviors is that type As are typically on a “fast track” to the top of the organization.…”

Type A Behavior and Daily Living Activity among Older Minority Women

“…Two previous studies touched on this when they reported that type A subjects move their arms more, sit still less, spend more time moving about, and gesture more frequently than do type B subjects when placed in a boring or relaxing situation. 19,20 These results suggest that type A individuals are more active in daily living situations than are other individuals.…”