Allocation of attention and physiological responsivity in the type A coronary-prone individual

Recent studies have suggested that persons exhibiting the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern allocate their attention to the environment differently than those not exhibiting the pattern. The present study was done to relate such differences in cognitive responding to cardiovascular changes during a dual-focus task. Heart rate and blood pressure were monitored in Types A and B male college students while they performed a color/word conflict primary task and a reaction-time secondary task. There were no differences in the behavioral performance of the Types A and B individuals. However, Types A and B subjects differed in mean heart rate, heart-rate variability, and phasic heart-rate pattern to the reaction-time stimuli. The reaction-time paradigm appears a fruitful base from which to explore cognitive/physiological response relations for Type A and Type B individuals.