Type A and type B attentional responses to aesthetic stimuli: effects on mood and performance

Recent investigations of the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern have found that Type A's focus their attention on a central task and actively inhibit attention to peripheral distracting stimuli. This attentional difference has resulted in greater performance for Type A's than for Type B's. However, research on aesthetic stimuli suggests that the focused attention of Type A's may not always be adaptive for solving frustrating cognitive tasks, particularly when paying attention to a peripheral stimulus could enhance performance by reducing negative emotions. Simple, predictable, aesthetic stimuli can have a soothing effect, which reduces negative emotions and enhances performance. The present study found that Type B's had improved affect and performance from attending to a soothing peripheral stimulus (simplex melodies) while working on a frustrating cognitive task. Neither the performance nor the affect of Type A's was influenced by the simplex music, because they apparently suppressed paying attention to these melodies.