Type A behavior, accountability, and work rate in small groups

Abstract

The relationship between social accountability (i.e., public personal evaluation) and work rate among Type A “coronary-prone” individuals was investigated in an experiment with college undergraduates. Extreme Type As (N = 72) tore more pages out of phone books than extreme Type Bs (N = 79) when they believed they would publicly be held personally accountable than when their performance was judged only on a group basis (Bs did not differ between conditions). The implications of accountability as an enhancer of Type A behavior, Price's (1982) model of Type A self-evaluation, clinical modification of cognitive style, and implications for personnel selection and job structuring are discussed.