| This study was designed to assess the relative importance of motivational factors pertaining to control needs, self-evaluation needs and fear of failure in determining effortful responding in Type A individuals. Type A and Bs, as defined by the Jenkins Activity Questionnaire, performed a RT task under conditions which varied in criterion speed for performance (Easy or Hard), feedback (present or absent) and strategic control. When strategic control was available, subjects were able to choose the difficulty of the task. In the No Control (NC) condition, difficulty level was predetermined. Multiple indices of effort included the P3, N1, and SW components of the event-related potential, P3 latency, RT and HR. Support for Strube's (1987) uncertainty reduction hypothesis was demonstrated only by P3 amplitude scores: Type As, but not Bs, exhibited significantly greater scores when feedback was absent than when present, indicating that attentional focus was greater when uncertainty regarding performance was high. A fear of failure did not appear to exert a primary influence on Type A effort, as the fastest RTs of As relative to Bs was in the Easy, Feedback condition, where task demands were minimal. Control concerns appeared to be most central to high hostile subjects: Although P3 latency scores of Type As were faster than Bs under NC conditions, this effect was evident only for subjects scoring high on the Cook & Medley Ho scale. Additionally, high hostile scorers, regardless of Type A status, exhibited marginally greater SW amplitudes than low scorers in the NC condition. Overall results were discussed in terms of the high standards of performance of Type As and the specificity of control concerns to high hostile individuals. |
