Type A behavior pattern and decision making strategies

Abstract

The present study investigated patterns of decision making strategies among Type A and Type B individuals. Seventy students were presented with decision problems representing typical dilemmas from their everyday life. Each problem contained three alternatives that differed from each other on several relevant dimensions, and was constructed specifically for the individual subject by using his/her own estimated dimensions weights obtained prior to the decision making task. The decision problems were presented with instructions requiring either fast performance, high-quality performance, both fast and high-quality performance, or none (i.e. control). It was found that Type A and Type B subjects exhibited similar dimension weights and did not differ in their ability to differentiate between the various dimensions, or in their intolerance of ambiguity level. Type As performed faster than Type Bs on the decision problems, but most important, Type As used a more non-compensatory strategy, choosing the alternative which was highest in its value on the most important dimension. It was concluded that when confronted with a decision problem, Type As filter the most important information and choose accordingly, thereby avoiding gross errors. The results suggested that a cognitive component be added to the action-emotion complex that describes the Type A Behavior Pattern.