Type A Assessment and Interaction in the Behavior Pattern Interview

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Abstract
Speech characteristics of an interviewer and respondents were scored from recorded interviews that were conducted to assess Type A behavior, a behavior pattern associated with coronary heart disease. A stepwise regression analysis indicated that the expressive speech characteristics were the best discriminators of behavior typing by the interview. A similar analysis employing the Jenkins Activity Survey as the criterion for typing showed that only the content of the respondents'' answers predicted typing. The Activity Survey and the interview assessment classified individuals on independent aspects of Type A behavior. Correlations of the interviewer''s speech characteristics with the respondents'' feeling reports and speech characteristics showed stronger associations among these variables for Type A than for Type B [converse of Type A] subjects. The analysis of speech characteristics was discussed as a method of refining the assessment of behavior type and of identifying the psychological predictors of coronary heart disease.