Date Awarded
1983
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Department
Education
Abstract
The Type A behavior pattern, which has been linked to a high incidence of heart attack among adult males, has been the subject of much research by both medical and psychological professionals. There have been very few attempts to modify this damaging behavior pattern in individuals who have not shown any symptoms of heart disease. This research is concerned with the student population most likely to contain a high production of Type A's, the academically superior.;Thirty honor roll students from each of three junior high schools were identified as Type A using the student form of the Jenkins Activity Survey. After random assignment, the students in the six treatment groups participated in five weeks of Stress innoculation Training consisting of deep muscle relaxation, the symptoms/identification of stress and the modification of self-statements. Each group was conducted by a counselor in the students' home school who had been trained in SI. The course of the treatment followed a detailed outline to optimize consistency.;Post-treatment measures included the Timed-Arithmetic Task to measure achievement striving, the Adjective Check List to measure need for achievement, the Writing Speed Task and the Time Estimate Task to measure Time Urgency, and the end of treatment grade point averages to measure achievement.;Using a 3 x 3 factorial design it was predicted that there would be no differences between treatment groups or between the several schools on any of the measures. In addition, it was predicted that there would be no interaction effect between the schools and treatments.;The two way analysis of variance conducted on the post treatment measures indicated that there were no significant differences on achievement levels, achievement striving or need for achievement. Although some significant school effects were noted on the reduction of Time Urgency, post hoc measures failed to yield any consistent pattern of variance. It was thus concluded that the treatment was not effective in reducing the Type A pattern in the subject population.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-2c9m-qa43
Rights
© The Author
Recommended Citation
Grant, Robert John, "The effects of cognitive behavior modification on type A behavior in academically superior secondary school students" (1983). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. William & Mary. Paper 1539618770.
https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-2c9m-qa43
