RIGID AND FLEXIBLE MODES OF COPING - RELATED TO COPING STYLE

This study examined dispositional and situative antecedents of vigilan t and avoidant coping behavior. Seventy-two subjects were classified i n coping style on the basis of their responses to the vigilance and co gnitive avoidance scales of the Mainz Coping Inventory (MCI, Krohne, 1 989), and alternatively, on their trait anxiety and defensiveness scor es (cf. Weinberger, Schwartz, & Davidson, 1979). In a subsequent labor atory task, subjects were exposed to various conditions of predictabil ity of an aversive event. In anticipation of an aversive loud tone, co ping behavior was operationally defined as choosing to listen either t o a warning channel (i.e., vigilance) or instead to music (i.e., avoid ance). Probability of occurrence of a warning signal while listening t o the warning channel varied across trials, being either 0%, 33%, 66%, or 100%. Subjects were exposed to each level and were informed about the respective probability in advance. In general, listening to the wa rning channel increased with an increase in the probability of the war ning signal. However, four groups of subjects who differed in their pa ttern of coping behavior across trials were observed: rigid-avoidant c opers (always listening to music), rigid-vigilant copers (always monit oring the warning channel), flexible copers (switching from music to w arning channel with increasing probability of warning), and inconsiste nt copers (vacillating between music and warning channel regardless of probability of warning). Coping style classifications did not show su bstantial associations with coping behavior. However, subjects demonst rating the inconsistent coping pattern scored high on trait anxiety.