A ‘type A’ personality includes those people who are generally termed as hard workers and are known for their performance speed. The following PsycholoGenie article will cover the various aspects related to this personality type.
Dr. Meyer Friedman and his colleague R.H. Rosenman worked together and developed a theory about type A individual behavior. They gave the following type A traits of an individual under this personality type.
- People who have a type A personality have an insufficient level of self-esteem and an intrinsic insecurity. This forms the major cause of development of this personality type. This trait is covert and therefore, is not easily observed by others.
- These people are easily irritated and exasperated due to urgency in time and impatience.
- Minor incidents can lead to free-floating hostility in these individuals.
The sense of impatience that these individuals experience was found to be at risk in development of heart diseases and heart attacks by Friedman and Rosenman. Thus, heart attack and type A personality traits became synonyms of each other due to this theory put forward by the duo.
Assessment of Type A Personality
Description of Type A Personality
- Impatience and Time Urgency: These people tend to get frustrated with everything that makes them wait, even a bit longer than usual. They hate lines, getting stuck in traffic, and will, for example, fight with the receptionist if the appointment does not begin at the scheduled time. They tend to walk at a rapid pace, always aware of the time and always feel like they never have enough time to spare.
- Aggressiveness: These people are found to be rude, impatient and prone to getting easily upset over little things. They are very competitive and have a strong sense of achievement.
The description of type A personality shows that the excessive stress that these individuals take upon themselves, makes them vulnerable to many diseases. According to Myer Friedman, these people are most susceptible to heart diseases. The other negative effect on their health due to their type A persona include:
- Hypertension: The most common disease in individuals that match the type A personality is hypertension. Almost 84% of these people are at risk of developing high blood pressure.
- Job Stress: These people are caught in jobs that are demanding and many times lead to the development of type A personality. The job stress leads to many health problems and metabolic disorders in such individuals.
- Social Isolation: These people spend a lot of time concentrating on work and this leads to less focus on inter-personal relationships. Their aggressive and impatient nature makes them sound rude, which also leads to social alienation.
These people have a very flat personality, that is a little strict. They may be raised under conditional love that makes them live life according to a standard. This standard includes getting the work done right or achieving goals that will make them earn rewards and acceptance and failure to do so will earn them no rewards and acceptance. This psychological theory is commonly used to differentiate between calm and laid back people and restless and impatient individuals.