Type A and Type B Personality Behavior Patterns and What They Mean

A study conducted in the 1950s connected two personality types to heart disease risks. Cardiologists Meyer Friedman and R. H. Rosenman conducted a study and came up with a theory that best illustrates two opposing personality types – the typically highly-strung Type A and the laidback Type B. The types define two sets of behavioral and emotional tendencies, which could raise or lower a person’s chance of acquiring coronary heart disease or other health related issues. Can your probability of acquiring a heart disease be really determined by how domineering or lackadaisical you are? Let’s examine these two personality types more thoroughly.

What Is a Type A Personality

The study revealed that a person with a Type A personality is more likely to be preoccupied with social status, accomplishment in life, and self-esteem. So what is a type A personality? Well, this person is often domineering, impatient, and prone or quick to anger. This personality type was found to be associated with the higher risk of developing heart ailments compared to the other type. Type A people mainly have the following behavior and outlook in life:

• These people are high-achievers. They are great at multi-tasking unrelated duties and jobs. They usually perform beyond par.
• They are constantly in a race to achieve higher goals. When goals are attained, they set much loftier aspirations. They can’t rest on their laurels.
• They find it difficult to accept failure. It is never one of their realities. For them, others fail, they don’t.
• They feel like time is an opponent that they have to beat every day. They will work their butts off to exhaustion.
• This severe sense of urgency makes them edgy. Relaxation is difficult for them.
• They need to compete. If there is no obvious competition, they create one.
• They are driven people, usually self-driven. Their stress levels are generally high.

Type B

The study, which was completed in nearly a decade, concluded that Type B people have lower incidence of heart problems. Type B personalities are indulgent and tolerant. They also reported higher levels of satisfaction in life. Typically, these people have the following characteristics:

• They know their abilities and work steadily for their goals. They enjoy their achievements.
• They are not too stressed out to excel. They can be disappointed when they fall short of their goals, but they are not devastated. They are more accepting of failures.
• They enjoy games and competitions, not for the sole objective of winning but for the love of the game.
• They are reflective and innovative. They allow themselves to explore and fail, if necessary.
• Sometimes they are too relaxed and laid-back that they lack the drive to reach the uppermost of their careers.
• They are even-tempered.
• They typically live less stressful lives.

Did you find yourself belonging to any of the two types?  Or maybe your are truly a hybrid?  There is no cut-and-dried formula for determining cardiac risks in relation to personality traits. A simple personality typing test cannot singularly predict heart problems or other illnesses, for that matter. It is, however, noteworthy to look into the personality types to see how personal characteristics contribute to stress, and how stress leads to heart disease. If you distinctly lean toward the Type A personality, it might be a good idea to mellow on your get-up-and-go attitude.  And if you lean predominantly towards the Type B personality, it may be good to learn some things from Type As.  Like most things in life, it is best to have a healthy mixture of polar opposites.

If you are interested in watching the 2 minute video version of showing the difference between Type A and Type B, watch out video below:

If you are interested in finding out whether your are more Type A or Type B, take our test below: