Type A personalities

Type B personality is characterized by a relaxed, unhurried, satisfied approach to life and work, in which strivings for achievement tend to flow with the stream of life rather than against it. A t) e A personality is related to strivings for achievement, and preoccupation with time and success even if against the flow of the enviromnent (Friedman and Rosemnan, 1974). A type A personality is considered to be less effective under stress than type B, as the former is characterized by preoccupation with time and success, plus restlessness, and feelings of being pressured (Orpen, 1982)... 

It is worth pointing out, however, that personality traits which do not provide people with adequate resources to maintain performance under stress, may compensate by supporting other activities during normal operations. For instance, "externals" may be more cautious than "internals" and take no chances to risk plant safety, while type A personalities may have a greater motivation to progress in their jobs and perfect their skills than type B personalities. Depending on the type of task, some personality traits will produce better performance than others. More research would be needed to develop a better understanding of the relationships between types of task and preferable personality styles. 

Orpen, C. (1982). Type A Personality as Moderator for the Effects of Role Conflict, Role Ambiguity and Role Overload on Individual Strain. Journal of Human Stress 8(2), 8-14. 

Our blood type is determined by a gene that is present on chromosome 9, near the end of the long arm. There are four general blood types A, AB, B, and O. Some of these are intermixable while others are not. For instance, A blood from a person is compatible with A and AB B with B and AB AB with only AB and O blood is compatible with all of the blood types—a person with type O is then a universal donor. These compatibility scenarios are not race-related. For all but the native Americans who have almost totally type O, the rest of us have about 40% type O another 40% type A 15% type B and 5% type AB. (Some of the Eskimos are type AB or B and some Canadian tribes are type A.) A and B are codominant versions of the same gene and O is the recessive form of this gene. 

There also are certain individual personality types that if coupled with the common traits of health care professionals lend themselves to even greater risks of burnout. For instance, health care professionals who have a Type A personality or an obsessive-compulsive personality may be further predisposed to burnout. Persons with obsessive-compulsive personalities cannot accept that the world is imperfect and will strive to compensate by gaining a measure of control over anything they can. However, as the number of things that they cannot control increases, they often experience mood changes and become depressed. Individuals with... 

In the 1970s, two doctors in San Francisco, California, revolutionized the field of cardiology and added a term to the vocabulary worldwide. They described people who were angry, time-obsessed, and driven as having the type-A personality. people were said... 

I do not propose to write a job description here for the plastic salesman of the 70,s. There are enough training manuals and books written on the subject by far more knowledgeable people than I that cover this subject adequately. Neither do I propose to type a person as a plastic salesman nor advise as to how you go about selecting him—or her. I throw a her in here—for this could be one of the changes in the 70 s, and it could be an effective way to go. 

Hyperlipidemia Hypertension Smoking yfDUVJ Diabetes IUl 1 Male gender Obesity Sedentary lifestyle Stress (type A personality) Elevated homocysteine Oral contraceptive use Increasing age Familial/genetic factors... 

Like many Fire types, Larry had the tendency to become a workaholic, one of the classic Type A personalities who are so driven and ambitious that they seem to lose the ability to slow down at all. In Larry s case, it seemed there was always something to do bills to pay, equipment to order, catalogs to peruse, markets to research. I urged Larry to avoid working in the evening and on weekends. Like most Fire types, he found this hard advice to follow—but he agreed to try my plan for two weeks. When we spoke later, he was tom. 

Currently, there is a general consensus among physicians (psychiatrists and cardiologists) and psychologists that (i) persons experiencing chronic stress as in Type A Personality, or those who have a 50 or greater Cook Medley Hostility (HO) scale [43] and (ii) individuals afflicted with acute stress syndrome [3-5] such as hi anxiety or severe depression, which are often associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), may be good candidates for various serious diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. 

These kinds of short-term stresses are our physical and emotional tigers and have stayed with us through evolution. We release these stress chemicals when someone cuts us off on the highway and when our Type A personality kicks into overdrive. When the threat disappears, we can relax. Our brain calls off its red alert. Our sympathetic nervous system slows. Our parasympathetic nervous system resumes its maintenance functions. 

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