Type A and Type B personality hypothesis describes two contrasting personality types. In this hypothesis, personalities that are more competitive, highly organized, ambitious, impatient, highly aware of time management, or aggressive are labeled Type A, while more relaxed, “receptive”, less “neurotic” and “frantic” personalities are labeled Type B.
Type A Personality
Outgoing, ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status-conscious, impatient, anxious, proactive, and concerned with time management. These are often high-achieving workaholics, and push themselves with deadlines; they hate ambivalence and delays. This leads to more job-related stress and less job satisfaction.
- Generally associated with higher performance and productivity.
- May lead to worse performance than Type B personalities in complex situations. Type A behavior may lead to irritation, exasperation; being “short-fused”, competitiveness, free-floating hostility, being hyperalert, impatience, impulsiveness, urgency, and anger. Assessing for this personality can be done with the Jenkins Activity Survey.
Type B Personality
A negation of Type A personality traits; “Non-Type A” personality. These people live at lower stress levels, work steadily and enjoy achievement without the stress of not achieving. When faced with competition, they may not be focused on winning or losing as much as Type A personalities do. They (at extremes) have a poor sense of time. Type B individuals can “…see things from a global perspective, encourage teamwork, and exercise patience in decision making…”
Type A and B personalities exist within an A-B continuum and is not definitive for individuals.
Type C Personality
Subject to stress and depression more than other personality types, taking life seriously, perfectionists, introverts, being less assertive, rigidly following rules, and emotionally repressed. This type may be associated with a greater chance of developing cancer.
Type D Personality
The letter “D” may stand for Distress. There is an increased incidence of negative emotions such as worry, irritability, gloom, anxiety, loneliness, lack of self-confidence, and negative self-talk. This type may be prone to anxiety, depression, and PTSD.