Type A personality
From Ptypeswiki
By using their earlier research, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman developed a model that they believed was related to increased levels of cholesterol and to coronary heart disesase (CHD). These characteristics were:
- Insatiable desire to achieve one's goals
- Strong willingness to compete in all situations
- Strong desire for recognition and advancement
- Desire to multitask under time constraints
- Always in a rush to finish activities
- Above average mental and physical alertness
To be exact, Type A refers to a specific pattern of behaviors rather then the overall personality of an individual.
It was first described as an important risk factor in coronary disease in the 1950s by cardiologists Meyer Friedman, R. H. Rosenham, and their co-workers. Friedman & Rosenham estimated that Type A behavior doubles the risk of coronary heart disease in otherwise healthy men and women. The long-range effect of this finding was the development of the field of health psychology, in which psychologists look at how a person's mental state affects his or her physical state. The research done by Friedman and Rosenman has exerted a huge influence on how we view differences in personalities and how personality can lead to serious illnesses.
By using their earlier research, Friedman and Rosenman developed a model that they believed was related to increased levels of cholesterol and to coronary heart disesase (CHD). These two cardiologists performed a study containing 83 men. All subjects were given several tests relating to the goals of the study. First, interviews were designed to assess the history of CHD in the subject's parents; the subjects' own history of heart trouble; the number of hours of work, sleep, and exercise each week; and smoking, alcohol, and dietary habits. Second, all subjects were asked to keep a diary of everything they ate or drank over one week's time. Third, blood was taken from all subjects to measure cholesterol levels and clotting time. Finally, the number of subjects with arcus senilis was determined through illuminated inspection of the subjects' eyes. Arcus senlis refers to the formation of an opaque ring around the cornea of the eye caused by the breakdown of fatty deposits in the bloodstream.
The conclusion of this study impliud by the authors was that the Type A behavior pattern was a major cause of CHD and related blood abnormalities. This study by Friedman and Rosenman was of crucial importance to the history of psyhological research for three basic reasons. First, this was one of the earliest systematic studies to establish clearly that specific behavior patterns characteristics of some individuals can contribute in dramatic ways to serious illness. Second, this study began a new line of scientific inquiry into the relationship between behavior and CHD that has produced scores of research articles. The third long range outcome of Frienman and Rosenman's research is that it has played an important role in the creation and growth of a relatively new branch of the behaviral sciences called health psychology.
Below is a rough list of Type A characteristics to see how many apply to you.
1) Frequently doing more than one thing at a time 2) Urgining others to hurry up and finish what they are saying 3) Becoming very irrateted when traffic is blocked or when you are waiting in line 4) Gesturing a lot while talking 5) Having a hard time sitting with nothing to do 6) Speaking explosively and using obscenities often 7) Playing to win all the tme, even n games with children 8) Becoming impatient when watching others carry out a task.
In some cases, as first demonstrated by Dr. Redford Williams, a cardiologist at Duke University, Type A behavior may not to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. According to Williams, the lethal part of Type A personality (the expression of hostility and anger) is the only significant risk-factor. Williams named the tendency to hostility and anger the Type H personality.
Furthermore, a systematic review of clinical evidence by Bunker et al recently concluded that there is no evidence for a causal association between Type A behaviour and coronary heart disease.
The most common instrument for diagnosing Type A personality is the Jenkins activity survey, first published in 1979 and based on research going back to the 1940's.
See also
References
- Friedman, M. Type A Behavior: Its Diagnosis and Treatment. New York, Plenum Press (Kluwer Academic Press), 1996.
- Bunker SJ et al. "Stress and coronary heart disease: psychosocial risk factors". Med J Aust 2003; 178:272-6.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Type A personality".
