Understanding the different types of personalities will help you understand yourself as

well as others. Understanding others will help in group work as well as social
situations.

Type A/B Personality

Type A behavior
Two cardiologists, Friedman and Rosenman, first coined the term "Type A behavior" after
noticing certain behavior patterns in their patients. These behavior patterns include
anger/hostility, time urgency and poor organization skills. A person with type A personality
tends to attempt to do many things at once this is called polyphasia. A person with Type A
personality may put himself under enormous pressure on a regular basis, he may react to this
by getting anxious and grapples with his self-imposed challenges.

The typical type A personality has the following characteristics:

Competitive- want to win everything
Verbally aggressive- speech includes explosive accentuation of key words
Hard-driving- push themselves to limits most people resist
Unable to relax
Very time conscious- would have a very hard time getting through the day without a watch
Easily angered- they have very short fuses
Hostile- type As are hostile and other people are the target of their anger
Some of these behaviors--specifically hostility, have been shown to cause a higher risk of
coronary heart disease (CHD).

Anger:

The average American has 15 anger experiences each day, and randomly venting
anger is no longer thought to be therapeutic. It is now believed that love,
compassion and empathy are the most effective ways to diffuse anger.

Type B Personality
Persons with Type B personalities tend to be more relaxed and not as competitive as those
with Type A personality and are not as likely to exhibit the same tendencies of time urgency
and anger. Although people with Type B personality are less likely to suffer from stress
related illness, they must also be aware of their anger, and other stressors associated with
their personality.

The Hardy Personality

The hardy personality is a stress-resistant personality characterized by commitment,
control, and change.
Hardy subjects thrive on pressure and have the following characteristics:

Low blood pressure, few sick days, low triglycerides, happy personalities, and little
psychological distress

Three personality attributes are associated with hardiness: Commitment, Challenge,

and Control.

Madi developed a hardiness model. In this model, Madi characterizes hardiness as

"hardy coping." Hardy coping consists of hardy beliefs and hardy social support. In
this model, hardy beliefs= 3 Cs. Hardy social support is the encouragement and helpful
resources others can provide to you to help you cope. Hardy health practices are
healthful behaviors such as physical exercise, relaxation, and good nutrition.

Techniques to decrease hurry sickness

Stop polyphasic behavior Try to listen to an entire conversation without interrupting Dont
interfere with someone doing a job more slowly than you would Pick the longest line at checkout Notice your surroundings Don't wear a watch Eliminate "how much" and "how many"
from your vocabulary Drive in the right lane Plan periods of relaxation during the day

These techniques can help to manage anger

Know your anger style Monitor your anger De-escalate your anger Outthink your anger Be
comfortable with feelings and express them constructively Plan in advance Develop a
support system Develop realistic expectations of self and others Learn problem-solving
Stay in shape Turn complaints into requests Let anger pass

Try These Now

Myers-Briggs Personality type indicator This test is more specific, and may give greater
insight to your individual personality than the Type A/B personality test.
Depression Test - check this out if you think you might have clinical depression.
Controlling Anger This site provides a more in-depth look at anger and provides specific
techniques for anger management.
Humor of the Day Humor can help defuse anger and can help you get a more balanced
perspective. This site is updated daily, and provides humorous cartoons including Dilbert.