Personality Types (AQA A Level Psychology): Revision Note

Personality types A, B & C

• Research suggests that personality could perhaps explain individual differences in response  to stress

• Psychologists (see below) developed a theory of personality types to describe people sharing similar traits and became interested in possible connections between personality types and different stress-related illnesses

Personality type A

• Friedman & Rosenman (1959) were doctors looking at the diets of male coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and found that the patients’ partners who ate similar food had no heart problems

• Friedman and Rosenman realised that certain behaviours related to cholesterol levels and blood clotting time were associated with a greater risk of CHD

• These behaviour patterns were named by Friedman & Rosenman as ‘Type A’ personality, characterised as competitive, ambitious, work-driven, time-conscious and aggressive

Personality type B

• Friedman & Rosenman also identified a ‘Type B’ personality, with very different characteristics from Type A, being much calmer and self-confident, tending to enjoy recreation and to not feel guilty about relaxing

• People with Type B personality characteristics were much less likely to suffer from CHD or other stress-related illnesses

Personality type C

• Temoshok (1987) identified ‘Type C’ individuals as introverted, sensitive, thoughtful and inclined towards perfectionism, taking everything seriously and working very hard

• However, because Type C personalities tend not to express their emotions and are unassertive, they are easily stressed and prone to developing certain cancers, depression and illnesses associated with immunosuppression

Hardiness (commitment, challenge & control)

• Hardiness is defined as “a stronger commitment to self, an attitude of vigorousness toward the environment, a sense of meaningfulness, and an internal locus of control” (Kobasa, 1979)

• Kobasa developed this theory to explain individual differences in the reaction to stress that had been overlooked in earlier research by Holmes & Rahe and others, who failed to account for the fact that not everyone exposed to a very high level of stress became ill

• Hardy individuals possess the following personality traits:

  • Commitment to self – having a clear sense of one’s own values, goals, and capabilities, and a belief in their importance

  • Challenge – viewing change as expected and normal and perceiving stressors as challenges to be mastered

  • Control – having an internal locus of control and thus feeling that one has power over decisions and situations and power over how one meets challenges

• The above personality traits combine to reduce the effect of stressors that may make less hardy individuals ill

Research which investigates the role of personality types

• Friedman & Rosenman (1974) conducted an eight-and-a-half year longitudinal study into 3000 healthy men aged between 39 and 59 and found at the end of the study 70 per cent of those with CHD, high cholesterol and adrenaline  were Type A personality 

• Chesney & Rosenman (1980) found that Type A managers experienced greater stress when they were not in control, while other managers experienced more stress when they were in control, and so control may moderate stress outcomes

• Westman (2009) gave officer cadets a stress questionnaire at the start and finish of a challenging training course and found that those displaying characteristics of hardiness experienced less perceived stress than their colleagues, which supports Kobasa’s theory

Evaluation of personality types

Strengths

• Understanding the relationship between Type A personality factors and stress can help people reduce their risky work-driven, time-conscious and stress-inducing attitudes and behaviour

• There is strong research evidence for personality type as correlated with an individual’s response to stress

Weaknesses

• It is impossible to determine which Type A personality factors increase individual risk of CHD: some research suggests hostility levels are a leading factor, while other studies suggest it is more a fear of lack of control

• Data was generated mainly through self-report questionnaires and was correlational, which means that it cannot account for other factors that may be responsible for CHD

Issues & Debates

• Personality traits such as Type A, B, C and hardiness are often seen as innate, supporting the nature side of the nature vs nurture debate

  • However, responses to stress and development of personality can also be shaped by life experiences, environment, and learning—highlighting a nurture influence

• The classification of people into broad personality types (A, B, C) represents a nomothetic approach, applying general laws to explain behaviour

  • While useful for prediction, this may overlook individual complexity and differences in how people react to stress