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Stress (defined as a consequence of or a general response to an action or situation that places special physical or psychological demands, or both, on a person) involves an interaction between the person and specific physical or psychological demands from the environment called stressors. Thus, stressors create stress or the potential for stress when an individual perceives them as representing a demand that may exceed that person's ability to respond.
The Type A personality is characterized by a chronic sense of time urgency, competitiveness and hostility, an aversion to idleness, polyphasic behavior (trying to do several things at once), an impatience with barriers to task accomplishment, and a lack of planning. Several of these behaviors tend to directly cause stress or make stressful situations worse. For years, researchers thought that all aspects of the Type
The Type A personality is characterized by a chronic sense of time urgency, competitiveness and hostility, an aversion to idleness, polyphasic behavior (trying to do several things at once), an impatience with barriers to task accomplishment, and a lack of planning. Several of these behaviors tend to directly cause stress or make stressful situations worse. For years, researchers thought that all aspects of the Type
A personality were related to the observed increased incidence of premature heart disease in Type A patients. However, in recent years it has become clear that only certain aspects of the Type A personality--particularly anger, hostility, and aggression--are strongly related to stress reactions and heart disease.
