and action. They dislike wasting time and do things in a vigorous and effi-
cient manner. Type A people often find more easygoing people a source of
frustration. On the other hand, typical Type B people are relaxed and unhur-ried. They may work hard on occasion, but rarely in the driven, compulsive
manner of Type A people. These people are less likely than Type A ’s to seek
competition or to be aroused to anger or action.
Type A as a Personality Variable
What the medical researchers were examining, of course, is a personality
trait. Naturally, a trait as intriguing as Type A soon caught the attention of
personality researchers. Before long, psychologists identified three major com-
ponents that appear to make up the Type A trait (Glass, 1977). First, Type A
people have a higher competitive achievement striving than Type B ’s. Type
A’s work harder at achievement tasks regardless of outside pressure, such as
deadlines. Second, Type A individuals show a sense of time urgency. They
feel time is important and shouldn ’t be wasted. Whereas Type B people might
procrastinate, Type A ’s jump right in. Studies find that Type A students
volunteer for experiments earlier in the term than Type B ’s, and they show
up earlier to participate (Gastorf, 1980; Strube, 1982). Third, Type A ’s are
Type A people often have a sense of urgency and like to do more than one thing
at a time.194 CHAPTER 8 The Trait Approach