Racing Against Your Heart Introduction There are many different types of personalities and personality traits among people. Introverts tend to be more outgoing social butterflies while introverts tend to be more reserved and not very social. With personality traits there are types linked to certain personalities. In the late 1950’s two cardiologists Meyer Freidman and Ray Rosenman released research and studies they had conducted that linked certain personalities with different illnesses and showed how they corresponded.
Theoretical Propositions After having furniture reupholstered at Dr. Freidman’s office, he made the observation that how we view personalities and how personalities can lead to serious illnesses.
Method Both doctors worked together to develop an observable pattern to study and be able to link to certain personalities and how it was related to cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD). They
were able to find 166 men that were split into 2 groups of 83 men. First group with Type A personalities and a second group of men with Type B personalities. They were monitored for a week where everything consumed was kept track of and they had blood tests to test cholesterol levels during the week.
There are 3 main reason this experiment was so important. First, because it was the first experiment to link personalities to illnesses. Second, it has allowed more studies about personality traits and CHD being linked. And lastly, it played a vital role in a new study of phycology called heath phycology.
Results
Recent Applications
The men in group one with Type A personalities are linked with commitments, ambitions, and drive. While men in group two that contained Type B personalities were satisfied with were, they were in life, avoided pursing multiple goals at once and competitive situations.
After Freidman and Rosenman’s studies many people have taken it a step further and applied it to everyday activities. One of which is driving and how Type A people tend to have more road rage and less patience when it comes to driving. Another recent application is how most mothers tend to be Type A mothers as the children are in their young adolescent ages.
Discussion of Findings Those men with Type A personalities were exposed to adrenaline and they overall produced more hormones when compared to Type B people and because of that impacted their heart and exposed them to more of a advantage to having CHD.
Significance of Research and Subsequent Findings
Conclusion There are many ways to find out if you have a Type A or Type B personality. Examine yourself or have someone examine yourself for you. If you suspect you have a Type A personality you may want to consider a professional evaluation.