IMAGINE: You are at Hy-Vee. You just got done working an all day shift at your job and it is 9:00 on a Friday night. When you got off work you had five missed calls from your friends and with each voicemail they left you can tell they were more drunk than the previous voicemail. You stopped at Hy-Vee to pick up some beer (or your beverage of choice) and want to get to your friends house right away so you can join in the fun. Instead of this being a quick trip in you are stuck behind a person who has what seems to be a million and one items. We have all been in this situation before. With no other lanes open and the self check out being closed what do you do? Do you roll your eyes in frustration and be aggravated that this person is taking forever? Or do you patiently wait thinking that if it was you with a million and one items you would want the person behind you to be nice and understand.
The difference between these two responses is the difference between type A and type B personality. Type B personality is the most common type. This is someone who appears to be calm and collected under stressful situations. When you think of this person you rarely associate them with yelling or outrageous behavior. Type A personality is someone who is exactly the opposite. That is the person that you don't want to be dealing with if you were in a car accident or waiting in line at Hy-Vee with a million items.
Below there is a link to a personality test that is designed for college students. If you have time I would try and predict which type of personality you are. On a scale from 35-380 pick a number that you feel would represent your personality type. Lower being more type B and higher being more Type A. (this is the scale range used in the questionnaire.) Then follow the link, take the questionnaire and see if you were right! Or you can just take the questionnaire! (Personally I like to guess and see how close I am...probably part of my personality!)
The following link is to a test which determines whether you are type A or type B
http://www.psych.uncc.edu/pagoolka/TypeA-B-intro.html
The following link is to the definition of type A and type B Personality:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/49520/the_type_a_personality_vs_the_type.html?cat=5
I scored a 196 on this test, which is more Type B. I would have to agree with this assessment. I am usually a calm and stress free person and very little upsets me. However, I am not sure how reliable this test is. There are only 20 questions on the test and I found myself wavering between two of the answers on some questions. I wonder if I retook the test and answered differently, would my score change greatly. I think that is a problem with a lot of tests that can be taken online; they are not exactly reliable or valid.
I found this article which talks about the different types. It talks about how people who are more Type A can mellow more and how people who are more Type B can become more aggressive. “Remember, your personality type does not control you - you control your personality” is a quote from the article. I really like this quote because I often find myself wanting to be more aggressive or confrontational is some situations rather than passive.
http://www.sedona.com/lp-typea.aspx
I scored a 184 on the exam which I felt was about right for my personality, more on the B level...I am also usually a pretty laid back person. In sport, even though it was competition, I was typically relaxed and more passive than aggressive, which may or may not have helped my performance. Like Maggi, I was also wavering between two questions at times and like most online tests, this one wasn't the most reliable in feeling.
So I found another test which was 17 questions and explains the results in great detail. It's pretty interesting to analyze your personality in this way and I will probably blog later on more about Type A and B personalities. As for my results of this test, here was what the explanation was:
You seem to be in the middle between the Type A and Type B personality. In this case, the middle ground is good. Your attitude to life is more of the "smell the roses" kind and you know how and when to relax. Nonetheless, you realize that picking up a challenge and competing a little bit for your place in the sun can add some spice to your life. The equilibrium is important, so don't let your hostile, aggressive, and competitive alter ego take over too often. Generally, you are easy to be around, and people tend to feel relaxed and comfortable in your presence. Yours is a very healthy attitude towards life.
Pretty accurate description I would say. Here is the link if you would like to take this Type A or B Personality Test:
http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/cgi-bin/tests/type_a_personality.cgi
This was intersting and definitely very helpful! I ended up scoring a 234 which was a lot higher than I thought. I usually am a calm person, but now thinking about it I can remember that a lot of times I actually do get impatient with people if things are going slower than they should be. I am a competitive person when it comes to sports, and I like things fast paced and to get things done the right way right away.
I liked the questionnaire but it could have been more in depth, with more questions (detailed ones). I did not necessarily like the Yahoo! article describing what Type A is and what Type B is. I know I don't tap my foot if I am waiting in line, and I am almost never in a rush to get things done. I just think the article was too black and white.
Here is an article I found, that better explains Type A and Type B, and I can relate to this description of being a Type A more. http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/typea_typeb.htm. I hate failure and letting people down more than anything, and I do like some competition every once in a while, even if I have to say something or do something to get people going.
All in all, I have taken different personality tests throughout my life, and every time I fall more under the Type A cataloger. At least I know that my behavior and ideas and thoughts are consistent throughout the years!