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Type A Behavior Pattern and Its Treatment

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Clinical Psychology and Heart Disease

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Abstract

The Type A behavior pattern (TABP) was first described in 1959 by two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman [1],as “an action-emotion complex that can be observed in any person who is aggressively involved in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time, and if required to do so, against the opposing effects of other things or persons” (p. 67). More recently, Rosenman, Swan and Carmelli [2] summarized individuals with TABP in terms of:

  • intense, sustained drive to achieve self-selected but often poorly defined goals;

  • profound eagerness to compete and need to “win”;

  • persistent desire for recognition and advancement; li]•

  • habitual tendency to increase the rate of doing most physical and mental activities;

  • extreme mental and physical alertness; and

  • pervasive aggressive and hostile feelings.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

    Prof. A. T. Möller Dphil (Professor of Clinical Psychology and Head)

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Möller, A.T. (2006). Type A Behavior Pattern and Its Treatment. In: Clinical Psychology and Heart Disease. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0378-1_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-0378-1_22

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