Type A vs Type B Personality: Which Are You?

Type A is driven and intense; Type B is relaxed and easygoing. Here's what the labels really mean, and why the truth is more of a spectrum.

The Type A vs Type B personality split is one of the most familiar in pop psychology. Type A is the ambitious, competitive, always-on go-getter. Type B is the relaxed, patient, easygoing counterpart. But the reality is more nuanced.

What Type A really describes

Type A captures a cluster of traits: urgency, competitiveness, drive and a tendency toward impatience or stress. High-A people achieve a lot, and can burn hot. The concept originally came from cardiology research into stress and health.

What Type B looks like

Type B people are steadier and less rushed. They handle setbacks with more ease, feel less time pressure, and often enjoy the process more. The trade-off can be a gentler relationship with urgency.

It's a spectrum, not two boxes

Almost no one is purely A or B. Most people are a blend, and context matters, you might be Type A at work and Type B on holiday. The labels are a rough shorthand, not a scientific type.

Get a more precise read

For a measured version of these traits, drive, urgency, emotional stability, take the free Big Five test. It shows exactly where you sit on each dimension instead of squeezing you into one of two boxes.