Human Growth and Development / Unit 13 HGD 1840 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Type A, Hostility and Allostatic Load
The idea
Friedman and Rosenman contrasted the Type A pattern, ambitious, competitive, driven and easily angered, with the relaxed, patient Type B. Later research found that the hostility and competitiveness components are what harm heart health. Type D personality combines negative affectivity with social inhibition. Allostatic load is the cumulative biological and behavioural toll of chronic stress; high load predicts earlier cognitive decline and higher all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
In practice
Two driven executives, one ambitious but even-tempered, the other quick to anger and resentful: the second, not the first, carries the heart risk.
Where people slip
The misconception is that being busy and ambitious is what harms the heart; hostility is the strongest predictor among these traits. Hostile people are quick to anger, and they often lack a health-protective support network. Exam items describe a person and ask for the pattern or the risk.
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