Type A vs Type C Personality – 15 Differences To Know

Looking for type a vs type c personality differences? Did you meet both kinds of people in your friend circle? Or did you meet them in your professional life?

Well, depending on their traits, each of them reacts differently to different things. They have different likes and dislikes… yet people still end up confusing the two.

So, if you want to know how to tell them apart, this think-piece will tell you the secrets. C’mon, get down to business here…

Type A Vs Type C Personality

Since people often get confused between type A and type C individuals, they end up treating them the opposite ways. Or, they expect type C kind of treatment from a type A individual or vice versa. But when they don’t get it, it shocks them. So, check these differences and similarities at a quick glance here…

However, it’s always better to know them in detail… you don’t want any trouble by assuming something is wrong, right? So, let’s head in…

1. They’re both perfectionists

Type As and Cs are the same in one field: perfectionism. They’re pretty serious and dedicated about anything they do. They ensure that their assignments or projects have no flaws.

Type As give their 100% in their efforts so they can get 100% results. Type Cs make sure they’re prepared with all the backup plans they need to achieve success. They both are disciplined in their academic and professional lives.

They’re both strict about perfectionism. Type As become angry when something isn’t perfect, while type Cs take up the task themselves without reprimanding the other person much.

2. Both need freedom at work

Type As are pretty judgmental about others’ capabilities. They feel they’re the best… which is quite true in some cases. However, they look down on others’ skills.

When others can’t overwork like them or dedicate their entire life to their work or academics, they feel people just aren’t capable and drag them down. So, they feel they can work better independently.

Type Cs have this extreme methodical, strategic, and logical approach to their tasks. They always only follow a well-known devised plan that’s proven to work and never take unnecessary risks with experimentation.

However, often others don’t follow the same plan and try to add their own twist without asking. This makes them anxious that the plan will fail, so they want to work solo. They feel anxious from conflicts and don’t want to waste time on unnecessary clashes.

3. They’re extremely passionate and highly competitive

Both of these types of personalities are quite passionate about their duties. They both go great lengths to make their dream come true. However, they approach their dreams differently as they have different strengths and weaknesses.

A type A person will give away all of their free time to show their passion and compete against others. While type C is more on the practical side. They may not stay up all night to complete tasks… but they’ll give their best by gathering important info to solidify the task groundwork. They take more time but they’re as competitive as type As.

4. They’re both into following strict plans

Both type As and Cs love to keep their space and life tip-top. They both like to keep everything in order. But there’s a slight difference.

Type As are more obsessed with an overall disciplined life. They want their family members to follow a particular schedule. They want their loved ones to achieve things as they expect them to.

They get mad when they can’t keep up. They’re equally strict in their professional life. They expect others to follow the plan they created for them. They want others to trust them and continue working without questions.

On the other hand, type Cs aren’t as brutal in their personal life. However, they’re quite strict in their professional life. They’ll either expect others to follow the conventional plans or the plans they devise to overcome all the setbacks. If people don’t do it accordingly, their pessimistic side kicks in. They’re also pretty organized and expect others to stay organized in their work.

5. Both personalities are prone to serious physical and mental health concerns… but due to different reasons

Type As and type Cs both have extreme chances of contracting serious illnesses. Type As are stress-prone due to their time urgency. They take on too many tasks at once and hardly get time to socialize with their loved ones. They panic a lot when things don’t happen according to their plans.

They become aggressive when someone opposes them. There’s no proven connection between type A personality traits and coronary heart diseases and anxiety. However, their traits of panic, stress, and aggression are related to it.

Type Cs, on the other hand, are passive about their emotions or repress their negative emotions. They also stay isolated due to their introversion. They hardly enjoy their time away from their inner circle. All of these factors result in stress and everything together might cause them anxiety, depression, and even cancer.

Both must take frequent medical advice, diagnosis, and treatment.

6. As are impatient, Cs take time

Time urgency is one of the chief traits of a type A person. They can’t stand a moment to wait. If there’s a queue at their Starbucks, they can’t handle it. Queues make them anxious. They wonder how much they could have done if they didn’t wait. They start sweating profusely and fidgeting.

Even when they’re given extra tasks, they worry that they can’t make it in time. So, they try to multitask, and work long hours or overnight to meet deadlines. They give deadlines extreme priority even when it’s not that urgent.

On the flip side, type Cs don’t get tense about time. Instead, they take up more time for their work. They research and study in detail which is a time-consuming task.

They’re pretty accurate with their tasks, and hurrying might spoil the accuracy rate. So, obviously, they give less priority to time and more to quality.

7. As are achievement-oriented, Cs are detail-oriented

When a type A person is given a responsibility, they make sure that they win. Winning is of utmost importance to them. If they can’t win, they’re extremely hard on themselves. Their inner critic is too harsh and it demotivates them beyond imagination. This is a great con for a type A personality.

In every task, they only feel motivated by the success and the pride they’ll take it in afterward. They don’t particularly enjoy their task, notice the intricate details, or learn anything new from it. Their number one priority is achieving something.

However, a type C’s story is different. They get immersed in the deeper details of their task. They also want to win… but they make sure that their chances of success are much higher with the details, data, and facts they use to support their arguments.

8. Delegation skills are As’ strength while Cs’ weakness

Type As take up the role of leadership well. They have a keen eye for judging everyone’s capabilities. Their strictness helps them figure out others’ strengths and weaknesses better. This way they can delegate the appropriate tasks to everyone.

However, type Cs don’t possess this trait. They’re afraid people can’t carry out the tasks as smoothly as them or follow the plan like them. So, they often step away from task delegation.

Instead, they decide they’ll do everything from scratch by themselves to make things perfect. Moreover, they also don’t want to burden others, so they avoid it.

9. As get angered too fast while Cs suppress their emotions

Folks with type A personality traits get angry at the drop of a hat. They can’t stand it when things don’t happen according to their demands. If they get disappointed, they lose their mind and throw a fit.

They act mean whether the reason for their sorrows is themselves or others. They’re short-tempered and people feel like they walk on eggshells around them. Others feel uncomfortable and burdened because of an A-type’s tendencies. They’re scared to express themselves or even commit a mistake.

However, type Cs don’t have this menacing aura. Even when they get angry, they don’t usually express their discontent.

This is partly because they don’t want to hurt others and partly because they feel anxious about conflicts. They’re popular for emotional repression and this often leads to unresolved issues and misunderstandings.

10. As are insensitive whereas Cs are too sensitive

Suppose a person failed in an area of their life and their failure disappointed someone. If the disappointed person has type A personality traits, they’ll treat the other person pretty cruelly.

They might make them feel insecure and scared of taking any more risks in their life. A-types are intolerant of failures. They believe that one must put all the effort into the first attempt and if they can’t succeed the first time, they can never do it ever. If anyone fails once, they look down on them. So, a type A individual will crush that person’s soul.

However, if that person disappoints people with type C personalities, they don’t berate them. They don’t want to knowingly hurt them. Sometimes, they might even let go of people that truly need to be disciplined.

11. As talk more listen less, Cs are almost the opposite

Type A people always feel a sense of time-urgency. They feel they’re always short on time, so they can’t waste their time at all.  They walk, eat, and talk fast. During a conversation, they talk a lot but they hardly let others talk. This creates grave communication issues in a type A’s life.

Others also feel dissatisfied as they never get to express their issues to a type A person and only get to listen to orders or the A-type’s part of the story. This is also a grave issue in the workplace because Type A people never entertain others… so, it also doesn’t let others grow professionally.

However, type Cs are introverted. They don’t talk a lot unless they’re interested in the topic or they know the other person well. They don’t speak much in shallow conversations and stick to their inner circle. They never ignore others’ words unless it’s something they aren’t interested in.

12. As might strain their relationships while Cs try their best to protect their relationship

Type As are workaholics… they’re literally married to their job and they forget they have obligations in their personal life too.

If they’re given extra work but have enough time to roll it over on the next day, they won’t stay calm until they’re done with it. They feel uncomfortable if they have pending work by the end of the day. So, they might even ditch their anniversary celebration to complete the pending work.

But type Cs can maintain a fair balance in their life. They don’t usually overwork until it’s a tight deadline. They’re also afraid of hurting their loved ones and facing conflicts. So, they try their best to make up for their loved ones. They put others’ feelings before their own and make them feel special.

Type Cs don’t have a huge circle as they’re introverted, so they cherish their close ones a lot.

13. As easily feel overwhelmed with too many responsibilities, Cs try to deal with it calmly

Both type A and type C people make sure they take care of their responsibilities well and produce positive results.

However, when given a lot of complicated tasks with intricate data, type As try to do it all at once, focus excessively on time management, and feel overwhelmed. This impacts their mental health a lot and increases the chances of errors.

On the other hand, people with type C personality traits don’t mind if they’re given a lot of detailed and complicated data. They apparently love to immerse themselves in minute information.

They can stay focused on the same thing for a long time without feeling pressured or burdened. Of course, they don’t try to overwork themselves like A-types, but they make sure the task is accurate. They also take more time to complete but the quality is worth the wait!

14. As dominate others, Cs get dominated

When in a group of people, people with type A behavior patterns eventually dominate others. They’re more proactive about any situation. Whenever they notice that others’ performances aren’t on par, they take the role of a leader by themselves and instruct the others.

This might be helpful in certain situations where others truly need help. But sometimes, people might get annoyed and resist being dominated. 

They might demand a type A person to act their place (one of the team members) instead of acting as they know better.  But a type A person won’t react to that and show others their place.  

When type C people are in a leadership position, they stay true to their responsibilities. But they also fear conflicts, so they’d not try to lead a team unless they’re asked to. If they face objections to guiding others, they’ll back off immediately out of anxiety.

15. As are stubborn while Cs are cautious

When a person with a type A personality decides something, nobody can change their mind. They calculate the risk to reward ratio of their decision.

If the reward is much more attractive than the risk, they jump right into it. They don’t care that, in reality, a huge chance of winning might not work out in the end. Once they see a profitable opportunity, they just go for it. The rest depend on their fate.

On the other hand, type Cs are extremely cautious. While making major decisions, they think a lot about it. They figure out the probable pros and cons of each choice. They further find out how to deal with each of the cons and dealing with which con will be easier.

Unlike type As, people with C personality characteristics take a long time to decide something and might even lose precious opportunities this way.

A word from ThePleasantPersonality

Type A and type C individuals, though have certain similarities, are pretty different from each other. In most areas of their life, they behave pretty differently. So, if you have a keen eye, you can easily find out the minute yet visible differences.

However, never assume that all type As or Cs behave a certain way. Because people change owing to their experiences and efforts on themselves. So, have an open mind and don’t judge them. Treat them as required and slowly get to know them. 

Article Sources

1. https://www.hiresuccess.com/help/understanding-the-4-personality-types
2. https://www.insider.com/what-type-a-b-c-or-d-personalities-mean-2018-8
3. https://www.healthline.com/health/type-c-personality