<p>There's a lot of overlap between the two's personality types but not quite the same.  Type A personality is genderless and refers to someone generally meticulous on details and likes to take charge.</p>
<p>Alpha male is a term that was misunderstood and later overturned based on pack behaviors of wolves.  The researcher who coined the term 'alpha' as a leader later came out and said his own research was misunderstood and somewhat debunked, in that alphas are not leaders all the time and doesn't mean to take charge of things all the time.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-16T11:31:34.427Z
Welcome to Psychology.SE. Please visit our site [tour]. There are a lot of bold claims in your answer without corroborated evidence. We work differently to many SE sites, where we have a strict policy that [all answers should be backed up with reliable references](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/406/7604) so that the answer can be independently verified, regardless of the reader's/answerer's background. If you still have trouble with this, feel free to visit the [help] or [meta]. Unreferenced claims can be challenged and lead to deletion of your answer.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-16T09:17:47.610Z
2020-10-16T09:17:47.610Z
user133017
<p>The question in final jeopardy tonight was &quot;(What is) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_A_and_Type_B_personality_theory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">type A personality</a>&quot;.  My response was &quot;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_(ethology)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">alpha</a> (male)&quot;, which I maintained was the same thing.  Later, when I typed in &quot;type a personality vs&quot;, the search engine offered up &quot;type a personality vs alpha male&quot; but none of the links I clicked made mention of this.  On the off chance that I knew what I was talking about, I wrote this question.  If I get an answer, will it be a fluke redemption, or the last nail in my coffin?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-21T07:15:02.517Z
A comment more than answer: The wikipedia pages (links added to your question) both reference each other, indicating some level of cross-over.  BTW, was the TRS-80 your first computer?  Was for me!
Tony Mobbs
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-21T18:18:34.250Z
They are certainly not interchangeable terms, but for a more conclusive answer it would help to know what the prompt was.
Bryan Krause
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-10-22T06:33:43.937Z
@Tony Mobbs  Good of you edit in those links!  The TRS-80 was the first non-mainframe computer I had access to (@school).  My first computer (as owner) was a VIC-20.
TRS-80
<personality><terminology>
Is Type A personality and being an alpha (male) the same thing?
TRS-80
# Is Type A personality and being an alpha (male) the same thing?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-10-16)

The question in final jeopardy tonight was "(What is) [type A personality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_A_and_Type_B_personality_theory)". My response was "[alpha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_(ethology)) (male)", which I maintained was the same thing. Later, when I typed in "type a personality vs", the search engine offered up "type a personality vs alpha male" but none of the links I clicked made mention of this. On the off chance that I knew what I was talking about, I wrote this question. If I get an answer, will it be a fluke redemption, or the last nail in my coffin?

**Tags:** personality, terminology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A comment more than answer: The wikipedia pages (links added to your question) both reference each other, indicating some level of cross-over.  BTW, was the username_0 your first computer?  Was for me!  
> **username_2**: They are certainly not interchangeable terms, but for a more conclusive answer it would help to know what the prompt was.  
> **username_0**: @username_1  Good of you edit in those links!  The username_0 was the first non-mainframe computer I had access to (@school).  My first computer (as owner) was a VIC-20.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-10-16. Score: -1 | Accepted answer

There's a lot of overlap between the two's personality types but not quite the same. Type A personality is genderless and refers to someone generally meticulous on details and likes to take charge.

Alpha male is a term that was misunderstood and later overturned based on pack behaviors of wolves. The researcher who coined the term 'alpha' as a leader later came out and said his own research was misunderstood and somewhat debunked, in that alphas are not leaders all the time and doesn't mean to take charge of things all the time.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Welcome to Psychology.SE. Please visit our site [tour]. There are a lot of bold claims in your answer without corroborated evidence. We work differently to many SE sites, where we have a strict policy that [all answers should be backed up with reliable references](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/406/7604) so that the answer can be independently verified, regardless of the reader's/answerer's background. If you still have trouble with this, feel free to visit the [help] or [meta]. Unreferenced claims can be challenged and lead to deletion of your answer.  

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