Hostility is a personality trait with a long history of research as a risk factor in physical health, particularly heart disease. This history began with investigations of type A behavior pattern (TABP; sometimes also called type A behavior or type A personality) in the 1950s. Over time, TABP fell out of favor, as its association with health was mixed. However, a further review of the data helped identify hostility as the so-called toxic ingredient in TABP that linked it to health. Today, hostility is among the most well-supported personality risk factors for physical health.

Contemporary research on hostility generally characterizes it as a multidimensional construct involving affect, behavior, and cognition. In this conception, anger refers to the tendency to experience feelings of irritation, annoyance, and frustration ...