Hmm, I never stopped to think about why. It is just something I have always noted, at multiple institutions during different levels of my training (as a surgical orderly in undergrad, as a med student doing rotations, and now as a resident) Dont get me wrong, my best friend is a gen surg resident and i know plenty of cool, easy going General surg attendings and residents, plus i also have met some ortho res and attendings that are serious assholes. As far as if people go into a specialty b/c of their personality, or the specialty shapes their personality, i think it is a little of both and varies depending on the person/situation.

It is tough to judge though since your experience in a specialty (any specialty) will be different than mine or the next guys b/c we went to different schools and had different experiences. The sugery residents where i am now are TOTALLY different than where i went to med school.

Good luck deciding

These questions/threads comparing ortho to general and asking "which is better" "who is cooler" are ridiculous. You are asking the question in a forum dedicated for people who love ortho. These will all be very biased answers.

Only you can figure out what you like. There are huge differences between general and ortho. The only commonality is that we both spend time time in the OR. Yes there are stereotypes/generalizations about the personalities/lifestyle/intelligence - but you can surely pick up on these subtlties your self by spending some time observing in the rotations. And to complicate things for even more, every person is different. You will find cool g-surg attendings, and a$$hole Ortho attendings everywhere. Figure out what you want to treat and patients you want to spend time with.

it's good to see someone thinking rationally. There are a$$holes in all fields of medicine. Remember, Ortho personalities are not exactly well liked around the hospital.

"There are a$$holes in all fields of medicine."

No one is arguing against that, he is just wondering why some specialities tend to have a higher concentration. And people percieve others differently. I had several attendings/residents in med school that previous students "warned me" about that I had absolutely no problems with.
Plus, i agree with the comment about bias. Ask this same question on a gen surg board and compare the answers. They WILL be different. Feel free to gather information but your decision is just that, YOUR decision. you just have to be able to sift out the bullshit along the way.