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The Dimensionality of Type A Behavior within a Stressful Work Simulation
Author(s) -
Tett Robert P.,
Bobocel D. Ramona,
Hafer Carolyn,
Lees Mary C.,
Smith Catherine A.,
Jackson Douglas N.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00919.x
Subject(s) - psychology , irritability , type a and type b personality theory , curse of dimensionality , observational study , principal component analysis , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , anxiety , personality , statistics , mathematics , psychiatry
The present study was conducted to examine the dimensionality of overt Type A behaviors elicited in a simulated stressful work environment. University students played a managerial role while being subjected to time and work‐load pressures, and completed the Survey of Work Styles (SWS; Jackson & Gray, 1989). Eighteen behaviors, coded by two raters based on audiovisual recordings, yielded relatively high interrater reliabilities. Principal components analysis revealed four primary factors: Hurriedness, Irritability, Tension of the Lower Extremities, and Restlessness. These factors contribute to an understanding of Type A behavior in that they are the first to be derived from a purely observational approach rather than a combination of observational and self‐report methods. Consistent with previous research, differential correlations between the factors and the SWS subscales supported a multidimensional interpretation of the Type A behavior pattern. Present findings are compared to those of previous studies of Type A dimensionality.