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Incremental Validity of Time Urgency and Other Type A Subcomponents in Predicting Behavioral and Health Criteria1
Abstract
Although previous studies have revealed relationships between Type A behavior pattern (TABP) measures and behavioral indexes of time urgency, such studies utilized global TABP measures that have been criticized for their lack of construct validity. The present study linked recently developed measures of time urgency and other TABP subcomponents (e. g., impatience-irritability) to observable temporal behaviors and health outcomes. In a sample of 194 undergraduate students, the results indicated that the TABP subcomponents provided incremental validity above the contribution of the global TABP measure in predicting behavioral and health criteria. Applied implications and future directions for research on time urgency and other TABP subcomponents are discussed.
... Tal piora é atenuada quando as características do indivíduo e a natureza da tarefa são incongruentes, de forma que indivíduos mais preocupados com seu tempo têm pior desempenho em tarefas que não demandam urgência (Greenberg, 2002). Parte destas variações no desempenho podem ser atribuídas a níveis elevados de estresse e ansiedade provenientes da urgência com o tempo, principalmente em contextos laborais que envolvem o desempenho de atividades repetitivas e com pressão temporal (Conte, Schwenneker, Dew, & Romano, 2001;Menon et al., 2013). Outros estudos que complementam essas evidências envolvem o gerenciamento do tempo, um construto que incorpora algumas dimensões da urgência com o tempo, mas que se distingue quanto à efi ciência ao planejar e organizar o próprio tempo (ver Claessens, van Eerde, Rute, & Roe, 2007, para uma revisão). ...
... Um aspecto relevante para a utilização da UTOC é que, apesar dos fatores serem estreitamente relacionados, são facilmente diferenciáveis e bem defi nidos. Não existem itens comuns entre os dois fatores, o que facilita a defi nição de cada construto e a (Conte et al., 2001;Menon et al., 2013). ...
... O papel de variáveis temporais também é muito enfatizado nas relações entre felicidade e dinheiro que são tipicamente investigadas na economia comportamental (Aaker, Rudd, & Mogilner, 2011). Revisões da área também apontam que em ambientes organizacionais a urgência com o tempo é uma relevante preditora de desempenho, tendo em vista suas relações com estresse e ansiedade (Conte et al., 2001;Greenberg, 2002;Menon et al., 2013). Para tais contextos em que muitas vezes a aplicação de instrumentos deve ser rápida e econômica, propôs-se uma versão reduzida com os itens mais representativos da escala, considerando-se obviamente as suas vantagens e desvantagens frente à versão completa do instrumento. ...
Cada indivíduo possui um repertório de estratégias e maneiras de lidar com o tempo, diferenciando-se na urgência com que realiza suas tarefas e na quantidade de compromissos a que se submete. Alguns instrumentos foram propostos para acessar tais diferenças individuais em relação ao tempo, destacando-se a Time Urgency and Perpetual Activation Scale (TUPA), que acessa níveis de urgência com o tempo e ativação constante. Neste trabalho são descritas a adaptação e as evidências de validade da TUPA para o contexto brasileiro, assim como a proposta de uma versão reduzida. A escala traduzida foi submetida por meio de formulários online a 395 participantes (71,4% mulheres), com idades de 17 a 64 anos (M = 25,36, DP = 8,65). Análises fatoriais exploratórias e confirmatórias apontaram uma nova estrutura bifatorial, com boas propriedades psicométricas, envolvendo um fator de urgência com o tempo e outro relacionado a ocupações, nomeada como Escala de Urgência com o Tempo e Ocupação Constante (UTOC). Conclui-se que a UTOC apresentou boas evidências de validade de construto, incluindo validade convergente com medidas robustas de ansiedade e estresse.
... For example, the "general hurry" time urgency dimension is defined as the extent to which individuals rush when performing activities. Time urgency dimensions were also related to Type A behavior pattern (Conte et al., 2001) and health problems (Menon et al., 1996). Time urgency constructs particularly allow valuable insights into the extent to which individuals feel pressed for time when performing activities. ...
... To further explore the temporal strategies validated in this study, the relationship of the GAS and its subdimensions with various other dimensions of temporal personality (Francis-Smythe, 2006), activity level (Alreck and Settle, 2002), time orientation (Usunier and Valette-Florence, 2007), and other individual-level measures, such as time urgency (e.g. Conte et al., 2001), could be evaluated. Other possible fields of study could be to explore a possible relationship with consumption patterns or well-being. ...
Ever since Georg Simmel (1895) introduced the notion into sociological accounts of modernity, scholars have tried to empirically test the claim of an increasing “speed of life” in modern society. The acceleration of speed or pace of life has been characterized as an “intensification” of our experience of time, a “time squeeze,” and “hurriedness” in leisure time. However, to date, no comprehensive instrument, scale, or indicator has been developed that is grounded in solid theory and serves to empirically measure and compare the pace of life in a straightforward manner. The purpose of this research is to develop and validate a scale-based measure that reveals whether individuals pursue a fast or slow pace of life in a leisure-time context. The result is the fifteen-item General Acceleration Scale (GAS), which conceptually rests on the comprehensive theory of social acceleration by Hartmut Rosa (2013). The scale systematically tests the pace of life along four temporal strategies of speedup: performing activities faster, doing multitasking, replacing time-consuming by time-saving activities, and filling breaks or waiting times with productive activities. If these temporal strategies form a consistent pattern, they consequently lead to an increase in the rate, speed, or relative density of experiences and activities per unit of time and thus to an increase in the pace of life. Validation of the GAS was completed by a large sample ( N = 1161) as part of a self-report online survey in Germany in 2019. We examined the convergent and discriminant validity as well as internal consistency reliability of the scale and conducted a confirmatory factor analysis via maximum likelihood estimation. Control variables and discriminant measures were included to access construct validity. Overall, we can validate the GAS as a reliable measure of time use that can be used as a straightforward pace of life indicator.
... Time urgency has been included as one of the fundamental subdimensions characterising the Type A behaviour pattern (Koslowsky, 2012;Price, 1982). Individuals with a chronic feeling of being hurried and pressed for time (Landy et al., 1991) are often highly engaged workers, and have been found to have increased levels of job involvement, work speed, and job performance (e.g., Conte et al., 2001;Lee et al., 1990). Further, highly time-urgent individuals are frequently selected for formal leadership positions (Leroy et al., 2015), and may be successful in those positions by energetically, proactively, and efficiently synchronising their subordinates' efforts (Mohammed & Alipour, 2014). ...
... Keywords: time urgency, autocratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, status, time pressure Individuals differ markedly in their subjective perceptions of and orientations toward time (Mohammed & Harrison, 2013), with scholars suggesting that such time-based personality characteristics can critically influence one's own behavior (Shipp & Cole, 2015;Tang et al., 2020). In particular, research has found that individuals scoring high on time urgency (defined as the chronic, trait-like tendency to feel hurried and short on time; Landy et al., 1991) are often highly engaged at work, exhibiting superior job involvement, work speed, and job performance (e.g., Conte et al., 2001;Lee et al., 1990). Clearly, these characteristics are beneficial from an organizational perspective, and it is therefore not surprising that highly time-urgent individuals are frequently selected for formal supervisory positions (Leroy et al., 2015;Sanders & Malkis, 1982). ...
This study examines the connections between supervisors’ time urgency, their leadership behavior, and subordinate outcomes. Integrating cognitive perspectives on time urgency with contemporary thinking on the psychological experience of status, we reason that supervisors’ time‐urgent personality relates positively with their autocratic leadership behavior, and we cast supervisors’ self‐perceived status as a moderator of this linkage. Moreover, we enrich this leader‐centric perspective with a complementary, more follower‐centric view, recognizing that the consequences of supervisors’ time urgency likely extend beyond their own behavior to indirectly affect their subordinates’ well‐being at work. We tested our hypotheses using a field sample of 60 supervisors and 277 of their subordinates. Results indicate that (a) supervisors with higher time urgency are more likely to exhibit autocratic leadership behavior when they also perceive themselves as having relatively high status among subordinates, but not when perceiving lower status, and (b) supervisors’ time urgency exhibits a conditional indirect effect (via autocratic leadership) on subordinates’ work stress and time pressure experiences. Hence, this study illustrates an important boundary condition for the consequences of supervisors’ time urgency, and it demonstrates that this personality characteristic not only shapes supervisors’ leadership behavior but also affects the subordinates they are charged with leading.
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... Keywords: time urgency, autocratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, status, time pressure Individuals differ markedly in their subjective perceptions of and orientations toward time (Mohammed & Harrison, 2013), with scholars suggesting that such time-based personality characteristics can critically influence one's own behavior (Shipp & Cole, 2015;Tang et al., 2020). In particular, research has found that individuals scoring high on time urgency (defined as the chronic, trait-like tendency to feel hurried and short on time; Landy et al., 1991) are often highly engaged at work, exhibiting superior job involvement, work speed, and job performance (e.g., Conte et al., 2001;Lee et al., 1990). Clearly, these characteristics are beneficial from an organizational perspective, and it is therefore not surprising that highly time-urgent individuals are frequently selected for formal supervisory positions (Leroy et al., 2015;Sanders & Malkis, 1982). ...
... Keywords: time urgency, autocratic leadership, authoritarian leadership, status, time pressure Individuals differ markedly in their subjective perceptions of and orientations toward time (Mohammed & Harrison, 2013), with scholars suggesting that such time-based personality characteristics can critically influence one's own behavior (Shipp & Cole, 2015;Tang et al., 2020). In particular, research has found that individuals scoring high on time urgency (defined as the chronic, trait-like tendency to feel hurried and short on time; Landy et al., 1991) are often highly engaged at work, exhibiting superior job involvement, work speed, and job performance (e.g., Conte et al., 2001;Lee et al., 1990). Clearly, these characteristics are beneficial from an organizational perspective, and it is therefore not surprising that highly time-urgent individuals are frequently selected for formal supervisory positions (Leroy et al., 2015;Sanders & Malkis, 1982). ...
... In addition, actor level research suggests that there is much more to a sense of urgency than has been examined in strategic change research, and that more examination would be of great value for understanding strategic change processes. For example, a sense of urgency is associated with a stronger perception of deadlines (Conte, Rizzuto, & Steiner, 1999;Gastorf, 1980;Glass, Snyder, & Hollis, 1974), which leads to an increased pace of work (Conte, Schwenneker, Dew, & Romano, 2001), which in turn impacts timelines (Yakura, 2002) associated with strategic change initiatives, likely shortening them. Relatedly, Waller, Conte, Gibson, and Carpenter (2001: 589) noted that time-urgent change agents "tend to schedule more activities than comfortably fit into the available time (Friedman & Rosenman, 1974). ...
In ever-changing environments, strategic change manifests as a crucial concern for firms and is thus central to the fields of management and strategy. Common and foundational to all strategic change research is time—whether recognized in the extant studies or not. In this article, we thus critically review the existing body of knowledge through a time lens. We organize this review along (1) conceptions of time in strategic change, (2) time and strategic change activities, and (3) time and strategic change agents. This approach facilitates our assessment of what scholars do and do not know about strategic change, especially its temporal components. Our review particularly revealed a need to advance scholarly understanding about the processual dynamics of strategic change. We thus extend our assessment by proposing six pathways for advancing future research on strategic change that aim at fostering an understanding of its processual dynamics: (1) temporality, (2) actors, (3) emotionality, (4) tools and practices, (5) complexity, and (6) tensions.
... Type A behavior pattern (TABP) is a multidimensional construct consisting of time urgency, achievement strivings, and impatience/irritability (Conte, Schwenneker, Dew, & Romano, 2001; Ishizaka, Marshall, & Conte, 2001). The theoretical relationship between TABP and multitasking performance is somewhat similar to that of extraversion and neuroticism; that is, individuals high in TABP are hypothesized to be overstimulated during multitasking due to their already high baseline levels of arousal. ...
Multitasking is on the rise, both at work and at home. As such, researchers have begun to focus attention on understanding and predicting multitasking performance. Though past research has demonstrated that cognitive predictors correlate positively with multitasking performance, there is reason to believe that non-cognitive factors are likely to predict such performance as well. This study tested for relationships between extraversion, neuroticism, Type A Behavior Pattern, polychronicity, and multitasking performance. Results supported the hypothesis that neuroticism, but not the other personality characteristics measured, significantly predicts performance at multitasking, and that this relationship is mediated by state anxiety experienced during multitasking. Implications for the impact of personality and anxiety on multitasking performance are discussed.
... Furthermore, despite the research emphasis on the hostility component rather than the achievement striving and time urgency components of the Type A pattern, especially after the influential works of H. S. Friedman and Booth-Kewley (1987a, 1987b, 1988, evidence continues to be produced that underlines the importance of achievement orientation and time urgency to the Type A person's stress coping deficiencies and its consequences for health and longevity. For example, Conte, Schwenneker, Dew, and Romano (2001) found that time urgency was related to health indicators above and beyond the variance accounted for by the global Type A-B dimension. Birks and Roger (2000), who distinguished between "toxic" and "non-toxic" achieving, found that impatience and hostile competitiveness both are associated with deteriorating health status during exposure to stressors. ...
This study is a further exploration (see S. J. H. McCann, 2001) of the capacity of the selection bias and life expectancy artifacts to produce correlations between peak achievement ages and death ages that could be mistakenly construed as support for the precocity-longevity hypothesis that those who reach career pinnacles earlier tend to have shorter lives. For 1,672 governors, 10 fake achievement age variables and 10 fake death age variables were randomly generated. Fake achievement age variables were correlated with real death age; fake death age variables were correlated with real achievement age. However, the real age correlations were much larger than the fake age correlations, and when the 2 artifacts were controlled through a subsample strategy, only real age correlations were significant. Overall, the results support the precocity-longevity hypothesis.
This study compared attentional strategies in prioritized and unprioritized multitasking situations using individual differences in the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) as predictors. The study expanded previous studies by using a triple task situation that presented two visual tasks and one auditory task simultaneously. One hundred and eighteen undergraduate students were utilized. One group received instructions for all tasks and their relative importance to each other for achieving a full performance score. The other group received instructions for the visual tasks only, and no information about their relative importance was given, creating ambiguity about priorities among the tasks. Global TABP and its subcomponents (i.e., time urgency, achievement strivings, impatience or irritability, polychronicity) were utilized as predictors of task performance. Significant correlations were found between the TABP subcomponents and different performance indexes, but such a relation was not found between global TABP and performance. Applied implications of these findings and directions for the future research are discussed.
This commentary focuses on the measurement of temporal dimensions at different levels of analysis. In particular, it examines the measures that are available for various levels of analysis for four temporal dimensions: polychronicity, speed, punctuality, and temporal depth. The discussion is meant to spur additional research using reliable and valid temporal measures at multiple levels of analysis.
Although the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) is typically considered a set of distinct components, most studies of TABP have used global measures, which collapse several components into a single index. These measures are inherently multidimensional and, as such, contain several conceptual and methodological problems. In this study, data from 240 executives were used to compare global and component TABP measures as predictors of mental and physical symptoms. Global measures included the Bortner scale, the Framingham scale, and the Jenkins Activity Survey. Component measures were constructed by recombining items from the global measures on the basis of results from previous confirmatory factor analyses (Edwards, Baglioni, & Cooper, 1990). Results indicate that the component measures were superior to the global measures in terms of number of relationships detected, interpretability, and total explanatory power. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
The most widely used self-report measures of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) are the Bortner scale, the Framingham scale, and the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Though high scores on each of these measures have been linked to the development of coronary heart disease, their intercorrelations are rather low, suggesting that they may reflect different aspects of TABP. This study indicates that the low correlations among the Bortner scale, the Framingham scale, and the JAS are due not only to differences in underlying constructs but also to measurement error and multidimensionality. These results also identify several psychometric problems, which raise serious questions regarding the use of these measures in TABP research. Suggestions for the development of new measures of TABP are offered.
This article reports a meta-analysis of the association of Type A behaviors and coronary heart disease (CHD). It differs from a previous meta-analysis reported in Booth-Kewley and Friedman (1987): it uses different decision rules and updates that analysis by using the most recently published papers from ongoing investigations and by including published reports from four new prospective investigations. The results of the present meta-analysis show that Type A behavior across all measures and prospective study designs is not a reliable predictor of CHD incidence, when the number of independent studies and number of participants in those studies are weighted. However, Type A—CHD associations are significant in population-based studies. It is suggested that Type A may be an important influence on the precipitating factors accounting for initial CHD events.
After 3 decades of intensive research, there is still confusion about the nature and reliability of relations between psychological factors and coronary heart disease (CHD). A meta-analysis, or quantitative review, was performed to integrate and organize the results of studies that investigated certain personality variables in relation to CHD. The personality variables included were anger, hostility, aggression, depression, extroversion, anxiety, Type A, and the major components of Type A. The meta-analytic framework helps focus attention on issues needing clarification. The results indicate that modest but reliable associations exist between some of the personality variables and CHD. The strongest associations were found for Type A and, surprisingly, for depression, but anger/hostility/aggression and anxiety also related reliably to CHD. The Structured Interview diagnosis of Type A was shown to be clearly superior to the Jenkins Activity Survey as a predictor of CHD. The Type A-CHD relation was smaller in prospective than in cross-sectional studies and smaller in recent than in less recent studies. This review also revealed that information about the interrelations of personality predictors of CHD is sorely needed. The picture of coronary-proneness revealed by this review is not one of a hurried, impatient workaholic but instead is one of a person with one or more negative emotions. We suggest that the concept of the coronary-prone personality and its associated research be broadened to encompass psychological attributes in addition to those associated with Type A behavior and narrowed to eliminate those components that the accumulated evidence shows to be unimportant.
A major component of the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern is said to be a chronic sense of time urgency. The present study investigated the time urgency of 240 undergraduates as reflected in their arrival time. The results indicate that those Ss who possessed the coronary-prone behavior pattern (Type As) arrived earlier than those Ss who did not exhibit this behavior pattern (Type Bs). (1 ref)
This paper reports two studies of occupational stress and its relation with antecedent variables and job performance. The first study, in which 104 nurses participated in group discussions and 96 nurses completed a questionnaire, identified 45 stressful events for nurses. In the second study, 171 nurses who completed another questionnaire were also rated by a supervisor and/or a co-worker. Ratings of interpersonal aspects of job performance (such as sensitivity, warmth, consideration, and tolerance) and cognitive/motivational aspects (such as concentration, composure, perseverence, and adaptability) correlated significantly with self-reported perceptions of stressful events, subjective stress, depression, and hostility. Models developed through path analysis suggest that the frequency and subjective intensity of the 45 events identified in Study 1 cause feelings of stress, which lead to depression, which, in turn, causes decrements in interpersonal and cognitive/motivational aspects of job performance.
Psychometric analyses of college students' responses to the Jenkins Activity Survey, a self-report measure of the Type A behavior pattern, revealed the presence of two relatively independent factors. On the basis of these analyses, two scales, labeled Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience-Irritability (II), were developed. In two samples of male and female college students, scores on AS but not on II were found to be significantly correlated with grade point average. Responses to a health survey, on the other hand, indicated that frequency of physical complaints was significantly correlated with II but not with AS. These results suggest that there are two relatively independent factors in the Type A pattern that have differential effects on performance and health. Future research on the personality factors related to coronary heart disease and other disorders might more profitably focus on the syndrome reflected in the II scale than on the Type A pattern.
In today's economy, the company that survives will be the one that can develop, produce, and deliver products and services to customers faster than its competitors. Managing for speed requires more than exhorting employees to "work faster." Beliefs and behaviors related to time can influence how both individual employees and work groups perceive their work, their organization, and each other--and those perceptions play a role in the productivity of the organization. Managers in a marketplace characterized by "survival of the fastest" will need the ability to recognize and deal with temporal forces that exist in any organization and can make the difference between faster and not fast enough.
In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.
Donna Vinton's preceding article provides an overview of many ways that attitudes, values, and beliefs about time can differ. This article presents a detailed look at one of those differences--between monochronic and polychronic time--which, respectively, distinguish between a preference for doing one thing at a time rather than doing two or more things simultaneously. Following an explanation of this difference, Kaufman, Lane and Lindquist's Polychronic Attitude Index, which measures the degree of an individual's polychronic orientation, is described, as is Bluedorn's Monochronic/Polychronic Orientation Scale, which measures the extent to which a department or organization is polychronic. Scoring information for both scales is included to enable readers to identify their individual orientations as well as to provide some indication of their departments' and organizations' orientations. This information can be used to manage one's self and one's organization more effectively, and advice on how to do so is presented.
Although the popular literature on time management claims that engaging in time management behaviors results in increased job performance and satisfaction and fewer job tensions, a theoretical framework and empirical examination are lacking. To address this deficiency, a process model of time management was proposed and tested. 353 employees in a variety of jobs completed several scales; supervisors provided performance ratings. Examination of the path coefficients in the model suggested that engaging in some time management behaviors may have beneficial effects on tensions and job satisfaction but not on job performance. Contrary to popular claims, time management training was not found to be effective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recent research suggested that two dimensions of Type A behavior, namely, Achievement Strivings (AS) and Impatience-Irritability (II), differentially predict physical health and performance outcomes. The present study extends this research and examines whether AS and II differentially predict work performance (number of insurance policies sold), work attitudes (job satisfaction), and depression in a sample of 117 life insurance salespersons. As hypothesized, after statistically controlling for relevant biographical variables and II, AS predicted the number of policies sold and job satisfaction but was not related to depression. After partialing out the effect of relevant biographical variables and AS, II was associated with depression but not with the number of policies sold. In addition, controlling for the same variables, II was negatively associated with job satisfaction. Implications for the prediction of sales performance, job satisfaction, and depression, and interventions designed to decrease the negative consequences of Type A by reducing II but not AS, are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Although time urgency is seen as unidimensional in traditional measures of the Type A behavior pattern, F. J. Landy, H. Rastegary, J. Thayer, and C. Colvin (see record
1992-03955-001) concluded that it is a multidimensional construct. They developed behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) that correspond to 7 dimensions of time urgency. This multitrait-multimethod study used 4 raters' evaluations of 183 students at 2 times to examine the construct validity of the BARS measures. This study also investigated environmental and individual difference variables that were linked to time urgency. Confirmatory factor analyses failed to support a hypothesized 7-dimension, 4-method solution but did show good fit indices for a 5-dimension, 4-method model. Potential directions for future research on time urgency are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
We examined the existence of temporal dimensions of organization culture (e.g., norms of time in organizations) and developed an instrument to measure those dimensions to facilitate cross-organizational and intraorganizational comparisons. A questionnaire designed to measure 15 hypothesized temporal dimensions was completed by 529 respondents from 51 work groups in 23 organizations. The sample was selected to meet certain criteria concerning organization type, organization size, and work group type. A principal components analysis extracted 13 usable scales: Time Boundaries Between Work and Nonwork, Sequencing of Tasks, Punctuality, Allocation, Awareness, Synchronization and Coordination, Variety Versus Routine, Intraorganizational Time Boundaries, Future Orientation, Schedules and Deadlines, Work Pace, Autonomy of Time Use, and Quality Versus Speed. Two hypothesized scales (Buffer in Planning and Buffer in Workday) did not emerge. Applications of the Time Dimensions Scales are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Attempted a field replication of J. F. Bryan and E. A. Locke's (see record
1967-15919-001) general version of Parkinson's Law (i.e., effort is adjusted to the difficulty of the task). The principle implies greater effort on a given task when time restrictions are placed on task completion than when there are no such restrictions. As predicted, members of logging crews (N = 379) showed a significantly higher rate of output when limited to mill deliveries on 1 or 2 days/wk than when no such buying restrictions were in effect. Since both owners and crew members were paid on a piece-rate basis, there was an incentive to maximize production early when restrictions were operative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The present study developed a nomological network that theoretically linked time urgency to related variables. To test the proposed relationships, time urgency, achievement strivings (AS), and impatience/irritability (II) were utilized as predictors of health and performance 18 months later. Multivariate canonical correlation analyses provided support for a complex nomological network among the predictors and the outcome measures. Redundancy coefficients and a rotated structure matrix were employed to identify two significant dimensions, labeled crammers and organizers, that linked the predictors with the outcome measures. The results also indicated that the time urgency subcomponents were differentially related to several health outcomes. These findings provide further validity evidence for the time urgency construct, and they suggest that time urgency variables should be considered as important predictors of both health and performance outcomes. Directions for future research on time urgency are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A framework for understanding the etiology of organizational behavior is presented. The framework is based on theory and research from interactional psychology, vocational psychology, I/O psychology, and organizational theory. The framework proposes that organizations are functions of the kinds of people they contain and, further, that the people there are functions of an attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) cycle. The ASA cycle is proposed as an alternative model for understanding organizations and the causes of the structures, processes, and technology of organizations. First, the ASA framework is developed through a series of propositions. Then some implications of the model are outlined, including (1) the difficulty of bringing about change in organizations, (2) the utility of personality and interest measures for understanding organizational behavior, (3) the genesis of organizational climate and culture, (4) the importance of recruitment, and (5) the need for person-based theories of leadership and job attitudes. It is concluded that contemporary I/O psychology is overly dominated by situationist theories of the behavior of organizations and the people in them.
Recent research (T. H. Macan, 1994) questioned the importance of time management in predicting performance. The authors tested the hypothesis that time management behav-iors interact with achievement striving to predict car sales performance. On the basis of data from 102 salespeople, moderated regression analyses supported that hypothesis. There was a significant interaction between short-range planning and achievement striv-ing. Results show how time management is related to job performance under conditions of high motivation. Despite a large literature lauding the benefits of time management behaviors in general (e.g., Warihay, 1978) and for sales performance in particular (e.g., Berkowitz & Ginter, 1978; Feiertag, 1991; Friedman, 1993), the available literature suggests some controversy regarding whether the expected benefits of time management are realized in practice (Macan, 1994). Empirical findings suggest that positive time management practices are as-sociated with self-evaluations of academic performance (Macan, Shahani, Dipboye, & Phillips, 1990), objective grade point average (Britton & Tesser, 1991), job satis-faction (Landy, Rastegary, Thayer, & Colvin, 1991), and self-perceived organizational performance (Lim, 1993). However, there are also data suggesting that time man-agement behaviors may have little effect on objectively measured job performance (Macan, 1994).. Electronic mail may be sent via Internet to barlingj@qsilver.queensu.ca.
Investigated some behavioral consequences of a coronary-prone behavior pattern called Type A, which is characterized by excessive achievement striving and a sense of time urgency. Ss were 62 undergraduates who were classified by the Jenkins Activity Survey for Health Prediction. The impatient tendencies of Type A Ss led them to judge the lapse of 1 min sooner than non-coronary-prone Type B Ss. Results also indicate that Type As worked on a task at near maximum capacity, irrespective of the presence or absence of a time deadline. Type Bs, by contrast, exerted more effort only when the task had an explicit deadline. Both time-estimation and performance findings are discussed in terms of Pattern A as a coping strategy for maintaining control over the physical and social environment.
Time urgency may be an important construct in industrial and organizational psychology. Preliminary analyses have indicated that time urgency may be multidimensional, and available self-report measures have been criticized on psychometric grounds. The present research addressed the dimensionality of time urgency. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS), in which behavioral statements are substituted for qualitative anchors, were used to construct time urgency measures. The BARS technique produced multidimensional measures of time urgency that possessed adequate reliability and construct validity. The scales were tested on a wide variety of subjects. It is concluded that time urgency is a multidimensional construct. Relationships between the time urgency measures, job satisfaction, and work stress are discussed in light of previous research findings.
The nomological validity of the Type A behavior pattern was explored. The Structured Interview (SI) and a battery of personality trait, physical health, and strain measures were administered to an occupationally diverse sample of 568 workers. Ss were also monitored for physiological reactivity and recovery (blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, and electrodermal response) to the SI and a subsequent Stroop Color-Word Conflict Task. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that SI scores can be factored into three distinct dimensions. There was considerable overlap in the patterns of personality traits that characterized the Type A components, but only a Hostility dimension was significantly related to physiological reactivity and recovery. The results have implications for distinguishing coronary-proneness from the more traditional Type A conceptualization.
The most widely used self-report measures of the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) are the Bortner scale, the Framingham scale, and the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS). Though high scores on each of these measures have been linked to the development of coronary heart disease, their intercorrelations are rather low, suggesting that they may reflect different aspects of TABP. This study indicates that the low correlations among the Bortner scale, the Framingham scale, and the JAS are due not only to differences in underlying constructs but also to measurement error and multidimensionality. These results also identify several psychometric problems, which raise serious questions regarding the use of these measures in TABP research. Suggestions for the development of new measures of TABP are offered.
In addition to posing a risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), Type A behavior has been suggested as a risk factor for non-CHD illness. Past evidence, however, has relied chiefly on retrospective studies of self-reported illness that failed to control for the potentially confounding effects of negative affectivity. The present investigation was an 18-month prospective study of Type A behavior and medical records of illness in which chronic negative affectivity was also assessed. Negative affectivity was associated with retrospective self-reported illness, but only Type A, as measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS) and the Framingham Type A Scale (FTAS), predicted medical records of subsequent illness severity and number of illness-related medical visits. Controlling for negative affectivity did not reduce these significant relationships. It was concluded that persons scoring high on the JAS or the FT AS may be at greater risk of minor illness when objective measures of illness are assessed over a period of 1 year or more. Alternative explanations and future directions for research are discussed.
Key words: Type A, coronary-prone behavior, illness
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the tempo of life has continually accelerated (McGrath & Kelly, 1986). At the close of the twentieth century, life revolves ever more around the clock, especially in Western cultures Rifkil, in his book Time Wars (1987), proposes that computers are contributing to an exponentially accelerating time orientation. Computer hardware operations can be carried out as fast as billionths of a second, and this capability has set new temporal standards of organizational effectiveness and efficiency. This accelerated time orientation affects every aspect of a work organization. Perhaps the most substantial challenge facing employees as a result of this time orientation is trying to choose between alternative courses of action while under this time pressure. It is likely that time pressure does not affect everyone in the same way. It may prove challenging to one individual and debilitating to another. In fact, temporal orientation has been recognized as one of the fundamental parameters of individual differences (Bluedorn & Denhardt, 1988).
In this article, we provide guidance for substantive researchers on the use of structural equation modeling in practice for theory testing and development. We present a comprehensive, two-step modeling approach that employs a series of nested models and sequential chi-square difference tests. We discuss the comparative advantages of this approach over a one-step approach. Considerations in specification, assessment of fit, and respecification of measurement models using confirmatory factor analysis are reviewed. As background to the two-step approach, the distinction between exploratory and confirmatory analysis, the distinction between complementary approaches for theory testing versus predictive application, and some developments in estimation methods also are discussed.
Three groups of men, selected solely according to the behavior pattern which they habitually manifested in their work, were compared with respect to their serum cholesterol levels, clotting times, presence of clinical coronary disease, and presence of arcus senilis. A group (A) of 83 men were chosen as manifesting an intense, sustained drive for achievement and as being continually involved in competition and deadlines, both at work and in their avocations. In this group the serum cholesterol level, the frequency of arcus senilis, and the incidence of coronary artery disease were much higher than in a group (B) of 83 men who manifested the opposite sort of behavior pattern and a group (C) of 46 unemployed blind men selected as manifesting a chronic state of insecurity and anxiety. Clinical coronary artery disease was seven times more frequent in group A than in group B or group C. Analysis of factors other than the overt behavior pattern described indicated that this pattern per se was largely responsible for the striking differences found.
Interactional psychology emphasizes continuous, multidirectional interaction between person and situation characteristics. This perspective suggests that organizational behavior researchers should focus more attention on person factors that might be expected to mediate the effects of situation factors, and vice versa. It also encourages a less restricted interpretation of an interaction, which can mean non-additivity, differential validity, overlapping main effects, reciprocal influence, and cognitive sense making of experience.
Two studies were conducted to examine the dispositional nature of the time management construct. In the first study, 93 undergraduate students completed the Time Management Behavior Scale (TMBS) and three other time-attitude scales. An examination of the correlations between the overall scales and sub-scales provided support for the convergent validity of the TMBS. In the second study, undergraduate students completed the TMBS and the Sense of Coherence (SOC) scale at two points in the academic semester: High stress (n = 106) and low stress (n = 92). TMBS was positively and significantly corrélated with SOC at both time periods. Moreover, students' self-reported use of time management behaviors remained relatively stable under varying levels of academic pressure providing some support for the dispositional nature of the time management construct.
This report represents an effort to clarify the role of 2 behaviors, time urgency and chronic activation, in Type-A-related coronary heart disease. It attempts to examine the role of these tendencies in relation to the global Type A behavior pattern (TABP) and its best-explored ingredient, anger. Inferences are made concerning possible underlying physiologic mechanisms that might link Type-A-like functioning to pathology of the coronary arteries. Some comments are also provided for nonscholars or laypersons in the TABP area. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Cross-cultural differences in attitudes and behaviors concerning time, punctuality, and pace of life, and the relationship of these measures to coronary heart disease, were investigated in a series of studies in Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Italy, England, and the United States. Study 1 found that public clocks were most accurate in the most economically developed countries (Japan and the United States) and least accurate in the least developed country (Indonesia). Study 2 measured average walking speed during main business hours. Walking speed was fastest in Japan and slowest in Indonesia. Also, subjects in smaller cities tended to walk slower than those in larger cities. Study 3 measured average time taken to complete a standardized postal request. Work speed was again fastest in Japan. Italy was slowest. There were high intercorrelations within cities for the above three measures. Next, the findings from the first three studies were related to incidence of coronary heart disease. Despite the lack of available mortality statistics for Taiwan and Indonesia, some interesting trends questioning the cross-cultural generality of the relationship between Type A behaviors and coronary heart disease emerged. Finally, in a questionnaire study conducted mostly in the United States, the relationship between scores on a measure of Type A behavior characteristics and subjects' reported frequency of lateness, feelings after being late, perceptions of what constitutes late and early, attributions for lateness, and ratings of the importance of punctuality in a business person and in a friend were investigated.
in our study, subjects performed a task under varying degrees of time pressure / psychological reactions
primary measures of interest were performance on the task and self-reports of reactions to the experience, including enjoyment, satisfaction, tension, and boredom
type A/B behavior pattern / individual differences / productivity / stress
optimal point of time pressure will depend on the type of task (complexity, degree of creativity necessary, inherent interest, necessity for perfect performance, and so on), characteristics of the individual . . . , and presumably other factors such as the consequences of failure and duration of the acitivity (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Discusses temporal systems and requirements in different societies, time theory in psychophysics and experimental psychology, the biochemical clock, and temporal sense development in children. The influence of emotional states, drugs, dreams, hypnosis, mental disorders, aging, communication, groups, work, planning, and social change on the perception of time is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two experiments were conducted to examine behavioral consequences of a sense of time urgency, which presumably characterizes individuals classified as manifesting a so-called “Type A” coronary-prone behavior pattern. Experiment I indicated that time-urgent Type A Ss were reliably less successful than noncoronary-prone “Type Bs” in performing a task requiring a low rate of response for reinforcement (DRL). Type As were not only unable to delay their responses; they also showed greater evidence of tension and hyperactivity than Type Bs during DRL performance. Experiment II extended these results to the interpersonal domain. Time-urgent Ss became more impatient and irritated than less urgent Ss when both types were systematically slowed down in their efforts to reach a solution on a joint decision-making task. The results were discussed in terms of a conceptualization of the A-B dimension as reflecting differential expectations of and needs for environmental control. Additional evidence was presented in support of this approach. Consideration was also given to possible physiologic mechanisms mediating the relationship between psychological variables such as the Type A pattern and actual occurrence of coronary heart disease.
This paper reviews the literature on structural model evaluation. It discusses the use of fit indices, the influential work of James, Mulaik, and Brett (1982), with emphasis on their prescriptions for model assessment, and recent developments in model evaluation presented since James et al. It then analyzes current modeling practices to determine how well evaluation techniques are being applied. Although modeling practices have improved since an earlier review (James & James, 1989), several problems remain. Suggestions are made for improving model evaluation.
Examined the correlations of negative affectivity (NA), locus of control, and 2 components of Type A personality variables (impatience-irritability and achievement striving) with reported job stressors and strains among 109 Ss. Ss completed questionnaires during final semesters of undergraduate studies and after working for 1 yr. Stressors included autonomy, role ambiguity and conflict, workload, constraints, and interpersonal conflict. Strains included concerns with job satisfaction, work anxiety, frustration, and somatic symptoms. Personality variables predicted all job stressors and strains except work frustration. NA was associated with role ambiguity and conflict, constraints, and interpersonal conflict. Locus of control was most strongly related to autonomy and was strongly related to job satisfaction. Impatience-irritability was associated with higher constraints and interpersonal conflict, and achievement striving correlated with more job stressors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved)
Typescript. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 1974. Bibliography: leaves 99-102. Microfilm.
Typescript (photocopy). Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 1982. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-130).
Questionnaires administered to 1822 members of the Framingham Heart Study from 1965 to 1967 provided measures of personality type, sociocultural mobility, situational stress and somatic strain. Clusters of questions selected by a panel of experts, and verified by item and factor analysis, formed scales of Type A behavior and other psychosocial states. The Framingham Type A behavior scale was significantly correlated with daily stress (.47), emotional lability (.43), tension (.42), anger symptoms (.34), and ambitiousness (.31). Women were less likely than men to be ambitious and to exhibit the Framingham Type A behavior, and were more likely than men to be emotionally labile, tense, and to suppress hostility. Few consistent associations were found between psychosocial stress measures and levels of blood pressure or cholesterol. Social status and marital conflicts were significantly associated with patterns of smoking. The Framingham Type A behavior pattern and other psychosocial measures were not related to the level of CHD risk, as determined by the Framingham logistic equations.
Young male subjects, labeled Type A or Type B by means of the Bortner Scale and the Jenkins Activity Survey, first estimated the passage of five different intervals of time under one of three levels of distraction and then solved math and spelling problems. Autonomic nervous system activity was monitored while they performed these tasks. Results showed that Type A's under-estimated the passage of the longest time interval relative to Type B's, and had slower reaction times to the most difficult math problems. No physiological differences between Type A's and B's were found.
A research project is outlined in which concepts and methods from social psychology and psychophysiology are integrated in the study of human adaptation to underload and overload related to technically advanced work processes. Attempts are made to identify aversive factors in the work process by studying acute stress reactions, e.g., catecholamine excretion, in the course of work and relating these to long term, negative effects on well-being, job satisfaction and health. Data from a pilot study of sawmill workers support the view that machine-paced work characterized by a short work cycle and lack of control over the work process constitutes a threat to health and well being.
Although the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) is typically considered a set of distinct components, most studies of TABP have used global measures, which collapse several components into a single index. These measures are inherently multidimensional and, as such, contain several conceptual and methodological problems. In this study, data from 240 executives were used to compare global and component TABP measures as predictors of mental and physical symptoms. Global measures included the Bortner scale, the Framingham scale, and the Jenkins Activity Survey. Component measures were constructed by recombining items from the global measures on the basis of results from previous confirmatory factor analyses (Edwards, Baglioni, & Cooper, 1990). Results indicate that the component measures were superior to the global measures in terms of number of relationships detected, interpretability, and total explanatory power. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
The relationship between the pace of life and coronary heart disease (CHD) was examined in a total of 36 small, medium, and large metropolitan areas across the United States. Four indicators of pace were observed: walking speed, articulation rate (talking speed), bank teller speed (work speed), and the proportion of individuals wearing watches (concern with clock time). Pace of life was strongly related to death rates from coronary heart disease both across cities and across regions of the country. This provides support, on a sociological level, for Wright's (1988) contention that time urgency is a toxic element of the Type A behavior pattern. It is proposed that individuals living in fast-paced cities may be more prone to unhealthy behaviors (e.g., cigarette smoking), which place them at a greater risk for CHD. The relationship among cities' temporal norms, Type A time urgency, and coronary heart disease is also discussed.