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Negative affectivity and responses to work stressors: an experimental study
Anne O'Brien1, Deborah J Terry, Nerina L Jimmieson
1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Australia.
Abstract:
An experiment tested the hypothesis that individuals high in negative affectivity (NA) show increased stress reactivity to stressors. There were three predictor variables: NA (measured 1 week prior to experimental participation), and two manipulated variables--demand (high/low) and behavioral control (high/low). First-year psychology students (n = 256) were randomly allocated to one of the four experimental conditions. Measures obtained were initial and post-task negative mood, coping strategies, task satisfaction, and performance (subjective and objective). Participants with high levels of NA reported more post-task negative mood in response to high demand conditions, compared to participants with low NA. A similar pattern of results emerged for task satisfaction, particularly in response to high demand-low behavioral control situations. Mediation analyses suggested this was because participants with high NA used more emotion-focused coping strategies. The study provides support for the stress reactivity role of NA in the stressor-strain process.
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