Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
The double meaning of control: three-way interactions between internal resources, job control, and stressors at work
Laurenz L Meier1, Norbert K Semmer, Achim Elfering
1Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. laurenz.meier@psy.unibe.ch
Abstract:
The Job Demand-Control model postulates that job control attenuates the effects of job demands on health and well-being. Support for this interactive effect is rather weak. Conceivably, it holds only when there is a match between job control and individual characteristics that relate to exercising control options, such as locus of control, or self-efficacy. This three-way interaction was tested in a sample of 96 service employees, with affective strain and musculoskeletal pain as dependent variables. As hypothesized, job control attenuated the effects of stressors only for people with an internal locus of control. For people with an external locus of control, job control actually predicted poorer well-being and health as stressors increased. For self-efficacy, the corresponding three-way interaction was significant with regard to affective strain.
Related Concept Videos
Types of Stressors
Catastrophes
Catastrophes refer to large-scale, unpredictable events that create overwhelming stress and a sense of threat. Examples include natural disasters like...
Psychological Responses to Stress
Components of Stress
Interestingly, the hidden cube faces also experience these stresses, equal and opposite to those on the...
Introduction to Stress and Lifestyle
Locus of Control
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques I
Conscientiousness
Conscientious individuals tend to be organized, responsible, and disciplined. They prioritize completing tasks and following structured routines,...

