Effects of Personal Responsibility and Latitude for Type A and B Individuals on Psychological and Physiological Stress Responses

Iwanaga Makoto

Yokoyama Hiroshi

Seiwa Hidetoshi

International Journal of Behavioral Medicine

Latitude has been considered a dominant factor in stress reduction. Jobs that involve high latitude, however, generally are accompanied by high responsibility, which might induce high levels of stress. Therefore, latitude in a job situation is necessary to examine the effects of responsibility and latitude together. In this study we examined the effects of personal responsibility and latitude for Type A and B individuals on psychological and physiological responses. Thirty-one Type A participants and 31 Type B participants were divided into high- and low-responsibility conditions. Personal responsibility was operated by disclosures about results of the task performed by groups of 3 participants. Participants received both latitude conditions (self-paced and externally paced task). High responsibility elicited psychological responses and increased heart rate; Type A individuals especially showed a remarkable increase of heart rate. On the other hand, latitude did not reduce strain. We concluded that personal responsibility might be one of the dominant factors of stress elicitation.

eng

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Copyright (c) 2000 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc

[ISSN] 1070-5503

[DOI] 10.1207/S15327558IJBM0703_02

[NCID] AA11043408

[DOI] http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327558IJBM0703_02