Interaction of Type A behavior and perceived controllability of stressors on stress outcomes

General stress models depict stress and its related outcomes as an interaction between individual and environmental characteristics. This study focused on the interaction between the personal characteristic of Type A behavior and the environmental factor of perceived controllability of stressors on two behavioral outcomes of stress: overt exhibition of Type A behavior and task performance. One hundred and twenty-two subjects were divided into Type A B categories and randomly assigned to either a moderately or highly uncontrollable managerial in-basket simulation. Results indicated that the personal characteristic of Type A behavior had its strongest affect on the overt exhibition of Type A behavior when subjects perceived their environment as moderately uncontrollable. Results also confirmed the prediction that environmental factors dominate personal characteristics in affecting stress outcomes when the situation is perceived as highly uncontrollable. The treatment manipulations did not affect performance. Implications for future research are discussed.