Charles D. Spielberger

Cross-cultural anxiety

Personality factors in stress and anxiety, J.Brebner personal and interpersonal determinants of childrens anxiety, Y.Teichman, H.Gilaie self-esteem, realization of life-purposes and level of anxiety in the Aged, I.Paspalanov Emotional Patterns In Stress Situations And Their relationship to somatic disease, K.Wrzesnieski an experimental analysis of sport related trait anxiety, D.Hackfort.

The Experience, Expression, and Control of Anger

In this chapter, Spielberger, Krasner, and Solomon concentrate upon the sensation that is called anger, hostility, or aggression. They liken anger to a state emotion and hostility to a trait, whereas the label aggression is reserved for the behavioral expression of the first two. They refer to the structure of these three concepts as the AHA! Syndrome. The chapter begins with a thorough review of the history of the relationship between anger and psychosomatics. Also featured is a discussion of the role of anger in the Type A behavior pattern and on the nature of anger itself. Following a brief review of the history of attempts to measure hostility and anger, we are introduced to the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS) developed by Spielberger and his colleagues. The authors then provide an in-depth review of research and thinking on the nature of the expression of anger; that is, whether it is directed inward (suppressed) or outward (expressed). The nature and meaning of the control of anger is also reviewed. We are presented with the principal psychometric data related to the development of the Anger Expression Scale (AX), which measures anger-in, anger-out, and anger-control. In concluding, the authors explain the need for scales such as the STAS and AX and describe their usefulness in individual difference and health research.

Introduction and Historical Overview

This article introduces the special section on the American Psychological Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (APA/NIOSH) collaboration. The section includes an overview statement of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health research by Linda Rosenstock and 5 competitively peer-reviewed articles submitted to the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology following their presentation in an earlier form at the 3rd APA/NIOSH conference in September 1995. This article provides a brief history of the APA/NIOSH collaboration forged at the turn of this decade.

Measuring the Experience, Expression, and Control of Anger

The goal of this study was to develop a psychometric scale to assess the experience, expression and control of anger in Latin American countries. Items for the Spanish Multicultural Inventory (STAXI_ SM) were adapted from the xpression Inventory (STAXI). In keeping with the of stare-anger, trair_ anger, and anger expression also constructed to replace those c reviewed by countries, and items was adm congress of Psychology in san Juan, puerto Rico. Responses to the items, factored in separate principal factors analyses for males and females with promax rotations, identified 8 factors comparable to those of the English STAXI: two item scales for measuring the components of state and trait anger, and four 6-item scales for assessing anger expression and control. Alpha coefficients for these brief scales for females and males varied between .79 and .92.

Measuring Epistemic Curiosity and Its Diversive and Specific Components

A questionnaire constructed to assess epistemic curiosity (EC) and perceptual curiosity (PC) curiosity was administered to 739 undergraduates (546 women, 193 men) ranging in age from 18 to 65. The study participants also responded to the trait anxiety, anger, depression, and curiosity scales of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI; Spielberger et al., 1979) and selected subscales of the Sensation Seeking (SSS; Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, & Zoob, 1964) and Novelty Experiencing (NES; Pearson, 1970) scales. Factor analyses of the curiosity items with oblique rotation identified EC and PC factors with clear simple structure. Subsequent analyses of the EC items provided the basis for developing an EC scale, with Diversive and Specific Curiosity subscales. Moderately high correlations of the EC scale and subscales with other measures of curiosity provided strong evidence of convergent validity. Divergent validity was demonstrated by minimal correlations with trait anxiety and the sensation-seeking measures, and essentially zero correlations with the STPI trait anger and depression scales. Male participants had significantly higher scores on the EC scale and the NES External Cognition subscale (effect sizes of r = .16 and .21, respectively), indicating that they were more interested than female participants in solving problems and discovering how things work. Male participants also scored significantly higher than female participants on the SSS Thrill-and-Adventure and NES External Sensation subscales (r = .14 and .22, respectively), suggesting that they were more likely to engage in sensation-seeking activities.

Validation of the State-Trait Distinction in Anxiety Research

High school and university students were given Sarasons Test Anxiety Scale for Children, an intelligence test, and the A-State and A-Trait Scales of Spielbergers State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The STAI A-Stake Scale was administered under one non-stress and two stress conditions to both groups of subjects. A factor analysis of the data for the high school students identified six factors: trait anxiety; t h e e separate state anxiety factors, corresponding to each of the three administrations of the A-State Scale; a reversed-item factor; and an ability factor. A similar factor pattern emerged for the university students. The results were interpreted as providing evidence of the importance of situational stress in evoking anxiety states, and strong support for the slate-trait distinction in anxiety research.

Occupational stress: Measuring job pressure and organizational support in the workplace.

: Person-environment fit and demand-control theoretical models developed to explain stress and strain in the workplace have guided the construction of most measures of occupational stress. The strengths and limitations of 8 job stress measures are briefly reviewed, and the Job Stress Survey (JSS), designed to assess the severity and frequency of occurrence of 30 specific sources of occupational stress, is described in some detail. Factor analyses of responses to the JSS items identified Job Pressure and Lack of Organizational Support as major dimensions of occupational stress for male and female employees in a wide variety of work settings. JSS Index, scale, subscale, and item scores assess general and specific aspects of the work environment that are most distressing for individual workers and that adversely affect groups of employees.

The measurement of perceptual curiosity

Perceptual curiosity, as defined by Berlyne (1954), involves interest in and giving attention to novel perceptual stimulation, and motivates visual and sensory-inspection. A 33-item questionnaire constructed to assess individual differences in perceptual curiosity was administered to 320 undergraduate students (202 females; 118 males). The participants also responded to the trait scales of the State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI), and to selected subscales of the Sensation Seeking (SSS) and Novelty Experiencing (NES) scales. Principal axis factor analyses of the perceptual curiosity (PC) items identified a strong PC factor. With oblique rotation, diversive and specific PC components were found, from which subscales were constructed. Moderate positive correlations of the PC scale and subscales were found with the NES and STPI measures of curiosity and the SSS and NES sensation seeking scales, suggesting that perceptual curiosity involves seeking both knowledge and sensory experience. Divergent validity of the PC scale was demonstrated by minimal relationships with the STPI trait anger scale, and essentially zero correlations with the STPI trait anxiety and depression scales.

Assessment of anxiety and achievement in kindergarten and first-and second-grade children

The psychometric properties of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and relationships between STAIC T-Anxiety scores and standardized measures of achievement were determined for 948 kindergarten and first-and second-grade children. The T-anxiety scores of kindergarten children were lower than those of first-and second-graders. Internal consistency of the STAIC scales was higher in individual testing sessions than in small group administrations. Small but significant negative correlations were found between STAIC T-Anxiety scores and measures of school achievement. It was concluded that the STAIC is a potentially useful measure of state and trait anxiety in kindergarten through sixth-grade children, but it must be administered individually at the kindergarten and first-grade levels.

Is the state-trait anxiety inventory multidimensional?

Abstract The factor structure of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was investigated to determine whether the STAI State and Trait Anxiety scales were multidimensional. The STAI (Form Y) was administered to a heterogeneous sample of Air Force recruits (N = 1728); the scores for all 40 STAI items were factor-analyzed together, using the principal axis method and varimax rotation. Two- and four-factor solutions were found to be equally good in simple structure and psychological meaningfulness. Clearly defined state and trait anxiety factors were found in the more parsimonious two-factor solution. In the four-factor solution, the factors were: State Anxiety-Present, State Anxiety-Absent, Trait Anxiety-Present and Trait Anxiety-Absent. Using Cattells (1966) confactor method, these factors were found to be congruent with similar factors previously identified for high school students by Spielberger et al. (1980). The anxiety-present and anxiety-absent factors were interpreted as reflecting either ‘item method’ variance or ‘item-intensity specificity’. There was no evidence in the present study that the STAI scales were multidimensional in terms of item content.