Time Urgency: Conceptual and Construct Development

Although time urgency is seen as unidimensional in traditional measures of the Type A behavior pattern, F. J. Landy, H. Rastegary, J. Thayer, and C. Colvin (1991) concluded that it is a multidimensional construct. They developed behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) that correspond to 7 dimensions of time urgency. This multitrait-multimethod study used 4 raters' evaluations of 183 students at 2 times to examine the construct validity of the BARS measures. This study also investigated environmental and individual difference variables that were linked to time urgency. Confirmatory factor analyses failed to support a hypothesized 7-dimension, 4-method solution but did show good fit indices for a 5-dimension, 4-method model. Potential directions for future research on time urgency are discussed.