A number of conceptualizations and subsequent measures of Negative Affectivity (NA) have been presented in the literature. However, very few studies have attempted to establish the dimensionality of the NA construct prior to its use. The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to explore both the lower order and hierarchical conceptualizations of NA using Stokes and Levin's scale. The NA scale contains lower order factors of nervousness, pessimism, and dissatisfaction. Two samples were used to assess the hierarchical structure of the scale. The first sample consisted of management students (N = 356) of a large southeastern university. The second study consisted of managerial employees of a large automobile distributorship (N = 102) located in the southeastern United States. In each sample, the data indicated that the most satisfactory representation of the underlying structure of Stokes and Levin's NA scale was that of a higher order model. Following Watson and Clark, the authors recommend that researchers assess both levels of hierarchical structure of NA when using the Stokes and Levin scale, as well as other subsequent measures of the construct.
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