Agency and communion in three generations of women and their relation to socialization

Personality clusters of agency (independence, self-protection and self-assertion) and communion (interpersonal sensitivity and nurturant concern for the welfare of others) were studied in three generations of Norwegian women with the expectation that 1) daughters would use mothers rather than fathers as models for both clusters and 2) socialization practices of encouraging independence would be related to agency, while responsiveness, closeness and control would be related to communion in daughters. 32 adult pregnant daughters and their mothers were studied. Agency and communion scores were negatively related within individuals in all 3 generations and each was positively related across the three generations. A, buta greater balance between the two personal qualities was seen in the younger generation of women than in the two older ones. Ospredicted, agency and communion scores for mothers and daughters were positively related in all three generations and fathers' and daughters' scores were unrelated. While agentic mothers were found to have encouraged autonomy, agency in daughters was facilitated by more nondirective-ness by the mother. Communion in daughters was fostered by demand for socially responsible behavior and related to close, controlled, non-individuated relationships to nurturant and confident mothers. Agency was related to more distant and conflicted relationships to non-nurturant and cognitively curious mothers. Agentic daughters were also found to be better educated and in more responsible jobs, while communal daughters were less educated and in more routine jobs. Thus agency was nurtured in challenging and tension producing and communion in close and less stimulating interpersonal environments. When strongly developed, both were associated with liabilities.     

The integration of agency and communion in moral personality: Evidence of enlightened self-interest

Agency and communion are fundamental human motives, often conceptualized as being in tension. This study examines the notion that moral exemplars overcome this tension and adaptively integrate these 2 motives within their personality. Participants were 25 moral exemplars-recipients of a national award for extraordinary volunteerism-and 25 demographically matched comparison participants. Each participant responded to a life review interview and provided a list of personal strivings, which were coded for themes of agency and communion; interviews were also coded for the relationship between agency and communion. Results consistently indicated that exemplars not only had both more agency and communion than did comparison participants but were also more likely to integrate these themes within their personality. Consistent with our claim that enlightened self-interest is driving this phenomenon, this effect was evident only when agency and communion were conceptualized in terms of promoting interests (of the self and others, respectively) and not in terms of psychological distance (from others) and only when the interaction was observed with a person approach and not with the traditional variable approach. After providing a conceptual replication of these results using different measures elicited in different contexts and relying on different coding procedures, we addressed and dismissed various alternative explanations, including chance co-occurrence and generalized complexity. These results provide the first reliable evidence of the integration of motives of agency and communion in moral personality.     

Religiosity and agency and communion: their relationship to religious judgmentalism

The present study is an introduction to the construct of religious judgmentalism, defined as a willingness to make religious or moral judgments of others based on a limited period of observation; the study offers a prediction about which individuals will engage in such judgmental behavior. It was predicted that agency motives would significantly predict religious judgmentalism in a religious population but that communion motives and intrinsic religiosity would moderate this effect. Overall, the findings supported these predictions. Agency motives were positively correlated with religious judgmentalism. Intrinsic religiosity predicted a general unwillingness to make religious evaluations of others. Both intrinsic religiosity and communion motives did moderate the effects of high agency motives. Specifically, increases in communion motive and intrinsic religiosity, at high levels of agency motives, significantly predicted lower scores for religious judgmentalism. These findings were conceptualized as preliminary evidence for the position that interpersonal motives, rather than religiousness or religious motivation, predict social intolerance and criticism in religious individuals.     

自我知觉视角和元知觉视角下能动性评价对自尊的预测作用

本研究探讨自我知觉视角和元知觉视角下社会认知基本维度对自尊的预测作用。研究1中36名被试同时完成自我知觉和元知觉视角下的能动性和社群性评价任务,结果发现仅有自我知觉视角下的能动性评价能预测自尊,元知觉视角下能动性评价对自尊的预测作用被自我知觉视角下的能动性评价所中介;研究2中120名被试完成自我知觉视角评价任务,另120名被试完成元知觉视角评价任务,结果发现无论是自我知觉视角还是元知觉视角,能动性评价都能预测自尊,而社群性评价对自尊没有预测作用,这表明能动性评价能预测个体的自尊。     

Within-person covariation of agentic and communal perceptions: Implications for interpersonal theory and assessment

Interpersonal theory identifies agency and communion as uncorrelated (orthogonal) dimensions, largely evidenced by research examining between-person analyses of single-occasion measures. However, longitudinal studies of interpersonal behavior demonstrated the within-person association of agency and communion is not orthogonal for many individuals, and between-person differences in these associations relate to adjustment. We applied a similar approach to investigate the association of interpersonal perceptions. 184 university students completed a 7-day event-contingent study of their interpersonal experiences. Using multilevel regression models, we demonstrated that agentic and communal perceptions were positively associated, and the strength of this within-person association was moderated by between-person scores of dependency and narcissism. We discuss the benefits of incorporating within-person interpersonal associations (termed interpersonal covariation) into interpersonal theory and assessment.     

Self-esteem and interpersonal functioning in psychiatric outpatients

This study explored associations between self-esteem and interpersonal functioning in a one-year clinic cohort of psychiatric outpatients ( n = 338). At intake, patients completed questionnaires measuring self-esteem, interpersonal problems, interpersonal style, and general symptomatic distress. They were also diagnosed according to the ICD-10. Interpersonal behaviour was measured along the agency and communion dimensions of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems – Circumplex [IIP-C]. The results show that lower self-esteem was associated with higher levels of interpersonal problems in general. Further, lower self-esteem was first and foremost linked to frustrated agentic motives, as measured by the IIP-C. Hence, the study concludes that fostering patient agency should be considered as an important goal in psychotherapy. Furthermore, the analyses revealed an interaction effect of agency and communion on self-esteem, indicating a need for balancing the two motive dimensions. Finally, some questions are raised concerning the interpretation of the IIP-C subscales in general.     

The Relationship Between Agentic and Communal Personality Traits and Psychosocial Adjustment to Breast Cancer

Agency, communion, unmitigated agency (UA), and unmitigated communion (UC) are related to psychosocial health outcomes in nonclinical and medical populations. This study examined the relationship between these personality traits and emotional and interpersonal well-being, as up to 50% of women experience difficulties in psychosocial adjustment after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Seventy-four women newly diagnosed with breast cancer completed baseline assessment measures within 2 weeks prior to their first chemotherapy treatment or at the beginning of their hormonal therapy. Findings indicate that (1) agency and UA are important correlates of emotional and interpersonal adjustment and should be considered when attempting to identify women at high risk for psychosocial distress, and (2) UC deserves increased attention in behavioral medicine research, given its strong relationship with emotional distress in a breast cancer population. Thus, evidence continues to accumulate regarding the important relationship of these personality traits to psychosocial outcomes in medical populations.     

Introduction to the special series on integrating personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy using interpersonal assessment

The interpersonal paradigm in personality assessment employs multiple models, measures, and methods to examine the interpenetration of personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. Its organizing framework is the nomological net of agency and communion, which are fundamental metaconstructs that can be conceptualized and measured at multiple levels ranging from broad interpersonal motives to stable interpersonal dispositions to specific interpersonal behaviors. This Special Series presents diverse research and clinical applications of interpersonal theory and assessment to (a) enhance diagnosis, case conceptualization, and treatment planning; (b) identify developmental catalysts of and current influences on psychopathological symptoms; and (c) articulate different ways in which personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy are interrelated. Each article demonstrates the integrative nature of interpersonal assessment while concurrently exemplifying the unique assumptions and methods of contemporary interpersonal diagnosis.     

Introduction to the Special Series on Integrating Personality,Psychopathology, and Psychotherapy Using Interpersonal Assessment

The interpersonal paradigm in personality assessment employs multiple models, measures, and methods to examine the interpenetration of personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy. Its organizing framework is the nomological net of agency and communion, which are fundamental metaconstructs that can be conceptualized and measured at multiple levels ranging from broad interpersonal motives to stable interpersonal dispositions to specific interpersonal behaviors. This Special Series presents diverse research and clinical applications of interpersonal theory and assessment to (a) enhance diagnosis, case conceptualization, and treatment planning; (b) identify developmental catalysts of and current influences on psychopathological symptoms; and (c) articulate different ways in which personality, psychopathology, and psychotherapy are interrelated. Each article demonstrates the integrative nature of interpersonal assessment while concurrently exemplifying the unique assumptions and methods of contemporary interpersonal diagnosis.     

社会认知基本维度与主观幸福感：未来时间洞察力的中介作用

基于社会认知双视角模型和人类适应机制,探讨能动性和表达性与主观幸福感的关系及其作用机制,采用社会认知基本维度形容词词库、未来时间洞察力问卷和幸福感指数量表对全国21个省市居民进行调查,共回收有效问卷4071份,其中男性1714人（42.1%）,女性2342人（57.5%）。结果表明：（1）能动性、表达性显著正向预测主观幸福,且能动性的预测效力大于表达性;未来时间洞察力显著正向预测主观幸福感;（2）能动性、表达性能通过未来时间洞察力的中介作用间接预测个人主观幸福感。本研究结果有利于揭示能动性、表达性如何影响个体主观幸福感体验,以及能动性、表达性对主观幸福感的影响程度,对于提升个人主观幸福感有一定启示意义。     

Unmitigated Agency and Unmitigated Communion: Distinctions from Agency and Communion

The purpose of this paper is to establish the importance of distinguishing unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion from agency and communion. First, we examine the empirical overlap and distinctions among the four constructs. Then, we demonstrate the differential association of unmitigated agency, unmitigated communion, agency, and communion to relationship and health outcomes. We conclude that only unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion are associated with relationship difficulties and poor health. Finally, we distinguish between the difficulties of the unmitigated agency and the unmitigated communion individual by focusing on interpersonal problems.     

社会认知基本维度对现实威胁感知的作用研究

个体感知中表达性优先于能动性,但群体感知中表达性和能动性的作用仍存在争议,两个研究探索表达性和能动性特质在对外群体现实威胁感知中的作用。研究1选用成人被试,采用问卷调查法考察表达性和能动性特质与现实威胁感的关系,发现表达性和能动性特质都能预测现实威胁感,表达性特质越低,能动性特质越高,现实威胁感越强。研究2采用最简群体范式,通过实验法操纵表达性和能动性特质,发现外群体表达性特质越低,能动性特质越高,其现实威胁感越强。两个研究共同说明,表达性和能动性特质在对外群体的现实威胁感知中起到重要作用。     

Gender-related personality traits and interpersonal resource exchange among brother—sister relationships

Brother-sister relationships are understudied within the field of personal relationships. Accordingly, the present study examines patterns of interpersonal resource exchange (drawing upon resource exchange theory; Foa & Foa, 1974), along with influences of gender-related personality traits (i.e., agency and communion) on individuals’giving of interpersonal resources (i.e., affection and respect), among 79 brother-sister pairs. Consistent with predictions, brothers’and sisters’exchanges of both affection and respect were positive and significant. Also, consistent with predictions, communion was a positive and significant predictor of respectful behavior among sisters. However, contrary to hypotheses, communion did not achieve or approach significance as a predictor of respectful behavior among brothers, nor did communion achieve or approach significance as a predictor of affectionate behavior among sisters or brothers Implications for the study of male-female relationships in general—and brother-sister relationships in particular—are discussed.     

Assessing interpersonal perceptions using the interpersonal grid

Three studies were conducted using the interpersonal grid, a method for assessing perceptions of agentic and communal behavior based on the interpersonal circumplex. The 1st examined consistency across perceivers and convergence between perceiver and the perceived person. The 2nd examined whether responses to the interpersonal grid were sensitive to an experimental manipulation of portrayed agency and communion. The 3rd used the interpersonal grid in an event-contingent recording study. The reliability and validity of the measure were supported by findings demonstrating generalizability across perceivers, generalizability across perceptions of events involving the same person, convergence between perceiver and perceived person, and sensitivity to changes in levels of agency and communion. Applications of the interpersonal grid to clinical practice and research are described.     

Self‐judgment and reputation monitoring as a function of the fundamental dimensions,temporal perspective,and culture

Social acceptance and the development of one's competencies and status are fundamental aspects of the human experience, but the former (communion) should take precedence over the latter (agency) in self‐judgment. Study 1 results indicated that (i) people across two cultures judged themselves as possessing higher communion than agency characteristics; (ii) communion self‐judgments were more consistent across temporal perspective; and (iii) level of self‐enhancement across cultures was similar for communion but different for agency. In Study 2, people across culture reported being more troubled and demonstrated a greater desire to repair their reputation when they imagined others perceived them as lacking in communion compared with agency. These findings support the idea that social life pressures people to view themselves as possessing communion traits and to ensure that others have this perception as well. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinctions among agency, communion, and unmitigated agency and communion according to the interpersonal circumplex, Five-factor model, and social-emotional correlates

In this study, we examined common measures of agency (AG), communion (CM), and unmitigated agency (UA) and unmitigated communion (UC) using the interpersonal circumplex and Five-factor models (FFM) as conceptual frameworks. AG aligned with interpersonal dominance in circumplex space and related positively to conscientiousness and inversely to neuroticism. CM corresponded with interpersonal affiliation and related positively to conscientiousness. UA was consistent with hostile-dominance and related to lower conscientiousness and higher neuroticism. UC related to friendly submission but was not strongly represented in the circumplex and did not relate to the FFM. Each construct showed distinct social-emotional correlates. These findings support the convergent and divergent properties of the constructs but suggest that additional attention to the conceptual definition and measurement of UC is warranted.     

The development of moral motivation across the adult lifespan

What explains the behaviour of moral exemplars, individuals who dedicate themselves, in long-term service, to others' betterment? Such exemplars actualize their self-interest (agency) by promoting the interests of others (communion), whereas most people engage agency to attain more agency. In two studies we determine how these profiles develop across adulthood. Young adult exemplars and matched comparison participants described their personal goals and completed a semi-structured interview. Agentic and communal motives were coded from these materials and compared to the motivational profiles of older exemplars and comparisons. We found that (a) young adults actively separated their agency from their communion (suggesting a heightened motivational tension during this developmental period), and (b) younger exemplars used their agency to further agency and communion equally, whereas younger comparisons used their agency to further more agency. These findings explicate the nature of moral motivational development across the adult lifespan.     

Unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion: An analysis of the negative components of masculinity and femininity

The negative components of masculinity and femininity, conceptualized by Spence and her colleagues (1979) as unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion, were explored by examining dominant and submissive acts used in their expression. In three separate sessions, subjects (N=129) completed scales designed to measure these constructs, a Dominance Act Report, and a Submissiveness Act Report. Dominant acts used in the expression of unmitigated agency involved the formation of separations (e.g., making decisions without consulting the others involved in them), narcissistic self-assertion (e.g., telling others to perform one's menial tasks), and self-protection (e.g., bluffing one's way out of an embarrassing situation). Submissive acts used in the expression of unmitigated communion involved failing to make normatively appropriate agentic responses (e.g., walking out of a store knowing that one had been short-changed) and subjugating personal desires to group wishes (e.g., giving up vacation plans in deference to the preferences of others). Discussion focuses on elaborating the concepts of unmitigated agency and unmitigated communion.     

The darker side of accommodating others: Examining the interpersonal structure of maladaptive constructs

To better understand the greater prevalence of depression among women, compared to men, we explored the darker side of accommodating others by examining where maladaptive relational constructs fit within a general structural framework provided by the interpersonal circumplex and 5-factor model of personality. Participants were four samples of undergraduate students (Ns = 302–2070) who completed questionnaires. Results indicated two clusters of maladaptive items: Submission with Connection and Submission without Connection. In general, the most maladaptive relational constructs were concentrated in the first cluster and were located in the low agency, low communion region of the interpersonal circumplex.