The interpersonal circumplex as a model of interpersonal capabilities

In this study, we sought to challenge the existing conceptualization of interpersonal capabilities as a distinct construct from interpersonal traits by explicitly taking into account the general factor inherent within most models of circumplexes. A sample of 206 college students completed a battery of measures including the Battery of Interpersonal Capabilities (BIC; Paulhus & Martin, 1987). Principal components analysis and the randomization test of hypothesized order relations demonstrated that contrary to previous findings, the BIC adhered to a circular ordering. Joint analysis of the BIC with the Interpersonal Adjective Scale (Wiggins, 1995) using principal components analysis and structural equation modeling demonstrated that the 2 measures represented similar constructs. Furthermore, the general factor in the BIC was not correlated with measures of general self-competence, satisfaction with life, or general pathology.     

The circumplex structure of interpersonal sensitivities

Previous research on aversive interpersonal behavior has provided limited links between interpersonal sensitivities and comprehensive models of personality and social behavior. Study 1 (N = 1,336) of this article demonstrated that interpersonal sensitivities can be mapped onto the interpersonal circumplex and that people generally find others' behavior that is least similar to their own generally most aversive. In Study 2 (N = 299), a broader array of correlates with interpersonal sensitivities was investigated, and results again suggested that interpersonal opposites are generally perceived as most aversive. Study 3 (N = 315) specified romantic, platonic, or nonclose relationships and again found this pattern. Conceptualizing sensitivities with the interpersonal circumplex model permits investigators to distinguish general from specific kinds of sensitivity, allows for tests of the convergent and discriminant validity of interpersonal sensitivities, and integrates sensitivities into a well-established nomological net composed of multiple constructs relevant to social behavior and interpersonal dysfunction.     

Validity of the PAI interpersonal scales for measuring the dimensions of the interpersonal circumplex

Two studies evaluated the validity of the interpersonal scales, Dominance (DOM) and Warmth (WRM), from the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007) to measure the 2 dimensions of the interpersonal circumplex (IPC). In Study 1, 114 college freshmen completed the PAI and the Interpersonal Adjectives Scale (IAS; Wiggins, 1995). In Study 2, 170 college students completed the PAI and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Short Circumplex (IIP-SC; Soldz, Budman, Demby, & Merry, 1995). The results of both studies supported the convergent validity of DOM and WRM, although discriminant validity was stronger using the IIP-SC as the criterion. Circumplex projections placed DOM and WRM in the appropriate segments of both the IAS and IIP-SC. These findings provide additional support for the validity of the PAI interpersonal scales as measures of the primary dimensions of the IPC.     

Behavioural responses to facial and postural expressions of emotion: An interpersonal circumplex approach

While the recognition of emotional expressions has been extensively studied, the behavioural response to these expressions has not. In the interpersonal circumplex, behaviour is defined in terms of communion and agency. In this study, we examined behavioural responses to both facial and postural expressions of emotion. We presented 101 Romanian students with facial and postural stimuli involving individuals (‘targets’) expressing happiness, sadness, anger, or fear. Using an interpersonal grid, participants simultaneously indicated how communal (i.e., quarrelsome or agreeable) and agentic (i.e., dominant or submissive) they would be towards people displaying these expressions. Participants were agreeable‐dominant towards targets showing happy facial expressions and primarily quarrelsome towards targets with angry or fearful facial expressions. Responses to targets showing sad facial expressions were neutral on both dimensions of interpersonal behaviour. Postural versus facial expressions of happiness and anger elicited similar behavioural responses. Participants responded in a quarrelsome‐submissive way to fearful postural expressions and in an agreeable way to sad postural expressions. Behavioural responses to the various facial expressions were largely comparable to those previously observed in Dutch students. Observed differences may be explained from participants’ cultural background. Responses to the postural expressions largely matched responses to the facial expressions.     

Assessing the interpersonal circumplex model in late childhood: the interpersonal behavior questionnaire for children

The authors developed the Interpersonal Behavior Questionnaire for Children with the aim of assessing the constructs of the interpersonal circumplex model, that is, Dominance and Love and their possible combinations, via third- to fifth-grade children's self- and peer reports. In the three studies presented herein, the authors examined several psychometric properties of the questionnaire. Results demonstrated that children's ratings along the questionnaire yielded the hypothesized circumplex structure of the interpersonal variables; that they reached significant association levels with external criteria; and that they were reliable. Specifically, interrater correlations were shown to reach substantive levels when inspected in older children, when scores were aggregated over raters, and when dominant behaviors were evaluated. Overall, the findings demonstrated the tenability of the circumplex model in young ages via children's ratings. The authors suggest that both personality assessment and personality development research may take advantage from using children's evaluations, in addition to adults' ratings of their children's personality.     

A circumplex model of interpersonal attributes in middle childhood

This article presents evidence for the validity of the circumplex model to represent how parents and teachers organize interpersonal attributes in children. Study 1 showed that the ratings of adults using interpersonal adjectives to describe 4- to 10-year-old children conformed to a circumplex structure. Eight scales-labeled Interpersonal Adjective Scales for Children (IAS-C)-were developed to represent the circular sequence of children's interpersonal attributes, as ordered around the reference axes of Extraversion and Social Appropriateness. The continuum of interpersonal variables substantially corresponded to Schaefer's model for social and emotional behavior, as follows: Warm-Agreeable, Sociable-Cheerful, Exuberant-Dominant, Impulsive-Aggressive, Egocentric-Irritable, Fearful-Insecure, Shy-Silent, and Mild-Placid. Study 2 demonstrated cross-validity for the IAS-C and how they are related to Big Five measures. Study 3 used data from Studies 1 and 2 in a confirmatory approach to test the circumplex IAS-C structure. Findings are discussed in relation to the adult circumplex model and suggest that the child circumplex has distinctive features that must be kept in due consideration when attempting to assess interpersonal qualities in children validly.     

The meaning of autonomy: on and beyond the interpersonal circumplex

Review of existing psychological literature suggests that conceptions of autonomy as an individual difference have taken several forms. Structural analyses of 15 self-report autonomy scales utilizing the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) and the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality as structural referents confirmed the presence of diverse conceptualizations of this construct. Two hundred ninety undergraduate students completed 15 autonomy scales, the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), and the Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS). Factor analysis revealed three unique conceptualizations of autonomy. Each factor was further differentiated from the others by its unique location on the IPC and its distinct relationships with the domains and facets of the NEO-PI-R. Evaluation of these findings within the context of existing autonomy research leads to the conclusion that only two of the three identified factors reflect autonomy. Factor I, Depressogenic Vulnerability, though relatively consistent with its theoretical foundation, lacks the agentic quality one would expect in an autonomy construct. Factors II and III, presently labeled Self-governance and Agentic Separation, respectively, share an agentic core but differ considerably in their interpersonal content. Theoretical and empirical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The structure of interpersonal traits: Wiggins's circumplex and the five-factor model

Using a sample of 315 adult men and women, self-reports on Wiggins's revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales were jointly factored with self-reports, peer ratings, and spouse ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory to examine the relations between the two models. Results suggest that the interpersonal circumplex is defined by the two dimensions of Extraversion and Agreeableness, and that the circular ordering of variables is not an artifact of response biases or cognitive schemata. Circumplex and dimensional models appear to complement each other in describing the structure of personality, and both may be useful to social psychologists in understanding interpersonal behavior.     

An interpersonal circumplex model of children's social goals: links with peer-reported behavior and sociometric status

The objective of the present research was to develop an assessment model for children's social goals. The aims were (a) to fit children's social goals to a circumplex model and to examine links between goals and peer-reported social behaviors (aggression, withdrawal, and prosocial behavior) in a sample of 276 participants (134 girls, 11- to 12-year-olds) and (b) to replicate these findings and examine whether social behavior mediates the relationship between goals and sociometric status in an independent cross-validation sample of 310 participants (143 girls, 11- to 13-year-olds). Results showed a satisfactory fit to the circumplex model and adequate psychometric properties of the goal scales of the new measure, the Interpersonal Goals Inventory for Children. Other findings included significant and meaningful relations between goals and peer-reported behavior. Social behavior mediated the relations between goals and sociometric status.     

An interpersonal analysis of adult attachment style: circumplex descriptions,recoiled developmental experiences,self-representations,and interpersonal functioning in adulthood

Previous research suggests that the structure of adult attachment is dimensional, but the specific dimensions remain unclear. Given its relational nature, studies should examine attachment structure in association with conceptually related interpersonal constructs. The interpersonal model (Kiesler, 1996) provides an integrative framework to examine this structure and associations between dimensions of attachment security (i.e., Anxiety and Avoidance) and: 1) the dimensions of the interpersonal circumplex, 2) the five-factor model of personality, 3) recollections of mothers and fathers, and 4) current self-processes and adult social functioning. In two samples of undergraduates, the Anxiety and Avoidance dimensions were associated with a hostile-submissive interpersonal style. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that dimensions representing combinations of Anxiety and Avoidance, and roughly corresponding to the dimensions from Secure (i.e., low Anxiety and Avoidance) to Fearful (i.e., high Anxiety and Avoidance) attachment and from Preoccupied (i.e., high Anxiety and low Avoidance) to Dismissive (i.e., low Anxiety and high Avoidance) attachment related to the interpersonal constructs. The Secure to Fearful dimension (i.e., overall attachment security) seemed to share relatively more variance with the interpersonal constructs. These dimensions were associated with theoretically consistent characteristics, recollections of early experiences with parents, self-representations, and social functioning.     

Applying the interpersonal circumplex to children's behavior: parent-child interactions and risk behaviors

This article examined the applicability of the interpersonal circumplex (IC) to the observable social behaviors of children during parent-child interactions. In Study 1, the observational ratings of behaviors of 117 children (mean age = 9.88 years) were examined. Randomization tests of hypothesized order relations found that these behaviors tended to occur in the circular pattern predicted by the IC. To illustrate the applicability of the IC to children's behavior, Study 2 (n = 94) used the circular structure of children's behavior to longitudinally examine children's participation in two risk behaviors, smoking cigarettes and consuming alcohol. Results indicated that children who behaved in an arrogant-calculating manner were at risk for smoking cigarettes and children who behaved in an assured-dominate manner were at risk for drinking alcohol 1 year later. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of their relevance for helping researchers better understand and categorize children's interpersonal behaviors.     

Distinguishing narcissism and hostility: similarities and differences in interpersonal circumplex and five-factor correlates

Narcissism and hostility are both characterized by dysfunctional social interactions, including tendencies to perceive slights, experience anger, and behave aggressively. The aim of this study was to examine the similarities and differences of narcissism and hostility, using 2 conceptual tools-the interpersonal circumplex and the Five-factor model. In a sample of 292 undergraduate men and women, composite measures of hostility (i.e., Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire [Buss & Perry, 1992] and Cook-Medley Hostility [Cook & Medley, 1954] total scores) were inversely correlated with affiliation and unrelated to dominance. In contrast, composite narcissism scores (i.e., Narcissistic Personality Inventory) were positively correlated with dominance and inversely correlated with affiliation. Examination of components of these traits revealed additional similarities and differences, as did associations with other dimensions of the Five-factor model. These findings suggest that the traits of narcissism and hostility are distinguishable by their interpersonal referents, as are their components.     

Personality, interpersonal circumplex, and DSM-5: A commentary on five studies

Much of personality is interpersonal, and what is interpersonal can be elegantly organized through the crossing of 2 fundamental dimensions of personality: agency and communion. The interpersonal circumplex has enriched substantially what is known about personality and in particular personality disorder, emphasizing to clinicians the importance of considering maladaptive interpersonal functioning when conducting clinical assessments. The purpose of this article is to provide a commentary on 5 articles concerning the interpersonal perspective on personality assessment. The contributions of these 5 studies are also understood relative to the proposed revisions to the American Psychiatric Association's personality disorder nomenclature, as the proposed revisions will be cutting out half of the interpersonal circumplex from further recognition.     

Conceptions of perfectionism and interpersonal problems: evaluating groups using the structural summary method for circumplex data

This study examined two conceptions of perfectionism in relation to interpersonal problems. Two hundred and seventy-nine undergraduate participants completed the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) and the Dyadic Almost Perfect Scale (DAPS). The authors used empirically derived discriminant functions (APS-R) and cluster analysis (DAPS) to identify three groups for both measures: adaptive and maladaptive perfectionists and nonperfectionists. Analyses of group profiles were performed on the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex (IIP-C) scales using the structural summary method for circumplex data. APS-R and DAPS groups were compared on interpersonal problems endorsement and IIP-C profile characteristics. For both measures, results supported the hypotheses that maladaptive perfectionists would exhibit elevated profiles reflecting hostile-dominant and friendly-submissive interpersonal problems, whereas the adaptive perfectionists would exhibit low profile elevation indicative of interpersonal adjustment. Overall, results supported Slaney and colleagues' (2001) model of perfectionism and provided evidence for the validity of the APS-R and DAPS.     

Factoring the circumplex

This paper presents a way of factoring the Guttman circumplex to get factor weights whose pattern is close to that postulated by Guttman for the circumplex. An empirical example, including a crude procedure for diagonal estimation, is shown. Other sources of nonuniqueness are discussed, and the limitation to odd-numbered complexity for the tests is indicated. An orthodox factor analysis is applied to the example, and this provides a basis for comparison of the two opposing models.