An interpersonal behavior circle
Abstract
The study was designed to test and extend current theory with respect to the basic interpersonal behavior categories. A set of 13 interpersonal interaction categories was hypothesized and an inventory of manifest behaviors constructed. Therapist descriptions of patients in individual psychotherapy and descriptions of normals were collected. The inventory items were correlated, factored, and assembled into 13 scales. 9 of the scales could be arranged into a circular order. Supporting evidence was found in data reported by Stern, by Campbell, and in new data on the Leary check list. Three similar overlapping higher order factors, Dominance, Affiliativeness versus Detachment, and Compliant Abasement, accounted for the correlations in each matrix.