Assessment of interpersonal negotiation strategies in youth engaged in problem behaviors.

Explored relations among developmental levels and styles of interpersonal negotiation strategies (INS) and competence in social problem-solving skills (SPS-skills). Also assessed relations among levels and styles of INS and self-reported engagement in problem behaviors, including hard and soft drug use, delinquent acts, official criminal status, running away, and unprotected sexual activity. For both males and females (M age?=?16.7 years), a moderate positive correlation was found between level of INS and SPS-skills. Older males with lower INS scores who used a more other-transforming (assertive) style reported greater involvement in problem behaviors. For females, no significant relations between levels and styles of INS and involvement in problem behaviors were found. Advantages of a developmental model for the evaluation of deficits and changes in interpersonal negotiation strategies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing the interpersonal transaction cycle: Convergence of action and reaction interpersonal circumplex measures.

Contemporary interpersonal theory uses 2 models to represent the process and content of interpersonal transactions. The interpersonal transaction cycle is a dynamic model demonstrating the interaction between the overt behaviors and the covert intrapsychic experiences of 2 interacting individuals in action-reaction event chains. The interpersonal circle is a static model codifying individual differences across various interpersonal content domains (e.g., traits, acts, problems, impacts). The present study used 150 pairs of undergraduates to demonstrate cross-observer structural convergence of 2 separate interpersonal circumplex inventories measuring the "action" and "reaction" components of the transaction cycle, providing evidence that both components of the cycle can be captured by existing circumplex measures, and allowing researchers to proceed on to more comprehensive tests of interpersonal theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal complementarity: Integrating interpersonal measurement with interpersonal models.

Research on interpersonal complementarity has been beset by various methodological problems, including the lack of a consistent and theoretically coherent measurement approach for quantifying and statistically evaluating effects. The purpose of this article is to propose and demonstrate such a method, one that is integrative with interpersonal circumplex models of behavior and that also provides a means for establishing statistical significance levels in relation to an appropriate base-rate model. Two demonstrations of the method are reported. The first study involves an analysis of mother-self relationship data and is based on L. S. Benjamin's (1994) Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) system; the second study, which is based on the Interpersonal Circle Model (IPC), is a reanalysis of peer interaction data originally presented by S. R. Strong et al. (1988). The results were supportive of theoretical predictions for both the SASB and IPC models. The present method has advantages for testing and refining theory and, with its tie to the circumplex model, makes salient several problematic issues for complementarity research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Relationship Closeness Inventory: Assessing the closeness of interpersonal relationships.

Describes the development of the Relationship Closeness Inventory (RCI), which draws on the conceptualization of closeness as high interdependence between two people's activities proposed by Kelley et al. (1983). The current "closest" relationship of individuals (N?=?241) drawn from the college student population served as the basis for RCI development, with the closest relationship found to encompass several relationship types, including romantic, friend, and family relationships. The development and psychometric properties of the three RCI subscales (Frequency, Diversity, Strength), their scoring, and their combination to form an overall index of closeness are described. The RCI's test–retest reliability is reported and the association between RCI score and the longevity of the relationship is discussed. RCI scores for individuals' closest relationships are contrasted to those of not-close relationships, to a subjective closeness index, and to several measures of relationship affect, including Rubin's (1973) Liking and Loving scales. Finally, the ability of the RCI to predict relationship break up is contrasted to that of the Subjective Closeness Index, an index of the emotional tone of the relationship, and to relationship longevity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and existential therapies: Toward an integration.

Cognitive and existential therapies are typically viewed as so diverse in their assumptions as to be largely incompatible, representing opposite ends of the psychotherapeutic spectrum. The purpose of this article is to show how a merging of these therapies may contribute to a greater range of options for therapists. The authors attempt to show the surprisingly wide number of connections between these two schools. Comparisons and suggestions are made in the areas of the therapeutic relationship, interpersonal and environmental factors, sociotropy and autonomy, and meaning-making. Existential therapy is especially helpful in understanding the formation and identification of ontological core schemas, and an extensive list of these is provided. A case example involving a 32-yr-old female client with depression is provided that illustrates the integration of these two approaches. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The triangle of interpersonal models.

This article develops a framework for social psychology, the triangle of interpersonal models (TIM). TIM is a 2-dimensional classification scheme for the impact of people on social-psychological phenomena. TIM classifies a social-psychological phenomenon by the number of people who contribute to the phenomenon and the number of distinct social-psychological functions that those people serve. TIM includes models for phenomena that involve 1 person, 2 people, 3 people, and p people. In those phenomena, people serve 1, 2, 3, or f distinct social-psychological functions. TIM decomposes complex phenomena into components that reflect different levels of interpersonal causation. It brings rigor to holistic conceptions of social psychology and offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between the individual and the group. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dysphoria and social interaction: An integration of behavioral confirmation and interpersonal perspectives.

To investigate the process by which dysphoric persons are rejected by others, the authors integrated behavioral confirmation and interpersonal theories of depression. The expectations of nondysphoric perceiver participants (college students) were manipulated, such that half expected to interact with a same-sex dysphoric target and half expected to interact with a same-sex nondysphoric target. The targets' actual mood status was consistent or inconsistent with these expectations. Pre- and postinteraction impressions, as well as postinteraction acceptance of partners, were solicited from perceivers and targets (N=240). Audiotaped verbal behaviors were coded during the 1st and last 3 min of the interactions. Acceptance of targets and verbal behaviors were an interactive function of perceivers' expectancies and targets' mood status, such that dysphoric targets who were expected to be nondysphoric were the least accepted group and had the most dysfunctional interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a concept of personality integration.

A central idea in thinking about effective behavior is "organismic integration" which suggests an inclusive phenomenon and suggests also "some form of interaction which takes place among subsystems of the organism—more specifically, an interaction which is adaptive or self-enhancing." Personality integration "is a many vectored thing, that is defined by events which go on within a variety of specific behavioral planes within the organism." Systems are grouped "on a continuum ranging from microcosmic to macrocosmic, or from molecular to molar, or even from the inside of the organism out… . The model covers events from a single heartbeat to the behavior of peoples… . The variables tentatively identified as relevant to personality integration include stability, high environmental contact, high internal communication, and affective complexity." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a more rigorous definition of social reinforcement: Some interpersonal clarifications.

Some researchers define social reinforcers procedurally (i.e., a priori), thereby ignoring Skinner's (1953) admonition to define reinforcers emprirically. The present study compared "popular" and "interpersonal" concepts of reinforcement under conditions in which the 2 concepts imply different reinforcers. Confederates responded to hostile-dominant statements by 20 8–14 yr old boys with either friendly-submissive (popular) or hostile-submissive (complementary) statements. Results suggest that behavioral complementarity may be applied to predict both social reinforcers and "antidotes" and support the existence of coplementary behavioral relationships. Simply equating social reinforcement with friendly behavioral consequences is inadequate to explain the spectrum of behaviors found to be reinforcing. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring self-critical and interpersonal preoccupations in an adolescent inpatient sample.

The validity of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire—Adolescent version (DEQ–A, S. Blatt et al., 1992) in an inpatient sample (N?=?823; 414 girls) was examined. Specific hypotheses addressed the distinctiveness, concurrent validity, state vs trait properties, and predictive validity of the Interpersonal and Self-Criticism scales. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed that observed responses to a subset of items (the most discriminating of the 2 scales in the original solution) better fit a model positing separate Interpersonal and Self-Criticism factors, than one positing 1 Dysphoric Concerns factor. Cross-sectional analyses relating unit-weight Interpersonal and Self-Critical scales, developed from the CFA results, to Personality and Depressive Symptom factors supported the scales' concurrent validity. Also, analyses using data from 92 patients collected at 2 or 3 times during the hospital stay showed that the underlying constructs assessed by these scales have both state and trait properties and that antecedent measures of self-criticism can predict later measures of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A classification of controlled interpersonal affect regulation strategies.

Controlled interpersonal affect regulation refers to the deliberate regulation of someone else’s affect. Building on existing research concerning this everyday process, the authors describe the development of a theoretical classification scheme that distinguishes between the types of strategy used to achieve interpersonal affect regulation. To test the theoretical classification, the authors generated a corpus of 378 distinct strategies using self-report questionnaires and diaries completed by student and working samples. Twenty participants then performed a card-sort of the strategies. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to determine how well the theoretical classification represented spontaneous understandings of controlled interpersonal affect regulation. The final classification primarily distinguished between strategies used to improve versus those used to worsen others’ affect, and between strategies that engaged the target in a situation or affective state versus relationship-oriented strategies. The classification provides a meaningful basis for organizing existing research and making future conceptual and empirical distinctions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dependency conflicts in high-achieving women: Toward an integration.

Explores the dependency conflicts experienced by women who are in professional training in medicine and other biological sciences. As they become involved in psychotherapy, these high-achieving women find themselves caught in a struggle between their wish to be self-sufficient and to be help givers and their wish to have their needs for affection and nurturance met. Despite their excellent academic performance, they feel inadequate, lonely, and unable to succeed in establishing intimate relationships. Psychotherapy focuses on resolving the dependency conflicts through (1) increased awareness and acceptance of dependency needs, (2) gradual relinquishment of those wishes that are unattainable, and (3) development of an identity in which closeness, support, and emotional expression are better integrated with the needs for striving and self-sufficiency that have dominated the woman's life since childhood. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership research and theory: A functional integration.

This historical overview of leadership theory and research with an eye for commonalities provides an opportunity for integration. Early unproductive research focused on personality traits and behaviors. A recognition of the more complex nature of the phenomenon resulted in the development of contingency theories that examined leader characteristics and behavior in the context of situational parameters. The 1970s brought an awareness that perceptions of leaders by followers and others, and perceptions of followers by leaders, were influenced by cognitive biases arising from prior expectations and information-processing schema. Ironically, attention was belatedly drawn to the study of female leaders, who were often the victim of cognitive biases and negative assumptions. Recent research has reflected on the role of cultural differences in leadership processes and has been drawn again into the search for outstanding leaders with universally effective characteristics. The article concludes with an integration of current knowledge in leadership effectiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multilevel structural validation of Leary's interpersonal diagnosis system.

Interpersonal Check List (ICL) ratings and TAT protocols were obtained from 150 university sorority women, constituting 14 groups who rated themselves, rated 5 others within their group, and were rated by 5 others within their group. Independent factor analyses of self-rating (Level II ICL), public impact (Level I ICL), and TAT (Level III) octant scores were rotated to maximum similarity. Three roughly orthogonal factors, 2 bipolar and 1 monopolar, were extracted at each level. Factor loading plots of Factors I and II (the bipolar factors) yielded a circular array roughly conforming to T. Leary's (1957) circumplex model at Level I ICL, Level II ICL, and the "best-fit" matrix, but not at Level III TAT. Factors I, II, and III were congruent across Levels I and II ICL, whereas only Factors I and II matched all 3 levels. Support for the Leary model was fairly strong for Levels I and II ICL and modest for Level III TAT. Cross-level octant correlations were significant but modest across Levels I and II ICL. All such correlations involving Level III TAT were insignificant. Although generally similar dimensions were measured at different levels, octant scores were not necessarily interchangeable across levels. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach.

We developed a multidimensional coping inventory to assess the different ways in which people respond to stress. Five scales (of four items each) measure conceptually distinct aspects of problem-focused coping (active coping, planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, seeking of instrumental social support); five scales measure aspects of what might be viewed as emotion-focused coping (seeking of emotional social support, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, denial, turning to religion); and three scales measuring coping responses that arguably are less useful (focus on and venting of emotions, behavioral disengagement, mental disengagement). Study 1 reports the development of scale items. Study 2 reports correlations between the various coping scales and several theoretically relevant personality measures in an effort to provide preliminary information about the inventory's convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 uses the inventory to assess coping responses among a group of undergraduates who were attempting to cope with a specific stressful episode. This study also allowed an initial examination of associations between dispositional and situational coping tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social contract and social integration in adolescent development.

Administered a questionnaire to 89 Ss from 2 high schools during the spring of their sophomore and senior years, when their mean ages were 16 yrs 1 mo and 18 yrs 1 mo, respectively. Composites measured social contract with independence; implicit social contract, societal norms, and expectations; and explicit social contracts and rules. Composites and single items measured social integration with role commitment, accepting the belief in the American dream that hard work leads to social success, belief that hard work produces personal satisfaction and success, perceptions of being treated unfairly, self-blame, and feelings of hopelessness. Results of the cross-lagged panel correlations generally support the hypothesis that students respond to implicit social contracts through role commitment, which is further expressed by a belief in the American dream for social fulfillment, while responding to the perception of explicit social contrasts by not believing in the benefits of the American dream for personal fulfillment. Results support the theory of moral development held by R. A. Dienstbier et al (see record 1981-29601-001). (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supplication and appeasement in conflict and negotiation: The interpersonal effects of disappointment, worry, guilt, and regret.

This study examined the social effects of emotions related to supplication and appeasement in conflict and negotiation. In a computer-simulated negotiation, participants in Experiment 1 were confronted with a disappointed or worried opponent (supplication), with a guilty or regretful opponent (appeasement), or with a nonemotional opponent (control). Compared with controls, participants conceded more when the other experienced supplication emotions and conceded less when the other experienced appeasement emotions (especially guilt). Experiment 2 replicated the effects of disappointment and guilt and showed that they are moderated by the perceiver's dispositional trust: Negotiators high in trust conceded more to a disappointed counterpart than to a happy one, but those with low trust were unaffected. In Experiment 3, trust was manipulated through information about the other's personality (cooperative vs. competitive), and a similar moderation was obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an integration of independent practice and clinical research.

For some time there has been tremendous debate about the viability of integrating clinical and scientific endeavors in the practice of clinical psychology. It is argued that clinically relevant research strategies are crucial to the process of treatment evaluation and therapist accountability and therefore are of great importance to clinicians. Furthermore, the clinical expertise of the independent practice sector is acknowledged as a valuable resource that will likely be more fully appreciated with greater practitioner involvement in various research-related activities. To this end, a number of ways in which independent practitioners may incorporate research activities in their clinical efforts are outlined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)