Gender-related individual differences and the structure of vocational interests: The importance of the people–things dimension.

In 3 studies (respective Ns?=?289, 394, and 1,678), males and females were assessed on Big Five traits, masculine instrumentality (M), feminine expressiveness (F), gender diagnosticity (GD), and RIASEC (Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional) vocational interest scales. Factor analyses of RIASEC scores consistently showed evidence for D. J. Prediger's (1982) People–Things and Ideas–Data dimensions, and participants' factor scores on these dimensions were computed. In all studies Big Five Openness was related to Ideas–Data but not to People–Things. Gender was strongly related to People–Things but not to Ideas–Data. Within each sex, GD correlated strongly with People–Things but not with Ideas–Data. M, F, and Big Five measures other than Openness tended not to correlate strongly with RIASEC scales or dimensions. The results suggest that gender and gender-related individual differences within the sexes are strongly linked to the People–Things dimension of vocational interests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Refining a descriptive structure of personality attributes in the Italian language: The abridged Big Three circumplex structure.

Factor structure and circumplex approaches were integrated to develop a refined structure of personality attributes in Italian. In Study 1, the factor analytic approach was applied on the data set. The 3-factor solution, resembling the Big Three, was the most stable among others; the Big Five were not replicated. In Study 2, it was verified that differences in language and culture were relevant for the failure of the Big Five in Italian. In Study 3, the 3-factor solution was developed into 3 circumplexes, thus generating the abridged Big Three circumplex (AB3C) structure. Each 2-factor space had circumplex properties. In Study 4, the AB3C structure was shown to account for relevant proportions of variance in most of the scales of 4 well-established measures of personality. Findings indicate that the AB3C structure provides a parsimonious representation of the conceptual organization of most of the personality attributes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Representation of personality disorders in circumplex and five-factor space: Explorations with a clinical sample.

Examined the relationship between Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R) personality disorders and the interpersonal circumplex and Big Five models of personality traits. 102 consecutive referrals for group therapy for personality disorders were evaluated using the Personality Disorder Examination (PDE) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II) personality-disorder scales. Their placement in circumplex space was assessed using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales, whereas their standing on the Big Five traits was measured with the 50-Bipolar Self-Rating Scales (50-BSRS). The authors found that many disorders could be meaningfully located in circumplex space, whereas the use of the Big Five model led to even better placement for several disorders. Further examination of the residuals from the PDE, after the 50-BSRS scales were partialed out, indicated that the remaining common variance could also be understood in terms of the Big Five model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex differences in interpersonal problems: A circumplex analysis.

The structure and magnitude of sex differences in interpersonal problems across several data sets were examined, guided by the interpersonal circumplex model and the structural summary method. Data were self-reported interpersonal difficulties, assessed with the 64-item version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, S. E. Rosenberg, B. A. Baer, G. Ure?o, & V. S. Villase?or, 1988). In Study 1, the authors focused on sex differences at the level of specific interpersonal complaints (item level). In Study 2, the authors examined sex differences in octant scores of the IIP circumplex (scale level), in a reanalysis of archival data. The structural summary method was used to identify points of maximum difference between men and women in the interpersonal continuum and to estimate effect sizes. Results from the 2 studies converged in suggesting a dimension of difference involving problems in Hostile-Dominance vs. Friendly-Submission. The magnitude of effect size was consistent with previous reports in the personality literature. These sex differences appeared to be best explained by a one-dimensional model. Findings were generally consistent across 3 different types of samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Benchmarks: Integrating affective and interpersonal circles with the Big-Five personality factors.

Previous research on the Big Five personality factors has not accounted for trait variables interstitial to the factor poles. To better integrate interstitial variables with the Big Five and to provide a framework for reconciling variant versions of the 5 factors, 636 self- and peer ratings using a set of 394 trait adjectives were analyzed. Pairings of 3 factors (I, II, and IV) showed a markedly large incidence of interstitial variables. These 3 factors, referencing affective and interpersonal traits, formed a 3-dimensional space. Adjective clusters defining both factor-univocal and interstitial benchmark positions in this space were developed. The 3 circles defined by the clusters showed appropriate circumplex characteristics when examined in an independent sample of 205 peer ratings. Two of these circles corresponded to the affective and interpersonal circles defined by personality research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature and structure of correlations among Big Five ratings: The halo-alpha-beta model.

In light of consistently observed correlations among Big Five ratings, the authors developed and tested a model that combined E. L. Thorndike’s (1920) general evaluative bias (halo) model and J. M. Digman’s (1997) higher order personality factors (alpha and beta) model. With 4 multitrait–multimethod analyses, Study 1 revealed moderate convergent validity for alpha and beta across raters, whereas halo was mainly a unique factor for each rater. In Study 2, the authors showed that the halo factor was highly correlated with a validated measure of evaluative biases in self-ratings. Study 3 showed that halo is more strongly correlated with self-ratings of self-esteem than self-ratings of the Big Five, which suggests that halo is not a mere rating bias but actually reflects overly positive self-evaluations. Finally, Study 4 demonstrated that the halo bias in Big Five ratings is stable over short retest intervals. Taken together, the results suggest that the halo-alpa-beta model integrates the main findings in structural analyses of Big Five correlations. Accordingly, halo bias in self-ratings is a reliable and stable bias in individuals’ perceptions of their own attributes. Implications of the present findings for the assessment of Big Five personality traits in monomethod studies are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extension of the Interpersonal Adjective Scales to include the Big Five dimensions of personality.

Recent recognition that the dominance and nurturance dimensions of the interpersonal circumplex correspond closely to the surgency/extraversion and agreeableness dimensions of the five-factor model of personality provides an occasion for the closer integration of these two traditions. We describe the procedures whereby we extended our adjectival measure of the circumplex Revised Interpersonal Adjective Scales (IAS-R) to include the additional Big Five dimensions of conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. The resultant five-scale instrument (IASR-B5) was found to have excellent structure on the item level, internally consistent scales, and promising convergent and discriminant properties when compared with the NEO Personality Inventory and the Hogan Personality Inventory. The unique feature of the IASR-B5 is that it provides a highly efficient instrument for combined circumplex and five-factor assessment. We provide an example of such combined assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Integration of the Big Five and circumplex approaches to trait structure.

To integrate the 5-dimensional simple-structure and circumplex models of personality, the Abridged Big Five Dimensional Circumplex (AB5C) taxonomy of personality traits was developed, consisting of the 10 circumplexes that can be formed by pitting each of the Big Five factors against one another. The model maps facets of the Big Five dimensions as blends of 2 factors. An application to data consisting of 636 self-ratings and peer ratings on 540 personality trait adjectives yielded 34 well-defined facets out of a possible 45. The AB5C solution is compared with simple-structure and lower dimensional circumplex solutions, and its integrative and corrective potential are discussed, as well as its limitations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating the circumplexity of interpersonal traits and the manifestation of interpersonal traits in interpersonal trust.

Two studies assessed the goodness of fit of ideal, quasi-, and noncircumplex models of interpersonal traits. Study 1 (N?=?132) represents a secondary data analysis using J.S. Wiggins's (1979) original Interpersonal Adjectives Scales (IAS) and reported by J.S. Wiggins, J.H. Steiger, and L. Gaelick (1981). Study 2 (N?=?401) represents a primary data analysis using Wiggins's revised IAS (J.S. Wiggins, P. Trapnell, & N. Phillips, 1988). Results of both studies indicated that a quasi-circumplex model provided a better fit to the correlational data than did either ideal or noncircumplex models. Also, in Study 2, results for a subsample (n?=?113) indicated that an ideal circumplex model yielded a significant positive path coefficient from Nurturance to interpersonal trust (J.K. Rempel, J.G. Holmes, & M.P. Zanna, 1985) but not from Dominance to interpersonal trust, whereas a quasi-circumplex model yielded significant positive paths from both Dominance and Nurturance to interpersonal trust. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Circumplex structure and personality disorder correlates of the Interpersonal Problems Model (IIP-C): Construct validity and clinical implications.

This study assessed the construct validity of the circumplex model of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-C) in Norwegian clinical and nonclinical samples. Structure was examined by evaluating the fit of the circumplex model to data obtained by the IIP-C. Observer-rated personality disorder criteria (DSM-IV, Axis II) were used as external correlates. The reliability of the IIP-C scales was acceptable and in the same range as in the original version. A multisample analysis strategy did not support an invariant circumplex model across the 2 groups. However, the estimated structures reflected mostly the same circular pattern of a quasi-circumplex model in the 2 groups. Departures from the ideal model were of negligible practical significance. The validity results examining personality disorder correlates of the IIP-C generally conformed to predictions, providing direct evidence for agreement between self-report and expert judgments of interpersonal problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rating scales for measuring the interpersonal circle in forensic psychiatric patients.

Two studies are reported on nurses' assessments of interpersonal style in hospitalized male forensic psychiatric patients. In Study 1, interpersonal behaviors were rated on a Chart of Interpersonal Reactions in Closed Living Environments (CIRCLE) in a derivation sample (n?=?210) and a replication sample (n?=?102). Rating items generated a circular arrangement within both samples consistent with recent conceptualizations of the Leary interpersonal circle (T. Leary, 1957), and scales constructed to measure the octants of the circle demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties. Study 2 showed that the 8 scales met the geometric requirements of a circumplex in the same 2 samples. As measures of dysfunctional interpersonal style, CIRCLE scales may have some utility in treatment planning, risk assessment, and the evaluation of personality disorders in inpatient populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal problems and the psychotherapy context: The construct validity of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems.

This research investigated the construct validity of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; L. M. Horowitz, S. E. Rosenberg, B. A. Baer, G. Ure?o, & V. S. Villase?or, 1988) in the context of psychodynamic psychotherapy. The interpersonal circumplex was used to categorize patients reporting interpersonal distress into 1 of 4 problem quadrants: Friendly Dominant, Hostile Dominant, Hostile Submissive, and Friendly Submissive. At several points in treatment, therapists assessed their patients' personality disturbances, global functioning, and assets and liabilities for therapy. Patients described their in-session experiences using the Therapy Session Report (D. E. Orlinsky & K. I. Howard, 1975). The 4 problem types each had a coherent and distinctive set of correlates. Patients' interpersonal problems were articulated in therapists' perceptions and evaluations, and in the kinds of interpersonal and intrapsychic themes (wants, hopes, feelings, behaviors, etc.) that characterized patients' retrospective accounts of the therapy sessions. The results add to knowledge about the IIP, interpersonal problems, and the psychotherapy context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Eyelid movements and mental activity at sleep onset

Interpersonal problems are frequently a source of distress for individuals and the focus of psychotherapeutic interventions. A self-report circumplex measure, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex (IIP-C), was modified for this investigation to acquire peer report data on interpersonal problems to help assess the validity of self-reported problems. The peer report data replicated the circumplex model of the IIP-C and when general interpersonal distress was removed (by ipsatizing), the data suggested that peers observed more domineering, vindictive, and emotionally cold types of problems than self-report (ipsatized) data. Individuals reported more other-pleasing, overly nurturant types of problems than peers observed. The findings both support the validity of the IIP-C and describe discrepancies in self- versus peer reported interpersonal problems. The results also describe differences in the general interpersonal distress factor accounted for by ipsatizing versus removing the general factor from unipsatized data. The results describe implications for clinicians and others assessing interpersonal problems.     

The Mini-IPIP Scales: Tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five Factors of Personality.

The Mini-IPIP, a 20-item short form of the 50-item International Personality Item Pool-Five-Factor Model measure (Goldberg, 1999), was developed and validated across five studies. The Mini-IPIP scales, with four items per Big Five trait, had consistent and acceptable internal consistencies across five studies (= at or well above .60), similar coverage of facets as other broad Big Five measures (Study 2), and test-retest correlations that were quite similar to the parent measure across intervals of a few weeks (Study 4) and several months (Study 5). Moreover, the Mini-IPIP scales showed a comparable pattern of convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity (Studies 2-5) with other Big Five measures. Collectively, these results indicate that the Mini-IPIP is a psychometrically acceptable and practically useful short measure of the Big Five factors of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment, group attraction and self-other agreement in interpersonal circumplex problems and perceptions of group members.

Graduate students (N=76) fulfilling a class requirement for interpersonal group participation completed measures of interpersonal problems and adult attachment at pretest. At the midpoint and at termination they completed measures of interpersonal problems and group attraction and provided interpersonal circumplex ratings of each fellow group member. As predicted, selected attachment insecurities were significantly correlated with interpersonal problems and group attraction. Attachment anxiety and avoidance, also as hypothesized, were associated with discrepancies in self-other perceptions. Whereas members with attachment avoidance tended to overestimate hostile and hostile-submissive problems, members with attachment anxiety were likely to overestimate interpersonal problems in the "friendly" half of the circumplex. Implications for the conceptualization of attachment-based distortions and interpersonal learning in group therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filipino personality structure and the big five model: a lexical approach

In lexically based studies, we derived Filipino personality dimensions and related them to the Big Five model. In Study 1, Filipino high-school and college students (N = 629) rated themselves on a near-comprehensive list of 861 Filipino (Tagalog) trait adjectives. In Study 2, Filipino high-school and college students (N = 1,531) rated 280 markers of dimensions identified in Study 1. Some students (n = 473) also completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Seven comparable Filipino dimensions were identified in factor analyses in the two studies. We concluded that the dimensions we labeled Concern for Others (vs. Egotism), Conscientiousness, Gregariousness, and Intellect were quite similar to Big Five Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Intellect, respectively. The Filipino Self-Assurance dimension was most similar to Big Five Neuroticism. The Filipino Temperamentalness dimension was more complex in Big Five terms, overlapping Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism. A final Filipino factor resembled a Negative Valence or Infrequency dimension. More than five factors had to be extracted to obtain Philippine dimensions resembling all of the Big Five.     

Development and validation of a measure of interpersonal strengths: The Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths.

An Inventory of Interpersonal Strengths (IIS) was developed and validated in a series of large college student samples. Based on interpersonal theory and associated methods, the IIS was designed to assess positive characteristics representing the full range of interpersonal domains, including those generally thought to have negative qualities (e.g., introversion, coldness, submissiveness). The 8 subscales (octants) of the 64-item IIS demonstrated good circumplex features and reliability. Tests comparing Big 5 interpersonal factors, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), Battery of Interpersonal Capabilities (BIC), and other interpersonal measures demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity and shared interpersonal structure. The IIS accounted for significant additional variance in life satisfaction and quality of personal relationships beyond the IIP and the BIC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Los Cinco Grandes across cultures and ethnic groups: Multitrait-multimethod analyses of the Big Five in Spanish and English.

Spanish-language measures of the Big Five personality dimensions are needed for research on Hispanic minority populations. Three studies were conducted to evaluate a Spanish version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) (0. R John et al., 1991) and explore the generalizability of the Big Five factor structure in Latin cultural groups. In Study 1, a cross-cultural design was used to compare the Spanish and English BFI in college students from Spain and the United States, to assess factor congruence across languages, and to test convergence with indigenous Spanish Big Five markers. In Study 2, a bilingual design was used to compare the Spanish and English BFI in a college-educated sample of bilingual Hispanics and to test convergent and discriminant validity across the two languages as well as with the NEO Five Factor Inventory in both English and Spanish. Study 3 replicated the BFI findings from Study 2 in a working-class Hispanic bilingual sample. Results show that (a) the Spanish BFI may serve as an efficient, reliable, and factorially valid measure of the Big Five for research on Spanish-speaking individuals and (b) there is little evidence for substantial cultural differences in personality structure at the broad level of abstraction represented by the Big Five dimensions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Marital Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III: Is the relation with marital adjustment linear or curvilinear?

A central postulate of the circumplex model is that moderate amounts of cohesion and adaptability are optimal for couple and family functioning; extremes are hypothesized to be detrimental. Previous family research, however, indicates that cohesion and adaptability are linearly, not curvilinearly, related to family functioning. The authors hypothesized that, among couples living in Canada (Study 1) and expatriate couples living in Nepal (Study 2), there would be linear relations between marital adjustment and both adaptability and cohesion. Participants (Study 1 N?=?209; Study 2 N?=?187) completed the Marital Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Polynomial trend analyses confirmed that adaptability and cohesion were linearly related to marital adjustment in both samples; in contrast, analyses that were based on marital satisfaction data from Study 1 were supportive of the curvilinear hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Too Proud to Let Go: Narcissistic Entitlement as a Barrier to Forgiveness.

Narcissistic entitlement impedes forgiveness in ways not captured by other robust predictors (e.g., offense severity, apology, relationship closeness, religiosity, Big Five personality factors), as demonstrated in 6 studies. Narcissistic entitlement involves expectations of special treatment and preoccupation with defending one's rights. In Study 1, entitlement predicted less forgiveness and greater insistence on repayment for a past offense. Complementary results emerged from Study 2, which used hypothetical transgressions, and Study 3, which assessed broad forgiveness dispositions. Study 4 examined associations with the Big Five, and Study 5 extended the findings to a laboratory context. Study 6 demonstrated that entitlement predicted diminished increases in forgiveness over time. Taken together, these results suggest that narcissistic entitlement is a robust, distinct predictor of unforgiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)