Measurement of interpersonal orientation.

The construct of interpersonal orientation (IO) is proposed as useful for understanding behavior in certain social situations. High IOs are interested in and reactive to other people; low IOs are less interested and responsive to others and more concerned with economic features of relationships. A self-report measure of IO was constructed; questionnaire and interview data generally supported the hypothesized parameters of the construct, with females scoring higher than males and high scorers (regardless of sex) indicating greater interest in and responsiveness to interpersonal features of their environments. Two experiments were conducted to assess the utility of IO in social situations. In Exp I (82 Ss), a factorial combination of sex and IO eliminated a previously demonstrated sex difference in favor of an IO difference: High IOs expressed greater liking than did low IOs for a partner who had self-disclosed to them. In Exp II (56 Ss), males and low IOs whose performance was either superior or inferior to a partner allocated rewards in accordance with equity theory; females and high IOs seemed more concerned with equality than with equity. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consumer dissatisfaction as a function of dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships.

An application of C. P. Alderfer's existence, relatedness, and growth theory (see record 1969-13656-001) investigated whether frustrated relatedness needs result in additional consumer existence needs, which in turn produce consumer dissatisfaction. A study of 306 randomly chosen consumers indicates that a decrease of Ss' ratings of satisfaction in their relations with "significant others" and with people at the place of employment was correlated with an increasing desire for more items of material value in the consumer role. Some correlations reached higher statistical significance when respondents of the lowest income group and those of both the oldest and the youngest age categories were eliminated from the sample. Higher incomes correlated positively with existence need satisfaction. Results support Alderfer's theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership and popularity as a function of behavioral predictions.

Two hypotheses regarding leadership behavior are tested by means of a social prediction test derived from the Rosenzweig P-F test. The leadership hypothesis states that S's who are ranked high in the leadership dimension will be more successful in estimating the predictions made by each group member to a list of test situations than S's ranked low in this dimension. The popularity hypothesis states that leaders who are ranked high on the popularity dimension will be more successful in estimating predictions made on them by group members to a list of test situations than leaders who are ranked low on this dimension. Both hypotheses were confirmed but the design of the experiment precludes generalizations to leaders as a group, claiming only that significant findings existed within the group studied. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preferred interpersonal distance as a function of locus of control orientation in chronic schizophrenics, nonschizophrenic patients, and normals.

Used a new instrument, the Comfortable Interpersonal Distance scale, to reassess the relationship between psychopathology and interpersonal distance. It was predicted that, since schizophrenics are more external than normals and since externality has been shown to be related to greater preferred distance from others, 20 female schizophrenics theoretically should prefer greater distance, in general, from interpersonal stimuli. 20 female nonschizophrenic patients were included as controls for the "externalizing" effects of hospitalization. Results show that schizophrenics were more external than nonschizophrenics, who were more external than 20 normals. Preferred distance from interpersonal stimuli as measured by the Comfortable Interpersonal Distance scale was greatest for schizophrenics and least for normals. Implications for future research and treatment of schizophrenic patients are discussed. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of interpersonal prediction as a function of judge and object characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the accuracy obtained in an interpersonal prediction task is affected by selecting systematically the objects of prediction. 9 social objects were selected, varying on the dimensions of ego control and self-favorableness. 69 Ss viewed sound movies of the behavior of each object in a stress interview and tried to predict his self Q sort of 54 adjectives. The Ss were classified also on the dimension of ego control. Significant variance was found to be associated with ego control of the Ss, and with both ego control and self-favorableness of the social objects. 17 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Test performance as an involuntary function of interpersonal relationships.

The hypothesis that tension aroused by making a new acquaintance might adversely affect test performance is here investigated. Two person teams of subjects are given the Vigotsky Blocks Tests. In the control group, the subjects knew each other before the experiment and knew the experimenter. In the experimental group, the subjects were unacquainted before the experimental session. Analysis of the results shows that the experimental groups took significantly longer to complete the test. Although this result tends to support the hypothesis, several alternate explanations are proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Satisfaction in interpersonal interactions as a function of similarity in level of dysphoria.

This study compared dysphoric and nondysphoric male and female undergraduates as they conversed with dysphoric or nondysphoric undergraduates of the same sex. Subjects rated their satisfaction with the conversation after each turn. The results showed that people in homogeneous dyads (i.e., both partners were dysphoric or both partners were nondysphoric) were most satisfied with the interaction, and their satisfaction increased as the conversation proceeded. People in mixed dyads were less satisfied, perceived each other as colder, and spoke about increasingly negative topics. Thus, in accord with other research showing that similarity leads to liking, the crucial determinant of interactional satisfaction was neither the mood of the subject nor the mood of the partner, but their similarity in mood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Volunteering as a function of field structure.

It was predicted that significantly more volunteering would occur when test Ss observed the invitation (to participate in an experiment) being accepted prior to their being asked than would occur in the control condition (where S had no opportunity to observe the behavior of others in the invitation situation); and significantly less when refusal was observed, as compared with the control condition. The results support the predictions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation

A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.     

Behavior in groups as a function of self-interaction, and task orientation.

To further the theoretical expectation that orientation would be associated with leadership and related group behavior, the Bass Orientation Inventory was correlated with rated performance in sensitivity training groups of 32 male supervisors and 25 female secretaries, in groups of 48 candidates for supervisory positions undergoing 3 days of assessment, and in reformed groups homogeneous in orientation. Task oriented Ss, particularly among men, were judged most favorably and interaction oriented Ss least favorably both by peers and outside assessors. However, homogeneous groupings for sensitivity training were most satisfying to interaction oriented Ss, whose leaders were most highly interaction oriented. Task oriented group leaders were highly task oriented, but leaders of self-oriented groups were relatively low in self-orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orality as a factor in interpersonal yielding.

30 male undergraduates, designated high-oral on the basis of the number of oral and dependent Rorschach responses provided, were paired with 30 low-oral male undergraduates and were asked to reach a consensus regarding a neutral topic on which they had previously disagreed. In contrast to earlier studies on orality and group conformity, the low-oral Ss deferred to the judgment of the high-oral Ss in 20 of 30 dyads. A replication of this study with 20 high- and 20 low-oral male undergraduates confirmed these findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interviewee disclosure as a function of interpersonal trust, task modeling, and interviewer self-disclosure.

Results of a study with 60 undergraduates show that 1/2 of the Ss in each sex group scored 3-15 points above the mean for their sex on the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale, and 1/2 of them scored 3-15 points below; these were classified as high- and low-trust Ss, respectively. No disclosure differences were found between high- and low-trust Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Objections to MMPI items as a function of interpersonal trust, race, and sex.

Investigated objections to the MMPI items by 392 Black and White male and female college students who were classified as high or low trust according to their responses on the Rotter Trust Scale. Ss were instructed to consider the items in the context of applying for a job and to mark "O" by those items they found to be objectionable. Low-trust Ss objected to significantly more items than high-trust Ss. Race and sex did not influence number of objections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence and leadership as a function of group structure.

"In a group decision situation, influence and perceived leadership were studied as a function of an individual's position in the communication network of his group. The hypotheses were advanced that, regardless of the network he is in, a group member (a) will be influenced less as his group reaches a decision, and (b) will be perceived as the group leader more often when his position in the communication network is more central… . On an overall basis, both hypotheses were confirmed… . The hypothesis concerning influence was tenable only in the case of one kind of network." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity of interpersonal personality measures: The interpersonal circumplex as a nomological net.

To understand a construct means to set it within an appropriate "nomological net" of lawful relations. For measures of interpersonal constructs, the interpersonal circumplex provides a nomological system of great potential for validating constructs and their measures. Three multidimensional measures (dependency, empathy, and narcissism) were subjected to an interpersonal analysis, and construct parameters and similarities were estimated by using formulas derived from the circumplex model. The results offer a distinctly interpersonal perspective on the construct validity of the respective measures. Expanded uses for the interpersonal circumplex are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The conditioning of verbal behavior as a function of the need for social approval.

The hypothesis tested herein is that need for approval will facilitate learning. Need for approval was measured by the M-C Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960); the learning task employed the model of verbal conditioning as used by Greenspoon (1955); the Ss were undergraduate psychology students. The results supported the hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood as a moderator of acceptance of interpersonal feedback.

Two studies demonstrated that feedback is likely to be accepted when its affective tone matches an individual's mood state. In Study 1, Ss in an induced positive mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas Ss in an induced negative mood were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. In Study 2, after a neutral mood induction, nondepressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback, whereas depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of negative feedback. After a positive mood induction, both nondepressed and depressed Ss were more likely to change self-ratings in the direction of positive feedback. These results suggest that motivations for self-enhancement or self-consistency do not generally underlie acceptance of feedback. Instead, a model of accessibility of information in memory is proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)