The eventual aim of the research reported is the development of a comprehensive taxonomy of trait-descriptive terms in the English language. Building on earlier work of Allport, Norman, and Goldberg, preliminary a priori distinctions were made among different domains of trait categories. General procedures for developing structured taxonomies within domains were illustrated with reference to the interpersonal domain. Theoretical considerations dictated the definition of the universe of content, the choice of measurement model, and the procedures for classifying terms within the domain. Eight adjectival scales were developed as markers of the principal vectors of the interpersonal domain. The substantive, structural, and psychometric characteristics of these scales were found to be highly satisfactory. Hence, they may prove useful both as assessment devices in their own right and as reference points for the classification of variables in personality and social psychology.Personality is that branch of psychology which is concerned with providing a systematic account of the ways in which individuals differ from one another (Wiggins, Renner, Clore, & Rose, 1971). Individuals differ from one another in a variety of ways: their anatomical and physiognomic characteristics; their personal appearance, grooming, and manner of dress; their social backgrounds, roles, and other demographic characteristics; their effect on others or social stimulus value; and at any given moment in time, their temporary states, moods, attitudes, and activities. But the principal goal of personality study is to provide a systematic account of individual differences in human tendencies
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.
The importance of the interpersonal circle in organizing the interpersonal domain is complemented by its empirical relations with broader personality taxonomies and with more specific personality variables. Yet circumplex structure in interpersonal measures has often been investigated using the "eyeball test" rather than using circumplex criteria of known effectiveness. Simulations (Acton, 1999) showed the effectiveness of 5 exploratory criteria (3 entirely new) that assess the properties of equal spacing, constant radius, and no preferred rotation. Along with Browne's (1992) criterion, these were applied to the Interpersonal
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.