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First published July 2001

Complementarity of Interpersonal Circumplex Traits

Terence J. G. Tracey, Jennifer M. Ryan, and Bruce Jaschik-HermanView all authors and affiliations
Volume 27, Issue 7
https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201277002

Abstract

The existence of interpersonal complementarity at a stylistic level using the Interpersonal Adjectives Scales (IAS) and the optimal definition of complementarity were the foci of the study. The IAS ratings made by three samples of college students were used: 265 rated both of their parents, 346 rated themselves and their closest friend, and 136 rated how they expected themselves and the other participant to behave in one of three very different situations. The correlation matrices between the scores of the two interactants in each sample were examined using the randomization test of hypothesized order relations to determine if complementarity existed. Results indicated support for the complementarity of traits in each sample and showed that the optimal orientation of dimensions of the IAS with respect to complementarity is 22.5 degrees greater than the orientation proposed by Leary and adopted by Wiggins.

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1.
1. Leary’s (1967) graphic depiction of dimensions and his mathematical definition of dimensions did not agree. Although his graphic depictions (e.g., p. 68) represent control bisecting dominant (A) and submissive (I) and not between assured (P) and A and between un-assured (H) and I, and affiliation bisecting quarrelsome (E) and agreeable (M) and not between cold (D) and E and between warm (L) and M, all his formulae for the calculation of dimensional scores (e.g., p. 69 and p. 135) demonstrate that the orientation of the dimensions exactly bisects PA, HI, DE, and LM. We adopted the mathematical version of the dimensional orientation. Kiesler (1983, 1996) has explicitly adopted Leary’s graphic depiction in his orientation of the control and affiliation dimensions in his depiction of the interpersonal circle using 16ths. However, in application to octants, it is not clear what Kiesler’s orientation of axes should be. Tracey and Schneider (1995) used Leary’s orientation of bisecting PA, HI, DE, and LM as representing Kiesler’s model because this more closely represented the graphical orientation than the alternative of having control fall between PA and BC and between HI and JK (which is Myllyniemi’s [1997] orientation).
2.
2. The RANDALL set of programs can be obtained by sending a PC-formatted disk and stamped return envelope to the author or by downloading them from http://courses.ed.asu.edu/tracey/.
3.
3. Although there are 1,600 predictions made for complementarity in each model, when the models are compared for similarity of predictions, the number of predictions that are different can be greater than 1,600. This can occur because of the way equal correlations are handled in establishing order predictions. If correlations are specified to be equal, they have no order prediction specified. If one model specifies two correlations to be equal, thus making no order prediction, and the other model specifies these same two correlations to be unequal, the models will disagree. It is thus possible for the number of different predictions made across two models to exceed the number of predictions made in either model alone.
4.
4. Sample 2 was made up of subsamples from two different institutions. To determine if these different subsamples were a possible confound, all analyses were performed on the subsamples, and similar results were obtained. Because of the lack of differences found and the increased stability of using the combined sample, only the combined analyses are reported here for Sample 2.
5.
5. As an added check on the fit of the circumplex model to each of the samples, the equal spaced circumplex model was also examined using structural equation modeling (Rounds, Tracey, & Hubert, 1992; Tracey, 2000) were also conducted. Results were very similar to those yielded by the randomization test. The circumplex model fit the data well in each sample.

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Volume 27, Issue 7
Pages: 786 - 797
Article first published: July 2001
Issue published: July 2001

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Terence J. G. Tracey
Arizona State University, [email protected]
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Jennifer M. Ryan
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Bruce Jaschik-Herman
Towson State University
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