NTERPERSQ
FUNCTIONAL THEOR
...D METHODOLOGY FOR
PERSONflnTY EVALUATION
%-
X
Timothy Leary
Interpersonal Diagnosis
of
Personality
A Functional Theory and Methodology
for Personality Evaluation
TIMOTHY LEARY
DIRECTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH
KAISER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
Resource Publications
An imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 West 8th Avenue • Eugene OR 97401
Resource Publications
A division of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199W8th Ave, Suites
Eugene, OR 97401
Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality
A Functional Theory and Methodology for Personality Evaluation
By Leary, Timothy
Copyright© 195 7 by Leary, Timothy
ISBN: 1-59244-776-7
Publication date 7/30/2004
Previously published by John Wiley & Sons, 1957
To
Marianne Leary
Preface
This book is concerned with interpersonal behavior, primarily as ex-
pressed and observed in the psychotherapeutic setting. Its value lies
in its emphasis on the complexity and variety of human nature and
on the objectivity and clarity of the empirical procedures it sets forth
for multilevel diagnosis. The research on which it reports was made
possible by grants from the United States Public Health Service and
the Kaiser Foundation.
The interpersonal factors of personality are those conscious or
unconscious processes which people use to deal with others and to
assess others and themselves in relation to others. The aim of the inter-
personal machinery of personality is to ward off anxiety and preserve
self-esteem. One of the major results of these operations is to create
the social environment in which each person lives.
Everyone tends to make his own interpersonal world. Neurosis
or maladjustment involves the limiting of one's interpersonal appara-
tus and the compulsive use of certain inflexible, inappropriate inter-
personal operations which bring about results that are painful, unsatis-
factory, or different from one's conscious goals. Adjustment is char-
acterized by an understanding of one's personahty structure, by the
development of mechanisms flexible enough to deal with a variety of
environmental pressures, and by the management of one's behavioral
equipment in such a way as to avoid situations where the mechanisms
will be ineffective or damaged.
Any statement about human nature, however, is restricted in
meaning unless the level of behavior to which it refers is made clear.
The first step must be a definition of levels and an ordering of data in
terms of levels. The aim of the research work described in this book
has been to develop a multilevel model of personality and to present a
series of complex techniques for measuring interpersonal expressions
at these different levels of personality. A conceptual and empirical
method for converting observations of interpersonal behavior is set
forth. The reader will encounter new theories about the effect of
interpersonal behavior, the meaning of fantasy expressions, the social
language of symptoms, and the nature and functional meaning of con-
flict. These theories and systematic procedures constitute the Inter-
vi PREFACE
personal System of Peisonality, developed by the Kaiser Foundation
Psychology Research Project.
The approach employed might be called a dynarmc behaviorism.
There are two dynamic attributes. The first refers to the impact one
person has or makes in interaction with others; the second refers to
the interaction of psychological pressures among the different levels
of personality. The behavioristic attributes of the system derive from
the procedure of viewing every response of the subject (overt, verbal,
symbolic) as a unit of behavior which is classified by objective
methods and automatically sorted into the appropriate level of per-
sonality. The patterns and clusters of thousands of these responses,
sorted into different levels, are then converted by mathematical tech-
niques into indices and into a multilevel diagnostic code summary.
These are then related to clinical events or prognoses. In the develop-
ment of the interpersonal system more than 5,000 cases (psychiatric,
medical, and normal controls) have been studied and diagnosed.
In addition to describing and validating the process of interper-
sonal diagnosis in the psychiatric clinic, this volume demonstrates how
these theories and methods may be applied in four other practical set-
tings— in the psychiatric hospital, in psychosomatic medicine, in
industrial management, and in group therapy.
This book should be interpreted in the light of its environmental
and professional contexts. It is the product of clinical psychologists
working in a psychiatric setting, and practical answers have been
required of the interpersonal system at each stage of its development.
This gives the book its functional cast. As to its implications for the
profession of psychology, in my own mind at least, a new concept of
the "clinical psychologist-as-diagnostician" has emerged. In the
Introduction, I have detailed the genesis of the research which has
resulted in the book, and have set forth the contributions of the many
people who have helped to bring it to fruition.
Timothy Leary
Berkeley, California
October, 1956
Contents
Introduction
Part I
Some Basic Assumptions About Personality
Theory
CHAPTER PAGE
1. Interpersonal Dimension OF Personality 3
2. Adjustment-iMaladjustment Factors in Personality Theory 17
3. Systematizing the Complexity of Personality . . .33
4. Empirical Principles in Personality Research ... 45
5. Functional Theory of Personality 50
6. General Survey of the Interpersonal and
Variability Systems 59
Part II
The Interpersonal Dimension of Personality:
Variables, Levels, and Diagnostic Categories
Introduction 90
7. The Level of Public Communication:
The Interpersonal Reflex 91
8. The Level of Conscious Communication:
The Interpersonal Trait 132
9. The Level of Private Perception:
The Interpersonal Symbol 154
10. The Level of THE Unexpressed: Significant Omissions . . 192
11. The Level of Values: The Ego Ideal 200
12. A System of Interpersonal Diagnosis 207
vii
CONTENTS
Part III
The Variability Dimension of Personality:
Theory and Variables
Introduction 240
13. The Indices OF Variability .241
Part IV
Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality
14. Theory of Multilevel Diagnosis 265
15. Adjustment Through Rebellion: The Distrustful
Personality 269
16. Adjustment Through Self-Effacement:
The Masochistic Personality 282
17. Adjustment Through Docility: The Dependent
Personality 292
18. Adjustment Through Cooperation:
The Overconventional Personality 303
19. Adjustment Through Responsibility:
The Hypernormal Personality 315
20. Adjustment Through Power: The Autocratic
Personality 323
21. Adjustment Through Competition: The Narcissistic
Personality 332
22. Adjustment Through Aggression: The Sadistic Personality 341
Part V
Some Applications of the Interpersonal System
Introduction 352
23. Interpersonal Diagnosis of Hospitalized Psychotics . .354
24. Interpersonal Diagnosis in Medical Practice:
Psychosomatic Personality Types 373
25. Analysis of Group Dynamics in an Industrial
Management Group 403
26. Predicting and Measuring Interpersonal Dynamics in
Group Psychotherapy 426
CONTENTS ix
PAGE
Appendices
1. Illustrations of the Measurement of Interpersonal
Behavior at Level I 439
2. The Interpersonal Adjective Check List . . . .455
3. The Administration, Scoring, and Validation of the
Level III-TAT 464
4. The Interpersonal Diagnostic Report 480
5. Norms, Conversion Tables, and Weighted Scores Used in
Interpersonal Diagnosis 493
Index of Names 501
Index of Subjects 503
Figures
1. Continuum of the Sixteen Interpersonal V^ariables .... 65
2. Interpersonal Behavior in Psychotherapy 68
3. Change in Behavior in Therapy 70
4. Seven Generic Areas of Personality 85
5. Interpersonal Interactions in Group Therapy 95
6. Categorization of Check-List Items 135
7. Illustrative Self-Diagnosis 138
8. Conscious Description of Father 139
9. Conscious Description of Mother 140
10. Conscious Description of Self and Family Members .... 141
11. Patient's Description of Therapist 142
12. Therapist's Description of Patient 144
13. Pattern of Familial Relations 146-47
14. Variation in Depth of Measures 151
15. Diagnosis of Walter Mitty 174
16. Profile of TAT Scores 176
17. Conscious and "Preconscious" Profiles 178
18. Conflict Between Power and Weakness 179
19. Facade of Power and Responsibility 180
20. Facade of Weakness and Docility 180
21. Rigidly Conventional Profiles 183
22. Depth Continuum of Personality Levels 187
23. Rigid Avoidance of Rebelliousness 194
24. Consistent Omission of Rebellious Themes 196
25. Docile Subject Idealizes Strength 204
16. Summary Scores for Overconventional Patient 218
27. Diagnosis of Facade Behavior 219
28. Illustration of Interpersonal Diagnosis 222-23
29. Diagnosis of Level III Behavior 224
30. Illustration of Multilevel Diagnosis 226-27
31. Generic Variability Indices 250
32. Calculation of Discrepancy Values 258
33. Behavior of Ten Samples at Level I 380
xi
xii FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
34. Behavior of Ten Samples at Level II 382
35. Behavior of Ten Samples at Level III 384
36. Multilevel Mean Scores of Normal Controls 387
37. Multilevel Mean Scores of Ulcer Patients 388
38. Multilevel Mean Scores of Hypertensive Patients 390
39. Multilevel Mean Scores of Obese Women 392
40. Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients 394
41. Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients 395
42. Unanxious Dermatitis Patients 397
43. Psychiatric Clinic Sample 398
44. Multilevel Mean Scores of "Neurotics" 399
45. Multilevel Mean Scores of "Psychotics" 401
46. Self-Descriptions of Four Executives 406
47. Self-Deception Indices of Four Executives 407
48. Group Dynamics Booklet 411-17
49. Perceptions by General Manager 418
50. Consensual Diagnosis of General Manager 420
51. Perceptions by Production Manager 421
52. Consensual Diagnosis of Production Manager 422
53. Perceptions by Personnel Manager 423
54. Consensual Diagnosis of Personnel Manager 424
55. Predictions of Interpersonal Roles 429
56. Measurements of Interpersonal Roles 430
57. Diagram of Five Measures of Personality 432-33
58. Two Contrasting MMPI Profiles 442
59. The Level I Diagnosis 444
60. Summaries of Interpersonal Behavior 452
61. The Diagnostic Booklet 482-88
62. Multilevel Profile Before and After Psychotherapy . . . .491
Tables
TABLE PAGE
1. Operational Definition of Five Levels of Personality . . . .81
2. Percentage of Diagnostic Types (Level I-M) 129
3. Percentage of Diagnostic Types (Level II-C) 152
4. Illustrative Classification of Interpersonal Behavior at the Symbolic
or Projective Level 170
5. Percentage of Diagnostic Types (Level III-T) 190
6. Three Elements of Diagnosis of Personality: Classification,
Profiles, and Report 214
7. The Adaptive and Maladaptive Interpersonal Diagnostic Types . . 220
8. Median Interpersonal Self-Description Score for Six MMPI
Clinical Groups 231
9. Operational Redefinition of Psychiatric Categories in Terms of
Interpersonal Operations 233
10. Informal Listing of the Twelve Generic Variability Indices . . .252
11. Operational Definition of Forty-eight Indices of Variation . . 254-56
12. Key to Numbers and Letters Employed in Coding Variability Indices 256
13. Horizontal (Lov) and Vertical (Dom) Values for Each Octant . . 260
14. All Possible Discrepancies Around the Pair \-l and Their Magnitudes 260
15. Illustration of the Grouping of All Possible Discrepancies Involving
the Diagnostic Codes 1 and / 261
16. Percentage of Rebellious-Distrustful Personalities (Level I-M) . . 280
17. Percentage of Rebellious-Distrustful Personalities (Level II-C) . .281
18. Percentage of Self-Effacing-Masochistic Personalities (Level I-M) . 290
19. Percentage of Self-Effacing-Masochistic Personalities (Level II-C) . 291
20. Percentage of Docile-Dependent Personalities (Level I-M) . . . 299
21. Percentage of Docile-Dependent Personalities (Level II-C) . . 300
22. Percentage of Cooperative-Overconventional Personalities
(Level I-M) 312
23. Percentage of Cooperative-Overconventional Personalities
(Level II-C) 313
24. Percentage of Responsible-Hypernormal Personalities (Level I-M) . 321
25. Percentage of Responsible-Hypernormal Personalities (Level II-C) . 322
26. Percentage of Managerial-Autocratic Personalities (Level I-M) . .330
xiii
^j^ TABLES
TABLE ^^^^
27. Percentage of Managerial- Autocratic Personalities (Level II-C) . 331
28. Percentage of Competitive-Narcissistic Personalities (Level I-M) . 338
29. Percentage of Competitive-Narcissistic Personalities (Level II-C) . 340
30. Percentage of Aggressive-Sadistic Personalities (Level I-M) . . 349
31. Percentage of Aggressive-Sadistic Personalities (Level II-C) . .350
32. Level I Diagnoses Assigned to 148 Patients in the Three
Psychotic Samples 356
33. Level II-C Diagnosis of 46 Patients in the Three Psychotic Samples . 357
34. Level III-T Diagnosis of 38 Patients in the Three Psychotic Samples 358
35. The Significance of Differences Among Ten Symptomatic Groups
at Level I-M 381
36. The Significance of Differences Among Ten Symptomatic Groups
at the Level of Conscious Self-Description (Level II-C) . . 383
37. The Significance of Differences Among Ten Symptomatic Groups
at the Level of "Preconscious" Expression (Level Ill-T [Hero]) . 385
38. Illustrative Calculation of MMPI Indices for Measuring Symptomatic
Behavior (Level I-M) 443
39. Illustration of the Calculations for Determining the Level I Profile for
a "Neurotic" Patient, SN 453
40. Interpersonal Check List, Form 4, Words Arranged by Octant and
Intensity 456-57
41. Test-Retest Correlations, Form IIIa, by Octant and Sixteenth . . 461
42. Average Intervariable Correlation as a Function of Their Separation
Around the Circle 462
43. ICL Means and Standard Deviations for Psychiatric Outpatients . . 463
44. Guide to Assigning Interpersonal Ratings to Ten TAT Stories
(Level III-T) 466
45. Molar Rating Sheet 471
46. Means and Sigmas of Normative Group for Level III-T Hero and
"Other" 472
47. Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Dominance-
Submission Between Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis
to the Kind of Change in Self-Diagnosis of Dominance-Submission
on Pre-Post Tests for 23 Psychotherapy Patients .... 474
48. Chi-Square ... for 40 Discussion Group Controls .... 475
49. Chi-Square ... for Combined Samples of 23 Psychotherapy Patients
and 40 Obesity Patients 475
50. Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Love-Hostility
Between Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind
of Change in Self-Diagnosis of Love-Hostility on Pre-Post Tests
for 23 Psychotherapy Patients 476
TABLES
XV
TABLE PAGE
51. Chi-Square ... for 40 Discussion Group Controls .... 476
52. Chi-Square ... for Combined Samples of 23 Psychotherapy Patients
and 40 Obesity Patients 477
53. Chi-Square Relating the Amount of Discrepancy Between Conscious
Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to Amount of Temporal Change
in Self-Diagnosis for 81 Discussion Group Controls .... 478
54. Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard
Scores at Level I-M 494
55. Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard
Scores at Level II-C 495
56. Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard
Scores at Level III-TAT (Hero) 496
57. Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard
Scores at Level III-TAT (Other) 497
58. Weighted Scores for Measuring Discrepancy Between Two Diag-
nostic Codes Indicating Kind and Amount of Difference Between
Levels or Tests, and for Comparing Codes Where One Is of
Extreme and the Other of Moderate Intensity .... 498-99
Introduction
In the past, the complexity of personality data, particularly as it is
observed in the clinical setting, has led to a relative neglect of em-
pirical studies and to an emphasis on anecdotal, speculative accounts.
Where objective investigations have been undertaken, they have
tended to be analyses which employed a single testing instrument.
This is a result of the sociological development of the testing psy-
chologist's role.
The original and basic aim of the Kaiser Foundation Psychology
Research was (and still is) the study of "process in psychotherapy."
The first steps in this direction involved the construction of a sys-
tematic way of viewing personality structure before therapy. This
model system is necessary to predict what will happen in therapy and
to measure change in structure during and after therapy. This book
presents such a system and some of its diagnostic and prognostic
features.
The United States Public Health Service supported the research
project by a series of six annual grants, from 1950 to 1954, under the
directorship of Hubert S. Coffey and Dr. Saxton T. Pope, Jr., and
from 1954 to 1956 under the direction of Timothy Leary. In addition
to serving as the first director, Hubert Coffey has been chief advisor
since the first days of the project. Dr. Pope provided research
facilities and clinical wisdom, and was of signal help in developing the
concept of variability indices, discussed in Chapter 13.
The Kaiser Foundation contributed substantially to the research
during the years 1950-1954, and from November 1954 assumed major
support of the core project. Dr. Harvey Powelson became the
director of the research project in 1951. He has given clinical advice,
theoretical counsel, and administrative support throughout the dura-
tion of the research.
In its development, the interpersonal system of personality has
been influenced by many collaborating psychologists and psychiatrists.
It is impossible, in a cooperative, creative enterprise of this scope to
accord specific credit for all contributions, and the following acknowl-
edgments indicate only the major indebtedness. Those whose names
are listed below should not, however, be held accountable for any
^^••- INTRODUCTION
weaknesses in the theoretical design. Full responsibility for the present
version of the system is assumed by the author.
The basic notion of the interpersonal classification system (the
circle) was developed in 1948-1949 by Hubert Coffey, Mervin Freed-
man, Timothy Leary, and Abel Ossorio. The same group was respon-
sible for the original tripartite definition of levels. The psychotherapy
groups which provided the original data for classification of inter-
personal reflexes were organized with the help and sponsorship of
J. Raymond Cope, of the Unitarian Church of Berkeley.
Dr. Mary Sarvis, Kaiser Foundation Psychiatric Clinic, lent her
diagnostic and therapeutic knowledge to the research group with un-
sparing generosity.
Mervin Freedman was a major participant in every stage of theo-
retical and methodological development from 1948 to 1953. His
thoughtful, analytic approach provided balance and good sense.
Rolfe LaForge is responsible for the successful aspects of the
statistical and methodological work. From 1950 to 1954, he directed
the testing program, the IBM research, the check-list studies, and
served as statistical consultant.
Martin Levine, Blanche Sweet, Herbert Naboisek, and Ellen
Philipsborn Tessman made theoretical contributions and aided in the
processing of data.
Jean Walker McFarlane was an original sponsor and advisor of the
research project and contributed continuous editorial and practical
assistance.
Arthur Kobler of the Pinel Foundation Hospital, Seattle, has em-
ployed the diagnostic system in his studies of psychotic patients. The
combination of his empirical help and theoretical counsel has
strengthened this book in several areas.
Bernard Apfelbaum collaborated in the early stages of the oscilla-
tion-variability theory. He also provided ratings of interpersonal
behavior, as did Wanda Bronson, Albert Shapiro, and Marvin
Spanner.
Frank Barron has served since 1950 as official and unofficial con-
sultant to the research project. He helped design the original test
battery and provided valuable editorial and methodological assistance.
Psychotherapy groups studied by the research project were in
charge of Dr. Jean Neighbor, Mary Darby Rauch, Shirley Hecht,
Mervin Freedman, Stephen Rauch, Abel Ossorio, Dr. Harvey Powel-
son, Robert Suczek, Hubert Coffey, Patrick SuUivan, and Richard V.
Wolton. Richard Wolton also lent his assistance in the collection of
data and in manuscript preparation.
INTRODUCTION xlx
A most important aspect of the interpersonal system is that the
test administration, scoring, and rating of tests — as well as the deter-
mination of the multilevel diagnoses and the indices of conflict — are
accomplished by highly trained technicians who are not professional
psychologists. The technical staff responsible for the multilevel
diagnoses of the 5,000 cases on which this book is based, includes Anne
Apfelbaum, Elizabeth Asher, Mary della-Cioppa, Roberta Held,
Charlotte Kaufmann, Joan Harvey LaForge, Helen Lane, and Bar-
bara Lennon NichoUs. Gloria Best Martin was Research Administra-
tor for the years 1950-1952.
The countless administrative decisions necessary to maintain the
day-to-day operations of the research project have been handled with
competence by Miss Helen Lane. She has had final executive respon-
sibility for data collection, office management, and manuscript
preparation.
I
Some Basic Assumptions About
Personality Theory
Interpersonal Dimension of Personality
The twentieth century may well find historical status as the epoch in
which man began to study himself as a scientific phenomenon. This
development, inaugurated mainly by Sigmund Freud around the year
1900, has brought about an impressive growth in the so-called human-
ist disciplines — psychiatry, psychology, anthropology, sociology. The
hour is yet too early to begin writing the chronicles of our time, but
certain trends, now clearly evident, allow tentative predictions.
The study of human nature appears, at this mid-century point, to
be shifting from an emphasis on the individual to an emphasis on the
individual-in-relation-to-others. During the last fifty years the sub-
ject matter of psychiatry, for example, has moved away from case
history and symptomatic labels and proceeded in the direction of
social interaction analysis and psychocukural phenomena. The physi-
calistic therapies, such as electro-shock and neurosurgery, seem to
have worked with little theoretical justification against these scientific
currents of the time.^
As late as twenty years ago the psychiatric literature was saturated
with concepts that were oriented towards the nonsocial aspects of per-
sonality— man in relation to his instinctual past (Freud), his racial past
(Jung). The psychological laboratories at the same time buzzed with
experiments on achievement, intelligence, temperament, and learning
processes of the individual animal or human being.
Today, theoretical events have taken a different turn. Man is
viewed as a uniquely social being, always involved in crucial inter-
actions with his family members, his contemporaries, his predecessors,
and his society. All these factors are seen as influencing and being in-
fluenced by the individual. The new direction is marked by a series of
new conceptual guide posts from communication theory, cultural
anthropology, and neop<;ychoanalysis. We possess a new bibliography
* The research on neuropsychological relations accomplished at Tulane University
under the direction of Robert G. Heath is a notable exception to this generalization.
4 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
of guide books pointing out the approaching scientific horizons and
relating them to the past.
There is one concept which finds such wide and repeated expression
in the current literature that it has taken on the debatable character
of a motto. This is the term interpersonal relations. Introduced by the
American psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan, it has become so popular
that, at times, it appears destined to join those ill-fated concepts
rendered meaningless by the frequency and pious generality of their
usage.
The interpersonal theory is clearly a product of the converging
theoretical trends of the time. It has many important implications for
all the humanistic disciplines.
This book and the research which it summarizes take as a starting
point the interpersonal dimension of personality. We shall trace in
the following chapters a theory, a measurement methodology, and a
psychological diagnostic system based primarily on interpersonal be-
havior. It seems appropriate, therefore, to take as the first question for
consideration the definition of the basic term, interpersonal.
What Is Interpersonal Behavior?
Behavior which is related overtly, consciously, ethically, or sym-
bolically to another human being (real, collective, or imagined) is
interpersonal. This is a short but complex definition. Most of the
succeeding pages will be devoted to its elaboration.
Let us consider some examples of human behavior in the light of
this definition. The report from a reliable observer "George insulted
his father" is clearly interpersonal. It tells how George related to his
father, what he did to his father. The finding "George says he is a
friendly person" comes from a different observation point, the sub-
ject's self-description, but is still clearly interpersonal. It tells how
George perceives his motives toward other people. Also interpersonal
is the inference made on the basis of dream or fantasy material "George
dreams that his mother is protecting him." This refers to a fantasied
relationship between the subject and another person. These descrip-
tions of different aspects of the subject's behavior, which we call
protocol statements, are the basic data on which we build a science of
personality. They describe, at three different levels of observation,
the subject's interpersonal relations.
Another dimension of personality is reflected in the statements
"George acts impulsively," "George says he is not depressed," "George
dreams of hatboxes." These descriptions are taken from the same
three levels of observation — the outsider's report, self-report, and
dreams — but they are not directly interpersonal. Impulsivity, opti-
INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF PERSONALITY 5
mism, and a symbolic concern with containers have figured in certain
personality theories and have some importance in the understanding
of personality. Such descriptions are noninterpersonal because they
do not refer to the subject's relationship to other people. They may
be, and probably are, indirectly interpersonal. If we investigate
further we might learn that George acts impulsively to impress others
with his strength, that he says he is not depressed to prove that he
does not need psychotherapy, and that he has a vague childhood
memory of his mother bringing him lunch in a hatbox. The non-
interpersonal thus becomes interpersonal; the personal characteristics
take on a social meaning and reflect his relationships with others.
We shall subsequently see that much of the conceptualization in
psychology and the nomenclature of psychiatry has been noninterper-
sonal. Terms such as depressed, impulsive, and inhibited, for example,
refer to characteristics that possess maximum meaning when their inter-
personal purpose is added. From the restricted and partisan inter-
personal point of view, the functional value of such a popular diag-
nostic phrase as "the patient acts depressed" is really not very great
until we add, overtly or implicitly, the social implication. We make
such a phrase more meaningful when we designate the interpersonal
context or the interpersonal impact of the action — "to get the psy-
chiatrist's sympathy" or "to show his parents how badly he feels
they have treated him."
Psychologists or psychiatrists who employ interpersonal concepts
are generally characterized by an obsessive attention to the social im-
plications of the subject's performance. They tend to view themselves
as engaged in a complex relationship with the subject (or patient) and
are particularly concerned with the social pressure which the subject
is generating — the impression he is attempting to make upon them.
The interpersonal psychologist generally carries away from an
interview or a testing session a diagnosis centering not on the patient's
intelligence or his symptoms, but rather on the social machinery which
the patient put into action during the session. In most clinical situa-
tions a numerical IQ index is of limited functional value. The clinician
working from the interpersonal viewpoint would be more likely to
stress not the patient's IQ, but the fact that "the patient acts in a wise
manner and attempts to create the impression of intelligence," or, in
another case, "the patient presents a fa9ade of docile simplicity, acts
as though he were uninformed and eager-to-be-taught."
SoTne Noninterpersonal Systems of Psychology
The interpersonal system presented in this book addresses itself to a
narrow, limited slice of human behavior. There are many other facets
6 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
of human activity which have attracted the interest and energy of
psychologists. In the Kaiser Foundation research we omit or ignore
about nine-tenths of these activities and concentrate rather single-
mindedly on one dimension — the interpersonal. We have restricted
our theory to social behavior because we believe this to be the area
of psychology which is most crucial and functionally important to
human happiness and human survival. Our reasons for making this
assertion will be detailed in a later section.
In restricting our studies to one source of data we fail to take into
account hundreds of important variables which characterize the
individual. Height, weight, age, appearance, and motoric patterns are
all factors which have some value in predicting behavior. All the
physiological aspects of the individual are left out of our system.
Sociological factors also contribute to the understanding of per-
sonality and carry clear-cut interpersonal implications. We have been
unable, so far, to include these factors in our investigations.
Moreover, we have found it necessary to omit most of the variables
which have had the highest priority for most psychologists — intelli-
gence, interest patterns, political and culmral attitudes, and the
variables of sensation and perception.
Academic and experimental psychology has traditionally focused
on the noninterpersonal aspects of behavior. Psychophysical experi-
ments, learning theories, and intelligence and aptitude studies have
monopolized the majority of the chapters in psychological texts.
These areas are left completely untreated in the system of personality
presented in this book.
We are concerned, therefore, with a limited sector of the wide
circle of human behavior. We concentrate simply on the way in
which the individual deals with others — his actions, thoughts, fantasies,
and values as they relate to others. In addition to restricting our atten-
tion to interpersonal activity, there is a further qualification. We can-
not hope to include the entire range of the individual's social behavior,
but will apply most of our energies to the task of understanding and
predicting the subject's interpersonal behavior in one specific environ-
mental context — his relationship to a psychiatric clinic.
Some Interpersonal Theories of Personality
We have seen that in the last twenty years the cultural and social
factors of human nature have become the object of widespread scien-
tific attention. Sociologists and anthropologists have been actively
applying psychiatric concepts to their data with mixed results. Entire
primitive societies have been diagnosed as paranoid, or typed in terms
of the ways in which they feed their young.
INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF PERSONALITY 7
At the same time, on the other side of the professional fence, several
psychiatrists have assimilated the cultural into their thinking. Major
revisions of orthodox Freudian concepts have developed. Three of
the most successful of these personaHty theorists, Horney, Fromm,
and Sullivan, have rejected the instinct theory and developed socially
oriented structures of their own. A fourth, Erik H. Erikson, has con-
structed an impressive system integrating social phenomena into the
Freudian libido theory.
Karen Horney began publishing in 1937 a series of important books
in which she has developed a characterological approach to person-
ality. She has described her dissatisfaction with the instinct theory and
her own conceptual solutions in great detail. In her earliest work she
contended that "neuroses are brought about by cultural factors" —
which, more specifically, meant that neuroses are generated by dis-
turbances in human relationships.
In the years before I wrote The Neurotic Personality I pursued another line
of research that followed logically from the earlier hypothesis. It revolved
around the question as to what the driving forces are in neuroses. Freud had
been the first to point out that these were compulsive drives. He regarded
these drives as instinctual in nature, aimed at satisfaction and intolerance of
frustration. Consequently he believed that they were not confined to neuroses
per se but operated in all human beings. If, however, neuroses were an out-
growth of disturbed human relationships, this postulation could not possibly be
valid. The concepts I arrived at on this score were, briefly, these. Compulsive
drives are specifically neurotic; they are born of feelings of isolation, helpless-
ness, fear, and hostility, and represent ways of coping with the world despite
these feelings; they aim primarily not at satisfaction but at safety; their compul-
sive character is due to the anxiety lurking behind them. Two of these drives-
neurotic cravings for affection and for power— stood out at first in clear relief
and were presented in detail in The Neurotic Personality. (4, p. 11)
Later books presented increasingly sophisticated attempts to de-
lineate the neurotic character structure. Homey has listed many types,
trends, and conflicting attitudes to this end. All of these constructs
concern the individual's reactions to others. At the time of her death,
Horney's systematizing efforts were far from completed. The shifts
in her flexible development have created the appearance of a brilliant
disorganization. An over-all survey of her publications, however,
reveals an internal consistency and a steady progress towards increas-
ingly complex organizing principles.
Erich Fromm, like Horney, places the causative factor of neurosis
in the family, which is seen as the basic "agency" of enculturation.
Suppressive or hostile parents create the destructive feelings of power-
lessness and isolation. Human relations and not instinctual pressure
thus create personality. "Man's nature, his passions, and anxieties are a
8 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
cultural product; as a matter of fact man himself is the most important
creation and achievement of the continuous human effort, the record
of which we call history." (3, p. 11)
Fromm's theories of character are based on the ways in which the
individual "relates" to his world. He has listed four neurotic mech-
anisms for "escaping" insecurity (masochism, sadism, destructiveness,
and automaton conformity) and five character types (receptive,
hoarding, marketing, exploitive, and productive). All of these are
directly interpersonal. Fromm's major concern and greatest contribu-
tion lies not in the area of systematization, but rather in the philosophic
backgrounds he has provided for the study of personality. The nine-
teenth century mechanistic pessimism of Freud, clearly inadequate for
a science of human nature, has received a thoughtful, gentle, and imag-
inative revision by Erich Fromm.
Harry Stack Sullivan's most dramatic accomplishment was the
assertion, which I believe he has demonstrated, that "psychiatry is the
study of processes that involve or go on between people. The field of
psychiatry is the field of interpersonal relations under any and all
circumstances in which these relationships exist." (5, pp. 4-5) Sul-
livan's most valuable achievement is his demonstration of the "fabu-
lously more complicated" nature of interpersonal actions and percep-
tions, and the introduction of observational methods and attitudes for
making "objective contact with another individual."
The research and the theories presented in this book are based on
the writings of Sullivan, and are in some sense an attempt to extend
them. Although Sullivan's subtle and complex ideas do not summarize
readily, a brief survey is in order.
The motive force of personality, for Sullivan as for Horney and
Fromm, is the avoidance of anxiety. Anxiety, for all three, is an inter-
personal phenomenon. For Horney it involves the feelings of help-
lessness and danger; for Fromm, isolation and weakness; for Sullivan,
loss of self-esteem. Anxiety is interpersonal because it is rooted in the
dreaded expectation of derogation and rejection by others (or by one-
self) . The human being is rarely or never free from some interpersonal
tension; what he does or thinks is generally related to the estimation
of others. For this reason the motivating principle of behavior is more
accurately seen as "anxiety reduction" — the avoidance of the greater
nnxiety and the selection of the lesser anxiety. This is an important
point to note, because, as we shall see when we deal with interpersonal
reflexes, it helps explain some of the paradoxical self-punitive behaviors
by means of which individuals appear to make themselves unhappy.
Personality is, according to Sullivan, the "relatively enduring pat-
tern of recurring interpersonal situations which characterize a human
INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF PERSONALITY 9
life." To understand a person is to have knowledge of the inter-
personal techniques that he employs to avoid or minimize anxiety and
of the consistent pattern of relationships that he integrates as a result
of these techniques.
It is important to note that interpersonal behavior refers to private
perceptions, conscious reports, symbolic and unwitting expressions,
as well as to overt actions.
Another crucial difference between Sullivan's conceptions and the
Freudian is worth comment. According to the orthodox Freudian,
that which is warded off from consciousness is the instinctual impulse
or its disturbing derivatives. According to Sullivan, those things which
are selectively kept from awareness are interpersonal processes, or
potentialities, or interpersonal feelings which are anxiety-arousing.
The self-dynamism is created by anxiety, being the system of
anxiety-diminishing behavior characteristic of the developing indi-
vidual. SulUvan has distinguished three modes of experience which
have important implications: the prototaxic, undifferentiated, un-
verbalized experiences of early infancy; the parataxic, which includes
private, unwitting personifications of the self or eidetic others; and
the syntaxic. The latter mode is defined by the "extent that observa-
tion, analysis, and the eduction of relations is subjected to consensual
validation 'with others.' . . ." Consensual validation, a concept with
rich empirical meaning, is the "degree of approximate agreement with
a significant other person or persons which permits fairly exact com-
munication by speech or otherwise, and the drawing of generally
useful inferences about the action and thought of the other." (6,
p. 177) When two people in an interaction situation are consensually
agreed on the basic premises upon which the relationship rests, and
when they concur in their pertinent perceptions of self and each other,
then they are communicating in the syntaxic mode. This kind of
honesty between persons is not a common phenomenon. Its experi-
ence can be unbearably painful due to the anxiety it evokes.
The discussion so far has carried us with hazardous speed and
brevity through those conceptions of Harry Stack Sullivan which are
most appropriate to the purposes of this volume. We leave without
any description a host of strikingly original theories — on interview
tactics, on obsessional and schizophrenic states, on the six epochs of
personality development, on dissociative and selective inattention, to
name a few.
The weakest links in Sullivan's strong conceptual chain are the
systematic. His publications up to the present (including posthumous
volumes) have broken new theoretical ground that has not been sown
or harvested. He presents an approach but not a methodology. He
,o BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
convincingly buries the much-berated remains of descriptive, Kraepe-
linian, and negatively-value-toned psychiatry, but provides no sub-
stitute classification system. The carefully worked-out categories he
presented — experience modes, developmental epochs, self-dynamisms
— are far from the minimum required for a science of personality.
Sullivan provides an attitude (humility) and an approach (par-
ticipant observation), but not a methodology for the science to which
he was dedicated. His formal notational structure is disappointingly
disorganized and incomplete.
The Theories of Erik H. Erikson
In the preceding section we have considered the contributions of
three personality theorists who have abandoned the libido conception
and espoused a social or interpersonal point of view. Horney, Fromm,
and Sullivan do not deny the importance of sexual and biological
factors. Sullivan, for example, divides human performance into two
categories based on the "end states" or goals which are involved. The
first involves "satisfactions," by which Sullivan denotes bodily activ-
ities. The second end state is "security," which refers to the inter-
personal or cultural responses. Having paid his respects to the biologi-
cal facet of human behavior, Sullivan went on to focus almost
exclusively on security operations and the social dimension of behavior.
In contrast to the antilibido theorists mentioned above, there is a
fourth social system of personality which attempts to develop ego,
cultural, and interpersonal conceptions within the basic framework of
the Freudian psychosexual theory. This is the work of Erik H.
Erikson. (1)
Erikson includes in his systematic writings three personality proc-
esses, the somatic, the ego, and the societal. He demonstrates (by
means of a brilliant marshaling of clinical material) that a human
event cannot be understood unless the relativity of these three factors
is grasped.
We study individual human crises by becoming therapeutically involved in
them. In doing so, we find that the three processes mentioned are three aspects
of one process— i.e., human life, both words being equally emphasized. Somatic
tension, individual anxiety, and group panic, then, are only different ways in
which human anxiety presents itself to different methods of investigation. . . .
As we review each relevant item in a given case, we cannot escape the convic-
tion that the meaning of an item which may be "located" in one of the three
processes is co-determined by its meaning in the other two. An item in one
process gains relevance by giving significance to and receiving significance from
Items in the others. Gradually, I hope, we may find better words for this
relativity in human existence— &s we shall tentatively call what we wish to
demonstrate. (1, p. 33)
INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF PERSONALITY 1 1
Erikson has made the most sophisticated and successful attempt to
integrate historical, sociological, anthropological, and biological data
into a personality system. He takes for his model of individual char-
acter structure the Freudian psychosexual theory to which he has
added an interpersonal terminology. His commitment to the biology
of the libido theory is stated quite directly. "It will seem to some that
I am abandoning this point of view [i.e., the importance of interper-
sonal regulation patterns] as I now proceed to review the whole field
of what Freud called pregenital stages and erotogenic zones in child-
hood and attempt to build a bridge from clinical experience to observa-
tions on societies. For I will again speak of biologically given poten-
tialities which develop with the child's organism. I do not think that
psychoanalysis can remain a workable system of inquiry without its
basic biological formulations, much as they may need reconsidera-
tion." (l,p. 65)
Erikson has expanded and "socialized" the Freudian timetable of
psychosexual adjustment by means of two ingenious systematic
devices — his conceptions of zones, modes, and modalities and his
theory of the eight stages of man's psychological development.
Erikson focuses on three major zones of psychosexual activity —
oral, anal, and genital. He then defines five modes of approach or basic
interpersonal vectors which can be expressed by any organ zone.
These are incorporative 1 (sucking), incorporative 2 (biting), reten-
tive, eliminative, and mtrusive. A matrix of the combination of zones
and modes provides a neat device for classifying the fixations, regres-
sions, and sequences of normal development.
An even more original conversion of Freudian developmental
theory to interpersonal language is accomplished by Erikson by means
of his eight stages of human emotional growth. This is a "list of ego
qualities — criteria by which the individual demonstrates that his ego,
at a given stage, is strong enough to integrate the timetable of the
organism with the structure of social institutions." Erikson holds that
the individual at each sequential stage of life meets a nuclear conflict,
the solution for which "is based on the integration of the earlier ones."
The eight nuclear conflicts according to Erikson are:
Stage of Life Cycle Nuclear Conflict
Oral Sensory Trust vs. Mistrust
Muscular— Anal Autonomy vs. Shame, Doubt
Locomotor— Genital Initiative vs. Guilt
Latency Industry vs. Inferiority
Puberty and Adolescence Identity vs. Role Diffusion
Young Adulthood Intimacy vs. Isolation
Adulthood Generativity vs. Stagnation
Maturity Integrity vs. Disgust, Despair
12 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
Erikson's commitment to an interpersonal and cultural point of
view stands out clearly in this list of ego qualities. The extraordinary-
power and significance of Erikson's work is this: he has developed a
social conception of human nature which certainly equals in com-
plexity those of Fromm and Horney — and he has done it within the
broad framework of the Freudian libido theory. He seems to have
succeeded in his attempt to build a bridge between psychosexual
theory and social behavior, and has additionally erected a system
which is eminently heuristic.
There is therefore considerable justification for considering Erikson
as the first major psychoanalytic systematist since Freud. He has, it
must be noted, surpassed Sullivan on his own home ground by pre-
senting a developmental timetable which lists sixteen interpersonal
resolutions. This provides us with an impressive list of interpersonal
variables lacking in the writings of the less systematic Sullivan.
The interpersonal system of personality to be presented in this
book has leaned heavily upon the conceptions of Erik H. Erikson. Our
classification of interpersonal behavior bears the unmistakable mark of
Erikson's theory. We have been able to utilize only a fragment of his
system. This is because Erikson's writings range deep and wide — deep
into childhood and wide into society. Our own purpose and efforts
are much more restricted since we have attempted simply to develop
an objective, functional system for predicting the behavior of adult
patients in the psychiatric clinic.
Interpersonal Behavior Defines the Most Important
Dimension of Personality
In the preceding sections we have presented a definition of inter-
personal behavior and have compared several approaches to human
nature in the light of their social orientations. The assertion was made
that the interpersonal can from this point of view be considered the
most crucial and functionally important dimension of personality.
First, from the broader theoretical frame of reference, interpersonal
behavior is crucial to the survival of the human being. From a second
(and much more parochial) point of view, interpersonal behavior is
the aspect of personality that is most functionally relevant to the
clinician. Some justification for the first of these assertions will be
discussed in the next section. The usefulness of an interpersonal
theory in clinical practice will be considered in Chapter 5.
Interpersonal Behavior and Biological Survival
From the standpoint of human survival, social role and social ad-
justment comprise the most important dimension of personality. This
INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF PERSONALITY i 3
is because of the unique biological and cultural aspects of human devel-
opment and maturity.
One of the major differences between man and the other animal
species is his long and helpless infancy. Depending on the complexity
of the culture, it takes from 12 to 25 years for a human being to attain
developmental maturity. This long period of childhood and adoles-
cence involves a dependence on other human beings for nourishment,
shelter, and security. Many animal species, on the contrary, are ready
to undertake complete responsibility for their own survival at birth,
or shortly thereafter. In these cases instinctual methods of locomotion,
food collection, and self-protection take over immediately. Rigidly
built-in patterns of response are vital to their early self-sufficiency.
Automatic physiological responses are the key to life for these infra-
human organisms.
The case of man is quite different. The human infant has limited
physical capacity and few automatic behavior sequences for dealing
directly with the physical environment. From the moment of birth,
survival depends on the adequacy of interpersonal relationships. The
water, warmth, and milk upon which the infant's life depends come
from others. These primitive, basic transactions which the neonate
carries on with others are, we are told, not rigidly fixed patterns. A
variety of early parental response exists, and this is matched by a varia-
tion in neonate behavior. Several experts in this field (Sullivan, Klein,
Erikson, Ribble, Spitz) have claimed that the roots of personality are
to be found in the earliest mother-child interactions. This claim is not
surprising when we recall that a raw, intense, basic anxiety (concerned
with the maintenance of life itself) may be felt by the neonate. And
this anxiety is dealt with (partially or completely, carelessly or lov-
ingly, calmly or nervously) by the mothering-one. The earliest
kind of survival anxiety is, therefore, handled by interpersonal, social
responses.
From the standpoint of physiology the human infant is not much
different from any young mammal. From the standpoint of per-
sonahty psychology, however, the human being at birth is an extraor-
dinarily plastic, germinal nucleus with infinite potentialities for
eventual differentiation. It might be said that any neonate is a potential
president, priest, poet, or psychotic. PersonaUty psychology is con-
cerned with the events and behaviors which determine the emotional
and social development of the individual. The most important factors
which account for the wide varieties of behavior characteristic of the
human being are the interpersonal security operations which he
develops and the social relationships (real and fantasied) which he
integrates with others.
14 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
We have pointed to the crucial influence of the earliest social trans-
actions between mother and child — crucial because of the survival
anxiety involved and because of the complete dependence of the
infant.
As the child grows, the primacy of interpersonal relationships does
not lessen greatly. A seven-year-old child has developed many motoric
patterns for self-protection, but on the hypothetical desert island or in
any societal context we cannot credit him with survival self-
sufficiency.
The human being maintains existence by virtue of the long period
of parental protection during which he assimilates the complicated
cultural wisdom necessary for survival. This process of slow, and
often painful, learning is intensely interpersonal.
Even at maturity survival rests upon successful interpersonal pat-
terns. The mutual dependence of mankind is inevitable. Whether we
exist in a primitive tribe, a dictatorship, or an industrial democracy,
the key to human life lies in the adequacy of social interaction. Even
the rare test case of a hermit falls within the limits of this generaliza-
tion, since this adjustment technique always involves intense and often
bitter "withdrawal" from others, and is one pattern of interpersonal
reactivity. The extent to which we autoniatically and implicitly
demonstrate patterns of cooperation and submission to social demands
— even in the most democratic society — is quite striking. Failure to do
so invites such real or fantasied threats to life that we automatically
commit ourselves in countless ways to the interpersonal pressure of
parents, societies, and contemporaries.
Anxiety Motivates Interpersonal Behavior
The preceding section is intended to justify the statement that inter-
personal behavior has a basic survival function. The fear of inter-
personal disaster is rooted in a fear of destruction or abandonment.
The organism has hundreds of physiological functions by which de-
struction is warded off and life preserved. The individual develops,
in addition, numerous emotional responses which, in their origins, are
concerned with survival. .
The psychological expression of the survival drive of evolution
theory is anxiety. Primal anxiety is the fear of abandonment.^ As the
child begins to develop, this becomes a fear of rejection and social
disapproval. Mankind's social interdependence means that extreme
* In the first version of this manuscript this sentence read, "Primal anxiety is the
fear of death." The revision vi^as made at the suggestion of Harvey Powelson, M.D.,
who pointed out that death is a sophisticated, complex concept which an infant or
young child has not mastered.
INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION OF PERSONALITY
15
derogation on the part of crucial others can lead to destruction. The
behaviors by which the child avoids derogation are called security
operations. They assure him of the approval and social security which
reduce his anxiety.
As the individual develops, further complications ensue. Self-
esteem becomes a factor which is equal to, or greater than, the overt
esteem of others.^
The role of anxiety in the development of human personality is
central, and it is intricate beyond our understanding. Although rooted
genetically in the fear of death, anxiety (i.e., the fear of disapproval)
is clearly stronger in the case of the adult than the fear of death. There
are countless examples of human beings choosing to face and accept
destruction rather than face anxiety and the loss of self-esteem.
Suicide is one of many such examples.
Another complication which must be considered in understanding
the effects of anxiety involves the multilevel organization of behaviors
for warding off anxiety. A large percentage of any population, for
example, develops security operations which entail overt self-efface-
ment, self-derogation, and the provocation of actual contempt and
disapproval from others. These overt self-derogations, which seem to
contradict our theory of anxiety, can be understood by means of a
multilevel analysis. They are inevitably related to private feelings of
uniqueness or secret consolations. They serve to protect inner feelings
of pride and self-enhancement.
This book and the system of personality which it describes is con-
cerned with a multilevel investigation of human security operations.
We have taken as our task the definition, classification, and measure-
ment of interpersonal behavior (at several levels). We view the inter-
personal behavior of an individual as the machinery by means of which
he wards off anxiety and maintains a multilevel balance of self-
enhancement.
The conceptual model of personality which we are developing
exposes one area of human behavior to study. This is the interpersonal
dimension. The theoretical system is based on one assumption about
the motivation of emotional behavior. This has been formalized as
follows:
First working principle: Personality is the multilevel pattern of
interpersonal responses (overt, conscious, or private) expressed by the
individual. Interpersonal behavior is aimed at reducing anxiety. All
^The complexity of the processes of identification and introj action make this com-
parison redundant and probably meaningless. There is good reason to believe that self-
esteem is usually or always based on values which are taken from others. Thus self-
esteem can be considered an indirect form of approval of crucial others.
1 6 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
the social, emotional, interpersonal activities of an individual can be
understood as attempts to avoid anxiety or to establish and maintain
self-esteem.
References
1. Erikson, E. H. Childhood and society. New York: Norton, 1950.
2. Fenichel, O. Psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. New York: Norton, 1945.
3. Fromm, E. Escape from freedom. New York: Rinehan, 1947.
4. HoRNEY, Karen. Our inner conflicts. New York: Norton, 1945.
5. Sullivan, H. S. Conceptions of modem psychiatry. Washington, D.C.: The Wil-
liam Alanson White Psychiatric Foundation, 1947.
6. SuLUVAN, H. S. Multidisciplined coordination of interpersonal data. In S. S
Sargent and Marian W. Smith (eds.). Culture and personality. New York:
Viking Fund, 1949.
Adjustment-Maladjustment Factors in
Personality Theory
It is the theme of this chapter that personality theories should hold for
adjustive and maladjustive behaviors, that normality and abnormality
should be defined as different points on the same measurement con-
tinuum, and that the conceptual terminology of personality should
therefore include the entire adjustive range of human activity. Few
theories do this. Most are oriented toward abnormal or neurotic
behaviors. Most diagnostic systems have few terms for conceptualiz-
ing adaptive behavior, which is described in vague generalities or in
terms of the absence of pathology.
This is an unfortunate state of affairs. It reflects an undeliberate
but significant depreciation of human nature. In addition, this pathol-
ogy error tends to distort our theories of personality by placing a
disproportionate emphasis on certain limited types of maladjustment,
A science of malfunction cannot precede a science of function.
Therapeutic tactics can break new ground, but scientific and theoretic
progress depends upon the development of the principles of normal
adjustment. The fact that psychiatric theories of personality have been
based on clinical experiences has led to some curiously one-sided
conceptualizations. Psychiatry, however, cannot be wholly blamed
for these restrictions, which, as we shall see, spring from a marked
asymmetry in the ethical evaluations of varying interpersonal themes
in our Western culture.
Before approaching the definitions of adjustment-maladjustment
we shall review psychiatry's overemphasis on the abnormal, and we
shall consider some causes and implications of this pathology error.
Psychiatric Theories Are Oriented Towards Pathology
A history of man's conception of his own nature has yet to be
written. When our systematic knowledge of human expressive be-
'7
1 8 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
havior is more advanced, it will be possible to study the literary and
historical documents of the past, and to determine the expressed and
implied views of personality that determined the behavior of our
ancestors. One tentative generalization — basic to the theory of this
book — may be helpful in surveying the changing conceptions of
human nature. This concerns the Locus of Responsibility for human
behavior. There seems to be a consistent tendency in the development
of psychological knowledge to move the causative factor of human
behavior from external to internal forces. This is clearly reflected in
the changes in the theoretical explanations of abnormal or maladjus-
tive behavior.
We are told that success or failure appeared, to the ancients, to be
controlled by the immutable and mysterious powers of nature. Sun,
seed, and storm were fearful forces — completely inexplicable. Man's
survival responses appeared by comparison quite meaningless. The
shift of causative principles to anthropomorphic gods made human
behavior somewhat more important. The notion that man can move
the gods by propitiation, obedience, or defiance considerably human-
izes the causative sequence.
This conception which lasted from the Greek civilization through
to the nineteenth century (and which still is maintained by a large
majority of individuals living today) defines personality aberration as a
religious phenomenon. Maladjustment is a mark of omnipotent inter-
vention, generally indicating a sinful nature. The maladjusted person
is isolated, overtly punished, or covertly rejected. The error is man's
and the power is the god's.
The theories of descriptive psychiatry which emphasized constitu-
tional morbidity, although they had the ring of scientific objectivity,
were still very crude conceptions. They were abysmally inferior
to the insights of the artistic geniuses who preceded them by several
centuries. Shakespeare, for example, progressed much further from
the Greek mythology than the average hospital psychiatrist of the
early 1900's. On the other hand, in the strictest sense of dramatic
motivation, Oedipus was a morbidly predisposed type — since no
choice is given him at any point to reverse his awful destiny. This
type of psychological explanation is quite congenial to pre-Freudian
psychiatry. Change a few mythological terms and Oedipus is an
acceptable case history from the textbook of the nineteenth century
alienist. When we compare this predestined helplessness with the
self-imposed conflicts of Shakespeare's characters the descriptive
psychiatrist comes off badly. Although Elizabethan theories of human
destiny involved chance and fortuitous influences (the wheel of fate),
still the reader is impressed by the implication that the poet's heroes
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 19
court their tragic ends because of their own greed, ambition, indeci-
sion, and shallowness. The causative agency has moved from the ex-
ternal and immovable force to the partial responsibility of the hero for
his own self-created destiny.
The notion that human nature and the individual's fate are deter-
mined by his own (conscious or unconscious) decisions and solutions
is brilliantly illustrated by Marcel Proust. In Remembrance of Things
Past he describes how his hero deliberately trains and provokes his
parents to accept him as a neurotic child. In the following episode he
literally creates his own maladjustment and develops the weak and
asocial role he is to maintain in his future life. His parents agree,
" 'It is his nerves . . .' . And thus for the first time my unhappiness
was regarded no longer as a fault for which I must be punished, but as
an involuntary evil which has been officially recognized, a nervous
condition for which I was in no way responsible: I had the consola-
tion that I need no longer mingle apprehensive scruples with the bit-
terness of my tears; I could weep henceforth without sin."
The narrator recognizes, however, that his neurosis is not "involun-
tary," but rather a purposive, victorious interpersonal maneuver. He
has unconsciously selected nervousness as a security operation. The
narrator then goes on to say, "I ought then to be happy; I was not. It
struck me that my mother had just made a first concession which must
have been painful to her, that it was a first step down from the ideal
she had formed for me, and that for the first time she, with all her
courage, had to confess herself beaten. It struck me that if I had just
scored a victory it was over her; that I had succeeded, as sickness or
sorrow or age might have succeeded, in relaxing her will, in altering
her judgment; that this evening opened a new era, must remain a black
date in the calendar." (4, p. 49)
Freudian Theory of Normality
With the Freudian theory, psychology begins to catch up with
the intuitions of literature. Man's character, his responses and solu-
tions to the overwhelming conflicts of life are brought into focus.
While man has a choice of reactions which bring relative amounts of
temporary security, the balance, according to Freud, is still on the side
of the native, instinctual endowment. The doctrine of instincts em-
phasizes the inevitable pressure of drives external to the ego. In early
psychoanalytic theory it is libidinal drive that is basic, inborn, con-
stant, and, in the final sense, victorious. The adaptive forces are
acquired, inconstant, variable, and, in the final sense, secondary. In
fact, the ego functions, defense mechanisms, and character traits were
sometimes interpreted as neurotic solutions.
20 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
By building his logical notational structure on the "id" instincts,
Freud was making a formal decision, and not an empirical discovery.
Impressed by the new insights he obtained into the antisocial impulses,
it was natural for Freud to base his theory on that aspect of human
motivation. It is generally accepted that later developments in psycho-
analysis have reversed this trend, and have placed more emphasis on
the ego, studying its structure, function, and the multiplex variety of
its processes. But it is also commonly known that early psychoanalytic
terminology tends to lack terms for describing adjustive behavior and
normal processes. The conceptual contributions of Erikson have
competently filled in this gap in the psychoanalytic nosology.
The psychoanalytic theory of personality, which is by far the
most complete and complex theory, is based on the statistically narrow,
neurotic extreme of the general population in two or three Occidental
countries. As we shall see subsequently, there is good evidence to
suggest that early psychiatric and psychoanalytic theory was based
on less than one half of the range of this maladjustive extreme, and
that perhaps 50 per cent of neurotic solutions remained largely un-
defined.
The curious phenomenon of a massive theoretical structure erected
on an emaciated sample of subjects is, I believe, due to two basic
factors, one logical and one empirical. Freud's formal choice in em-
phasizing the destructive strivings is historically comprehensible, and
no detraction from his creative genius.
The empirical factor, as I have suggested, refers to the narrow
range of individuals whose neurosis is such as to lead them to submit
to the singular and rather implausible process of psychoanalysis (cf.
Chapter 12).
Jung's Emphasis on Adaptive Behavior
The Jungian school of analytic psychology produced several im-
portant revisions of Freudian concepts. Most of its unique contribu-
tions are refinements and extensions of Freudian theory. To the extent
that any cognitive issue was involved, we can say that the Zurich
group split off from Vienna when Jung rejected the narrow sexual
interpretation of libidinal energy. By broadening the meaning of this
basic impulse, Jung and his followers have made it general and vague,
and thus relegated it to a secondary theoretical position. This indirect
shelving of the libido theory can be taken as an unpremeditated, but
vital, aspect of the Jungian position. Other revisions pertinent to this
discussion include theories of functions, neurosis, and unconscious
motivation.
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 2i
The Jungian functions — extroversion, intuition, thinking, etc. — are
seen as important, but not necessarily negative, psychological mech-
anisms. They are pathological only when rigidly misused or when
completely repressed. For the most part, when a Jungian diagnostician
calls the subject "introverted" he is not making a value judgment; he
implies only that this is an important way in which the patient handles
experience and its conflicts, and it may or may not be necessary to
modify its use.
It follows, then, that the Jungians do not see character distortions as
pathological fixations or regressions to inevitable infantile stages. They
describe neurosis as a partial solution to life's dilemmas — a construc-
tive mobilizing of "psychic" resources against real or imagined threats.
They might say of the neurotic pattern, "This is a good try, perhaps
the best you could do under those circumstances. Now let's see what
the results of these solutions have been and what other possibilities for
resolution we can discover."
This approach has much to recommend it. It is very congenial to
the current medical conception which defines disease, not as an un-
fortunate falling ill, but as a complicated interaction between one net-
work of adaptive responses and another network of threatening events.
Another, and perhaps the greatest, advantage of the Jungian system
is the conception of unconscious motivations as valuable, undiscovered
potentials of the self, rather than as destructive impulses. Bateson has
appraised the Jungian viewpoint as more consistent with the prin-
ciples of communication theory. He points out that
the Freudian ambition to substitute ego for id or to include the id within the
scope of the ego, sounds to Jungians like advocating manipulative and conscious
control of the foreign body. In reply to this they would urge merely the
acceptance— even the joyful acceptance— of the fact that the foreign body
though always and inevitably unconscious is really a part of the self and the self
a part of it— the collective unconscious being imagined to be in some sense
greater than the self. (5, p. 264)
With this background it becomes clear that the Jungian theory,
although based on and indebted to the work of Freud, has made certain
advances toward a balanced conception of normahty-abnormality
factors. Shifting the stress from infantile strivings to the selecting and
adapting functions of response helps to free psychology from fatalistic
themes which have limited man's view of human nature from
Sophocles' time through Freud's.
Jungian theories have contributed, often indirectly, to four promis-
ing notions. First they bring us closer to the development of a
normality-abnormality continuum, which makes neurosis not a quali-
22 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
tatively different phenomenon. They help us see the interaction be-
tween biological-cultural pressures and the adaptive-maladaptive
responses of the individual. They emphasize the "circular or reticu-
late" equilibrium of different levels of personality rather than the
one-sided organization for warding off unconscious motivations.
Finally, they are, perhaps, the first to introduce the far-reaching idea
that unconscious or repressed motives can be positive, constructive
potentials, and are not necessarily negative.
Many of these doctrines were only implicit in Jung's writings, and
credit for their informal, undramatic development must be assigned
to certain American analytic psychiatrists, in particular, Joseph Wheel-
wright and Joseph Henderson.
Homey and Fromm on Normality
This general tendency to focus upon adjustive behavior has been
given articulate expression by psychiatric systemists who have em-
phasized the cultural dimension of personality. When Horney and
Fromm substitute cultural factors for instinctual pressure in the
causative formula, they bring about drastic revision in attitudes
toward mental health and disease. In the first place, the sexual and
aggressive instincts — defined by Freud as universal, immutable, and
antisocial — tend to taint all men with a new form of original sin. The
culture concept is much more flexible. It gives man, or sohie men, a
halfway chance because of the wide variation in social environments
and cultural pressures.
Thus the diagnostician's causative questions become: "What were
the set of biological, familial, social, and cultural pressures which this
patient faced, and what was the particular network of responses by
which he dealt with them?" The issue of normality-abnormality takes
on new meaning in this context. A survey of the publications of
Fromm or Horney will reveal the extent to which these authors are
concerned with the individual's attempts to solve his conflicts. We
have in the previous chapter cited a partial list of some dozen mech-
anisms, escapes, and trends described by these two theorists. Over
and over again they emphasize the response of the patient to the en-
vironment, and his interactions with it. Their interest in pathology is
always hnked to the underlying notion that neurosis is acquired by
and through the individual's reactions to social stress, and the sub-
sidiary idea that it can be "cured" by shifting one's reactions to stress
in the future.
Basic and implicit to the theories of both is the theme that mal-
adjustment is different in degree, and not in kind, from the so-called
norm. Fromm states this clearly,
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 23
The phenomena which we observe in the neurotic person are in principle not
different from those we find in the normal. They are only more accentuated,
clear-cut, and frequently more accessible to the awareness of the neurotic person
than they are in the normal who is not aware of any personal problem which
warrants study. (1, p. 17)
Sullivan and the Concept of Normality
Within the framework of a brief historical review we have been
selecting several themes which comprise the message of this chapter.
These include the qualitative similarity of normality-abnormality, the
locus of responsibility assigned to the individual's behavior, rather than
to fatalistic forces, and the necessity to take into account the multi-
level nature of human potentialities. These concepts, which are im-
plicit in the development of psychoanalytic theory during the last
fifty years, appear over and over again in the writings of Sullivan.
This theorist, we recall, holds that the self is formed through the
child's sensitivity to approval and disapproval. If we accept this notion
that personality is determined by interpersonal anxiety we have closed
the qualitative gap between normal and abnormal. ''Everything that
can be found in mental disorder can be found in anyone, but the
accent, the prominence, the misuse, of that which is found in the
mental patient, is more or less characteristic." (3, p. 77) With this re-
mark SuUivan advances the concept of the continuity of normal
and abnormal human behavior which developed from the orig-
inal Jungian protest. Listing neurotic and normal behavior along a
relativistic continuum is a humanistic trend, which results in changing
techniques in psychotherapy. Moreover, it lends itself more directly
to scientific procedures, since probability laws become considerably
more feasible. The pathology error in psychiatric thinking led to
theorems that were based on neurotic behavior, and which had little
to say about normal functioning. By concentrating on the processes of
adaptation in their successful and unsuccessful forms the stage is set for
many new personality systems which will hold for all human behavior.
Emphasis on Adaptive Responses Leads
to a Neutral Conceptio?i of Human Nature
To insist that psychology focus on man's executive, adaptive reac-
tions— in their adjustive flexibility as well as their maladjustive
extreme — is not to argue for a bright-eyed optimistic view of the
human situation. In many ways it is much kinder to inform a fellow
human being that his misery or failure is due to divine direction,
inherited disposition, or biological destiny. We remember that
Sophocles, while plunging Oedipus into the depth of despair, never
forced him to express man's most poignant lament, "I could have done
J . BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
differently." His fate was always in the hands of the gods. The
responsibility for human destiny is thereby transferred to external
forces. This view relieves man of the obligation to effect change,
which is assigned to omnipotent powers among whom later generations
have included the physician. This is probably the easiest and most
comfortable conception of human nature.
When we interpret adjustment in terms of the individual's own
responses, rigid solutions, and escape mechanisms, we present our
fellow-sufferers with an ambiguous gift. Two rather staggering im-
plications accompany this conception. Neither are particularly optim-
istic. The first is, "You must accept the blame or credit for your
present situation; you, and not your rejecting parents, your race,
your instinctual heritage, your drunken husband, but your own pat-
tern of repetitive and self-limiting responses created it." To this grim
frankness we must add the corollary, "To you, therefore, is given the
power to change your situation. . . . it is impossible and unnecessary
to change your childhood, the society in which you live, your skin
color, your biological make-up, or your spouse — what is required is a
change in your inaccurate perceptions and rigid reactions."
When we replace immutable external forces with self-determinism,
we invite the individual to accept a most lonely and frightening
power which, as Fromm has pointed out, none of us are well trained
to assume. This is, of course, neither an optimistic nor a pessimistic
point of view, being rather the neutral realistic statement of the
reciprocal principles of social interaction and self-determination.
Symptom and Character
The changing approaches to personality just described have re-
sulted in an additional clarifying abstraction which is very pertinent to
the conception of neurosis. This is the distinction between symptom
and character.
As used in this context, the term character refers to the personality
— the durable, multiple-level pattern of interpersonal tendencies or-
ganized into stable or unstable equilibria. This complex organization
of perception and action is a logical notational structure by which we
conceptualize the anxiety-reducing operations of the individual. It is
the theoretical and linguistic device by which we summarize our
knowledge of a human being. The character structure, as the sum
total of an individual's interpersonal behavior, is the psychologist's
shorthand for the social human being.
A symptom, as succinctly defined by Masserman (2, p. 298), is
any "overt manifestation of a disease or behavior disorder." It is one
aspect of the unified network of variables that make up personality.
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 25
and an important aspect in that it indicates an imbalance or malfunc-
tion in the character structure. A symptom not only tells us that
something is distorted in the personality, but in the nature of its
specificity often suggests what kind of a distortion exists. Regardless
of how centrally painful psychiatric symptoms may be to the patient
or to his intimates, their meaning, function, and treatment must be
viewed as one set of factors related to many others in the personality
organization.
To illustrate the distinction between symptom and character, let
us pose the question, what do we mean by neurosis? Psychiatric text-
books define neurosis in terms of repetitive, anxiety-driven behavior
based on internal conflict, and manifesting certain symptomatic ex-
pressions. This is a broad, inclusive, dictionary-type definition, and a
pretty good one. It emphasizes not only the external appearance of
neurosis — the symptoms — but also the underlying character distor-
tions. Unhappily when the nonanalytic psychiatrist takes off his
Sunday-best terminology and lists his workday operating diagnostic
concepts, this nice balance is lost. Most, if not all, of the commonly
used psychiatric categories — schizoid, depressive, psychopathic, psy-
chosomatic— are symptom-oriented. They are based on certain ex-
ternal signs of unsuccessful adaption. In practice, an individual is
diagnosed as neurotic if he manifests the so-called psychiatric symp-
toms which are restricted to a certain range of social inefficiencies.
Most patients come to the psychiatric clinic not expressing dissatis-
faction with their character, but requesting relief from symptoms.
The attention of the patient and most preanalytic therapists is
naturally directed to the painful, and often terrifying external manifes-
tations of psychiatric distress. This symptom orientation supplies
another reason why psychiatry and the personality theories it has
produced have taken on the negativistic, neurosis-bound cast which
we have called the pathology error.
The attempt to develop personality theories in the atmosphere of
the consulting room and clinic has resulted in still another interesting
limitation. The second half of this compound fallacy is caused by the
fact that (until the last decade), of all neurotic character types, only
about one half came in any frequency to seek psychotherapeutic help.
We can suspect that about 50 per cent of individuals with marked
character distortions (i.e., one half of the diagnostic continuum) did
not show up in large numbers in the nineteenth century psychiatric
office because the very essence of their imbalance tended to push them
away from dependence, self-revelation, and conforming cooperation.
The diagnostic chapters of this book will consider this interesting
phenomenon in some detail. It is pertinent to the argument here to
26 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
point out that a large percentage of the maladjusted population has
traditionally received little psychiatric attention. They were not
studied because they did not come for psychiatric help. They did not
seek therapeutic assistance because the core of their anxiety-reducing
operations was a compulsive maintenance of povi^er, independence,
competitiveness, or defiance — interpersonal techniques which pre-
clude, under ordinary circumstances, the role of a psychiatric patient.
Working Principle II: Adjustive-Maladjustive
Personality Variables
Thus, our personality theories have not only been lopsided in the
direction of maladjusted rather than normal subjects, but also limited
by overemphasis on a narrow fragment of the over-all neurotic popu-
lation. We can now present the second principle upon which the
interpersonal system is based.
Second working principle: The variables of a personality system
should be designed to measure — on the same continuum — the normal,
adjustive aspects of behavior as ivell as abnormal or pathological
extremes.
In validating a system of personality, the procedures of data collec-
tion should include samples of both adjusted and maladjusted subjects.
Among the maladjusted there should be proportionate empirical
attention to those subjects whose anxiety is lessened by rushing-
into-a-psychiatric-clinic as well as those whose anxiety is dimin-
ished by a rushing-away-from-the-interpersonal-implications-of-the-
psychotherapeutic-situation.
By basing their conceptions on the human character structure,
rather than on a fractional segment of symptoms, Erikson, Horney,
Fromm, and Sullivan have doubled the range of personality types. We
learn that many apparently successful and socially approved behavior
extremes — the driving competitor, the overambitious leader, the over-
popular hero — can be based on imbalanced and neurotic character
structures. It is easy to add the corollary that many phenomena clas-
sically considered deeply pathological — mild autistic withdrawals,
moderate unconventionality, moderate depressed obsessiveness — are
not severe imbalances but constructive, healthy, and perfectly ac-
ceptable methods of warding off anxiety.
Effect of Cultural Values on Theories of Normality
Fromm speaks in this connection of the difference between per-
sonal and social maladjustment. Social efficiency manifested by public
esteem, high income, and feverish productivity may give the appear-
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 27
ance of healthy adjustment at the expense of disequilibrium and in-
ternal distortion. Social inefficiency, defined in terms of low income,
nonconformity, modest station, social introversion, and relaxed am-
bition does not always indicate unhappiness or psychic disturbance.
Poets have known this for some centuries.
The basic values of the American middle class, which insidiously
permeate all of its members, exert their influence on contemporary
psychiatric theories. It is very easy to identify normality with con-
ventionality or optimistic, active, responsible independence; and
neurosis with nonconformity or pessimistic, inactive sensitivity.
The definition of adjustment is thus complicated by the inevitable
pressure of value systems: Is it more "normal" to express constructive,
conjunctive, conventional affiUative feelings? Is it more "abnormal"
to manifest distrustful, hostile, rebellious behavior?
The personality theorist need not base his definition on cultural
values, but it is certainly necessary to take into account the social and
ethical esteem which attaches to certain popular security operations.
There are two issues which must be faced — a quantitative and a
qualitative consideration of adjustment.
Quantitative Definition of Adjustment
This book is presenting a system for diagnosing personality which
strives to be objective and operational. This commits us to a quan-
titative definition of maladjustment. We set up continua for measur-
ing or classifying interpersonal behavior in terms of several indices.
Normality-abnormality is defined in terms of these indices.
The first of these quantitative scales concerns consistent modera-
tion versus intensity at any one level of behavior. The former is con-
sidered adjustive, the second maladjustive.
The second categorization concerns flexibility versus rigidity at
any one level of behavior. The former is considered adjustive, the
latter maladjustive.
A third quantitative index of normality involves the stability or
oscillation among different levels of personality. Extreme conflict
(oscillation) among levels is viewed as maladjustive. So is extreme
interlevel rigidity, i.e., the same interpersonal operations repeated at
all levels. Stable or balanced interlevel patterns are seen as adjustive.
A fourth (and less clear-cut) definition of normality involves
measurements of accuracy and appropriateness. If behavior is in-
appropriate, if perceptions are inaccurate, then maladjustment is
indicated.
The methodology and specific apphcation of these quantitative in-
dices will be described in later sections of this book.
2 8 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
Qualitative Definition of Adjustment
A second approach to the definition of adjustment and maladjust-
ment involves a qualitative assessment of behavior. Here we do not
ask "how much?" or "how rigid?" or "how accurate?" but concen-
trate on luhat kind of interpersonal behavior.
The qualitative definition of normality is inextricably rooted in
value judgments and does not appear to be useful in developing an
objective diagnostic system. The quantitative concept of adjustment
is based on the notion of personal adjustment. How balanced, ac-
curate, adaptable are the security operations? How successful are they
in warding off anxiety? The qualitative concept is based on social
adjustment — conformity to cultural stereotypes as to what is normal.
Let us grant that no human being is perfectly balanced, and that
everyone has developed modes of dealing with anxiety which em-
phasize certain interpersonal behaviors and minimize others. The
qualitative question then becomes: Are there socially preferred kinds
of security operations? Are there certain modes of response which
are intrinsically better than others?
Is conventionality or loving trust, for example, intrinsically more
adjusted than bitter rebellion?
There is no answer to these questions. This is a cultural, ethical
issue. The neutral position of the scientist (which of course is an ideal
and never an actuality) can be preserved by accepting explicitly
quantitative definitions of adjustment and avoiding (as far as it is pos-
sible) the qualitative.
By way of illustration, let us consider two patients, both of whom
have intense underlying feelings of despair and a long history of
deprivation and derogation. One patient reacts to these inner feelings
and experiences by means of a rigid conventionality and conformity
to duty. The second patient reacts to the same inner feelings and the
same unhappy history by means of a rigid rebellion and bitter rejec-
tion of conventional behavior.
Assuming the rigidity and intensity of the two security operations
to be equal, is one more adjustive than the other? A quantitative
definition would hold that there is no difference.
A qualitative definition might tend to consider one more normal
than the other. Certainly, most cultural, ethical values would prefer
the former conforming, cooperative operations and disapprove of the
latter. But from the standpoint of the individual and his quest for se-
curity it will be seen that both may achieve the same amount of self-
esteem and suffer from the same amount of conflict. They may be
equally successful in warding off anxiety.
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 29
Large and diverse samples of subjects studied by means of dis-
ciplined, logical variable systems offer the best protection against one-
sided success-oriented personality theories. The invaluable assistance
of formal classification and notational structures in systematizing the
data of human nature is one of the basic maxims of this book. The
following chapter is devoted to this topic. The following example will
serve to illustrate its usefulness in the context of the present discussion
of social versus personal adjustment.
Illustration of the Impact of Cultural Values
on Conceptions of Moral Character
In the process of developing a systematic list of interpersonal
variables it is obvious that hostile and affectionate behaviors are among
the commonly employed means of dealing with others. When we
apply the principles of the normality-abnormality continuum, it fol-
lows logically that we must have linguistic terms for describing inter-
mediate points along the continuum between these two interpersonal
motives. This is to say, we must measure the moderate-adaptive and
the intense pathological extremes of each morive. Thus, in devising
rating scales, diagnostic terms, test check lists and the like, it is formally
required that we have signs or terms to reflect the adjustively hostile,
the adjustively affectionate, the maladaptively hostile, and the mal-
adaptively affectionate.
When the Kaiser Foundation psychology research project began
to develop a system of interpersonal variables, a puzzling linguistic
situation was uncovered. It became clear that the English language —
whether that of the psychiatrist or that of the general public — has a
marked imbalance in the number of terms which describe different
interpersonal themes. There was no trouble in obtaining long columns
of words describing the positive, socially adaptive expressions of
friendliness, amiability, love, agreeability, etc. Nor was there difficulty
in listing maladjustive, pathologically toned denotations of extreme
hostility, hatred, opposition, rage, etc. It was, however, a tedious task
to get three or four commonly used words for the concept of adjustive,
socially approved hostility. Considerable dictionary, thesaurus, and
literary research uncovered a few such words — frank, blunt, critical —
but it appears that the English language, and the implicit folk con-
ceptions of human nature that underly it, pay little attention to the
theme of appropriate expression of disaffiliative interpersonal behavior.
Interpersonal check lists were given to large samples of diverse sub-
jects in order to obtain a balanced variable system and to determine the
expected frequency of social motivations attributed to self. The logic
of the personality system and statistical simplicity demanded a balance
30 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
between hostile and friendly terms, but the one-sidedness of the inter-
personal terminology and conceptualization of Anglo-American cul-
ture made it necessary to employ such clumsy terms as righteous
anger, not afraid to be critical, and the like, in order to express the
theme of adaptive, appropriate hostility.
When we seek to find terms which express extreme, rigid mal-
adjustive affectionate behavior, the problem becomes insoluble.
There are no such simple words in the language. According to our
linguistic forefathers, the human being cannot be too loving. The
notion that one can be neurotically or compulsively affiliative is
literally unthought of.
In this instance, the logical principles of the normality-abnormality
continuum of interpersonal behavior and the discipline of a formal
notational system lead to some interesting semantic, anthropological
speculations and a further illustration of the one-sided clinical error.
What Is Adjustment?
In pointing out the limitations of classical psychiatry, and in advo-
cating expanded symmetrical, logical principles for dealing with the
normality-abnormaUty continuum, we have left untouched two vital
questions: What is normality? What is neurosis? These are crucial
issues because the theoretical position assumed on these questions is
inextricably bound to the resulting conceptions of personality organi-
zation, diagnosis, and therapeutic orientation.
Horney presents changing and developing definitions of neurosis in
her different publications. In general, she appears to see normality as
flexibility, optimal productivity, as well as a relative emancipation from
anxiety and the conflicts which accompany it. Fromm stresses produc-
tiveness, responsibility, mature affection, understanding, a rational
handling of the authority relationship, and "freedom" from irrational
dependence. Sullivan defines mental health as accurate, mutually re-
warding interpersonal relationships. All of these authors are aware of
the effect of the culture on our conception of normality. They point
out that deviation from the norm must be viewed in the context of the
social background. When Sullivan ties his most adequate mode of ex-
perience— the syntaxic — to consensual validation he recognizes cul-
tural relativity, and holds that a "great deal of most people's syntaxic
experience is bound by the prescriptions and limitations of the
culture . . ."
When we survey these criteria of normality, two thoughts may
occur. First, they are all partially vahd, in the sense that they refer to
aspects of adjustive functioning. Second, none of them is complete,
systematic, or too well organized. Productivity, syntaxic function,
ADJUSTMENT-MALADJUSTMENT FACTORS 31
and achievement of one's potential are broad concepts, admirable
foundations for a philosophy of human nature, but much too vague
and general to be used as research and clinical variables.
From the standpoint of operational measurement, most definitions
of normality are either too specific, and thus fragmentary, or too
broad, and thus imprecise. This is because normality cannot be sys-
tematically defined until a comprehensive system exists for organizing
the multiplex data of human nature. Personality processes operate at
many levels and in many forms. The nature of the definition of
neurosis is always chained to the nature of the system of variables by
w^hich the theorist classifies human behavior.
We shall obtain rigorous, logical, complex heuristic definitions of
adjustment-maladjustment when we are given systematic multilevel
definitions of human personality. Until then the conception of
neurosis will reflect the level of personality to which the theorist is
limited.
At this point in the discussion it is appropriate to introduce the
theory of normality basic to the personality system presented in this
book. To venture its definition at this early stage of the exposition is a
hazardous proposition. Since a detailed description of personality
organization has not been presented, a detailed definition of normality
is premature. We shall be forced to employ undefined words, refer to
undefined levels and their undescribed relationships. Fluent expres-
sion of nonoperationally defined terms is the easiest trap that awaits
the personality theorist. We shall, with these reservations, present a
verbal description of normality, at the same time referring the reader
ahead to the systematic and operationally defined categories which are
to follow in Chapter 12.
Adjustment in terms of the over-all personality organization con-
sists in flexible, balanced, appropriate, accurate interpersonal behavior.
In terms of the subdivisions of personality — the levels of public inter-
action, perception, and private symbolism — it consists of appropriate,
accurate, and balanced interpersonal behavior respectively. When we
re-examine this definition we shall see that each term has a rigorous
quantitative meaning — referring to specific, operationally defined
processes. In the broad scope, we call normality an equilibrium of all
the levels of personality such that the necessary mild character distor-
tions at some levels are moderately counterbalanced at other levels. A
different subdefinition exists for each different level of personality. At
the level of perception of self or others, accuracy or syntaxic agree-
ment with consensual perception is a partial index of adjustment. At
the level of overt interaction, the proportion of flexible interactions
appropriate to the interpersonal stimulus becomes the index of adjust-
32 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
ment. At the level of indirect, fantasy expression, the breadth of
symbolic themes and their balance and relationship to the other levels
provides the ratio of adjustment/
The verbal definition of adjustment presented above rests upon one
basic (philosophic) assumption: survival anxiety as the motivating
force of interpersonal behavior. This premise shapes the resulting
theory of normality. It also focuses on certain types of variables
(interpersonal), and requires certain formal multilevel systems for
relating these variables. The conception of adjustment-maladjust-
ment presented in this section, therefore, does not stand as an isolated
verbal entity. This will become clearer as we examine, in later chap-
ters, the specific and, in the following chapter, the general principles
of the system on which it is based.
' In Chapter 12 operational methods for classifying and diagnosing behavior will be
presented. This conception of adjustment is based on the notions of moderation, bal-
ance, and flexibility. In developing objective criteria for measuring these qualities we
have found ourselves borrowing from certain historical antecedents and rejecting
others. Moderation and the avoidance of extremes is, of course, the definition of
adjustment sponsored by Aristotle. Flexibility and the avoidance of narrow, rigid
forms of adjustment is the Renaissance ideal. The Christian conception of values
views normality as a victor over man's intrinsic evil nature. This notion is reflected
in the psychiatric theories of adjustment developed in the nineteentli century. It is a
curious irony that empirical approaches to the definition of normality find their
intellectual heritage in the Greek and Renaissance philosophies which are more distant
in many other respects from the ethos of t%ventieth-century culture.
References
1. Fromm, E. Escape from freedom. New York: Rinehart, 1951.
2. Masserman, J. H. Principles of dynamic psychiatry. Philadelphia: Saunders,
1946.
3. MuLLAHY, p. The theories of Harry Stack Sullivan. In P. Mullahy (ed.). The
Contributions of Harry Stack Sullivan. New York: Hermitage House, 1952.
4. Proust, M. Swann's way. Translated by C- K. Scott-MoncriefT. London: Chatto,
1922. Vol. 1.
5. RuEscH, J., and G. Bateson. Communication. New York: Norton, 1951.
Systematizing the Complexity
of Personality
That segment of personality which we have selected to systematize
centers on adjustive and maladjustive interpersonal behavior. Even
when we narrow our field to the social dimension of personality, the
systematic task remaining is terribly complicated. The diversity of
interpersonal behavior covers a wide range. It includes all the things a
subject does to others at all levels of personality — overtly, symboli-
cally, and in private perceptions. When we add the parallel behaviors
of others who do things to the subject we obtain a network of events
that probably equals in complexity the data of the physical sciences.
When we consider further the effects of culture, sex difference, and
the peculiarly self-deceptive nature of emotional data, the enormity of
the scientific task becomes clear.
In undertaking this complex mission, personality psychology can,
fortunately, count on some conceptual assistance — new developments
in the philosophy of science. In recent years considerable progress
has been made by a group of logicians and positivist philosophers
which is directly apphcable to the field of personality. The study of
human nature can find guide posts in the general principles which
guide the physical sciences.
The Basic Conceptual Unit of Personality
We shall begin by considering a preliminary question. When we
study the interpersonal behavior of an individual, what is the basic
datum on which we make our judgments? The first answer to this
question might be that we employ a variety of behavioral cues: projec-
tive personality tests, tales of woe from the interview, the angry tones
of voice, dream texts, and the hke. These are, it is true, the events, but
33
34 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
they are not the basic data for the study of personality. How can we
measure these written, oral, and physical expressions in such a way as
to provide comparative conceptual material? It is possible, but rarely
feasible, to capture these events by sound and movie equipment. Even
then we must decide what to do with these unwieldy materials when
we get them.
For many years researchers have been working within one or an-
other of these areas of raw personality data, painfully building up com-
plex devices for categorizing the different surface types of expression.
Hundreds of systems for dealing with personality tests have been pub-
lished. We have learned, to our horror, that it is possible to devise
measurement scales for each facet of personahty expression. Thus, it
is possible to have an elaborate continuum for rating each type of test,
another for measuring the amount of sadness or depression expressed
by the subject, another for classifying the nuances of tone of voice.
None of these scales need any relationship to each other, and they
leave unsolved the great paradox that personality must be considered
as somewhat unified yet is expressed in a variety of ways.
Actually, a distressing amount of creative energy has gone into
molecular, stimulus-bound research of this sort. One method of clas-
sifying the responses to one test, the Rorschach ink blots, involves over
sixty elaborate and tricky rating procedures. These variables have
direct reference only to the ink blots themselves, and by circuitous
and generally unvalidated intuition refer to a few aspects of general
behavior. This is a single example of the unfortunate and common
practice of chasing one aspect of raw personality data down a tortuous
side alley.
We have several score of personality tests, each of which employs
tedious methods for summarizing an extremely artificial and narrow
range of expressive behavior. Most of these tests force the develop-
ment of miniature personality theories which work for the tiny seg-
ment of behavior that they tap. A test which uses sand and water as
part of the stimulus items thus employs a theory which gives sand and
water a prominent role in personality development.
The solution we have employed to deal with this unsatisfactory
situation is to define as the basic data of personahty, not the expressive
events, but the communications by the subject or by others about his
interpersonal activity. The basic units of personality come from the
protocol language by which the subject's interpersonal behavior is
described.
When the subject smiles we attend to it, but the smile is not the
datum which directly concerns us. Someone who is present in the
situation, or observes it in cinematic form, has to make a protocol
THE COMPLEXITY OF PERSONALITY 35
statement about this movement of facial muscles before it becomes a
datum of personality. We study not the actual behavior, but the
language about it (including the subject's language about it).
This may sound, at first impression, like a restricting definition. But
when we remember that we can obtain many descriptions of the same
momentary event, it actually provides a systematic way of multiplying
our knowledge. The smile, for example, might elicit many data sen-
tences. The subject himself might describe his motive purpose at the
moment as friendliness. The consensual report of many judges might
agree in attributing friendly purpose to the smile. A suspicious relative,
however, might judge it as smug or patronizing. A dependent relative
might attribute tender sympathy. Thus, this facial gesture produces
many protocol statements which provide interpersonal information
about the subject's description of self and his social stimulus value to
others.
The basic data of personality studied by the interpersonal system
are the verbal protocol statements about interpersonal behavior,
i.e., the language in which the subject or others describe his inter-
personal interactions, perceptions, and symbols. The diverse molecular
responses — tears, bodily movements, test reactions — are the raw ma-
terials. From them we obtain the building blocks for the scientific
study of personality. These are units of classification — terms such as
depressed, angry, confident.
The Structure of Scientific Language
In the methodological aspects of the science, we use a wide variety
of empirical techniques to obtam the raw data of personality. We
utilize these direct observations by converting them into systematic
protocol language. Scientific study of personality consists in a study
of the systematic language by which we describe the many facets of
behavior. These conceptual operations refer to the formal aspects of
the science.
This important division of scientific procedures into empirical and
formal propositions has developed out of the scientific philosophy of
the twentieth century. Bertrand Russell and the Logical Positivists
(Wittgenstein, Carnap, etc.) have helped to make the distinction be-
tween the synthetic operational language, which refers to measurable
events in the physical-social world, and the formal analytic procedures
by which the language of science is organized.
These two distinct types of scientific communications were rede-
fined and a third pragmatic function added by C. W. Morris. This
American philosopher claimed that all scientific activity can be studied
as forms of the language of science. The general science which studies
35 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
the entire field of scientific communication he calls semiotic. He
defines three different functions of scientific behavior: ( 1 ) Semantics
studies the relation of signs to objects and thus covers the empirical,
experimental, and methodological aspects of science. (2) Syntactics
is concerned with the relation of signs to signs, and involves the formal
procedures of logic, syntax, and mathematics. (3) Pragmatics deals
with the relation of signs to the users of signs. This branch of semiotic
studies the functional and applied meaning of communicative behavior.
Let us examine Morris' three functions in more detail.
(1) Every science has unique methods and variables for dealing
with its specific data. These variables and their relationships are de-
scribed in terms of language. Thus, despite the great variations in what
scientists do with their various data, the net result always involves
communication or sign behavior.
Certain general rules hold for all empirical investigations. Among
these we include the need for unambiguous operational definitions of
terms, and the need for public and repeatable measurements, pro-
cedures, and the like. Morris calls these semantic rules since they gov-
ern the relationship of signs to the empirical events. All sciences differ,
but all must conform to the same standards of objectivity.
(2) These empirical propositions which are related to observable
and testable facts are crucially different from the formal prepositional
structures of a science. The latter comprise systems which regulate
the relationship of signs or language units. They have no empirical
reference. Such formal devices are indispensable because they deter-
mine how the researcher organizes his factual language. Mathematics
and the logical deductive systems employed by modem science do not
depend upon empirical proof. They are, in this sense, complex sets of
terms which are inflexibly related to each other according to pre-
established, assumed rules. The arithmetical statement "two times
five equals ten," for example, is a predetermined relationship based on
our original definition of what each of the terms means. This sentence
is therefore empty of factual meaning. The psychoanalytic statement
"the ego wards off instinctual impulses," is similarly formal, depend-
ing on the assumed relationship of ego and instinct. It has no empirical
meaning.
(3) The pragmatic aspects of the language of personality delimit
a broad and ramified field. They refer to the sociology of our psy-
chological knowledge, its pohtics, its practical application in diagnosis
and therapy. We have found it necessary to narrow the scope of the
pragmatics of our system to the predictive function in the psychiatric
clinic. We have selected the interpersonal framework because it ap-
pears to be the most functional in terms of survival of the individual
THE COMPLEXITY OF PERSONALITY
37
and a critical prediction of clinical events. In due course we shall
attempt to show that every variable and every diagnostic category
presented in this book has been chosen to predict directly the
crucial aspects of the subject's future behavior — particularly with the
future therapist. Thus we equate the pragmatics of personality psy-
chology with prediction. From the standpoint of psychiatric opera-
tions— the orientation of this book — nothing is so important as to
have probability knowledge of the patient's future pattern of inter-
personal behavior. This interpretation of the pragmatics of person-
ality is, of course, the narrow sector of the broad field outlined by
Morris that is most pertinent to a clinical psychology.
With this threefold classification in mind, let us return to the dis-
tinction between empirical and formal propositions. Since empirical
statements are related to and are limited to observable events, and since
formal statements are not, it is of critical importance to distinguish
between the two types of propositions. Failure to do so leads to dan-
gerous fallacies. These generally involve tautological formal state-
ments which appear to be empirical assertions. The psychoanalytic
phrase just quoted, for example, refers only to Freud's logical struc-
ture of personality. It refers to the relationship between the language
forms "ego" and "id" employed by Freud. The psychoanalytic lin-
guistic system, which is the most ambitious yet developed in the field
of personality, has restricted empirical reference. Those who employ
Freud's verbal conventions often imply that they are making factual
statements rather than logical tautologies. Cripphng confusions and
meaningless communications will inevitably result if empirical and
formal statements and pragmatic operations are not kept clearly
distinct.
If they are kept distinct several benefits accrue. The most im-
portant of these is the general ordering of scientific activity. From the
chaotic complexity of personality data emerge three broad and dis-
tinct sets of operations — the empirical-methodological, the formal-
logical, and the practical applications. Personality study currently
faces these three challenging tasks: to measure objectively and mean-
ingfully, to relate the obtained variables systematically and logically,
and to apply the resulting knowledge with known predictive accuracy.
We shall accomplish these objectives most efficiently by working
within the principles of contemporary unified science. The rules for
empirical methods (reviewed in Chapter 4) will guide our approaches
to the raw datum, and its conversion into rehable language units. The
formal principles will assist us in organizing our linguistic units. The
goal of pragmatic applicability will encourage us to relate our sys-
tematic knowledge to external events and to functional issues. Seen
,8 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
in this light, personality psychology becomes part of a unified general
science.
The purpose and outline of this book can now be restated in terms
of these three categories. The remainder of this chapter presents
some basic principles, some of which deal with a Logic of Personality.
The two subsequent chapters survey the empirical and functional
aspects of the field of personality. Chapter 6 and the two subsequent
sections (Part II and Part III) return to the same issues, presenting
objective methods for measuring interpersonal variables and formal
notational systems for relating them. In parts IV and V the prag-
matic themes assume priority as we apply the conceptual system to
problems of interpersonal diagnosis in and out of the psychiatric
clinic.
The Selection of Personality Variables
We began by noting the complexity of personality. From the
philosophy of science we obtained three categories of scientific dis-
course which help bring preliminary order to this diversity. This
chapter goes on to present five working principles, which further
assist in clarifying and systematizing the chaotic, fluid intricacy of
human behavior.
The first issue concerns the variables, elements, or conceptual units
to be employed in dealing with the enormously diverse range of
protocol sentences which describe interpersonal behavior. Every
personality theorist has faced the formal questions of how many ele-
ments or variables of personality are to be employed and how they
are related. The first impression one might receive from many pre-
vious theorists is that personality structure is very uncomplicated.
Scores of dichotomous variables have been offered as the basic dimen-
sion of human behavior — schizothymic versus cyclothymic, intro-
verted versus extroverted, etc. As many three-way classifications have
been popularized — lean, fat, muscular; intropunitive, extropunitive,
impunitive; and the like. Most of these narrow conceptual solutions
have quickly collapsed when asked to carry the heavy load of human
variety. A broad collection of variables is a necessary answer to the
question of "how many?"
Another, more elaborate but ineffective, solution to the problem
of basic elements is to employ one extremely broad, vague variable
such as libidinal force or drive-towards-groivth. Motive concepts of
this sort allow plenty of room for diversity but give no specific
assistance to the empirical worker.
A broad set of simple and specific elements (that we have here held
to be necessary) leads to another formal requirement. Several such
THE COMPLEXITY OF PERSONALITY 39
systems of variables have been developed by personality theorists.
Many of the variables in these systems have tended to overiap each
other, to overweight certain interpersonal behaviors, and to miss
others. They have not been related to each other in a systematic
order (i.e., on a continuum or scale). Henry Murray published (I),
in 1938, an extensive list of human "needs" which has merited the
considerable usage it has received. In a later publication, Murray has
criticized his own eclectic collection of motive variables by proposing
that social scientists "devote themselves more resolutely than they
have so far, to the building of a comprehensive system of concepts
which are defined not only operationally but in relation to each
other." (2, p. 200) This demanding proposal, which we herewith
include in our list of working principles, means that all variables
should be related to each other along some kind of continuum. It
means that each element should be located in fixed relationship to all
others.
Collecting the strands we have been weaving so far in this book —
interpersonal orientation, adjustment-maladjustment continuum, sim-
plicity, specificity, systematic relatedness — we are ready to state an-
other working principle which guides our approach to human
personality.
Third working principle: Measurement of interpersonal behavior
requires a broad collection of simple, specific variables which are sys-
tematically related to each other, and which are applicable to the
study of adjustive or maladjustive responses.
The Logic of Interaction
Another formal issue must now be met. Interpersonal behavior has
been defined as the basic area of personahty. It is in the essence of
interpersonal phenomena that they never exist in isolation, but always
in interaction with real or imagined others. We must conceive the
interpersonal activity of the subject as he sees it, expresses it, and
symbolizes it. We must, in addition, include his perceptions and sym-
bolic views of others, as well as the responses which he pulls or obtains
from others. An interaction psychology which deals with the issues
of what-people-do-to-each-other runs headlong into another nest of
classic philosophic entanglements — the subject-object dichotomy.
Here we need another principle to clarify important issues.
Fourth working principle: The interpersonal theory of per-
sonality logically requires that, for each variable or variable system by
which we measure the subject's behavior {at all levels of personality),
we must include an equivalent set for measuring the behavior of each
specified ''other'' with whom the subject interacts.
40 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
In interpersonal psychology the simplest proposition is a two-way
proposition. The subject is always in observed, perceived, or imagined
interaction with crucial "others." These "others" may or may not be
real persons. Considerations of methodological economy always limit
the number and extent of the interactions that we can study. There-
fore, some "others" never get measured or placed on the summary
charts.
The Multilevel Nature of Personality
We are engaged in this chapter in stating some working principles
on which we shall base an adequate codification system for personality.
The task of organizing personality data into logical categories reaches
its climax when we face the problem of levels.
Recognition of the multidimensional aspect of human nature is a
landmark in the development of personality theory. Freud's demon-
stration of the importance of unconscious motivation was an epochal
intellectual achievement. The single-minded view of man as a rational
being was supplanted by a binocular or multiocular vision of human
character. It has revolutionized our concepts of personality. It has
demonstrated that human behavior is not a unified single process; it
is not just what it appears on the surface, nor what it is consciously
assumed by the actor to be. It is rather a shifting, conflicted, multi-
faceted complex of motives, overt and covert.
The essence of modem personality psychology is its multidimen-
sional character.
Commonsense notions about human nature tend to be unilevel.
People tend to think that what they consciously believe and say about
themselves is the entirety of their personality. They are often quite
unaware of intense and pressing emotions which dominate and direct
their behavior.
Experimental and academic psychology were untU recently com-
pletely unilevel. The notion that what a subject reports is based on
assumptions and motives which are not publicly stated came as a
great surprise to the Behaviorists.
Most of the current research in the field of personality is still dis-
tressingly unilevel in its conception and research design. The standard
instruments of personality research, the rating scale, the check lists and
the Q-sort, can be rendered quite ambiguous by the introduction of
multilevel logic. A typical research technique is to present a psy-
chological judge with a test protocol — let us say an MMPI profile or a
Rorschach record — and to ask him to rate the patient on a list of
variables, or to sort a list of descriptive phrases about the patient.
Multilevel logic requires that this task be rejected as meaningless. The
THE COMPLEXITY OF PERSONALITY
41
questions are immediately raised: Should I rate how I predict he will
behave, or how he will consciously see himself to be, or what I predict
his underlying motives are? The simple, old-fashioned procedure of
rating the subject thus breaks down into three or four rating ap-
proaches, each of which may differ dramatically from the others at
different levels.
Many generalizations about results in personality research are
similarly crippled by a unilevel approach. This is particularly true in
the case of psychiatric and psychosomatic studies. Statements to the
effect that obese patients are dependent, neurodermatitis patients are
guilty and ulcer patients are passive, are quite limited in meaning.
They seem to disregard the essential and basic concept of modern per-
sonality theory — that the human being is a complex, multilevel pattern
of conflicting motives and behaviors. The importance of a multilevel
approach to personality can now be formalized.
Fifth working principle: Any statement about personality must
indicate the level of personality to which it refers.
This is the key concept upon which this book is based. It will be
noted in the clinical and descriptive sections of this book that no refer-
ence is made to behavior without the accompanying designation of
the level from which it comes. Thus we say that ulcer patients are
responsible and managerial — at the level of overt public behavior; that
hypertensive patients are sweet and affiliative — in their conscious self-
description; that dermatosis patients are masochistic — at the level of
imaginative fantasy; etc.
The prudish (and often painful) circumlocution which this prin-
ciple requires leads to a less graceful prose. It often puzzles and
irritates the listener, who hopes to hear more definite statements about
patients. In this connection we recall the staff meeting in which a
psychosomatic research was being reported. An interested internist
pressed for straightforward answers to his questions. "Are these
patients passive and dependent?" The reply had to be cumbersome:
"They are not at all passive at the two overt levels; they are sig-
nificantly passive and dependent at the level of preconscious fantasy."
Diagnostic language in the same fashion becomes multiplied in
complexity when a multilevel approach is employed. We no longer
find it possible to rattle off a single diagnostic label. To the question,
"Is this patient schizoid?" a diagnostician using the interpersonal sys-
tem of personality would respond in three-layer terminology. A
typical answer might be: "At the level of symptomatic behavior the
patient is phobic; at the level of conscious self-description, hysteric; at
the level of the preconscious, intensely schizoid."
42 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
We have discovered that it takes considerable patience and effort
for psychologists to train themselves to think in multilevel terms.
The behavioristic background of academic psychology apparently
makes unilevel conceptions more congenial. Psychoanalysts, on the
other hand, work comfortably and naturally in a multilevel idiom,
although they are somewhat uneasy when their freedom to swoop
from level to level is threatened by the limitations of operational
definitions.
The Logic of Levels
The concept of multilevel behavior has immeasurably deepened our
understanding of human nature. In addition to revising most of our
psychological notions, it has broadened our interpretations of artistic,
literary, and historical activity. Along with these intellectual boons,
however, came a host of new problems and confusions. Much fal-
lacious thinking has based itself on the conscious-unconscious dichot-
omy. Formal systems for clarifying the illogical language of dynamic
psychiatry seem to be needed. The next few decades will undoubtedly
witness the introduction of many new systems of personality. Al-
though the content of the theories may vary, it is hard to conceive of a
personality theory (in this post-Freudian era) which does not deal
with the problem of levels. It seems inevitable that systematic and
logical rules must be developed for dealing with the multidimensional
aspects of personaHty data. The following principles seem to be so
axiomatic as to hold for all such personality theories.
Sixth working principle: The levels of personality employed in
any theoretical system must be specifically listed and defined. Once
the logical system of levels and relationships among levels is defined, it
cannot be changed without revising all previous references to levels.
Illogical procedures will nullify the most brilliant concepts. Good
logic, on the contrary, is one of the most powerful instruments we can
use in forging a theory. The postulates just suggested for dealing with
the problems of levels inevitably force an increase in theoretical pre-
cision and scope. Listing and defining levels leads to improvements in
empirical operations by clarifying the different sources of data con-
tributing to each level of personality. This procedure has led us, for
example, to the discovery that different probability laws hold for the
different levels. Defining the formal relationships among the levels
immediately reveals overlaps, tautologies, and previously undefined
relationships of considerable theoretical promise. The conceptual
issues of conflict, discrepancy, and motivating forces become sharp-
ened. New conceptual entities become apparent. New research
THE COMPLEXITY OF PERSONALITY 43
hypotheses develop. Indicating and consistently maintaining the levels
of the data allow language usage to become more public and precise.
A final and perhaps most important advantage of notational systems
is that good logic breeds better logic. Any formal system should re-
veal its own limitations and restricting assumptions. This, in turn,
helps to father new and improved generations of successors.
Multilevel Relatedness of Variables
This chapter has been concerned with organizing the complexity
of behavior into orderly classifications. Four working principles have
been presented. They refer to variable systems and the levels of be-
havior at which the systems are employed. Before this discussion is
concluded, one final principle must be discussed.
Seventh working principle: The same variable system should be
employed to measure interpersonal behavior at all levels of personality.
This means that we shall use the same classificatory elements regard-
less of the level of the data. Most dynamic or multilevel systems of
personality do not follow this suggestion. They employ one classi-
ficatory language for covert, underlying themes and another language
for describing overt behavior.
There is a significant advantage in using the same variable system at
all levels. It is possible to make direct comparisons between levels. It
is possible to measure discrepancies, conflicts, or concordances among
levels. These measurable indices of discrepancy, which we call indices
of variability (some of which are like the traditional defense mech-
anisms), are useful in several ways. They fill out our clinical picture
of the personality by providing quantitative indices of the amount and
kind of interlevel conflict. They are valuable indications of the inter-
level organization of personality. They make possible objective re-
search into such concepts as identification, repression, and idealization.
Summary
The themes of this chapter are the complexity of personality and
the requirements for dealing with it systematically. The general
strategy to be employed should now be clear. First, we set up a broad
variable system of interrelated variables. We use this to classify the
interpersonal behavior of the subject and his world at several levels
of personality.
The essence of this approach is that we obtain thousands of single,
specific, reliable molecular measurements. This makes for an objective
system. We get at the complexity of personality by setting up the
44 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
system of levels, then studying and comparing a pattern of hundreds
of scores at the different levels.
We do not employ clinical rating or intuitive judgments; although
these are often broad, penetrating, and give a well-rounded picture of
the personality, they are notoriously unreliable and unduplicable.
For this reason we do not use professional psychological ratings at
any point in the organizing of data. The procedure of automatically
sorting thousands of reliable unilevel ratings into a standardized multi-
level system allows us to pay some respect to the complexity of per-
sonality without sacrifice of objectivity.
References
1. Murray, H. A. Explorations in personality: A clinical and experimental study of
fifty men of college age. New York: Oxford, 1938.
2. Murray, H. A. Research planning: A few proposals. In S. S. Sargent and Marian
W. Smith (eds.). Culture and personality. New York: Viking Fund, 1949.
Empirical Principles in
Personality Research
In the preceding chapter it was asserted that logical procedures are
required to order the data of any science. Prior to these formal opera-
tions, however, comes the issue of collecting the data. This includes
observing the raw events and performing some kind of discrimination
or measurement. Empirical rules are required for this aspect of scien-
tific activity. The interpersonal system of personality has attempted
to follow three commonly accepted rules of scientific activity which
can be formalized in a general working principle.
Eighth working principle: Measurements of interpersonal be-
havior Tnust be public and verifiable operations; the variables must be
capable of operational definition. Our conclusions about human
nature cannot be presented as absolute facts but as probability state-
ments.
Personality Variables Must Be Public and Verifiable
The first criterion of scientific activity insists that it must be public
and verifiable. Any statement we make about the world of events
must be subject to independent check. Its validity eventually rests on
its confirmation by other scientists. While this social criterion of
knowledge has engendered some qualifying controversy in the phi-
losophy of the physical sciences, its employment in personality psy-
chology at the present time is particularly necessary.
Psychology, more than any other modem discipline, has been
hampered by the issue of "private" observation. Many respectable
scholars have flatly rejected the public testability principle and have
endorsed a discipline of introspection, intuition, and anarchic indi-
viduality. Many brilliant clinicians still stick by the principle that the
human being is a unique and rather sacred pattern of individuality
45
46 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
and that any attempt to find lawful generality is futile, insulting, and
vaguely inhuman.
The patient-oriented approach of the practitioner is highly credit-
able, and needs no defense. To the clinician, the only principle in-
volved is the welfare of the patient. There is, however, another
important aspect to this question. Our technical competence to serve
a patient is limited to our generalized, probabilistic lawful knowledge
of human nature. Good will and patient-oriented solicitousness are
virtues, but they are not professional instruments. Many skillful
clinicians overlook the fact that they carry around inside of themselves
a complex set of unverbalized and often unconscious generalizations
about human behavior, which they apply to cases. Their patients get
the benefit of an unsystematized lawful wisdom. These principles are
often uncommunicable, unorganized, unreachable, untestable. They
produce nothing toward the broad social goal of a science of human
nature.
The integrity and productivity of good clinicians, however, more
than justifies their unilateral approach at this primitive stage in the
field. They violate no scientific canons because they do not pose as
scientists.
As soon as a clinician begins to lecture or write about principles of
personality, however, he puts himself into the area of discourse that
must be bound by the laws of scientific evidence. The first of these
necessary conventions is that the events, the data, be open for inde-
pendent verification by other scientists.
There is a necessary objection which holds that psychotherapy can-
not be studied objectively because the crucial events — the interpreta-
tion, the instant resistance of the patient, etc. — cannot be repeated.
This comment is quite beside the point. The data of personality are
communications about human behavior — descriptions of the subject
by himself and by others. The reliability and verifiability of these can
be established by means of the most basic recording or data-preserving
devices. The attempt to derive generalizations about human-person-
ality-in-therapy probably will involve the use of objective electric
recordings of the therapy process.
With simple devices of this sort, it is possible to have any number
of independent experts repeat and verify the most complex variable
measurements. Without them psychotherapy becomes a wise but un-
communicable art. WTien it becomes clear that the unit of per-
sonality or interaction is the discriminatory element or variable, it also
becomes quite feasible to obtain any number of equivalent repetitions
of the variable by increasing the sample of subjects or of future obser-
vations. While it is true that any raw personality expression is unique
EMPIRICAL PRINCIPLES
47
and unrepeatable, the basic variable units by means of which we clas-
sify behavior are, by definition, general, recurrent, and verifiable.
Operational Definitions of Terms
A second and related aspect of scientific method which holds for
personality psychology is that of operationism. This principle requires
that terms be defined by the empirical operations which produce
them. In the words of Bridgman, "We mean by any concept nothing
more than a set of operations." The relationship between the terms
we use and the empirical operations by which we discriminate them
must be direct and openly expressed.
In philosophy, the healthy impact of the operational definition has
been to sweep away many metaphysical pseudoempirical concepts for
which no external reference existed. In psychology many terms which
have had dubious speculative histories have taken on new objective
significance as researchers have linked their meaning to the empirical
procedures by which they were measured. In personality and psycho-
analytic theory — fields where undefined or privately defined concepts
flourish like jungle growth — much less operational redefinition has
occurred.
There can be many operational definitions of the same concept.
Each scientist may find it necessary to use different sets of data to
define, for example, unconsciousness. One may use dreams. Another
may employ fantasy stories, and another, slips of the tongue. As long
as each worker clearly states the classificatory operations to which he
relates his term there is no objection to the individual differences in
approach. The rest of his colleagues are free to accept or reject his
theories, but they cannot deny the empirical adequacy of his approach.
Now, this flexibility of the definition process is not cause for alarm,
nor is it a sign of any peculiar looseness of the personality field. The
vahdity and meaning of any scientific fact is never exact or final. It
always depends, among other things, on the type and level of the
measurement methods involved. Only metaphysics can claim the
luxury of finality and complete unambiguity. As the philosophers of
operationism have pointed out, there are many ways to measure dis-
tance— a yardstick, a mileage indicator, a transit reading. Each of
these can be valid in its own area of discourse. Many of them can be
combined into the same classification. Many cannot, at this point.
Similarly our illustrative operational definitions of unconsciousness are
(to the extent that they are independently confirmed) all valid. Many
of them may be combined. It might, perhaps, be determined that
dreams and fantasy stories tap the same level of unconsciousness, and
allow a broader combined definition of unconsciousness. Slips of the
48 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
tongue, possibly, might not be so related, and therefore would define
another level of unconsciousness with its own particular lawful pre-
dictiveness.
The concepts of operationism have added powerful synthetic tools
to the scientific method. Operational definitions have a remarkable
capacity for ridding the language of any discipline of broad, impres-
sive, but empty, terms which have no empirical meaning. Applied to
the terminology of psychiatry, operationism calls for the elimination
or systematic redefinition of almost every current concept. Operation-
ism's "radical implications for psychiatric theory and practice" have
been programmatically cited by MuUahy. He believes that "there is
no chance that psychiatry will ever be a truly scientific field of inquiry
until, as a first step towards scientific progress, it adopts a language
sufficiently precise that its practitioners as well as workers in allied
and related fields can in various ways check and verify the correct-
ness of statements made by one another." ( 1, p. 58)
The Probability Nature of Predictive Accuracy
There is a third empirical principle which has importance for per-
sonality psychology. This has to do with the ultimate validity of em-
pirical knowledge. It holds that there is no absolute or final truth,
that scientific laws are never completely accurate, and that the only
knowledge we can have of the empirical world is probable knowledge.
The essence of scientific explanation is the known relative accuracy
of predictions.
We tread here on the most ancient and hallowed ground of West-
em philosophy — epistemological questions about the validity of
knowledge. Within the last century statistical mathematics, post-
Newtonian physics, and the operational logicians have produced con-
verging solutions that are closely related to the needs and complexities
of a functionalistic personality psychology.
The most accurate statement any scientist can make about the
world of events is an indication of the probability of occurrence.
The chances are, let us say, three to five that a certain patient will
develop passive resistance to a male therapist. But the chances are
also two to five that he will not. Or we might determine that two
thirds of the patients with duodenal ulcers will deny feelings of
passivity and weakness. Of the one third who do not, 80 per cent
manifest another specific interpersonal behavior — most likely schizoid
withdrawal. When we have accumulated thousands of probability
figures of this sort, based on publicly managed variable systems and
organized into multilevel conceptual systems, a scientific structure of
personality facts will have been established. Predictive procedures of
EMPIRICAL PRINCIPLES
49
limited but known accuracy will be at hand. Moreover, the com-
plexity and variety of human nature need never be threatened by the
necessary oversimplifications of our predictive structures. There can
be as many different systems as there are different dimensions of per-
sonality or of facets to the interreacting environment. The system de-
scribed in this book is one such conceptual apparatus. It is designed
to make factual predictions about the interpersonal dimension of be-
havior in the clinical situation. This is really a very narrow slice of
the wide and varied expanse of human behavior. Other systems will
continue to appear. New variables will be developed. Broader areas
of human behavior will be encompassed and integrated. The essence
of scientific activity is that new theories, new facts never push out the
old. They add, they revise, they refine, they expand.
Thus we shall in later chapters present operational definitions of
several psychiatric and personality variables and probability state-
ments about their application. But no note of finality will be sounded.
Future theorists will unquestionably present different and more effec-
tive definitions of the same concepts — based on different operations
and boasting, perhaps, higher probability relationships to functional
criteria. To the extent that these varying approaches are objective —
communicable and operationally grounded — the new findings will not
disprove nor quarrel with the old. No scientific fact can be disproved.
It can be reinterpreted, qualified by new relationships, amplified to fit
new material. Scientific findings do not compete, debate, or attack
each other. They add, expand, and collaborate to develop new
hypotheses. This characteristic of the scientific method is particularly
important in the study of human nature and has been often neglected.
Reference
%. MuLLAHY, P. The theories of H. S. Sullivan. In P. Mullahy (ed.). The contribu-
tions of Harry Stack Sullivan. New York: Hermitage House, 1952.
Functional Theory of Personality
The preceding four chapters have presented a sequence of principles
which serve as background to a science of human nature. This chapter
discusses the functional purpose of scientific knovi^ledge in general and
psychological knowledge in particular. In so doing it calls upon and
offers some synthesis of the principles already presented. There is
more speculation and value orientation than in the preceding chapter.
The Aims of General Science
The ultimate objective of scientific activity is to explain and pre-
dict. To control, change, cure, and improve are worthy motives.
These latter tasks fall, however, within the province of the applied
professions — engineering, administration, medicine, psychiatry. The
job of the scientist is to explain as accurately and as completely as
possible the relationships among variables and to predict future events.
We explain any event by determining the probability relationships
it has with other events. Increasing the temperature above a certain
point is related to the boiling of water. Relationships of this sort in
the macroscopic physical world have such regularity that extremely
high predictability or exceptionless cause-effect sequences are gen-
erally observed. The fields of atomic and subatomic physics and of
human behavior involve such a multiplicity of interacting events that
deterministic causal laws are not possible and probability statistics
define the order of relationship. "The more rejecting the parents are,
the higher expectation that the child will manifest a defensive sus-
piciousness." Did the parents' rejection cause the child's distrust? It
is much preferable to say that the two are correlated to a specific
degree.
Probability laws allow us to make generalizations of known ac-
curacy about the subject matter. Many established relationships among
variables allow an increasingly higher order of generality. The breadth
and sharpness of the explanatory process grow.
50
FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY 5 1
But why do scientists attempt to explain natural and psychological
events' What is the function of the generalized knowledge so ac-
cumulated? These questions lead us to the other aim of scientific
activity — prediction.
The purpose of scientific explanation is to predict functionally
useful events of the future. This conception of the scientist's role
(which is, by the way, an opinion rather than an axiom) is a human-
istic one. It assigns his social function in response to social demands
and sees him as a human being always stimulated by and limited to
cultural pressures.
It is interesting to speculate that the human quest for knowledge
has been strongly related to man's motivation to know the future.
Knowledge of things to come has an enormous and obvious survival
value. A major proportion of man's cognitive, philosophic activity is
tied to his desire to anticipate correctly the future. Every religious
interpretation has had to rest its dogma on a forecast about the nature
of an afterlife. Much of its irrational and powerful appeal rests on
this function. The interpersonal counterpart of these speculations
might hold that ignorance is experienced as weakness, helplessness, and
survivally dangerous. Knowledge is experienced as mastery and au-
tonomy. It is survivally crucial in its function of forecasting the
future.
The time-bound essence of human life requires that man anticipate
the things to come with reasonable accuracy. Science as the broad
branch of human activity entrusted with the development and classi-
fication of knowledge accepts the function of prediction.
An activity often erroneously assigned to scientific activity is the
function of control. Ideally there should be no reason why the ap-
plication of pertinent knowledge to human problems should not be
accomplished by the scientists who derive it. In actuality, the inter-
personal behavior of human beings — particularly along the power axis
— is so corruptible that there is good reason for the division of labor.
Objective, effective scientific activity apparently suffers in direct pro-
portion to the intensity of the interpersonal network involved.
It is, thus, the task of the applied disciplines to use the predictive
facts accruing from science. This distinction is not an invidious one.
The years of technical training involved in the service professions —
medicine, engineering — is often as great as or greater than that of the
scientist. The responsibilities undertaken are invariably larger. So are
the salaries.
Neither is this distinction absolute. Most researchers employed by
nonacademic institutions — whether industries or clinics — are generally
forced to play a double role. They follow their scientific noses and
^2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
are also led by them. This collaboration of the scientific with the
applied is generally a fortunate one. Certainly for the problems of
psychotherapy and personality change it is hard to see how much can
be accomplished without complete clinical training as a minimum and
considerable clinical practice as an optimum.
Functional Theory of Personality
To this point we have examined the functions of science in general.
Turning to personality psychology we have seen the objective of this
field to explain and predict interpersonal behavior.
Objective empirical methods provide innumerable probability rela-
tionships among specific variables. Formal and theoretical structures
suggest how these are to be further related. This procedure poses new
hypothetical questions. These are tested by additional empirical facts.
This reciprocal progression of finding and theory establishes an in-
creasing number of factual clusters which themselves become related
to higher level theories.
As understanding grows, the predictive power of the science be-
comes more accurate and extensive. The functional importance of the
field grows, usually encouraging new cycles of empirical activity.
The complexity of human nature is such that there are countless
facets of behavioral data and an equal number of empirical problems.
The conceptualization and terminology of the field clearly depend on
which of these aspects of personality are studied. The psychologist
who spends all of his time measuring and relating variables of energy
level will generally develop terms and theories that have something
to do with energy. Even when we define personality in terms of the
interpersonal behaviors, a broad scope remains. Every individual has
been in crucial interaction with others since the day of his birth, and
his history of past relationships is rich. Concentrating on the present
rather than the past, we see an enormously extensive network of inter-
personal reactions. Relationships in the family situation, in the job
situation, or in the social sphere all have some explanatory value. In
attempting to predict, which facet of social behavior should be focused
on? We might be able to predict the interpersonal consequences of a
subject's marriage to this girl, of his election to that office in the
Masonic Lodge, or of the selection of a certain program of psycho-
therapy in the clinic. The relevance of the prediction clearly refers
to the problem being posed or the questions being asked. Prognostic
knowledge is generally of value to the extent that it is relevant to the
human problems at issue. To go further, it is most functional when the
variables and terminologies of explanation are directly related to, or
FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY 53
even in terms of, the functionally important activities. For clinical
psychiatry this means that the variable language should refer most
directly to the interpersonal interactions that determine a successful or
unsuccessful clinical relationship. This point brings us to the question
of functional diagnosis and deserves further illustration.
Functional Diagnosis
Let us suppose that a psychotherapist comes to the predictive diag-
nostician posing this narrowly defined hypothetical problem. "In my
office there is a male adult patient with asthma; what predictive state-
ments can you make?" By studying the accumulated generalizations at
hand the diagnostician might make any number of predictions. He
might report, "The chances are better than two to one that your
patient is married." This interpersonal prediction could be based on
testable evidence, but it has little relevance to the situation at hand and
little functional meaning. The diagnostician might report, "The
chances are better than two to one that any asthmatic condition is
related to psychogenic factors and is therefore psychosomatic." This
is a descriptive, nosological statement. It has some relevance in that
the psychiatrist can continue his clinical procedures with better than
average chance that a psychological problem is related. It certainly
does not throw much further specific light on the problem.
A third possible answer might be, "Over 60 per cent of these
patients during childhood show marked ambivalence toward the
maternal figure and intense oedipal conflict with the father." This his-
torical explanation is clearly more pertinent to the understanding of
the patient. It might lead to extrapolating conjectures from the past to
the future, and might assist in clarifying this patient's relationship to
others including the future therapist.
A fourth illustrative forecast might state that "Over 6$ per
cent of asthmatic patients tend to be compulsively orderly and punc-
tual." This is a testable psychological statement relating to the present,
but it is molecular and peripheral, and has limited practical meaning.
It is not directly interpersonal. It refers to stylistic symptoms rather
than crucial purposive direction.
None of these illustrative answers is adequately functional. They
all can be true. They all might have some relationship to the per-
sonality organization of the patient, but their bearing on the situation
is not central. The pressure of the human problem at stake is not
effectively met by these statements. In the clinical situation, a gen-
eralized statement is most relevant to the extent that it predicts the
future course of clinical progress. A diagnostic statement about a
54
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
psychiatric patient is most functional to the extent that it forecasts
interpersonal behavior pertinent to the therapeutic handling of his
problem.
The patient cannot change his childhood experience, although it is
very true that he can learn from it. The historical prediction is, thus,
valuable, but not crucial. Nor is the patient's situation very dependent
on diagnosing him psychosomatic. The diagnostic label is made by
and is important to the clinician, and not to the patient. Changing this
descriptive term would have very little effect on the symptom or the
underlying character structure. Neither does the symptomatic molec-
ular prediction about compulsive orderiiness have central importance.
The punctuality and neatness are undoubtedly related to basic inter-
personal motivations, but to focus on them diagnostically or thera-
peutically would not be a recommended course of action. These
stylistic "how" variables of personality take on their vital meaning
when they are traced back to the interpersonal purposes which they
serve. To change just the peripheral, noninterpersonal trait is not the
essence of therapeutic improvement.
The most functional answer to the clinician's question might go
like this, "Over 75 per cent of male asthmatic patients who come to a
psychiatric clinic manifest autonomous and stubborn competitiveness
with males of superior or equal status. Conscious awareness of this
intense fear of weakness is generally followed by overt signs of severe
anxiety and increased competitive behavior. The chances are three to
two that these patients will interrupt therapy in autonomous resist-
ance." This prediction serves to illustrate the issues of relevant predic-
tion and functional diagnosis.^
A statement of this sort is preferable for several reasons. It is inter-
personal. It relates to the future; not just to one expected event, but to
a sequence of interaction (which is related to a conflict between levels
of personality). It relates the expected interpersonal pattern to an
estimate of treatability. The diagnostic concepts are expressed directly
in terms of predictive behavior which has bearing on the future treat-
ment relationship. The future therapist is told specifically how the
patient might be expected to react to the therapist and to the treatment
process. His attention is directed to the interpersonal responses which
have so much to do with the success or failure of the therapy plan.
This last is an interesting sidelight of functional terminology. The
predictive terms that a diagnostic system employs not only reflect its
theoretical focus. They also exercise a subtle but marked effect on the
subsequent use made of the information. If a theoretical system (and
* See Appendix D for an illustration of a personality report employing the inter-
personal system to make a practical prediction about a patient's behavior in the clinic.
FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY
55
the diagnostic terms it sponsors) emphasizes past events of the case
history, it is likely that the following discussions will tend to em-
phasize these areas. If the predictions in the hypothetical case employ
the language of compulsivity, punctuality, and the like, the facets of
behavior may be unduly attended to in the interviews that follow.
Suggestibility and selectivity of content cues are the constant errors of
psychotherapy. The less experienced or the less flexible the therapist,
the more influence accruing to this indoctrinating effect of diagnostic
terms.
In clinical practice we assess the functional value of a personality
or psychiatric variable in terms of the predictive value for facilitating
the future clinical relationship. Terms which have high predictive
value (even if indirect) tend to remain in popular use. Terms which
have little predictive "cash value" tend to disappear. Every psy-
chiatric term possesses a cluster of prognostic nuances which influence
the intake and therapeutic diagnosis. Most of these predictive at-
tributes are vague, unproven, often implicit, but they carry a stagger-
ing load of responsibility.
Schizophrenia, for example, brings to mind a host of prognostic
associations, "not a good outpatient," "poor risk for brief therapy,"
"poor risk for psychoanalysis," "supportive or ego-strengthening
methods favored," "long institutional treatment optimal," "generally
slow prognosis," etc. These distillations of clinical wisdom are un-
systematized, unverified probability statements about the future be-
havior of schizophrenic patients. The original diagnosis is presumably
based on other classes of variable cues. That is, the patient is originally
diagnosed schizophrenic because of delusions, withdrawal, marked
projections on or misperceptions of reality, and the like. Some psy-
chiatrists hold that the best diagnostic sign indicating poor prognosis
is the elicitation of hallucinatory material.
This type of informal cUnical folklore is a necessary and healthy
development in an infant field. The criteria of prognostic value (how-
ever vague the variable relationships) indicate that the discipline is
struggling toward a predictive status. As this process occurs the usage
of certain terms with lesser prognostic power begins to diminish. They
maintain only descriptive and administrative popularity. Hebephrenic
is such a term. Outside of some crude differentiations from the folk-
lore of the shock ward there is little prognostic specificity which dis-
tinguishes this term from, let us say, catatonic.
The most functionally important aspects of human behavior seem
to be the interpersonal. To understand a human being is to have proba-
bility evidence about his relationships with others (perceived, actual,
or symbolic), about the durable interpersonal techniques by which he
$6
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
wards off anxiety, and about the reciprocal responses these techniques
pull from others. To make meaningful predictions about a human
being is to translate our explanatory data into statements as to the
expected interpersonal behaviors in specific functional situations.
Explanatory concepts which deal with instincts, body apertures,
symptomatic manifestations, and peripheral stylistic traits have in-
direct value to the extent that they can be related to interpersonal
behaviors. It is not really of much use to a future therapist to predict
that his patient will be punctual and not flick ashes on the rug.
It seems quite possible that within a few decades the slowly
evolving laws of pragmatic usage will establish interpersonal concepts
as a popular and useful diagnostic language. Two possibilities suggest
themselves here — the first is that direct interpersonal terms will replace
the disorganized nosology of present-day psychiatry; the second is
that the current terms will be redefined in interpersonal terms. If the
first alternative is accepted, terms such as psychopathic personality or
schizoid personality would disappear in favor of specific systematic
interpersonal labels. According to the second alternative, psychopathic
personality would be redefined operationally in terms of the rebel-
lious aggressive criteria, and schizoid personality would have as its
basic diagnostic indices distrust and bitter withdrawal. This is another
historical issue that time will settle.
The system described in this book employs the latter — more con-
servative— solution for developing a functional, operationally defined
language of personahty which will work for both adaptive adjustment
and the psychiatric extremes.
Functional Co?icept of Personality
Two general postulates, which have been woven in as background
for all of the discussions so far, hold that the functional core of human
behavior is the interpersonal, and that personality concepts must be
defined along adjustment continua which include both normal and
abnormal reactions. When we approach the problem of a functional
personality language with these two principles in mind, certain solu-
tions seem to follow quite readily.
The first assumption clearly demands that the basic set of personal-
ity variables be not symptomatic, erotogenic, or stylistic, but inter-
personal. The second assumption suggests that each of these variables
must have an intensity dimension such that its rigid, maladaptive ex-
treme be as readily classified as its moderate adaptive aspect. The
measurement categories all along this scale are still interpersonal — as
we recall from the hostility continuum described in Chapter 2, where
blunt, frank, appropriately critical were terms referring to the adaptive
FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF PERSONALITY 57
and sadistic, aggressive to the maladaptive end of the continuum. Now
it is well known that the language of psychiatry deals almost ex-
clusively with the pathological extreme of behavior. Thus we dis-
cover that maladaptive extremities of the continuum for each generic
interpersonal motivation are most closely related to and overlap the
psychiatric. In the illustration of the hostility continuum just men-
tioned, it will be noted that sadistic and aggressive have a much more
psychiatric flavor than do blunt, frank, appropriately critical, and
the like.
It seems to follow, then, that if we painstakingly study all the forms
of interpersonal behavior in as many environmental situations as pos-
sible, we shall obtain, after grouping and sifting, a finite number of
discernible basic interpersonal motivations all of which must (ac-
cording to the normality assumption) be placed on adaptive-mal-
adaptive continua. For each pathological interpersonal pattern we ob-
serve in the clinic there must be an adjustive aspect. And for each
successful social maneuver we meet in the market place there must
be a pathological extreme. The surprising linguistic imbalance which
implies that an Anglo-Saxon cannot be too affectionate or adaptively
disaffiliative has already been commented upon. The implications of
this imbalance for systematic functional diagnosis will be developed in
later chapters.
Since the neurotic interpersonal intensities tend to overlap some
aspects of the noninterpersonal psychiatric categories, we have close
to hand a solution for the problem of what to do with these latter less
functional terms. The process of redefining them begins to take place
automatically. Most of the popular diagnostic labels have vague, un-
defined, but fairly effective functional power. They have interpersonal
correlates. To be skeptical, realistic, and reserved is generally an
adaptive interpersonal pattern. To be inflexibly distrustful and with-
drawn is invariably maladjustive. Many psychiatrists would call it
schizoid. Thus we see the possibilities of redefining the classical
language of administrative psychiatry in interpersonal terms. This
preserves the usefulness of the older terminology while sharpening
its denotive power. On the other hand, from the standpoint of the
interpersonal system we have added a new set of partially interpersonal
terms to our linguistic structure which is broadened thereby. The ex-
treme points of the scales now have a new set of descriptive terms
which are unique to the professional specialists of the clinic but which
relate to the broader system of general interpersonal psychology. An
interpersonal notational system holds the promise of bridging the an-
cient and logically intolerable gap between the science of personality
and the practice of psychiatry.
j8 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
There will probably be many such reciprocal rapprochements in
the next phases in the study of human nature. The scientist or systema-
tist will do well, we suggest, to keep his general concepts from being
swallowed up by the more exciting linguistics of the clinic. It is most
valuable to stress the relationship between general concepts of per-
sonality and the terminology of the practitioner. It is important, how-
ever, to maintain the basic nature of the generic interpersonal systems.
If this is done, the possibilities of relating the general sciences of
interpersonal behavior with other applied and pure disciplines in addi-
tion to clinical psychiatry appear bright. There is, for example, good
reason to feel that occupational adjustment is mainly determined by
interpersonal factors. Whether the applied field is vocational counsel-
ing or industrial management, the terminology of job classification is
very likely to have interpersonal correlates, with, perhaps, even more
overlap than psychiatric labels. These vocational "diagnostic" terms
are most likely to be located near the adaptive and moderate end of
the normality-abnormality continua — blunt, frank, realistic, amiable,
etc. A similar cross-fertilization and functional application seems
quite feasible. Wherever an applied discipline requires psychological
(not physiological) answers to the problems it faces, an interpersonal
psychology will generally be best equipped to make the most basic
explanations and the most functional predictions.
Thp Working Principle of Functional Applicability
The functional orientation which has just been described can be
summarized in the form of a guiding statement.
Ninth working principle: The system of personality should be
designed to measure behavior in the functional context {avhich in this
book is the psychiatric clinic). Its language, variables, and diagnostic
categories should relate directly to the behavior expressed or to the
practical decisions to be made in this functional situation. The system
should yield predictions about interpersonal behavior to be expected
in the psychiatric clinic.
General Survey of Interpersonal
and Variability Systems
The preceding five chapters have presented a general, theoretical
discussion of some of the basic requirements of an adequate science of
personality.
By way of summary the nine working principles which have guided
the Kaiser Foundation research in personality will now be reviewed
before surveying the personality system.
Nme Working Principles for
the Interpersonal Theory of Personality
(1) Personality is the multilevel pattern of interpersonal responses
(overt, conscious or private) expressed by the individual. Interpersonal
behavior is aimed at reducing anxiety. All the social, emotional, inter-
personal activities of an individual can be understood as attempts to avoid
anxiety or to establish and maintain self-esteem.
(2) The variables of a personality system should be designed to meas-
ure—on the same continuum— the normal or "adjustive" aspects of behavior
as well as abnormal or pathological extremes.
( 3 ) Measurement of interpersonal behavior requires a broad collection
of simple, specific variables which are systematically related to each other
and which are applicable to the study of adjustive or maladjustive
responses.
(4) For each variable or variable system by which we measure the
subject's behavior (at all levels of personality) we must include an equiv-
alent set for measuring the behavior of specified "others" with whom the
subject interacts.
(5) Any statement about personality must indicate the level of per-
sonality to which it refers.
(6) The levels of personality employed in any theoretical system must
be specifically listed and defined. The formal relationships which exist
among the levels must be outlined. Once the logical system of levels and
59
6o BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
relationships among levels is defined it cannot be changed without revising
all previous references to levels.
(7) The same variable system should be employed to measure inter-
personal behavior at all levels of personality,
(8) Our measurements of interpersonal behavior must be public and
verifiable operations; the variables must be capable of operational defi-
nition. Our conclusions about human nature cannot be presented as
absolute facts but as probability statements.
(9) The system of personality should be designed to measure behavior
in a functional context (e.g., the psychiatric clinic). Its language, variables,
and diagnostic categories should relate directly to the behavior expressed
or to the practical decisions to be made in this functional situation. The
system, when used as a clinical instrument, should yield predictions about
interpersonal behavior to be expected in the psychiatric clinic (e.g., in
future psychotherapy).
In the next six chapters (which comprise the second section of the
book) these postulates will be employed in an attempt to construct
such a system. The nature of these requirements tends to determine
and limit the resulting personality system. In this chapter the over-all
organization of the personality system will be described in terms of
(1) a schema for classifying interpersonal behavior and (2) a formal
notational system for defining and relating the levels of personality.
The subsequent chapters will focus respectively on five levels of per-
sonality and the way in which they are combined and used for inter-
personal diagnosis.
Before presenting the outline of the personality system, let us illus-
trate by way of review the importance of formal theory for dealing
with the levels of personality. Some remarks by the philosopher
Reichenbach (on the value of symbolic logic) may be appropriate in
this connection. He suggests that:
The introduction of a symbolic notation is important to logical procedure
because "it has about the same significance as a good mathematical notation."
Suppose you are given the problem: "If Peter were 5 years younger, he would
be twice as old as Paul was when he was 6 years younger, and if Peter were
9 years older, he would be thrice as old as Paul, if Paul were 4 years younger."
Try to solve it in the head by adding and subtracting and considering all the
"if's," and you will soon arrive at a sort of dizziness as though you were
riding on a merry-go-round. Then take a pen and paper, call Peter's age x and
Paul's age y, write down the resulting equations and solve them the way you
learned it in high school— and you will know what a notational technique is
good for. There are similar problems in logic. (10, p. 219)
There are also similar problems in dynamic psychology. Consider
this not atypical case report from a psychoanalytic journal. The
author describes a multilevel pattern of the patient's emotions as fol-
lows:
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 6i
While expressing aggression toward a male cousin, she thought once again
that she smelled gas. At first by allusion to others, then by way of dreams,
there emerged the fantasy that the analyst was feminine; then she admitted
never having thought of her father as a man, but as a woman.
She wished she could dominate the analyst and others as she felt dominated
at home. This aggressive urge was accompanied by increased feelings of guilt.
At a time when she had unconscious conflicts about not paying for cancelled
hours, and also had arranged for more advanced art lessons which would
increase her abilities and prestige, she stuck two fingers into an electric fan, and
was unable to work.
Seductive fantasies toward the analyst, as well as homosexual dreams and
fantasies, and dreams of being gassed and raped emerged in connection with
memories of compulsive masturbation in her childhood, causing vaginal dis-
charge which she had had impulses to eat. After confessing her "dirty thoughts"
she had a dream.
"She stood before a mirror admiring herself, dressed in a beautiful
flowing white dress."
She said this dress made her look "effeminate" and then felt embarrassed at
the use of the word. She felt that to be beautiful would serve two purposes: to
make her sister and other girls feel inferior to her, and to control men. She had
often thought mouth and vagina were equivalent.
After this dream she became cleaner, worked better, and began to earn her
way both by art work and by working in a department store. Competitive
strivings in regard to other patients, as well as her sister, came out more clearly
in association to wishes to be dirty. (7, p. 79)
If the reader attempts to organize this series of conflicting events, to
sort out the levels and the motives which belong to them, ambivalent,
autistic, past, present, he may acquire a sort of vertigo similar to that
mentioned by Reichenbach.
This analyst has combined at least four or five levels of behavior in
this passage. He describes certain overt actions of the patient: "ex-
pressing aggression," "arranged for art lessons," "stuck two fingers
in a fan," "worked better," "began to earn her own way." All of
these actions are public — and could be consensually validated by
listeners or observers.
The analyst also mentions certain wishes, urges, or impulses which
the patient reported: "to dominate the analyst," "to eat," "competitive
striving." These impulses, consciously recognized but not acted out,
must be kept systematically distinct from the above-mentioned overt
actions.
Another level at which this patient operates is that of dream or
fantasy: "that the analyst was feminine," "her father as ... a
woman," "seductive fantasies" toward the analyst, as well as homo-
sexual dreams and fantasies, and "dreams of being gassed and raped,"
etc. These autistic productions are clearly deeper or further from real-
ity than the overt activities or the secret wishes previously summarized.
(5i BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
To these three levels we might also add the deeper unconscious
conflicts and the conscious reports — both of which denote different
orders of reality-contact and consciousness.
Free association protocols, case histories, and reports of therapeutic
interaction comprise important sources of data upon which the science
of personality must be built. In order to make reliable measurements,
valid judgments, and meaningful analyses the multilevel jumble of
motivations which so often characterizes personality descriptions must
be organized into a systematic language.
In this chapter we will describe first a classificatory system for or-
dering interpersonal behavior. Then we shall present a notational sys-
tem— a crude mathematic or grammar of personality — which attempts
to order the levels of behavior. We shall present the units or variables
by which the behavior can be measured, and five levels at which they
operate.
The classificatory system allows us to measure interpersonal be-
havior at any of these five levels. The notational schema defines the
levels and the fixed arithmetic relationships among these levels. It
provides for the diagrammatic and numerical analysis of the personal-
ity structure.
The Classification System: The Interpersonal
Variables of Personality
In beginning the long task of developing a personality system, the
first assumption refers to the kind of behavior to be studied. We have
defined this as the interpersonal core of personality. The initial step
for the Kaiser Foundation research project was, therefore, to focus on
this dimension of behavior. To this end a wide assortment of raw in-
terpersonal data was assembled. Several scores of individuals — male
and female, neurotic, psychosomatic, and normal — were brought into
interpersonal relationships in small groups. Some of these were dis-
cussion groups in a nonpsychiatric setting. Some were psychotherapy
groups in an outpatient clinic. The hundreds of interactions of each
subject were observed, recorded, and studied. Many other types of
interpersonal behavior were obtained from the same subjects. Their
verbal descriptions of self and others — present, past, and anticipated
— as expressed in the groups or as summarized in autobiographies and
psychological inventories were collected. Their dreams and fantasies
were recorded. Their responses on batteries of projective tests were
elicited. A rich but unwieldy collection of raw materials — in the form
of wire recording spools, typed transcriptions, ratings, observers' re-
ports, test indices, projective responses — piled up for each subject.
In line with our first theoretical assumption, the interpersonal aspects
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 63
of the stimulus material were taken as the focus of attention. As the
research team observed this undigested mass of protocol records ac-
cumulating, the next research question occurred. How shall we
analyze these data? It was clear that classiiicatory assistance was re-
quired. This came in the form of the second working principle, which
holds that the basic data of personality are not the raw responses but
the units of protocol language by which the subject's interpersonal
behavior can be summarized.
The selection of this language, as we have seen, has been a crucial
aspect of all personality theories. What and how many are the con-
ceptual units of social interaction? The third working principle en-
ters at this point, stating that measurement of interpersonal behavior
requires a broad collection of simple, specific variables which are
applicable to the study of adjustive and maladjustive responses.
With these guiding principles in mind, the diverse data were studied
to determine the optimal number of specific variables and their orderly
relationship. As a first step the interactions of the subjects were studied
by three independent judges who attempted a straightforward verbal
description of the interpersonal activity. In rating the observed and
recorded interactions, it was noticed that transitive verbs were the
handiest words for describing what the subjects did to each other,
e.g., insult, challenge, answer, help. In rating the content of the spoken
or written descriptions of self-or-other, it was noted that adjectives
were more often suitable. Here we were interested in the attributes,
qualities, and traits which the subject assigned to himself and others.
"I am friendly, helpful, strong; they are hostile, selfish, wise, helpful^
A clear relationship seemed to exist between these two types of inter-
personal description, such that the adjectives seemed to express an
interpersonal attribute or potentiality for action, while the verbs
described the action directly. Three rather interesting notions began
to develop out of this fact. First, the relationships between different
expressions of personality can be directly related to each other by
grammatical or linguistic procedures. That is, what you actually do
in the social situation as described by a verb (e.g., help) can be re-
lated to your description of yourself (as described by the attribute
helpful) and to your description of your dream-self or fantasy-self
(also attributive, helpful or perhaps unhelpful). These grammatical
relationships became the key to a systematic consideration of the
levels of personality, of which more later.
After extensive informal surveys of the many varieties of data, a
list of several hundred terms for describing interpersonal behavior was
assembled. The next task was to sort through the long lists of terms
and to determine the generic interpersonal motives. Combining the
64 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
action verbs with the corresponding attributive adjectives cut down
the list. Thus the adjective insulting was subsumed under its action
category to insult. Next the intense and statistically rare terms were
combined with the moderate and more frequent categories. For ex-
ample, the themes of murder, attack, insult, etc., were included under
the generic concept of hostile activities. The gradually developing
lists of generic terms were then combined to eliminate overlaps and
repetitions until a list of sixteen generic interpersonal motivations re-
sulted. All of the original terms — which numbered several hundred —
could be expressed as differentiated varieties of the sixteen basic inter-
personal themes. In this manner the goal of breadth, specificity, and
simplicity was approached.
The principle of systematic relatedness then determined the next
task. This criterion demands that the variables be ordered along
continua in such a way that fixed relationships exist between the ele-
ments. The question here becomes: What and how many are the di-
mensions along which the variables are to be scaled? In this instance,
it became apparent that a two-dimensional grid was optimal for re-
lating the variables at hand. We cannot doubt that more complex for-
mal systems will eventually add new spatial dimensions to the organi-
zation of personality. For the present, however, a two-dimensional
space offers sufficient complexity for the data and more than a; suf-
ficient complexity of methodological problems.
In surveying the list of more or less generic interpersonal trends,
it became clear that they all had some reference to a power or affilia-
tion factor. When dominance-submission was taken as the vertical axis
and hostility-affection as the horizontal, all of the other generic inter-
personal factors could be expressed as combinations of these four nodal
points. The various types of nurturant behavior appeared to be
blends of strong and affectionate orientations toward others. Dis-
trustful behaviors seemed to blend hostility and weakness. Further
experimentation and review of the raw data led to the conclusion that
a circular two-dimensional continuum of sixteen generic variables rep-
resented the optimal degree of refinement of interpersonal themes.
Attempts at more specific systematization of interpersonal behavior
by increasing the number of variables led to difficulties in establishing
clear criteria for discrimination between neighboring variables. On
the other hand, use of grosser units of discrimination, e.g., only the
four nodal variables, resulted in neglect of important shadings of inter-
personal intent.
The sixteen generic interpersonal themes are presented in Figure 1 .
Each one has been assigned a code letter. Thus, Dominant behavior
is classified under the letter A, Autonomous behavior under the letter
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 65
B, etc. Several suggestive terms are listed for each generic type of
interpersonal purpose in Figure 1. Actually, there is an almost inex-
haustible list of terms for each generic code letter. The many varieties
of interpersonal behavior included under each category will become
increasingly clear as we take up the ratings for the different levels.
,#^ \VSoc
DOMINATE
BOSS,
ORDER
PROVOKES
>(\ OBEDIENCE/
<^^^'J'
<^A^
>^1
^^:^.
MANAGE,
DIRECT,
LEAD
<;°^.
<%'■
i$i^\^i
^,^'^^ /,fti
^\ iL^ •*>.>*
Q
LiJ
Si
■-v.
\
/V i\^
^.
%
■Oft ■>>
MM'"'^°'
ONES
DUTY,
OBEV
^^
IrX \^^
^PtJ^/v / PROVOKES '
'^/Vv^-'-SL/leaoershipj
^^^r^::^^)'
^Cns ^Cr^'^'^OA, / SPINELESS \0^^o T\\>^1=. >^^
^Oe^O'Vs'^^/ ACTIONS, y'^^oOS^O^^^^V^
c^^Cj'" sA . / SUBMIT \ cO^><;^^' -J/
la^-HASOCWm^
%^^^
Figure 1. Classificaiion of Interpersonal Behavior into Sixteen Mechanisms or
Reflexes. Each of the sixteen interpersonal variables is illustrated by sample behaviors
The inner circle presents illustrations of adaptive reflexes, e g., for the variable A,
manage. The center ring indicates the type of behavior that this interpersonal reflex
tends to "pull" from the other one. Thus we see that the person who uses the reflex A
tends to provoke others to obedience, etc. These findings involve two-way inter-
personal phenomena (what the subject does and what the "Other" does back) and are
therefore less reliable than the other interpersonal codes presented in this figure. The
next circle illustrates extreme or rigid reflexes, e.g., dominates. The perimeter of the
circle is divided into eight general categories employed in interpersonal diagnosis.
Fach category has a moderate (adaptive) and an extreme (pathological) intensity,
e.g., Managerial-Autocratic.
66 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
By arranging a set of sixteen interpersonal variables along a con-
tinuum, we have implied a systematic relationship among them. If
we rate any behavior as C, we have defined it in terms of all the other
variables since C is one unit away from (and therefore close to) D and
B, while it is eight units (and therefore quite discrepant) from K. The
second working principle, which requires a relatedness among var-
iables, is thus met but it is next required to demonstrate that the hypo-
thetical relationships of these variables is related to external events.
Extensive vahdation of the circular continuum of sixteen interpersonal
variables has demonstrated that it is satisfactorily congruent with em-
pirical facts. (5) (8) While the units around the scale are not com-
pletely equidistant, the arrangement is correctly ordered.
The selection and formal organization of variables made it possible
to rate any interpersonal behavior in such a way that its relationship to
all the other fifteen variables was explicit. The classificatory schema
at this stage of the game was still far from complete. Only the most
crude appraisals of any interpersonal behavior could be made because
only the presence or absence of the theme could be indicated. For
example, it was possible to say that distrust was present; but how
much, how extreme, how inappropriate could not be measured until
an intensity dimension was added.
In the most basic sense this involved making a "more or less than"
judgment of the observed event. Is this behavior more distrustful than
the other? The intensity dimension is quite fundamental to all human
perceptions. Language and quantitative usages give us several tech-
niques for expressing intensities: the comparative sequence stroni!;,
stronger, strongest, the modifying function extremely, slightly, as well
as the intensity hierarchy of different word meanings critical-angry-
furious-enraged. Apart from these verbal expressions, the numerical
estimation of intensity (along a 3-, 5-, or 7-point scale) is accepted and
common. The intensity of interpersonal activity can be rated on a
linear scale ranging from absence of the behavior to extreme over-
reactivity. The number of differentiating points on the intensity scale
can vary according to the specific purpose, but for most interpersonal
responses, a 3- or 4-point graduation seems quite satisfactory.
Let us consider, by way of illustration, one interpersonal motivation
as it is reflected in the intensity dimension. The power continuum
(variable A) is conceived of as a linear scale ranging from too much to
complete and inappropriate absence of dominance. When we con-
struct an intensity scale for each of the sixteen interpersonal variables,
we obtain a more differentiated form of the circular continuum which
is illustrated in the concentric rings of Figure 1. The term dominate
now takes on quite a precise meaning. It is defined as an expression of
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 67
power (A) which systematically relates it to the other fifteen inter-
personal themes. It is further assigned an intensity loading which re-
lates it to all other verbal terms for power as well as to every other
classified word describing interpersonal interaction. In this way
language of personality becomes much more exact and accessible.
Every term in the English language which refers to interpersonal be-
havior can, in this manner, be studied, redefined systematically, and
calibrated. This is not to say that these terms as used in everyday
life necessarily have the same meaning to the interpersonal scientist.
The general public employs all kinds of words — force, power, effi-
ciency, hostility — which have been operationally redefined by physi-
cal or psychological scientists. The interpersonal diagnostician dealing
with human communications has to keep clear the level of meaning of
the words he deals with. Anger may denote one thing to an individual
patient, another in terms of general usage, and a third in the precisely
defined scientific discourse. In general, it seems best to keep the scien-
tific meaning as close as possible to that of the general public of the
culture being studied. The advantages of tying terminology to func-
tional behavior rather than tying it to psychiatric usage have already
been mentioned.
The two-dimensional representation of interpersonal space has
many possibilities for summarizing behavior. First, it should be noted
that we are rarely interested in classifying single, isolated events. In-
variably we are concerned with sequences of interaction and patterns
of hundreds of interpersonal expressions. The simplest and perhaps
least useful way of summarizing interpersonal behavior is to plot the
ratings, judgments, or units directly onto the circle. Suppose we re-
cord and then rate the interpersonal purpose involved in everything
a patient does to his analyst in the first twenty hours of therapy. This
would produce (depending on the consistency and expressiveness of
the patient) between 1,000 and 3,000 interpersonal units. Disregard-
ing the intensity ratings, we thus obtain the total of all Dominance {A)
ratings and the comparable totals for the other fifteen interpersonal
themes. By calibrating the sixteen radii for numerical frequency, we
can then strike off points indicating the reactions for each inter-
personal variable. A graphic summary of the interpersonal behavior
during twenty hours of therapy is thus obtained. In Figure 2 we see
that the sample patient manifested docile, cooperative dependence
toward the therapist, avoiding hostility and competitiveness. Pro-
files based on other patients or upon this patient's behavior in the sub-
sequent hours of treatment would allow direct, objective comparisons
and the testing of hypotheses about interpersonal activity during
psychotherapy.
68
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
When enough cases have been studied to provide normative data, a
second and highly profitable method of summarizing interpersonal be-
havior is possible. There are many statistical techniques for treating
each patient's scores in terms of the mean (i.e., the average) of his
group. These allow us to determine one point which summarizes all
Figure 2. Diagrammatic Representation of Interpersonal In-
teraction of a Patient During Twenty Hours of Psychotherapy.
Radius of circle equals 1,000 interactions. This patient manifested
820 docile-dependent interpersonal actions {JK octant) and 260
confident-narcissistic actions {BC octant).
of the interpersonal behavior in any behavioral sequence in terms of
its distance and direction from the center of the circle. The latter
is taken as the mean, i.e., the central tendency of the interpersonal be-
havior of the population studied. One method for obtaining this
summary point has been described as follows:
The Interpersonal System as described so far leaves us wide latitude with respect
to the formal (algebraic) properties which are to be attributed to the 16
variables. We may in fact vary the formal relationships to suit the particular
context so long as we do not violate the rough intuitive specification of a
circular arrangement. For example, we might think of the system as a purely
ordinal array about which one specified only that categories adjacent to a given
one resemble it more than do non-adjacent categories. Or we might consider
the circle to be a two-dimensional array in ordinary Euclidian space, in which
case conventional trigonometric and analytic formulas relate the 16 variables.
After some experimentation, this latter approach was tentatively selected. Each
circle was conceived to be a set of eight vectors or points in a two-dimensional
space. We selected the center of gravit)^ or vector mean of these points as a
measure of central tendency.
A vector in two-dimensional space may be represented numerically by the
magnitude of its components in two arbitrarily selected directions. We chose
AP and LAI as reference directions, giving the designations Dom and Lov
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTE/MS 69
respectively to the components of the vector sum in these two directions.
Representation of the eight or sixteen scores comprising a patient's circle by a
single point in two-dimensional space is a considerable simplification. What is
preserved in this simplification is the general tendency of the circle. What is
lost are the individual fluctuations around the circle.^
The formulas for the two components of the vector sum are relatively
evident. They are:
1. Dom = i«Ri sin ^, and
t
\= 1
2. Lov = i«R, cos 0i
2
i= 1
where R, = the score in the 1-th category,
01 = the angle made by moving in counter-clockwise direction from L
to the i-th category (from LM if octant scores are used).
In the present calculations, octant scores were used and .7 was taken as the
value of sin 45°; the following simplified formulas resulted:
3. Dom =AP -HI +.7 (NO + BC - FG - JK),
4. Lov =LM-DE + .7 (NO - BC - FG + JK),
where AP = score in octant AP, etc. (4, p. 140)
It is thus possible to convert the pattern of scores on the sixteen
variables into two numerical indices which locate a subject's inter-
personal behavior on a diagnostic grid. Figure 3 presents the descrip-
tive summary point for the therapy patient whose behavior has been
previously diagramed in Figure 2. We note that the two summary
indices place him in the JK octant; they thus become a simplified and
numerical summary of the circular diagram. The vertical and hori-
zontal lines represent varying discrepancies from the mean (the center
point of the circle). We obtain in this manner a circular grid, every
point on which is statistically defined. We determine the summary
point of the patient's interpersonal behavior as rated by the sixteen
variables in relationship to the population studied — which in this case
might be a hundred randomly selected psychotherapy patients. Our
subject is seen as considerably more trustful and compliant than the
average therapy patient (point 1 in Figure 3).
The great advantage of the latter circular grid method of summari-
zation is that many summary points can be graphed on the same dia-
' The two components of the vector sum must each be divided by N = Ri (the
i= 1
total around the circle all eight or sixteen scores) to get the two components of the
vector mean. These latter may also be thought of as the first two Fourier coefficients
of a curve fitted to the observed data. More complicated curves can be fitted by the
computation of additional coefficients.
70
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
gram, facilitating comparison among levels of any individual's per-
sonality or comparisons among different individuals. Let us suppose
that the psychotherapy patient we have been using for illustration
shifted his interpersonal behavior markedly in the second twenty hours
:.^^^S0CH1ST\C
^(Hjr '
Figure 3. Diagram Summarizing the Interpersonal Behavior of
Patient During First Twenty Hours (T) and the Second Twenty
Hours ® of Psychotherapy. Summary points are located by inter-
section of horizontal and vertical indices. The indices are deter-
mined by the raw number of interactions converted to vector
scores by the trigonometric formulas described on page 69.
of treatment, expressing disappointment and distrust towards the
analyst. The several thousand interactions are rated, statistically sum-
marized, and graphed as point 2^on Figure 3. A diagrammatic con-
densation of the changing behavior of the patient (based on quanti-
tative objective methods) becomes available. This patient has shifted
his interpersonal behavior in therapy. He was compliant (point 1)
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS
71
during the initial stage of treatment but became passively hostile and
withdrawn in the second stage of therapy. Later changes in the treat-
ment relationship can be similarly plotted — always in relationship to
the average of the population.
Previous Suggestions for a Two-Dimensional
Classification of Personality Traits
The notion of classifying human emotions in terms of four syste-
matically related variables is certainly not novel. The history of
psychology provides several interesting correspondences to the present
system of arranging data in terms of the four nodal points.
The four quadrants of the interpersonal system comprise blends of
the nodal dichotomies: love versus hate and power versus weakness.
The four "blended" quadrants fit rather closely the classical humors
theory of Hippocrates. The upper left quadrant (hostile strength)
equates with the choleric temperament, the lower left (hostile weak-
ness) with the melancholic, the lower right (friendly weakness) with
the phlegmatic, and the upper right (friendly strength) with the
sanguine.
The same fourfold classification reappears in Freudian thought,
Freud's treatment of the individual stresses two basic motives — love
and hate. His theories of social phenomena and group interaction, on
the other hand, emphasize domination, power, and the interaction of
the weak versus the strong. In his open letter to Einstein "Why War?"
these two avenues of Freud's thought intersect and illustrate his
commitment to the four concepts. He presents his power theory first:
Such then, was the original state of things: domination by whoever had the
greater might— domination by hate violence or by violence supported by
intellect. (2, p. 275)
In the following paragraph he says:
The situation is simple so long as the community consists only of a number
of equally strong individuals. . . . But a state of rest of that kind is only theo-
retically conceivable. In actuality, the position is complicated by the fact that
from its very beginning the community comprises elements of unequal strength
—men and women, parents and children— and soon, as a result of war and con-
quest, it also comes to include victors and vanquished, who turn into masters
and slaves. The justice of the community then becomes an expression of the
unequal degrees of power obtaining within it; the laws are made by and for the
ruling members and find little room for the rights of those in subjection. From
that time forward there are two factors at work in the community which are
sources of unrest over matters of law but tend at the same time to a further
growth of law. First, attempts are made by certain of the rulers to set them-
selves above the prohibitions which apply to everyone— they seek, that is, to go
y2 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
back from a dominion of law to a dominion of violence. Secondly, the op-
pressed members of the group make constant efforts to obtain more power and
to have any constant efforts to obtain more power and to have any changes that
are brought about in that direction recognized in the laws— they press forward,
that is, from unequal justice to equal justice for all. (2, pp. 276-77)
Later, in the same paper, Freud goes on to summarize his familiar
theories of individual motivation.
According to our hypothesis human instincts are of only two kinds: those
which seek to preserve and unite— which we call "erotic," exactly in the sense
in which Plato used the word "Eros" in his Symposium, or "sexual" with a
deliberate extension of the popular conception of "sexuality"— and those which
seek to destroy and kill and which we class together as the aggressive or destruc-
tive instinct. As you see, this is in fact no more than a theoretical clarification
of the universally familiar opposition between Love and Hate which may per-
haps have some fundamental relation to the polarity of attraction and repulsion
that plays a part in your own field of knowledge. We must not be too hasty
in introducing ethical judgments of good and evil. Neither of these instincts is
any less essential than the other, the phenomena of life arise from the operation
of both together, whether acting in concert or in opposition. It seems as
though an instinct of the one sort can scarcely ever operate in isolation; it is
always accompanied— or, as we say, alloyed— with an element from the other
side, which modifies its aim or is, in some cases, what enables it to achieve that
aim. Thus, for instance, the instinct of self-preservation is certainly of an
erotic kind, but it must nevertheless have aggressiveness at its disposal if it is to
fulfill its purpose. So, too, the instinct of love, when it is directed toward an
object, stands in need of some contribution from the instinct of mastery if it is
in any way to possess that object. The difficulty of isolating the two classes of
instinct in their actual manifestations is indeed what has so long prevented us
from recognizing them.
If you will follow me a little further, you will see that human actions are
subject to another complication of a different kind. It is very rarely that an
action is the work of a smgle instinctual impulse (which must in itself be com-
pounded of Eros and destructiveness). In order to make an action possible,
there must be as a rule a combination of such compounded motives. This was
perceived long ago by a specialist in your own subject, a Professor G. C.
Lichtenberg who taught physics at Gottingen during our classical age-though
perhaps he was even more remarkable as a psychologist than as a physicist. He
invented a Compass of Motives, for he wrote. "The motives that lead us to do
anything might be arranged like the thirty-two winds and might be given
names on the same pattern: for instance, 'food-food-fame' or 'fame-fame-
food'. So that when human beings are incited to war they may have a whole
number of motives for assenting— some noble and some base, some of which
they speak openly and others on which thev are silent. There is no need to
enumerate them all. A lust for aggression and destruction is certainly among
them: the countless cruelties in history and in our every day lives vouch for its
existence and its strength. The gratification of these destructive impulses is of
course facilitated bv their admixture with others of an erotic and idealistic
kind." (2, pp. 280-82)
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS
73
The similarity between these suggestions for a "Compass of Mo-
tives" and the circular classificatory system described in this book is
so close as to require no further comment.
In addition to these earlier approaches to a fourfold classification
system of human motives, other similar conceptual schemes have been
developed contemporaneously with (and independently of) the inter-
personal system.
The interpersonal system, it will be recalled, was developed from
the rawest kind of empirical approach. It can be said that the patients
in the earliest pilot study group developed the interpersonal circle by
providing the varied pool of interpersonal responses which were
gradually refined into the present circular continuum. It is most inter-
esting, therefore, that the results of our empirical studies tend to con-
firm hypotheticated fourfold classifications independently proposed
by other writers.
Ross Stagner, for example, in 1937 presented a two-dimensional
representation of behavior which has a certain similarity to the inter-
personal "compass." Stagner wrote: "The hypothesis which we wish
to present is that the directions of variability in human behavior are
very limited in number, present evidence suggesting that there are
only two dimensions along which such variations may be plotted.
These two dimensions may be considered: 1) approach to or with-
drawal from a stimulus object; and 2) increased or decreased organis-
mic activity with reference to the object." (II, p. 52)
Although Stagner is noninterpersonal in his variable system and,
perhaps, overly optimistic about the simplicity of direction and moti-
vation, his paradigm attracts our interest for two reasons: First, it is
remarkably similar to the interpersonal circular system. Secondly, it
is close to the spatial theory of the genesis of interpersonal relations
which we have discussed in the preceding pages.
Talcott Parsons, who is perhaps the most sophisticated and syste-
matically mature sociological writer of our generation, has described
a conceptual method which he calls the "paradigm of motivational
process." He states that this
. . . started with the assumption that a process of interaction which has been
stabilized about conformity with a normative pattern structure, will tend to
continue in a stable state unless it is disturbed. Concretely, however, there will
always be tendencies to deviance, and conversely these tendencies will tend to
be counteracted by re-equilibrating processes, on the part of the same actor or
of others.
It was furthermore maintained that neither the tendencies toward deviance
nor those toward re-equilibration, that is, toward "social control" could occur
in random directions or forms. Deviance was shown to involve four basic
74 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
directions, according to whether the need was to express alienation from the
normative pattern— including the repudiation of attachment to alter as an object
—or to maintain compulsive conformity with the normative pattern and attach-
ment to alter, and according to whether the mode of action was actively or
passively inclined. This yielded four directional types, those of aggressiveness
and withdrawal on the alienative side, and of compulsive performance and
compulsive acceptance on the side of compulsive conformity. It was further-
more shown that this paradigm, independently derived, is essentially the
same as that previously put forward by Merton for the analysis of social struc-
ture and anomie. (9, p. 68)
Thus, we see that two productive sociologists, Parsons and Merton,
although working from somewhat different subject matters and frames
of reference, have arrived at solutions for categorizing human inter-
action which are close to the interpersonal circle.
Another very interesting correspondence has developed from the
researches of George T. Lodge. Lodge has developed some promising
applications of the Haskell Coaction technique to psychological meas-
urement. This is a method for plotting the resolution of two coacting
variables in terms of a two-dimensional surface. The coaction compass
functions exactly as the interpersonal circle, and the standard trigono-
metric solutions of coaction variables have been applied by Haskell and
Lodge to their data in the same manner as La Forge's formulas for
the interpersonal system.
Lodge describes his use of the Haskell Coaction Compass method
as follows:
The Coaction Compass as formulated by Edward F. Haskell is a general
conceptual scheme which is beginning to find wide applications in biological
and social science. This compass is a Cartesian coordinate frame strictly com-
parable to the mariner's wind rose. Its use permits assignment of vector magni-
tudes to the resultant forces from any two interdependent power systems, and
their subsequent treatment by methods of analytic geometry. In the field of
Clinical Psychology, it is convenient to view the processes of inhibition and
facilitation as representing two such coacting power systems. It is not our
purpose at present to go into the details of a coaction theory of personality as
such. We have attempted a preliminary formulation of such a theory else-
where. Here, we shall try only to set forth certain necessary steps for the
interest of those who may wish to apply coaction reasoning in their analyses
of Rorschach protocols. . . .
The Rorschach method lends itself readily to the study of personality in
terms of a coaction formulation, at least insofar as consideration of the scoring
of determinants is concerned. If the form level of a response be regarded as
reflecting the strength of the inhibitory process, and if the amount of expression
of color, shading, and movement be regarded as reflecting the level of manifest
affect or facilitation, the response may be represented geometrically as a re-
sultant vector determined by the relative strengths of the two coacting power
systems. (6, pp. 67h58)
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 75
The Variability of Interpersonal Behavior
Eitiploying the continuum of sixteen variables, summarized nu-
merically, it is possible to make three different types of systematic
studies of the same person. We can investigate the interpersonal be-
havior of one individual at many levels of his personality. Charting
the measurements for all aspects of behavior on the same circular grid
provides a systematic pattern diagnosis of the structure of personality
at one time. By adding summaries of the same measurements as they
change in time, we obtain a picture of temporal variation in the
multilevel pattern of personality. In the preceding example we have
noted such a temporal change in one level of personality — inter-
personal behavior in one cultural context, the psychoanalytic ses-
sions. A third use of the circular continuum is to chart the varying
patterns of behavior in different interpersonal situations. How does
the patient behave with his boss, with his wife, with his children?
These measurements of behavior, at different levels, at different
times, and in different situations comprise the basic patterns and
changing processes of personality. They are called structural, tem-
poral, and situational variation patterns, respectively. Temporal varia-
tion— the changes in personality patterns over time — has extreme
functional importance since our prediction about future developments
(e.g., prognosis for psychotherapy) is involved. Situational variation
refers to the cultural relativity of interpersonal relationships. Struc-
tural variation refers to the relationship among the levels of personal-
ity and brings us to the basic issues of the notational system — the or-
ganization of personahty into levels.
The Formal Notational System: The Levels of Personality
The fact that behavior exists at more than one level of awareness
has been intuitively recognized for centuries. The discovery of un-
conscious motivation — in the sense of a formal theoretical statement —
was first made by Sigmund Freud.
This was an epochal landmark in the study of personality and
human nature.
The neat personality structures of rationalistic psychology were
exploded into an untidy disarray. It is no longer possible to depend
on the solid validity of the subject's conscious report. If the subject
in a perception experiment judges one stimulus object as larger than
another, it may have to do with the physical aspects of perception —
but it may also reflect a desire to agree or disagree with other subjects,
to assist or frustrate the experimenter's purpose (as he imagines it to
be).
76 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
The concept of levels destroys the simple, unidimensional notions of
behavior determined by chains of stimulus-response reactions. All the
major learning theories since Freud, however cognitive and physical-
istic they may strive to be, have by necessity taken into account this
multidimensional quality of motivation. The complexity of human na-
ture for the first time begins to command adequate conceptual respect.
Accompanying the early positive rewards of the "unconsciousness
theory" is a series of premature, intuitive concepts and logical falla-
cies. To deal with some of these illogical procedures, we have stated
in the fifth working principle that any statement about human be-
havior must indicate the level of personality data to which it refers.
When this postulate was applied to the varied mosaic of miscel-
laneous protocols obtained from the pilot study cases, the first task
required was to classify them into discrete levels. The questions then
became: How many levels of personality should be employed? What
are they? And how shall they be defined?
Any solutions to these problems must be arbitrary, formal decisions.
That is, we must assume no divinely instituted or platonically ideal
number of personality divisions. In selecting the number of levels,
we are limited on the broad side by the practicalities of the empirical
method and on the narrow side by theoretical adequacy, that is (at
this primitive state of our knowledge), if we have too many levels, the
permutations and combinations of the interlevel relationships become
impossibly unwieldy. If we have too few, important nuances become
lost by being compressed into general categories.
After reviewing the many types and sources of personality data,
a classification into five levels was found to be the most effective. This
decision is a notational procedure which seems to meet the functional
criteria of the present time. When we say that it is convenient to con-
ceive of five levels of personality, we do not imply that there is "really"
or "eternally" such a structural division. Early psychoanalytic writers
naively tended to imply, and the uncritical reader tended to assume,
that there "really were" two or three levels of personality in the same
sense that there "are" five fingers on the hand. When the formal na-
ture of these divisions of consciousness was not made explicit, a meta-
physical language threatened to develop. At this point we designate
five levels of personality data which we suggest are the most profitable
for research, theory, and functional prediction.
These five general levels of personality data are: I. the Level of
Public Communication; II. the Level of Conscious Description; III.
the Level of Private Symbolization; IV. the Level of the Unexpressed
Unconscious; and V, the Level of Values. These levels are defined in
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 77
terms of the operations which produce the pertinent data. That is,
the source of the data automatically determines the level of classifica-
tion. In this way we obtain operational definitions of the five levels
of personality.
There are many different specific kinds of expression which can
contribute data to any one level. For example, there are several ways
in which fantasy symbols can be manifested — dreams, projective tests,
fantasies, etc. All of these produce Level III data, although the opera-
tions by which the themes are expressed are quite separate. In order
to insure clarity and precision we always indicate (by code) the spe-
cific source of the data. The general level is designated by a roman
numeral and the sublevel operations are designated by a code letter.
Level III-D, for example, means private interpersonal symbols ob-
tained from dreams. Level III-T indicates private interpersonal sym-
bols obtained from TAT stories. The general definition of levels and
the specific test and rating procedures by which they are measured
will now be presented.
Level I (Public Communication) consists of the overt behavior of
the individual as rated by others along the sixteen-point circular con-
tinuum. These judgments are made by trained observers or by naive
fellow subjects who observe the subject in interpersonal situations.
They rate his interpersonal impact as it appears to them. What we ob-
tain is a series of ratings of the interpersonal effect the subject has on
others who share social situations with him. Other estimates of Level
I behavior are obtained from special test procedures — situation test,
prediction scales and the like.
Level I data is objective or public — rather than private or subjec-
tive. It may or may not agree with the subject's own view of the situa-
tion. To obtain Level I data it is necessary to have the subject in-
volved in social interaction and to have others rate their view of his
purposive behavior. This gives a measurement of his social "stimulus
value." Other specialized methods for assessing Level I require the
patient to take criterion-specific tests (like the MMPI) which allow
us to predict his interpersonal role.
The situation in which we rate interpersonal behavior can be an
extraclinic event or it can be restricted to the more controlled en-
vironment of the clinic or assessment situation. The raters can be re-
searchers, diagnostic or therapeutic clinicians, fellow patients, or
family members. The meaning of the Level I rating thus depends on
the cultural context and the category of the rater. These differences
provide interesting sublevel variations of the broad, general Level I
of Public Communication.
78
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
There are five methods which provide estimates of Level I public
behavior. These are coded as follows:
Level I-Al: MMPI indices which reflect the interpersonal pressure
exerted on the clinician by the patient's symptoms.
Level I-R: Ratings by trained personnel of the patient's minute-by-
minute behavior in a social situation.
Level I-S: Sociometric ratings (from check lists) by fellow patients
or by trained observers.
Level I-P: MMPI indices wliich predict the interpersonal behavior
to be expected in group psychotherapy.
Level I-T: Scores from standard situational tests which assess the
patient's interpersonal reactions.
The following chapter is devoted to a detailed description of the im-
phcations, measurement, and validation of Level I behavior.
Level II {Conscious Descriptions) includes the verbal content of
all the statements that the subject makes about the interpersonal be-
havior of himself or "others." His descriptions of himself and others
are obtained from a variety of sources — conversations, therapy proto-
cols, autobiographies, check lists. They are then rated along the same
sixteen-point circular continuum. We are interested here in the sub-
ject's reported perceptions of himself and his interpersonal world. We
are not interested at this level in the consensual accuracy of these per-
ceptions or in the potential deeper meanings. We are concerned only
with the phenomenological field — the way in which the subject re-
ports his view of self and world. It must be noted that one single sen-
tence expressed by a subject can provide both a Level I and a Level II
rating. If a patient says, "I am a responsible person," the Level II rat-
ing reflects the surface meaning of responsibility (coded as O) re-
ported by the subject. Observers of the interpersonal context in which
the sentence was uttered might agree that its Level I-R effect was to
establish autonomy from the therapist (coded B) or superiority over
other patients (also coded B). The reported self-perception usually is
different from the interpersonal impact on or meaning to others.
There are four methods which provide data for Level II descrip-
tions of self and others. These are coded as follows:
Level II-Di: Ratings by trained personnel of the verbal content from
diagnostic interviews.
Level II-Ti: Ratings by trained personnel of the verbal content from
therapy interviews.
Level II-C:, Scores from the Interpersonal Adjective Check List on
which the patient checks his view of self and others.
Level II-A: Ratings by trained personnel of the content of autobiog-
raphies written by patients.
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS
79
The illustration, implications, use, and validation of this level of con-
scious description will be considered in Chapter 8.
Level III {Private Symbolization) consists of projective, indirect
fantasy materials. These data come from a variety of sources — dreams,
fantasies, artistic, or autistic productions, projective tests — which
elicit imaginative expressions. The interpersonal themes of all these
symbolic expressions are rated by two or more trained raters along
the sixteen-point circular continuum. We thus possess a technique
for systematically measuring the indirect autistic data of personality in
terms of the same interpersonal variables which we use to categorize
the public or conscious aspects of behavior. The broad general nature
of the level categories must be mentioned again. There are many sub-
level varieties of symbolic data. Some creative, projective tests, for
example, may be more closely related to the level of conscious de-
scription. Others may be consistently identified with the pattern of
dream themes. The exact "depth" of any symbolic response depends
on a variety of factors — cultural context, type of symbolic stimulus,
the nature of the Level I behavior at the time, etc. The detailed sys-
tematic organization and specific differentiation of these private pro-
ductions becomes one of the most important and fascinating problems
of current dynamic psychology.
There are at present seven methods for collecting Level III pre-
conscious data from patients. These are coded as follows:
Level III-T: Ratings of TAT stories.
Level III-IFT: Ratings from the Interpersonal Fantasy Test.^
Level Ill-i: Ratings of responses to the Iflund projective test. (3)
Level III-B: Ratings of responses the Blacky projective test. (1)
Level III-D: Ratings of interpersonal themes in dream protocols.
Level III-F: Ratings of interpersonal themes from waking fan-
tasies expressed by the subject.
Level III-M: MMPI indices which predict to preconscious be-
havior.
There is one distinction to be made in dealing with preconscious
data that is most important. This is the division between the hero and
the world personages in fantasy productions. Evidence from several
samples suggests that clearly different sublevels of behavior are in-
volved.
* The Interpersonal Fantasy Test is a Level III instrument developed by the Kaiser
Foundation psychology research project to fit the interpersonal system. It is a TAT-
type test in which the cards are designed to explore systematically the subject's fan-
tasies about interpersonal relationships between heroes and paternal, maternal, cross-
sex, and same-sex figures. Scores are obtained for Level III Self, Mother, Father,
Cross-sex and Therapist.
8o BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
These findings are of considerable value because they define two
distinct sublevels of the symbolic or preconscious area. One is desig-
nated Level III Hero. This is the symbolic self-image. Its theoretical
and clinical meaning is different from the preconscious images of the
symboKc world. This latter area is designated Level III Other. These
two subdivisions of symbolic expression have been found to be lawfully
distinct. They often define different kinds of interlevel conflict and
different personality types, and they are related to different sympto-
matic pictures. Chapter 9 which is devoted to Level III symbolic be-
havior will consider these distinctions.
Level IV (the Unexpressed Unconscious) is defined by the inter-
personal themes which are systematically and compulsively avoided
by the subject at all the other levels of personality and which are
conspicuous by their inflexible absence. Here we refer to those activi-
ties which are consistently and deliberately "not present" in the per-
sonality profile. These "unexpressed" aspects of personality are as yet
unexplored. For this reason, this level will not be employed in the
basic systematization that follows.
The definition of Level IV is a problem as yet unsolved. The most
convincing demonstration of the presence of motivation previously
unexpressed (at the other three levels) would require two parallel sets
of evidence. The negative proof would involve statistical demonstra-
tion that the subject significantly avoids certain patterns of interper-
sonal response with a frequency far beyond the expectations of
chance. The proof positive requires that the same interpersonal themes
be picked up in significant frequency by certain subliminal, indirect
perceptual tests, e.g., abnormally long reaction times or perceptual
distortions in response to thematic stimuli presented at spht-second
(blurred) tachistoscope exposures. The implications and problems in-
volved in the unexpressed behavior of Level IV will be surveyed in
Chapter 10.
Level V (Values) consists of the data which reflect the subject's
system of moral, "superego judgments," his ego ideal. We refer here
to the interpersonal traits and actions that the subject holds to be
"good," proper, and "right" — his picture of how he should be and
would like to be. These idealized interpersonal themes are obtained
in the same manner as the conscious descriptions of Level II. We single
out from interview, free association, check list, and questionnaire the
expressions which concern his value-feelings. These are rated and
scored according to the sixteen-point circular continuum.
Like the other levels of personality, the "ego ideal" cannot be con-
ceived of as a unitary or narrowly defined category. Some "values"
may be consciously expressed — others may be rated as they appear
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 8i
in implied form. Thus some may be "deeper" than others. There are
three methods for obtaining Level V ratings of the ego ideal. These are
coded as follows:
Level V-C: Scores from the Interpersonal Adjective Check List on
which the patient checks his ego ideal.
Level V-Di: Ratings by trained personnel of the subject's ideals as
expressed in diagnostic interviews.
Level V-Ti: Ratings by trained personnel of the subject's ideals as
expressed in therapy interviews.
The measurement and meaning of this level of behavior will be
discussed in Chapter II.
There follows in Table 1 a summary of the various sources of data
for each level and sublevel of personality. We should observe again
that the assignment of data to the appropriate level operates automati-
cally. The source of the data routinely and rigidly defines the level.
It should also be noted that while our method is rigid, behavior is
flexible and fluid, and does not always follow our notational schemes.
By this we mean that there exist sublevel variations; some Level II
TABLE 1
Operational Definition of Five Levels of
Personality According to Source of Data
Level I: (Public Communication) This level concerns the interpersonal impact of the
subject on others— his social stimulus value. There are four different ways of ob-
taining this measure:
Level I-R: Ratings by trained personnel of the patient's minute-by-minute be-
havior in a social situation.
Level I-S: Sociometric ratings (from check lists) by fellow patients or by
trained observers.
Level I-M: MMPI indices which predict the interpersonal behavior to be
expected.
Level I-T: Scores from standard situational tests which assess the patient's in-
terpersonal reactions.
I^evel II: (Conscious Descriptions) The subject's view of self and world obtained from
interviews, autobiography, check list, questionnaire. There are four methods which
provide data for this level:
Level II-Di. Ratings by trained personnel of the verbal content from diagnostic
interviews.
Level II-Ti: Ratings by trained personnel of the verbal content from therapy
interviews.
Level II-C: Scores from the Interpersonal Adjective Check List on which the
patient checks his view of self and others.
Level II-A: Ratings by trained personnel of the content of autobiographies writ-
ten by patients.
Level III: (Preconscious Symbolization) The subject's autistic, projective fantasy pro-
ductions. There are two sublevels of preconscious expression: Level III Hero and
Level III Other.
82 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
Level III Hero is defined by the interpersonal themes attributed to the heroes of
preconscious protocols obtained from dreams, fantasies, projective stories
Level III Other comprises the interpersonal themes attributed to the "other"
figures from the same preconscious protocols.
There are at present seven methods for collecting Level III data:
Level III-T Ratings of TAT stories.
Level III-IFT: Ratings from the Interpersonal Fantasy Test.
Level III-i: Ratings of responses to the Iflund pro)ective test.
Level III-B: Ratings of responses to the Blacky projective test.
Level III-D- Ratings of interpersonal themes in dream protocols.
Level III-F: Ratings of interpersonal themes from waking fantasies expressed
by the subject.
Level III-M: MMPI indices which predict preconscious behavior.
Level IV: (Unexpressed Unconscious) This level is defined by two criteria: the inter-
personal themes significantly omitted at the top three levels and significantlv avoided
on tests of subliminal perceptions, selective forgetting, and the like. Specific methods
for obtaining this data are not yet developed.
Level V: (Ego Ideal) This level comprises the subject's statements about his inter-
personal ideas, standards, conceptions of good and evil as obtained in interview,
autobiography, questionnaire, or check list. There are three methods for obtaining
Level V ratings of values:
Level V-C: Scores from the Interpersonal Adjective Check List on which the
patient checks his ego ideal.
Level V-Di- Ratings by trained personnel of the subject's ideals as expressed in
diagnostic interviews.
Level V-Ti: Ratings by trained personnel of the subject's ideals as expressed in
therapy interviews.
reports (let us say from the intense confidence of psychotherapy)
turn out to be much closer to our Level III measurements. Some
symbolic productions (Level III) from subjects who are striving to
"overload" their presentations in one thematic direction may duplicate
Level II conscious reports. These sublevel shifts are generally due to
differences in the social situation, or in the stimulus materials, or gen-
eral variability factors such as time, oscillation, and interlevel dynamics.
All of these are, fortunately, open to some systematic measurement
and predictive control, and will be treated in a later publication.
To conclude this preliminary glance at the five defined levels of
personality, an illustration of the way data are assigned to levels may
prove helpful. If a subject is rated as displaying aggressive behavior
in a unit of interpersonal action, the rating of hostility (E) is then
coded into the matrix of Level I-R variables. Should this same subject
describe himself in a conscious report (on a check list) as friendly and
agreeable, a Level II-C rating of affiliation (M) would be made.
Should he report a dream in which the hero behaves in a submissive,
trustful fashion, dependence (K) would be coded into the Level III-D
pattern. Should nurturant behavior be absent from all of these three
levels (to a statistically significant degree), and if it appears in the
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 83
form of exaggerated avoidance or distortion of tenderness themes on
Level IV measuring devices, then the presence of Level IV nurturance
(N) could be inferred. If his description of his "ego ideal" on the
check list stresses the themes of power and independence, then the
Level V-C scores of A and B are emphasized.
Let us assume that hundreds of additional measurements at all levels
continue to emphasize the same pattern. The summary totals for each
level are converted to standard scores, comparing them to the means
of appropriate normative larger samples of cases. By means of the
vector method described above we can chart the personality structure
in the form of a diagram summarizing five levels of self-behavior. The
data from each level has been converted into a systematic rating lan-
guage which is standardized, and directly comparable with the data
from other levels. The many implications and theoretical aspects of
this multidimensional organization of personality will be discussed in
Chapter 13,
The Measurement of the Self-Other Interaction
A final notationa^ procedure remains before the basic elements of
the personality structure can be assembled. Formal recognition must
be made of the fact that any interpersonal behavior involves more
than one person — and by definition cannot be considered as an iso-
lated phenomenon. We accepted (in the fourth working principle)
the premise that the interpersonal theory logically requires that for
each variable or variable system by which we measure the subject's
behavior, we must include an equivalent set for measuring the parallel
behavior of the subject's interpersonal world.
The reciprocal nature of social interaction, the reflex way in which
human beings tailor their responses to others, and the automatic way
in which they force others to react to them will become one of the
main points of emphasis in this book. To take systematic account of
these interchanges (at all levels of personality) a notational step is
required. This is accomplished by categorizing and summarizing
separately the interpersonal responses of the subject and the specific
others with whom he interacts. When we observe the subject's public
communications at Level I we rate not only his purposive behavior, but
also what others do to him. Then we score the patient's interpersonal
responses to the psychotherapist and we also score the latter's reactions
toward the patient. We note, for example, that the subject acts de-
pendent (K) and the therapist reacts with nurturance (O).
When we measure the subject's conscious reports at Level II, we
rate not only his perceptions of himself, but also his descriptions of
his interpersonal world as he views it. Thus we score the interpersonal
84 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
themes the patient attributes to himself and, in addition, the themes
he attributes to the specified "others" with whom he is concerned. We
rate, for example, the subject's statement "I am helpless to solve this
problem" (/) and his description of the therapist "You are a person
who can help me with my problem" (O). When we summarize his
Level II material, we obtain a numerical or diagrammatic total for
the reported view of self, his view of his therapist, of his family mem-
bers, of the other members of his therapy group, and all "others" he
has described.
When we deal with the symbolic data of Level III, we rate not only
his fantasy themes attributed to self or to self-identified heroes, but
also the interpersonal themes he assigns to the "others" with whom his
fantasy self interacts. The subject might report, for example, a dream
in which he attacks (E) his rejecting unsympathetic psychothera-
pist (C). We summarize the Level III fantasy materials in the same
manner — obtaining separate totals from his symbolic self and symbolic
others.
The usefulness of this self-other classification for the unexpressed
themes of Level IV is, at present, an unsettled question. Some psy-
chologists hold that the vague, diffuse themes from the less conscious
areas of personality cannot be differentiated into self-other categories.
Since there is no adequate data to settle this question, Level IV behavior
will not be formally systematized in this book.
The division of behavior into self-and-other does not seem to apply
as directly to the "value" data from Level V. It might be assumed that
the "ego ideal" or superego judgment of what's "right-and-good"
holds as a general value system for one's view of self and all others.
On the other hand, it is possible to obtain measurements on the "ideal-
for-self" and the "ideal-for-specified-others." Thus the subject might
be asked to describe his view of the "ideal" mother, the "ideal" father,
the "ideal" spouse, the "ideal" therapist, the "ideal" boss, etc. The
Kaiser Foundation research project is at this time conducting investi-
gations of this sort, but the results are not yet tabulated. For this
reason in this book. Level V will be considered as a unitary field and
will not be divided into self and other.
Variability Indices: The Organization of Personality
The interpersonal system deals, therefore, with eight generic areas
of personality data: two each (self and other) for Levels I, II,
III, and one each for Levels IV and V. Since Level IV has been
omitted from consideration in the current research, we shall be con-
sidering in the following chapters seven generic areas of behavior. A
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS
85
LEVELI
(EGO IDEAL)
LEVEL m
(PRECONSCIOUS EXPRESSIONS)
Figure 4. Schematic Diagram Illustrating Seven Generic Areas of Personahtv at
Four Levels and Listing Some Variability Indices of Personality Organization.
86 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS
preliminary diagram of personality structure can now be presented.
Figure 4 illustrates the generic division of personality data with which
we are concerned. Each of the seven circles denotes a generalized clas-
sification of personality data. Inside each circle is printed a suggestive
list of the sources of data for each level. This is a schematic, pictorial
representation summarizing the notational procedures thus far out-
lined. It is highly generalized. As it stands here it could not be used
for clinical or research purposes since only one circle for "others" is
represented. In practice we would have as many "others" circles as
necessary to summarize the interpersonal behavior of each person with
whom the subject interacts.
More practical and accurate working diagrams are presented in the
clinical and diagnostic chapters to follow. The stylized diagram in
Figure 4 is presented to point up the next organizational issue, the re-
lationship among the levels of personality. It will be noted that a series
of lines connects the seven circles in Figure 4. These represent the
dynamic interactions among the levels. Each circle, it will be remem-
bered, summarizes the pattern of standard scores on the same matrix of
sixteen variables. We can, therefore, make direct mathematical com-
parison between levels. The line between Level II Self and Level III
Self stands for the subtractive comparison between the two areas of
personality, and indicates how similar or different they are. In addi-
tion, it provides a numerical statement of those interpersonal themes
which appear in private symbolization and which are not consciously
attributed to self. These relationships among levels are called intra-
personal variability indices. They are, in some respects, operational
redefinitions of certain Freudian "defense mechanisms," since they
systematically summarize the comparisons among the levels of per-
sonality. The Freudians call these interlevel relationships "defense
mechanisms" because they are seen as "warding off" instinctual im-
pulses. We have, however, in principle hesitated to accept this focus-
ing on the unconscious level of behavior and have accepted instead an
emphasis on the over-all organization of all levels. We have tended to
see these interlevel relationships simply as indices which reflect the
structure of personality organization and the kind and amount of con-
flict, or rigidity, or flexibility.
We therefore call these relationships among the areas of behavior
variability indices. They reflect in mathematical terms the tendency
of any one level to dupUcate or balance the inevitable distortions of
the other levels of personality. The definition, meaning, and function
of these generic mechanisms of organization, will be discussed in Part
III of this book.
INTERPERSONAL AND VARIABILITY SYSTEMS 87
Summary
This chapter, by way of overview and prospectus, has presented a
classificatory system for ordering interpersonal behavior. Five levels
at which this behavior exists have been defined. A brief survey of the
system of variability indices which link together these levels has been
included.
The subsequent chapters will be devoted to a detailed fiUing-in of
the broad areas outlined in this chapter. The next six chapters will
deal with the levels of personality — theory, measurement, method-
ology, and meaning of the varieties of interpersonal behavior. Chap-
ter 1 3 will deal with the variability dimension — and will present defi-
nitions of the specific interlevel relations involved in the formal nota-
tional system.
References
1. Blum, G. S. The Blacky Pictures: A technique for the exploration of personality
dynamics. New York. The Psychological CoqD., 1950.
2. Freud, S. Why war? In Collected Papers. Translated by James Strachey. Vol.
S. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psychoanalysis, 1950.
3. Iflund, B. Selective recall of meaningless materials as related to psychoanalytic
formulations in certain psychiatric syndromes. Unpublished doctor's dissertauon.
University of Calif orma, Berkeley, 1953.
4. LaForge, R., M. Freedman, T. Leary, H. Naboisek, and H. Coffey. The inter-
personal dimension of personality: II An objective study of repression. /. Pers.,
1954, 23, No. 2, 129-53.
5. LaForge, R., and R. Suczek. The interpersonal dimension of personahty. Ill An
interpersonal checklist. /. Pers., 1955, 24, No. 1, 94-112.
6. Lodge, G. T., and C. J. Steenbarger. Charting the course of the Rorschach inter-
view. /. Gen. Psychol., 1953, 48, 67-73.
7. Miller, Milton L. The traumatic effects of surgical operations in childhood on
the interpretive functions of the ego. Psych. Quart., 1950, 20, 77-92.
8. Naboisek, H. Interpersonal assessments of patients in group therapy. Unpub-
lished doctor's dissertation. University of California, Berkeley, 1953.
9. Parsons, T., and R. F. Bales. The dimensions of action-space. In Working
papers in the theory of action. Glencoe, 111.- The Free Press, 1953.
10. Reichenbach, H. R. The rise of scientific philosophy. University of California
Press, 1951.
11. Stagner, Ross. Psychology of personality. New York- McGraw, 1937.
II
The Interpersonal Dimension of Personality:
Variables, Levels, and Diagnostic Categories
Introduction
The following section of this book is devoted to a discussion of inter-
personal behavior at five levels of personality. These levels are:
I. The Level of Public Communication
II. The Level of Conscious Communication
III. The Level of Private Communication
IV. The Level of the Unexpressed
V. The Level of Values
A chapter is devoted to each of these levels. Each chapter in-
cludes a historical review of previous theories relating to the level in
question, an operational definition of the level, a system for measuring
behavior at the level, and a discussion of its significance. Considerable
theoretical speculation as to the meaning of behavior at each level will
be included. In order to preserve the descriptive and theoretical orien-
tation of the book we have not included a detailed account of the re-
search findings. Where there is evidence supporting these speculations,
reference will be made to the scientific publication in which the perti-
nent research has been described.
This section is concluded by a description of the system of inter-
personal diagnosis (Chapter 12). Here we employ the data from three
levels of behavior to construct an objective multilevel diagnostic sys-
tem.
90
7
The Level of Public Communication:
The Interpersonal Reflex
This chapter takes as its subject interpersonal communication. This
aspect of personality, which we have designated Level I, is concerned
with the social impact that one human being has on another. We shall
consider first some methods for isolating and defining these interac-
tions, and then proceed to their impHcations for personahty theory.
The events studied at this level are the overt interpersonal activities
of the individual. What a person does in any social situation is a func-
tion of at least two factors, ( 1 ) his multilevel personality structure and
(2) the activities and effect of the "other one," the person with whom
he is interacting.
In order to define and to discuss the level of overt communication
it is necessary at times to tear it out of these two broader contexts in
which it is always imbedded. The criteria of logical narration demand
that we talk about interpersonal behavior in this chapter as though it
exists apart from the other aspects of the person's personality struc-
ture or apart from the behavior of others. These broader contexts are
always implicitly referred to and should be kept in mind.
Definitions and Illustrations
The basic unit involved here is the interpersonal effect. We de-
termine the interpersonal meaning of any behavior by asking, "What
is this person doing to the other? What kind of a relationship is he
attempting to establish through this panicular behavior?" The an-
swers to these questions define the subject's interpersonal impact on
the other one. For example, "He is boasting and attempting to estab-
lish superiority"; or, "He is rejecting and refusing to help."
We are concerned at this level with ivhat one person communi-
cates to another. A father, for example, may employ one or one thou-
9»
^2 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
sand words to refuse his child's request. The mode, style, and con-
tent of the two rejecting expressions may be very different, but their
interpersonal effect is the same — rejection.
In studying the interpersonal purposes which underlie human be-
havior, the following hypothesis has developed. It seems that in a
large percentage of interactions the basic motives are expressed in a
reflex manner. They are so automatic that they are often unwitting
and often at variance with the subject's own perception of them. This
facet of behavior is therefore a difficult one to isolate and measure. It
is often unverbalized and so subtle and reflex as to escape articulate
description. Sometimes these interpersonal communications can be
implicit in the content of the discussion: Grandfather talks incessantly
about the lack of energy and initiative of modern youth in order to
impress others with the fact that he is a successful, self-made man.
Grandmother talks incessantly about sickness, calamity, and death to
remind others that the time may be short to repay her for the sacrifices
she has made for her children. Grandfather never says openly, "I am
better than you young people." Grandmother never says, "You
should feel guilty and devoted to me." Grandfather's remark may be
concerned with the issue of the 40-hour week. Grandmother may be
quoting from the obituary column of the evening paper. Behind the
superficial content of these expressions are the repetitive interpersonal
motives — superiority and reproach. Behind the superficial content of
most social exchanges it is possible to determine the naked motive com-
munications: I am wise; I am strong; I am friendly; I am contemptuous;
as well as the concomitant messages: you are less wise, less strong,
likable, contemptible. Jung has described the "persona" as a mask-like
front behind which more basic motives exist. The purposive behavior
we are dealing with in this chapter is similar, but in emphasis something
more important than just a social facade. It is closer, perhaps, to the
"character armour" concept from the earlier writings of Wilhelm
Reich, in that it assumes a major role in the personaUty organization.
Its relationship to the "conversation of gestures" developed by Mead
is, as we shall see, quite close. Let us examine some examples of Level
I interpersonal communications.
How A Poignant Woman Provokes a Helpful Attitude. A pa-
tient comes to a psychiatrist for an evaluation interview. She reports
a long list of symptoms — insomnia, worry, depression — and a list of
unfortunate events — divorce, unsympathetic employer, etc. She cries.
Whether her expressions are scored separately and summarized or
judged on the over-all, we derive a clear picture of a JK approach — "I
am weak, unhappy, unlucky, in need of your help."
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 93
Let us shift now to the psychiatrist. He is under strong pressure to
express sympathetic, nurturant communications. Helpless, trustful be-
havior tends to pull assistance; that is, JK tends to provoke ON from
the other one. Further, the patient-therapist situation is in essence one
that lends itself easily to the "needs help-offers help" relationship.
There exists a tendency for the psychiatrist to express openly (or
much more likely, by implication) that he knows of a way by which
the patient can be assisted. This may be communicated, not in ivhat he
says, but in his bearing, attitude, his very quiet competence.
What makes it more complex is the fact that the verbal expression
may be quite different from the actual developing relationship. The
psychiatrist may interpret the dangers of dependence and the necessity
for self-help. The patient may agree. If both parties tend to over-
emphasize verbal symbols, there may be an illusion that a collaborative
relationship exists. Actually, the "nurturant interpreter-trustful fol-
lower" situation still exists, not in what the participants are saying,
but in what they are doing to each other.
How THE Penitentiary Trains the Prisoner for Criminal Ag-
gression. Many institutional or cultural situations have interpersonal
implications so built into them that a flexible, collaborative relation-
ship is impossible. In prison psychiatry, for example, as analyzed by
Powelson and Bendix (8), it is virtually impossible for the doctor as
well as for the patient to shake off the institution's implicit punitive
contempt for the inmate. The penitentiary administration tells the
prisoner, by the prison architecture, the structure of the guard-inmate
relationship, and by every nonverbal cue possible that he is a danger-
ous, evil, untrustworthy outcast. The prisoner often responds to this
interpersonal pressure by accepting the role he is being trained for.
That is BCD pulls EFG. The same interpersonal connotations were
typical of the descriptive preanalytic psychiatry of the last century
and of incarcerative psychiatry of the present. Here we must note
again that human relationships are never one-sided and that those
which are rigid or of long duration tend to be selective on both sides.
Thus, as Powelson has pointed out, the recidivist criminal is least
anxious when he is in passive rebellion against a strong punitive author-
ity who feeds him and beats him.
Interpersonal Implications Underlie Social Organizations.
To a lesser degree any doctor-patient relationship tends to have pre-
determined interpersonal structure. At least at the beginning it is
highly loaded by the dependence-helpfulness axis.
Unverbalized interpersonal assumptions tend to pervade every so-
cial organization. The unwitting evaluation of the differing roles of
94 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
orderly, nurse, psychotherapist, psychiatrist, and administrator in
relationship to each other is an inevitable phenomenon in any psychia-
tric hospital. The way in which eddies from these power whirlpools
reach and relate to the patient is probably more important in terms of
the remission rate than the number of electric shock machines or the
skill of the psychotherapists. Factory, department store, office, uni-
versity— all have these complex networks of routine, unverbalized
evaluation through which power, prestige, contempt, punishment, ac-
ceptance, etc., are expressed. Systematic understanding of these social
hierarchies and their effect on the clients, patients, employees, cus-
tomers, and students is a problem for the sociologist or the industrial
psychologist. Investigations in these areas will very likely reveal that
individuals tend to select jobs and occupational roles in accordance
with their interpersonal techniques for anxiety reduction. We con-
sider these phenomena here because they demonstrate the implicit and
automatic nature of interpersonal reactivity.
How THE Professor and Student Train Each Other To Be
Professor and Student. The teacher-student relationship, obviously
loaded with power implications, serves to illustrate some details of
reflex communication. Professors are so addicted to the stereotyped
teaching reflex that they often cannot inhibit the didactic response.
We recall the psychology professor who had developed at some length
in a lecture the thesis that teachers or psychotherapists should not give
answers but should stimulate the student or the patient to seek answers
himself. "Don't let them become dependent on you; make them think
for themselves." As soon as the lecture was over, a graduate student
(well trained to the dependency reflex) rushed up with a question: "In
my undergraduate teaching section the students are continually ask-
ing me to solve their personal problems and demanding answers. What
shall I do?" Pausing only to clear his throat, the professor reflexly
responded: "Yes, you'll always find your students tending to trap you
into solving their problems for them — the problems that they should
work out for themselves. Now what I'd do if I were you is, first, I'd
get them to. . . ." The verbal content of an interaction can be quite
divorced from the interpersonal meaning.
These subtle, ubiquitous, automatic role relationships have as their
function the minimization of anxiety. They set up smooth-flowing
reciprocal interactions of ask-teach, attack-defend, etc. On those oc-
casions when the pattern of interpersonal reflexes breaks down or is
ambiguous, considerable distress generally results — manifested in the
accustomed symptoms of anxiousness. Some students are made un-
comfortable by a teacher who refuses to lecture and assume the
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
95
authoritative role. Patients often manifest initial bewilderment and
insecurity when the therapist appears disinterested in giving quick
answers to their problems. Symbiotic marriage partnerships can be
thrown into panic when the implicit assumptions of power, guilt, and
dependence on which they rest are temporarily threatened.
So far we have viewed interpersonal communications as automatic
responses in standard institutional situations. We shall now proceed
to study them in the context of the individual personality, in terms
of the classification system of 16 variables presented in the last
chapter.
The preliminary data on which this system is based was obtained
by giving extensive psychological test batteries to some 200 subjects
and then recording their interactions in 45 discussion or therapy
groups. The pretesting procedures produced many ratings of Level
II (conscious perception) and Level III (symboUc productions) be-
havior. The Level I-R communications were obtained by studying
the subjects' behavior as they interacted with the four or five other
group members. Let us select one subject as an example and follow
him through this procedure.
How A Sullen Patient Teaches Others to Reject Him. A
thirty-year-old man came to the psychiatric clinic with complaints of
depression, general immobilization, and social isolation. After intake
interviews and testing, he entered a psychotherapy group along with
four other patients. All the group members were strangers when they
met.
SUBJECT
FELLOW GROUP MEMBERS
Figure 5. Summary of Interpersonal Interactions Between an Illustrative Subject
and Four Fellow Group Members.
96 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
The verbal transactions of the group were recorded and transcribed.
Psychologists then rated each speech which this patient made and each
verbal reaction by other patients to him. The sixteen-point circular
continuum of variables (presented in the preceding chapter) was em-
ployed in these ratings. The interpersonal actions of the subject and
the reactions of the fellow group members during the first eight ses-
sions were then summarized, combined into octants, and plotted on a
circular profile. These Level I-R "self" and "other" profiles are pre-
sented in Figure 5.
This diagram tells us that the subject acted in a bitter, distrustful
manner (FGH) in a group. He complained, demanded, accused,
withdrew. His fellow patients reacted to him with a critical, un-
sympathetic, rejecting exasperation (CDE). After eight sessions in
the group the patient had virtually duplicated the suspicious, isolated
pattern that had originally brought him to the cUnic. This rather pure
and didactically simple interpersonal situation serves to illustrate sev-
eral interesting aspects of interpersonal theory which will now be
considered.
The Interpersonal Reflex
First we ask, what did this patient do to get four strangers to agree
on his social stimulus value? It seems that he trained them to react to
him in a very specific way — provoking them to rejection and irrita-
tion. This question becomes more important (from the diagnostic
viewpoint) when we remember that he reports that over the span of
his life he has consistently tended to remain isolated and despised by
others. How does he do this? He made, on the average, ten verbal
comments in each group session. What happened in these eight meet-
ings of the group to bring about a significant disaffiliation?
What Are Interpersonal Reflexes? When we trace his inter-
personal actions back to the original recorded protocols we discover
that a typical pattern of Level I interaction existed. The individual
units of this behavior we call interpersonal ?nechanisms or interpersonal
reflexes. They are defined as the observable, expressive units of face-
to-face social behavior.
These reflexes are automatic and usually involuntary responses to
interpersonal situations. They are often independent of the content
of the communication. They are the individual's spontaneous methods
of reacting to others.
The exact manner in which these Level I communications are ex-
pressed is a complex problem. This much is clear: they are expressed
partly in the content or verbal meaning of the communication, but
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 97
primarily in the tone of voice, gesture, carriage, and external appear-
ance. Although we do not know the specific method by which human
beings communicate their emotional messages to each other, we can
rate with reliable confidence the over-all, molar effect. Raters (trained
psychologists or untrained fellow patients) can agree with impressive
reliability in rating what subjects do to each other in interpersonal sit-
uations. Preliminary research by Blanche Sweet (10) suggests that
listening to recordings leads to more effective ratings than reading
typed transcriptions. Sound movies would provide the optimal tech-
niques for preserving the nuances involved in interpersonal reflexes.
Future research may determine the specific way in which these spon-
taneous interpersonal meanings manifest themselves to others. The
reflex manner in which human beings react to others and train others
to respond to them in selective ways is, I believe, the most important
single aspect of personality. The systematic estimates of a patient's
repertoire of interpersonal reflexes is a key factor in functional diag-
nosis. Awareness and, if possible, modification of crippled or mal-
adaptive reflexes should be a basic step in psychotherapy. When more
evidence as to the mode of expression — gesture, carriage, content of
speech — is at hand, some additions to therapeutic practice may
develop.
The automatic and involuntary nature of interpersonal reflexes
makes them difficult to observe and measure by a participant in any
interaction. They are, for the same reason, most resistant to thera-
peutic change. The more the members of the psychotherapy group
tried to explain to the subject how and why he irritated them, the more
he protested his feelings of injury. Later, intellectual insight and
voluntary controlled changes to cooperative, self-confident behavior
developed. These were, however, quite tentative and unnatural. Dur-
ing many months of treatment spontaneous reactivity brought a
return of the original responses. This involves, of course, the familiar
process of "working through," basic to most therapeutic enterprises.
Physiological and Interpersonal Reflexes. The on-going in-
voluntary nature of these reflexes demands continual emphasis to keep
them from slipping out of focus. This is the hidden dimension of be-
havior. This is the area of personality which it never occurs to us to
mention, so basic that it is taken for granted. Consider this analogy:
A physician conducting a medical examination interview may ask the
patient to report any physiological events he may have noticed during
the previous day. The patient might describe the heavy feeling in his
stomach after lunch, the headache during the evening. It would not
occur to the patient to recall that he automatically blinked his eyes on
98
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
the average of three times a minute, 180 times an hour, 2,880 times
during the 16 hours of a waking day. Nor would the patient ordi-
narily be able to report the absence of a reflex. He might describe the
symptom that accompanies it, but the presence or absence of physical
reflexes is generally unnoticed by the patient. His failure to mention
them in the medical interview is, of course, natural and proper. It is
not a sign of malignant "repressive" mechanisms but rather of the
implicit nature of these important behaviors.
Compare this, now, with the psychiatric interview. If asked to re-
port the pertinent psychological events of the previous day, the patient
might remember the feeling of depression in the forenoon, rage at the
office, and worry over bills at home in the evening. It is inconceivable
that he would or could recount that in almost every interpersonal situa-
tion he conveyed by gesture, bearing, tone of voice, and the negativism
of his verbalization a consistent message of pessimism and resentment,
that over 70 per cent of his interpersonal mechanisms were in the same
direction, that the "others" with whom he regularly interacts have
been trained to respond to him in an irritated and rejecting manner.
Nor would he indicate that the interpersonal reflexes expressing ten-
der or affiliative purposes are crippled and inhibited. Again, his failure
to mention these involuntary actions is not a symptom or a pathologi-
cal repressive maneuver. The reflexes which we measure at Level I
tend to operate as background to the verbal content of the communi-
cation. It is the latter to which we consciously attend; but it is the
former which set the tone and provide the interpersonal significance of
the event.
Interpersonal reflexes are considerably more tricky to deal with
than their physical analogues. The medical examiner has routine,
straightforward methods for checking physiological reflexes. The
psychological situation is not so simple. The therapist may have to
examine his own reflexive responses to the patient with great care
before he can detect the exasperated boredom or irritation that this
type of patient can pull from others.
The Interpersonal Reflex Need Not Be Conscious. In this
chapter we are dealing with the level of interpersonal action. In the
following chapter we shall define conscious description as being a dif-
ferent level of behavior. Level I is what the subject does. Level II
is what he says he does.
The interpersonal reflex is, therefore, not necessarily a conscious
expression. It can be involuntary and not a deliberate or conscious
performance.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 99
This difference has been noted by other writers. Mead (7, p. 18)
points out the difference between gestural behavior (Level 1) and
consciousness (Level II). "The mechanism of the social act can be
traced out without introducing into it the conception of consciousness
as a separable element within that act; hence the social act, in its more
elementary stages or forms, is possible without, or apart from, some
form of consciousness." Cassirer (4, p. 53) has made the same distinc-
tion:
Speech is not a simple and uniform phenomenon. It consists of different ele-
ments which, both biologically and systematically, are not on the same level.
We must try to find the order and interrelationships of the constituent ele-
ments; we must, as it were, distinguish the various geological strata of speech.
The first and most fundamental stratum is evidently the language of the emo-
tions. A great portion of all human utterance still belongs to this stratum. But
there is a form of speech that shows us quite a different type. Here the word
is by no means a mere interjection; it is not an involuntary expression of feeling,
but a part of a sentence which has a definite syntactical and logical structure.
It is true that even in highly developed, in theoretical language the connection
with the first element is not entirely broken off. Scarcely a sentence can be
found— except perhaps the pure formal sentences of mathematics— without a
certain affective or emotional tinge.
The thesis of the present work is in agreement with these two
authors. It is possible to express interpersonal behavior of which one
is not aware. This is not to say that social reflex behavior is to be
equated with the classic "unconscious." We are speaking instead of an
involuntary, automatic behavior of which the subject can or cannot be
aware.
Previous Literature on Interpersonal Communication. In
making interpersonal communication a key concept in the present
theory of personality, we are by no means introducing a new planet
into the constellation of personality processes. The importance of
reflex interactive behavior has been long recognized by sociologists
and anthropologists.
The psychologist-philosopher George H. Mead made a similar no-
tion the kfeystone of his "social behaviorism." Mead has traced in great
detail the development of human communication, and he discussed
many concepts which are directly related to the interpersonal system
developed in this book. While space does not permit the detailed
analysis which Mead's work deserves, it might be useful to note some
of the concepts which are directly related to Level I communications.
Mead places the origin of communication in the "conversation of ges-
tures" which, as he defines it, is very close to the definition of Level I
lOo THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
used in this book. "We are reading the meaning of the conduct of
other people when, perhaps, they are not aware of it. There is some-
thing that reveals to us what the purpose is — just the glance of an eye,
the attitude of the body which leads to the response. The communi-
cation set up in this way between individuals may be very perfect.
Conversation in gestures may be carried on which cannot be trans-
lated into articulate speech." (7, p. 14) He continues in the same
section to say: "But if we are going to broaden the concept of language
in the sense I have spoken of, so that it takes in the underlying attitudes,
we can see that the so-called intent, the idea we are talking about is
one that is involved in the gesture or attitudes which we are using.
The offering of a chair to a person who comes into the room is in itself
a courteous act. We do not have to assume that a person says to him-
self that this person wants a chair. The offering of a chair by a person
of good manners is something which is almost instinctive. This is the
very attitude of the individual. From the point of view of the observer
it is a gesture. Such early stages of social acts precede the symbol
proper, and deliberate communication." (7, p. 15)
From this passage we see that the conversation of gestures (which
we call reflex communication) is, for Mead, a lower order of behavior.
As he develops his theory of the "significant symbol" he tends to de-
preciate the importance of reflex, automatic (nonconscious) com-
munication. When he compares it with vocal, self-conscious, reflexive
language,^ this becomes quite apparent: "When, now, that gesture
means this idea behind it and it arouses that idea in the other individual,
then we have a significant symbol. In the case of the dog-fight
(Mead's example of Level I, gestural communication), we have a ges-
ture which calls out appropriate response; in the present case we have
a symbol which answers to a meaning in the experience of the first
individual and which also calls out that meaning in the second indi-
vidual. Where the gesture reaches that situation it has become what we
' Language usage becomes tricky at this point. When Mead uses the term reftexive,
he means somethmg quite different from the term reflex as used in this book. He
states: "It is by means of reflexiveness— the turning back of the experience of the
individual upon himself that the whole social process is thus brought into the experi-
ence of the individuals involved in it; it is by such means, which enable the individual
to take the attitude of the other toward himself, that the individual is able consciously
to adjust himself to that process, and to modify the resultant of that process in any
given social act in terms of his adjustment to it. Reflexiveness, then, is the essential
condition, within the social process, for the development of mind." (7, p. 134) This
terminology contrasts with that used in this book. The interpersonal behavior at
Level I which is (or at least, can be) nonconscious, involuntary, gestural, which
involves an automatic communication with or "training of" the other one we call
reflex. The variable by which we measure Level I behavior is the interpersonal reflex,
or the interpersonal mechanism.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION loi
call "language." It is now a significant symbol and it signifies a cer-
tain meaning." (7, p. 45)
Notice in this quotation how Mead distinguishes between the non-
conscious language of gestures and the highly conscious significant
symbol. The latter is a high-order concept and from the systematic
point of view involves three separate levels of personality. Mead's
purpose in developing a social theory of mind led him to employ com-
plex combinations of personality variables. This is quite justifiable
from the standpoint of Mead's conceptual intentions, but prevents a
direct comparison to the systematic definition of levels which we are
attempting in this book. In the broader sense. Mead's social behavior-
ism can rightly be considered the creative watershed to which later
theories of interpersonal relations can trace their sources.
Roughly contemporaneous with Mead was another great pioneer in
the field of culture and personality — Edward Sapir. Working as a
linguist-anthropologist, Professor Sapir directly inspired many of the
most well-known theories and investigations in the field of cultural
anthropology. As early as the year 1927, Sapir was stressing the im-
portance of interpersonal communication:
If one is at all given to analysis, one is impressed with the extreme complexity
of the various types of human behavior, and it may be assumed that the things
we take for granted in our ordinary, everyday life are as strange and as un-
explainable as anything we might find. Thus, one comes to think that the
matter of speech is very far from being the self-evident or simple thing that we
think it to be; that it is capable of a very great deal of refined analysis from the
standpoint of human behavior; and that one might, in the process of making
such analyses, accumulate certain ideas for the research of personality problems.
There is one thing that strikes us as interesting about speech; on the one
hand, we find it difficult to analyze; on the other hand, we are very much
guided by it in our actual experience. That is, perhaps, something of a paradox,
yet both the simple mind and the keenest of scientists know very well that we
do not react to the suggestions of the environment in accordance with our
specific knowledge alone. Some of us are more intuitive than others, it is true,
but none is entirely lacking in the ability to gather and be guided by speech
impressions in the intuitive exploration of personality. We are taught that
when a man speaks he says something that he means to communicate. That, of
course, is not necessarily so. He intends to say something, as a rule, yet what
he actually communicates may be measurably different from what he started
out to convey. We often form a judgment of what he is by what he does not
say, and we may be very wise to refuse to limit the evidence for judgment to
the overt content of speech. (9, pp. 892-93 )
Later in the same paper Sapir summarizes: "It should be fairly clear
from our hasty review that if we make a level-to-level analysis of the
speech of an individual and if we carefully see each of these levels in
I02 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
its social perspective, we obtain a valuable lever for psychiatric work.
It is possible that the kind of analysis vi^hich has here been suggested,
if carried far enough, may enable us to arrive at certain very pertinent
conclusions regarding personality." (9, p. 905)
If these predictions made over a quarter of a century ago seem most
in tune with current trends, it can hardly be considered accidental.
Working with Sapir at the time were many theorists who have since
become well-known exponents of the culture theory of personality —
Sullivan, Dollard, Thomas.
The level of behavior which is operationally defined in this chapter
as the Level of Public Communication possesses, therefore, a most
eminent scientific heritage. Starting from Darwin and Wundt's con-
cern with the gestural expression of emotion, taking its philosophic
roots in the linguistic concepts of Sapir and Mead, and finding its
psychiatric application in the writings of Fromm, Homey, Moreno,
and Sullivan, the basic notion of interpersonal communication has for
a century excited the interest of socially oriented theorists.
The first clinical and empirical approach to interpersonal communi-
cation was developed by J. L. Moreno. Many ingenious and creative
innovations were introduced by this pioneering worker. For over
twenty years Moreno has employed sociometric methods to study
group structure. These techniques indicate the bonds of attraction
and repulsion which exist among group members and provide an
objective picture of the pattern of interpersonal relationships.
Moreno's valuable contributions have not been fully exploited because
of the absence of empirical studies. Moreno has not based his meas-
urements upon a system of interpersonal variables. His sociometric
methods possess considerable functional value, but they do not pro-
vide an interpersonal diagnosis in terms of a fixed system of variables.
In the last five years three comprehensive empirical systems for
classifying interpersonal behavior have been described in the litera-
ture. Bales ( 1 ) has presented a reliable and effective method of cate-
gorizing interpersonal processes in terms of positive, negative, or neu-
tral orientation toward a group goal. This has been applied mainly
to group decisions and group problem-solving behavior. The English
psychiatrist Bion (2) and his American follower Thelen (11) have
developed a method of rating the individual's response to the group
experience. This has been applied to problems of social structure in
psychotherapy groups and to group-dynamics situations. The third
method for measuring social interaction is the interpersonal system de-
scribed in this book. The systems developed by Bales and Bion are
major methodological achievements. They differ from the present
interpersonal system in several respects. They are not tied to a theory
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
[03
of personality nor a system of multilevel measurement. The aim of
Bales and Bion is to classify behavior that is most crucial to their par-
ticular goals — group problem solving and group therapy process. The
aim of the interpersonal system is to develop a method of measuring
interpersonal behavior which will be coordinate with the measures of
interpersonal behavior at other levels of personality and which will fit
into a multilevel pattern of interpersonal diagnosis. The reflexes of
Level I are, perhaps, the most crucial aspect of personality, but from
the standpoint of functional diagnosis and dynamic theory design they
must fit into a multilevel structure.
In selecting the variables for classifying Level I communication, we
have kept in mind, therefore, not the purpose or structure or task of
the group, but the structure of the individual's total personality. With
this discussion as background, we shall now consider the empirical
methodology developed for classifying interpersonal behavior.
Listing the Interpersonal Reflexes. To make objective meas-
urements of the reflex phenomena of Level I, it was necessary to have
a finite and defined list of interpersonal behaviors. Such a matrix has
been presented in the form of the sixteen-point circular continuum.
The problem becomes that of determining the various interactions
which reflect the sixteen basic motivations. Because we are dealing at
this level of personality with communication process — what one per-
son does to another — it is convenient to use verbs (transitive verbs)
as the descriptive terms. Figure 1, Chapter 6, presents the sixteen
generic interpersonal themes along with a list of sample activities
which illustrates the range of each point around the circle.
For each generic theme there is, of course, an inexhaustible list of
verbs. The terms used here are most appropriate for verbal exchanges
in therapeutic or diagnostic contexts. Thus, we suggest that to boast,
to act narcissistic ally, to establish autonomy and independence, to act
self-confident all contain about the same proportion of dominance-
hostility as indicated by the point B on the circle. By this we mean
that they express the same qualitative purpose of narcissistic self-ap-
proval. The fact that they difl^er in amount, degree, or extremity of
the purpose is handled by the intensity scale. Other lists are necessary
for categorizing nonverbal actions (frowns, gestures, voice tones) and
preverbal situations (nursery school interactions, etc.).
To illustrate this system of scoring social behavior, two samples of
interaction are here presented: a section of a modern play, and a non-
verbal nursery school exchange. A detailed description and illustration
of the use of several Level I measures in the psychiatric clinic will be
found in Appendix L
I04
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
The Scoring of Interpersonal Mechanisms as Applied to a
Conversation in a Modern Play. The following passage represents
a conversation among three of the central characters of Death of a
Salesman by Arthur Miller.^ The scoring of each interpersonal reflex
involves three items: the code letter representing the location of the
action along the circular continuum, the verb considered most closely
descriptive of the action, and the rating of intensity of the mechanism
along the 4-point scale. The exchange between Biff and his mother,
Linda, serves as a nice illustration of a punitive-guilty relationship.
Linda: You're a pair of animals! Not one, not
another living soul would have had the
cruelty to w^alk out on that man in a
restaurant.
Biff, not looking at her: Is that what he said?
Linda: He didn't have to say anything. He was
so humiliated he nearly limped when he
came in.
Happy: But, Mom, he had a great time with us.
Biff, cutting him off violently: Shut up.
[Without another word, Happy goes upstairs.]
Linda: You! You didn't even go to see if he
was all right!
Biff, sail on the floor in front of Linda, the
flowers in his hand; with self-loathing: No,
Didn't. Didn't do a damned thing. How do
you like that, heh? Left him babbhng in a
toilet.
Linda: You louse. You.
Biff: Now you hit it on the nose! [He gets up,
throws flowers in the wastebasket.] The
scum of the eanh, and you're looking at
him!
Linda: Get out of here!
Inter-
personal
mechanism
Descrip-
tive verb
Inten-
sity
E
Condemn
3
J
Inquire
1
P
Inform
1
L
B
Conciliate
Resist
2
1
D
Coerce
3
H
Withdraw
3
F
Complain
2
H
Condemn self
3
Condemn 3
Condemn self 3
Coerce
The Scoring of Interpersonal Mechanisms as Applied to Non-
verbal Interaction in a Nursery School Situation. The next ex-
ample of the scoring of interpersonal reflexes presents qualitative de-
scriptions of the behavior of three children in a nonverbal nursery
^ Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (New York: Viking Press, 1949), pp. 124-
125; quoted by permission of the publisher.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
105
school situation. The reflexes are scored in the same fashion as the
verbal interchanges described above.
[Child A Is playing with a drum.]
1. Child B Runs up and tries to pull drum
away.
2. Child A Tries to run away.
3. Child B Trips A
and pulls drum away.
4. Child A Stays on ground,
sobs loudly.
5. Child B Parades with drum, pounding it in
exhibitionistic manner.
6. Child C Enters play area, walks to Child A.
7. Child A Cries louder and pushes Child C
away defensively.
8. Child C Pushes Child A back and throws
dirt on him.
9. Child B Puts drum down and throws dirt
on Child A.
Inter-
personal
mechanism
Descrip-
tive verb
Inten-
sity
c
Takes by force
H
Withdraws
E
c
Attacks
Takes by force
H
F
Withdraws
Complains
B
Exhibits
superiority
N
Comforts
F
Complains
Attacks
Attacks
This interaction exemplifies the way in which individuals train
others to reject and attack them. Notice how skillfully Child A (in-
teractions 6, 7, and 8) pulls aggressive behavior from an initially well-
intentioned sympathizer as well as from his original tormentor.
As we observe from this last nonverbal interaction, the judgment of
interpersonal reflexes is quite independent of the concrete medium of
their expression. The mechanism of sympathize is scored for a non-
verbal pat on the back as well as for a solely verbal reassurance — or
from a combination of both.
Five Methods for Measuring Level I Interpersonal Reflexes.
In the preceding chapter it was pointed out that there are several meth-
ods for obtaining Level I public communications. To insure clarity
we have established the working rule that any mention of Level I be-
havior must include a reference to the specific source of the data.
When minute-by-minute ratings are made by psychologists of in-
terpersonal behavior (either observed directly or derived from record-
ings and transcriptions) the resulting data are assigned to Level 1-R.
MMPI indices which reflect the interpersonal pressure generated
by the patient's symptoms are coded Level I-M.
io5 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
MMPI indices which predict future interpersonal behavior in group
psychotherapy are coded Level I-P.
Scores from standardized situation tests which summarize the sub-
ject's reactions are coded Level 1-T.^
When the subject's interpersonal role is summarized on the Inter-
personal Check List by observers or fellow patients who have been in-
teracting with him, the resulting sociometric indices are coded Level
IS.
The Level I-R ratings of interpersonal reflexes are the basic meas-
ures considered in the theoretical discussions of this chapter. In rou-
tine clinical practice, however, we have found it necessary to rely on
two sets of MMPI indices of Level I behavior. The Level I diagnosis
discussed in the clinical chapters of this book is based on MMPI meas-
ures of symptomatic behavior {Level I-M). The predictions of be-
havior in group psychotherapy, derived from the MMPI, are labeled
Level I-P.
The reasons for employing these MMPI indices will now be dis-
cussed.
Level I-M Estimates of Symptomatic Behavior. Level I-R or
Level I-S measurements are obtained from ratings of the subject's be-
havior by others who have been interacting with him or observing his
interactions. It is, by definition, necessary that the subject be involved
in social relationships in order to make the Level I-R and Level I-S
judgments. The ideal source of these ratings is the group therapy sit-
uation where the subject's impact on several others can be determined.
This poses a practical problem, however. The functional system of
personality, which we are presenting in this book, is anchored to
Level I-R and Level I-S. Since this is the "action level," we consider
it to be the level of greatest immediate importance. In accomplishing
interpersonal diagnosis'* at the time of intake into the psychiatric
clinic. Level I-R and I-S ratings are generally not available. There has
usually been no opportunity to observe the patient in extended inter-
actions. In the Kaiser Foundation Clinic, the tests are generally ad-
ministered after one intake interview with a clinician. For many
^ The use of a situation test will not be illustrated in this chapter. The Kaiser
Foundation project is now engaged in developing a standardized set of items for such
a test. The test is being developed as a multiple-choice instrument and the patient's
responses will be summarized and plotted in the same way as the other interpersonal
scores.
* The system of interpersonal diagnosis is described in Chapter 12 of this book.
Functional diagnosis is based on the multilevel interpersonal diagnosis and upon the
diagnosis of variability (i.e., interlevel conflict). The use of the functional system of
personality in accomplishing clinical diagnosis and prognosis is described in Chapters
IS through 22.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
107
reasons it is impossible to get reliable Level I-R and I-S ratings from
intake workers after one hour of interviewing. Thus, at the time the
functional diagnostic system is called upon to make its predictions, it
is forced to operate without its most important level of personality —
the level of public communication.
The ideal solution to this problem would be to develop methods for
obtaining reliable estimates of Level I-S and I-R from the patient's
interpersonal behavior at the time of intake interview and testing.
Several factors — systematic and administrative — have made this pro-
cedure infeasible. The problem of including estimates of the patient's
purposive interpersonal impact at the time of intake diagnosis, as ex-
pressed through his symptoms, has been met by developing psycho-
metric indices.
Every psychological symptom seems to have an interpersonal mean-
ing, i.e., impHcations as to what the patient is communicating through
the symptom, and what the patient expects to be done about it, etc.
Symptoms are usually the overt reason for the patient coming to the
clinic; they express an interpersonal message.
In order to measure the symptomatic impact of the patient upon
the clinician, we have combined eight MMPI scales into indices which
can be plotted on the circular diagnostic grid. The Level I diagnoses
employed in the research studies described in this book are based on
these symptomatic indices. These measures are coded Level I-M. The
MMPI formulas used to derive these indices are: vertical (dominance-
submission) index = Ma -}- Hs — D — Ft; the horizontal (love-hate)
index = Hy + K — F — Sc. These MMPI scale abbreviations and
the methodology for measuring Level I-M are described in Appen-
dix 1.
These indices have considerable functional value for two reasons.
First, they indicate the interpersonal reflexes employed by the pa-
tient in approaching the clinic (as indicated by his motivation and the
symptomatic pressure he exerts). In the clinical situation where a de-
cision as to treatment and prognosis is the main functional issue, the
interpersonal messages picked up by the MMPI predictive indices are
exactly what the diagnostician must sense. The second value of these
indices is that they are based on routine test procedures which are
given at the time of intake evaluation. They provide necessary esti-
mates of Level I-S behavior which would otherwise be lacking. They
plug up a most crucial gap in the multilevel diagnostic pattern.
The formulas for converting MMPI profiles into interpersonal
measures are presented in Appendix 1 . The norms for converting the
Level I-M dominance and love indices into standard scores are pre-
sented in Appendix 5.
,o8 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
Level I-P Indices for Predicting Interpersonal Behavior in
Group Psychotherapy. In selecting patients for therapy groups and
in planning the course of individual therapy, it is obviously helpful to
have a foreknowledge of the expected interpersonal behavior. The
Level I-M indices predict fairly well future behavior in group therapy.
We have run several studies in which Level I-M ratings were corre-
lated with sociometric ratings of Level I-S. These results are con-
tained in another publication. (6)
There were many cases, however, in which the Level I-M did not
predict actual behavior in the group. The inaccurate forecasts were
due to the fact that the group situation can pull responses from the
patient that are different from his symptomatic behavior. A patient
who is depressed and puts dependent pressure on the intake inter-
viewer may become overconventional or helpful in his reactions to the
future therapy group members. A different sublevel seems to be in-
volved. The symptomatic indices seem to predict individual therapy
(i.e., face-to-face reactions with a therapist) better than group ther-
apy. This means that we can take an MMPI profile and calculate the
Level I-M scores and forecast what the patient is going to do to the
intake worker in planning treatment or to a future individual therapist.
These MMPI cues work less well ifi forecasting what the patient will
do to other patients in a group.
For this reason a set of indices was devised which specifically pre-
dicts behavior in group therapy. Two special MMPI scales for pre-
dicting dominant or hostile roles were developed. These are labeled
Level I-P.
These scales were based on item analyses which studied the rela-
tionship of Each MMPI item to Level I Sociometric indices of group
patients. The MMPI indices which predict the patient's role in group
therapy make it possible to plot on the diagnostic grid the patient's
Level I-M score. This predictive index is useful in assigning patients to
therapy groups. This is done as follows: We derive the Level I-P in-
dices for all patients on the group-therapy waiting list and plot them
on the same diagnostic grid. It is then possible to tell at a glance the
range of role behaviors to be expected. The attempt is made to keep
groups heterogeneous in respect to roles. That is, we do not want
any group overloaded with one interpersonal type. Experience has
demonstrated that a group comprised of hysterics will tend to manifest
the same interpersonal reflexes, and interaction among patients is
minimized. Similarly, a group with several passively resistant person-
alities will tend to bog down into silence and mutual distrust.
Selection of group patients is somewhat like the casting of parts in
a play. We encourage lively interchanges among group members in
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 109
which different role interactions develop. Predictive indices from
MMPI scales which forecast expected behavior are the basis for as-
signing patients to groups. They also assist the therapist by alerting
him to the pressures which will develop.
The use of MMPI predictive indices is illustrated in Appendix 1 and
in Chapter 26.
Routine Reflex Patterns. During any one day the average adult
runs into a wide range of interpersonal stimuli. We are challenged,
pleased, bossed, obeyed, helped, and ignored on an average of several
times a day. Thus, the person whose entire range of interpersonal
reflexes is functioning flexibly can be expected to demonstrate ap-
propriately each of the sixteen interpersonal reflexes many times in any
day.
There are, however, many who do not react with consistent ap-
propriateness or flexibility. One might respond to the pleasant as well
as the rude stranger with a disapproving frown. Another might smile
in a friendly fashion. If we study an extended' sample of a subject's
interactions, an interesting fact develops. Each person shows a con-
sistent preference for certain interpersonal reflexes. Other reflexes are
very difficult to elicit or absent entirely. It is possible to predict in
probability terms the preferred reflexes for most individuals in a spe-
cific situation. A small percentage of individuals exist who get "others"
to react to them in the widest range of possible behaviors and who
can utilize a wide range of appropriate reactions. Most individuals
tend to train "others" to react to them within a narrowed range of
behaviors, and in turn show a restricted set of favored reflexes. Some
persons show a very limited repertoire of two or three reflexes and
reciprocally receive an increasingly narrow set of responses from
others.
Definition of Interpersonal Role. Most everyone manifests
certain automatic role patterns which he automatically assumes in the
presence of each significant "other" in his life. These roles are prob-
ability tendencies to express certain interpersonal purposes with sig-
nificantly higher frequency. The individual may be quite unaware of
these spontaneous tendencies — to complain to his wife, to be stern
with his children, to boss his secretary, to depend on the office man-
ager. It must be remembered that we are talking here in statistical
probability terms. The subject may have thousands of interactive ex-
changes each day with each of his significant "others," and these may
range all over the interpersonal continuum. When we obtain evi-
dence that he consistently and routinely tends to favor certain mecha-
nisms with one individual significantly more than chance and tends to
, ,o THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
pull certain responses from the other to a similar degree, then a role
relationship exists.
This selective process of employing a narrowed range of reflexes
with certain "others" works, as we have seen, in a double reinforcing
manner. Most durable relationships tend to be symbiotic. Masochistic
women tend to marry sadistic men; and the latter tend to marry
women who tend to provoke hostility. Dependent men tend to seek
nurturant superiors, who in turn are most secure when they have
docile subordinates to protect.
The institutional role relationships, boss-secretary, prisoner-guard,
student-teacher, etc., tend to be more stereotyped and fixed. Even
so, there exists some room for role variability. Some secretaries
"mother," nag, or even boss their nominal superiors. In general, how-
ever, we can surmise that personality factors enter into the choice of
occupation. Those people who are least anxious and most secure when
they are submitting to and depending on strong authority tend to seek
and hold subordinate jobs. The network of relationships even in the
simplest office setup can be bewildering in its multilevel complexity.
Even so, the institutional hierarchy patterns are less involved than the
familial relationships.
How A Pessimistic Man Reproaches His Wife. We cite here
the very oversimplified example of the man who tends to complain to
his wife. By this we mean that he reacts to his wife with the reflex
of grumbling reproach (FG) with increased frequency, often to an
inappropriate extreme. His voice may take on a tired, whiny quality
the minute he enters the house. He can be, and often is, jolly, firm, or
protective with his spouse. But as we pile up the thousands of inter-
action ratings the trend towards mild complaint becomes increasingly
clear.
Now we call these reactions reflexes because they are not deliberate
or planned. He does not deliberately decide to inject the hurt, tired
note in his voice. He does not plan the slight droop of the shoulders.
He may not be aware of the continuous mild passive irritation.
He may not even know the basic or broader reason for his bitter-
ness. It might take some weeks of therapeutic exploration for him to
verbalize his private feelings: (1) that he is a defeated genius whose
failure was caused by his wife, (2) that he could be a success today if
she had not persuaded him to marry and leave engineering school, ( 3 )
that he might be a rich man today if she had not persuaded him to give
up that off^er in Texas, etc. More intensive analysis would, of course,
allow the roots of these feelings to be traced back even further in the
patient's history.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION m
Now this has been the oversimpliiied sketch of the interpersonal
reflex repertoire of an essentially normal man and an essentially normal
marriage. He is within normal limits because he maintains a reason-
ably flexible range of interpersonal behavior. He probably can em-
ploy the entire continuum of reflexes when appropriate, and without
anxiety. If we could sum up all his interactions with all others over
a period of time, we would see that all sixteen reflexes have been
elicited, but that he tends to favor or overem.phasize the mechanisms of
passive complaint and distrustful, realistic hesitancy. He can lead, he
can express independence, he can support others, but he tends to a
moderate but significant degree to favor a grumpy bitterness in his
dealing with others.
How He Provokes Superior Scorn from Four Strangers. This
man entered a pilot study therapy group along with four other stran-
gers. After eight sessions, a summary was made of his interpersonal
behavior toward the other four group members. The same pattern
was revealed. At times he lectured, argued, helped, cooperated, but
the mechanisms which he spontaneously favored and manifested a sig-
nificant majority of the time were those of passive resistance. At the
same time, a summary was made of the interactions this man pulled
from the others in the group, i.e., what they did to him. Again a fairly
flexible pattern resulted. They listened to him with respect, they de-
ferred to him, accepted his help, but the most frequent purposive be-
havior directed toward him was a mildly critical superiority (BCD).
They liked him, respected him, but on the whole felt moderate
patronizing scorn in reaction to his grumbling approach.
Notice that in seven sessions of brief interaction this subject (like
the sample case described earlier) succeeded in duplicating his life
situation with the four strangers in the group. This man, it must be
remembered, is essentially normal. He can react flexibly and ap-
propriately to most interpersonal situations. He has his favored inter-
personal techniques for handling anxiety, as we all do, and this mild
imbalance in the direction of grumpy pessimism gives him uniqueness
and identity as a human being. His wife and his friends, very likely,
understand and adapt to his gloomy realism with humorous (and
sometimes irritable) impatience.
A Masterful Defense of Sullen Distrust. A different picture
develops when we turn to the maladjustive patterns. The suspicious,
isolated, immobilized case described earlier in this chapter had an ex-
tremely limited repertoire of social responses. He reacted in almost
every situation with resentful distrust — to the group members, to his
parents, to his acquaintances. It was next to impossible to elicit a sym-
112
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
pathetic or nurturant response from this patient. These interpersonal
reflexes were completely inhibited. The expressive behavior of this
man was saturated with sullen, wary, growling distrust. By con-
sistently exhibiting this narrow range of behavior in situations when
they may or may not have been appropriate, he had trained the group
members in the same manner that he had trained all the others in his
life to condemn and isolate him. This patient's reflexive techniques for
provoking rejection were so well developed that the most well-inten-
tioned, friendly approach made no dent in his armor. However sym-
pathetic the "other one" might be, his masterful, consistent sullenness
would stimulate eventual impatience. This inevitable, exasperated re-
jection, of course, increased his aggravation and would tend to in-
crease the probability of further isolation. This reciprocal process by
which human beings tend to pull from others responses that tend to
maintain their limited security operations will be discussed under the
headings of 'The Principle of Self-Determination" and "The Prin-
ciple of Reciprocal Interpersonal Relations." Before treating these
issues, we shall pause to consider some of the methodological impli-
cations of the reflex behavior of Level I.
It will be recalled that the Level I measure is always in terms of a
rating of the subject's interpersonal behavior by someone else. The
subject must be involved in a social situation. The Level I judgments
are then made by the observers — psychologists or fellow participants
in the interaction.
Patients as Diagnostic Instruments. Our measuring instrument
is, therefore, another human being. Since interpersonal behavior is a
functionally important dimension of personality, it is quite natural that
we measure it directly — in terms of the actual social impact that the
subject has on others. Some interesting implications develop. By al-
lowing the patient to react with others — say in a group therapy situa-
tion— we make it possible for him to demonstrate, directly and openly,
his repertoire of interpersonal reflexes. He tends to recreate to a mild
extent in the group his neurotic adjustment. He accomplishes his
own interpersonal diagnosis.
The therapeutic group, thus, serves as a small subsociety, a minia-
ture world. The members of a therapy group have a valuable diagnos-
tic function. When we ask them to rate each other's interpersonal be-
havior (on a check list or sociometric blank, covering the range of the
sixteen generic variables) we obtain an estimate of what each patient
has done to the others.
Why Patients Produce Better Interpersonal Diagnoses than
Psychologists. Patients tend to rate each other much in the same
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
113
way as trained psychologists. Sometimes the members of a therapy
group see a fellow patient differently from the therapist. When these
discrepancies in Level I ratings occur, it is usually the psychiatrist or
psychologist whose judgments are less accurate and less valuable.
Clinicians' judgments of patients tend to be complicated affairs. They
are often very derived, distorted by theoretical or "depth" considera-
tions. Naive, untrained subjects — fellow patients, family members —
generally judge each other in terms of their direct reactions to the sub-
ject. They tend to like, fear, respect each other, and their ratings
reflect these reactions. They do not "psychologize." The ratings of
trained professional workers tend to be much more intellectual. It is
not good form for them to admit that they like, fear, or look up to a
patient. Their ratings, indeed, are classically supposed to be divorced
from these personal reactions.
We have found, therefore, that psychologists and psychiatrists tend
to give interesting and theoretically valid ratings of deeper motives and
future developments. Since patients spend most of their time inter-
acting with nontrained, psychologically naive individuals, it is from
the latter that we obtain the best diagnosis of their "main street"
stimulus value. The meaning of such a rating is not clear-cut. Many
extraneous factors influence it — the personality of the rater and the
climate of the therapy group, to name two. Some of these complica-
tions can be handled by standardizing procedures and corrections for
perceptual distortion on the part of the rater. Others cannot be con-
trolled. Even so, the rating from the nonprofessional is much more
straightforward an estimate of Level I communication.
Professional Clinicians as Measuring Instruments. There are
very good reasons why trained clinicians are less effective and reliable
when asked to rate single-level variables. The factors that make them
good clinicians tend to hamper their becoming good rating instru-
ments. The key to clinical skill is the ability to make multilevel ob-
servations and to synthesize them. The good psychiatrist is trained to
perceive many cues from many levels at one time and to act upon
these cues effectively.
He is able to predict what the multilevel behavior of the patient
will be in the long-range future, and also in the immediate future.
Thus he develops the intuitive expectation as to the patient's reac-
tion to an interpretative intervention on his part. He is able to grasp
what the patient may be communicating at several levels as he free-
associates. He attends, now to the verbal content, now to the sym-
bolic cues (slips of the tongue, etc.), now to the immediate inter-
personal pressure from the patient. His behavior in response to the
1 14 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
patient's activity is usually based on a complex integration of these
many cues. In many cases he does not stop to sort out all these cues
into categories. He may be hard put to explain exactly what it was
in the pattern of the patient's communication that led him to his con-
clusion.
Now this is a most frustrating situation to the scientist who seeks
to measure factors involved in therapeutic communication or diag-
nosis. Scientific ratings are supposed to be reliable, repeatable, ex-
plicit, specific. At this primitive stage of the science they are in-
evitably single-level measurements. Often the scientist is very dis-
couraged when he attempts to pin the clinician down. He knows that
the clinician responds to cues with considerable skill. But his rating
scales fail miserably to tap the richness of the clinical experience. The
practitioner is likewise frustrated and sometimes irritated by what
he calls the "simple-minded" quantitative approach of the scientist.
The Kaiser Foundation project has worked out a tentative solu-
tion to this dilemma by avoiding the use of clinicians as rating instru-
ments. The clinician's insights are employed in setting up the system,
in determining the rating categories. Thus we have long discussions
with psychiatrists and practitioners before deciding how many levels
to employ in the system. Clinicians tell us what kind of conflicts, iden-
tification patterns, and therapeutic phenomena they run into. They
produce many multilevel hypotheses about personality dynamics, the
nature of change in therapy, and so on. The system is then expanded
and revised to get at these phenomena. New experimental uses for the
system are suggested. A clinician may report that certain patients
show a particular imagery of "Father." The system is then broadened
to get at this dimension — we may add a new rating category to the
TAT analysis which picks up "symbolic view of Father." Clinical
intuition is thus mainly responsible for what kind of a system and what
kind of measurements are made.
But we attempt to keep the clinician far away from the actual
measurement process. He tells us what to measure; but we do not ask
him to measure it for us. At the present time the project's measure-
ment procedures (both research and diagnostic) are executed com-
pletely by nonprofessional workers. The tests are administered by
trained technicians. The specific ratings are done by the patient about
himself, by his fellow patient, or by technicians carefully trained to
make unilevel judgments. The TAT stories are not employed as global
productions upon which multilevel analyses of the patient's personality
can be based. They are defined as Level III data. A crew of intelli-
gent, but nonpsychologically trained technicians then moves in to rate
the TAT stories for the interpersonal themes. These technicians are
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 115
not encumbered with the complex cHnical skills or broad theoretical
conceptions. Their job is to do unilevel ratings, which they accom-
plish with straightforward competence.
The standard interpersonal system test battery includes seven dif-
ferent tests. These are administered, scored, rated, and profiled by
nonprofessional or semiprofessional help. In essence, the hundreds of
molecular scores are fed into the system and the resulting matrix of
multidimensional scores is handed to the clinician who then interprets
it. The clinician applies his creative, intuitive skills to understand the
complex patterns of scores and to relate this to the facts that he has
about the patient from the interview. He makes sense out of a pattern
of scores — a task which neither the unsophisticated patient nor the
psychologically untrained technician can hope to perform. The pro-
fessional energy is thus applied to developing the machinery of the sys-
tem and to the final product which comes from this machinery. The
running of the machine and the processing of the measurements (in-
cluding ratings of symbolism) are accomplished by specially trained
technicians.
There is one occasion upon which we ask clinicians to make ratings.
This is done when we want to study the clinicians and not the patients.
If we ask twenty clinical workers to rate a group of patients or a set
of test scores on the variable repression or ego strength, the results tell
us how the individual clinician or how the entire group of clinicians
conceive of these two variables. In two research explorations done by
the research group it was determined that the clinical psychologists
who rated repression and ego strength relied mainly on Level II cues.
Patients who claimed to be strong, friendly, and healthy were rated
as repressers and having strong egos. The results of the ratings thus
told us how these psychologists conceived of the variables and did not
necessarily measure the variables in an independently vaUd manner.
When we ask untrained people for unilevel ratings, we have a fair
idea of the meaning of the data. When we ask clinicians to make uni-
level ratings, we are misusing their complex skills, confusing the mean-
ing of the system, and in most cases lowering reliability.
The Principle of Self -Determination
In the preceding pages as the illustrative case material has unfolded,
I have consistently employed a rather cumbersome circumlocution to
describe the interaction between the sample subject and the "others"
with whom they interact. Most statements describing what "others"
did to the sample case were worded so as to give responsibihty to the
subject. Thus we say, "He trained or provoked the group members
to reject him," rather than "They rejected him." In the listing of il-
ii6 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
lustrative interpersonal reflexes (Figure i), it may have been noted
that both active and passive phrases were used. Thus for the inter-
personal reflex G we have included acts rejected and provokes rejec-
tion. We take the subject as the focus of attention and as the locus of
responsibility.
I have tried to stress the surprising ease and facility with which
human beings can get others to respond in a uniform and repetitive
way. Interpersonal reflexes operate with involuntary routine and
amazing power and speed. Many subjects with maladaptive inter-
personal patterns can provoke the expected response from a complete
stranger in a matter of minutes. The defiant chip-on-the-shoulder;
docile, fawning passivity; timid, anxious withdrawal — these are some
of the interpersonal techniques which can pull the reciprocal reaction
from the "other one" with unfailing regularity. Severe neurotics — de-
fined at this level as individuals with limited ranges of reflexes — are
incredibly and creatively skilled in drawing rejection, nurturance, etc.,
from the people with whom they deal. In many cases the "sicker" the
patient, the more likely he is to have abandoned all interpersonal tech-
niques except one — which he can handle with magnificent finesse.
Most clinicians who have dealt with the disorder will be glad to testify
that the so-called catatonic negation is a powerful interpersonal ma-
neuver.
Assigning the causative factor in interpersonal relations to the sub-
ject is a standard procedure in dynamic psychiatry. The skillful
therapist is usually not inclined to join the abused, unhappy, masochis-
tic patient in lamentation. He is much more inclined to ask himself
and eventually the patient, "What do you do to people with con-
sistent and consummate skill to get them to beat you up?" The prin-
ciple involved here holds that interpersonal events just do not happen
to human beings by accident or external design. The active and execu-
tive role is given to the subject.
This principle (as is the case with most other psychological con-
cepts) has been described and given more eloquent expression by
novelists. Here, for example, is D. H. Lawrence outlining the notion
of self-determinism: "No man . . . cuts another man's throat unless
he wants to cut it, and unless the other man wants it cut. This is a
complete truth. It takes two people to make a murder: a murderer
and a murderee. And a murderee is a man who is murderable. And
who is murderable is a man who in a profound if hidden lust desires
to be murdered." (5, p. 36)
Human Beings Resist Taking Responsibility for Their Situa-
tions. This point of view plows headlong into the most widespread
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 117
resistance. It threatens the most cherished beliefs of Western philos-
ophy— from Sophocles (who stresses fate) to the modern mental
hygienists (who overemphasize parental behavior) . What is more im-
portant, it threatens the most cherished illusions of the average man
who bases his security and self-esteem on the traditional procedure of
externalizing blame.
What we are saying here to the human being is, "You are mainly
responsible for your life situation. You have created your own world.
Your own interpersonal behavior has, more than any other factor, de-
termined the reception you get from others. Your slowly developing
pattern of reflexes has trained others and yourself to accept you as
this sort of person — to be treated in this sort of way. You are the
manager of your own destiny."
This attribution of responsibility to the subject we have called the
Principle of Self-Determination. Although it has the deceptive ap-
pearance of simplicity, it is, on the contrary, the most complex kind of
concept. To this notion of self-determination the average person is
willing to give halfhearted and halfway approval. It is easy to see
where the successful person can be self-made. He chooses his goals,
works for them, and makes the grade. It is accepted quite naturally
that men strive and bargain for the interpersonal goals reflected in one
half of the spectrum — independence, power, popularity, affection (i.e.,
B, A, P, O, N, M). It is often less comprehensible that men should
actively seek the interpersonal states represented by the other half of
the circular continuum — dependence, weakness, distrust, and self-
effacing modesty (E, F, G, H, I, J). People, it is held, just don't seek
to defeat themselves.
How Three Human Beings Got What They Bargained for.
A patient poignantly reports: "What I want more than anything else
is to marry a dependent, feminine girl, but my three ex-wives were
bossy, exploitive tyrants." This man may at the level of conscious
awareness "want" a feminine girl, but his Level I behavior — im-
mobilized, distrustful, and masochistic — is enough to force the most
neutral woman into exasperated activity.
Another patient states: "What I want in a husband is a strong, suc-
cessful man who will take care of me; but all I seem to attract are
penniless artists and passive, dreamy bookworms." This woman may,
at Level II, consciously wish for a strong husband; but her mothering,
responsible Level I reflexes are so automatic and deeply ingrained that
the strongest man would feel smothered and alienated by the ma-
ternal stability, to which dependent men are drawn with moth-like
fascination.
ii8 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
A third patient says: "I want more than anything else to finish my
college training and get established in a profession, but all the profes-
sors I have studied with are narrow-minded men who reject my ideas
and end up by flunking me." This man may wittingly desire the
prestige of professorial responsibility, but his rebellious, defiant re-
flexes eventually exasperate and frustrate even the most sympathetic
mentor. What human beings consciously wish is often quite at vari-
ance with the results that their reflex patterns automatically create for
them. For these people the sad paradox remains that voluntary inten-
tions, verbal resolutions, and even intellectual insight are operationally
feeble and numerically infinitesimal compared to the ongoing 24-hour-
a-day activity of the involuntary interpersonal reactions. The frus-
trated student just mentioned may in a burst of intellectual awareness
decide to conform to the academic demands and return to college.
This resolution is a conscious, voluntary efl"ort — very much like prac-
ticing for an hour to prevent the eye-wink reflex from operating
when an object is waved in front of it. Such conscious control cannot
be maintained 24 hours a day or he would be able to concentrate on
nothing but the eyelid reflex. Analogously, our rebellious student
faces the difficult task of fighting a continuous, exhausting battle
against his spontaneous tendencies (1) to sneer and balk at authori-
ties, thus (2) pulling from them an eventual impatient rejection, which
(3) increases his tendency to sneer and balk.
Why Human Beings Develop the Reflexes of Weakness and
Rejection. A second logical objection to the concept of interpersonal
reflex looms up here. The eye-wink reflex, it might be argued, is
naturally acquired, universal to all men, and survivally favorable. The
patterns of social reactivity cited here meet none of these criteria.
What is the rationale which explains how different human beings de-
velop different rigid, self-defeating techniques of adjustment?
The first point to note is that we are concentrating here — for the
sake of illustration — on maladaptive phenomena. The description of
these extreme reflexes gone wild implies that other reflexes are, in
contrast, inhibited. The masochistic man could not maintain a mini-
mum of independent assertiveness; the maternal role prevented the
responsible woman from manifesting the reflexes of docility and trust;
the rebel possessed conformity and affiliation reflexes which were qui-
escent or extinct.
In the adjusted, well-functioning individual, the entire repertoire
of interpersonal reflexes is operating spontaneously, flexibly, and ap-
propriately— and when the survival situation demands aggression, he
can aggress; when it calls for tenderness, he can be tender. Human
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
19
societies, however, tend not to be too well balanced. They tend to
put a premium on certain interpersonal responses — competitiveness or
slavish submission, for example. To survive and flourish, human beings
must tailor their responses to the demands of such imbalanced cultures.
Even in the most heterogenous and tolerant society the developing
personality interacts with so many inflexible pressures (e.g., parent's
personalities, subcultural demands) that a hierarchy of preferred re-
flexes develops. To say that human personality is varied and different
is to say — at this level — that most everyone tends to overemphasize
certain automatic interpersonal responses and to underemphasize
others.
The questions still remain: Why do human beings limit their ma-
chinery of social adjustment, manifest narrowed spectra of reaction,
and provoke a restricted set of reactions from others? Why do some
individuals have no ability for realistic, modest self-criticism (H) and
compulsively express only narcissistic self-enhancing mechanisms (B) ?
Why do others cling to retiring modesty and eschew the responses of
proud self-confidence? Most puzzling of all (to the occidental mind) :
Why do some of our neighbors masochistically court interpersonal
humiliation — doggedly provoking rejection and isolation from others?
For the answers to these questions we return again to Sullivan. He
defines personality as the pattern of interpersonal responses employed
to reduce anxiety, ward off disapproval, and maintain self-esteem. As
the individual develops, he discovers that certain interpersonal re-
sponses bring danger; some bring a narrow, uncomfortable, but cer-
tain security. To use others would involve broad, attractive, but
conflictful uncertainty. The more anxiety-provoking the individual's
world — particularly his parental home — the more likely he is to select
the familiar, narrow, certain, lesser anxiety and to avoid the promising
but uncertain potentialities. The basic meanings behind any personal-
ity pattern are difficult to evaluate. The complex behavior of counter-
poised motives at difl'erent levels creates the appearance of a terribly
anarchic system. It is clear, however, that for many people self-
esteem and security involve surprising maneuvers — including extreme
self-punishment (at Level I). The "search for suffering" (H) can
have an inexhaustible number of meanings — all functions of the multi-
level integration of personality. Getting her husband to beat and
exploit her can allow the masochist externalization of guilt, propitia-
tion of guilt, passive expression of hostility, and the intense pleasures
of narcissistic martyred self-pity. "No one suffers more than me;
watch and I can prove it." The projection of blame for failure on
others, of course, requires more and more demonstration of failure
in order to maintain the allegation. In addition, by selecting this set of
120 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
aggression-provoking responses, the masochist avoids the potentially
conflict-laden area of active hostility (DE), marital collaboration and
-sexual partnership (LM), and assertive responsibiUty (BAP). Most
severe martyrs, of course, express indirectly the purposive behaviors
that they inhibit at the public level. They accomplish their private
aims — aggressive, narcissistic, exploitive, and, very likely, sexual — by
the indirect, cumbersome, and unsatisfactory method of acting hurt
and provoking aggression from others.
The Pressure to Repeat Responses. Interpersonal activities are
designed to avoid the greater anxiety. It might be said in general that
the human being experiences less anxiety in a familiar situation than
in a strange one, and less anxiety when he is employing familiar
responses than strange ones. Reciprocal relationships with crucial
"others" develop quite naturally here. The more an individual re-
stricts his actions to one narrow sector of the interpersonal spectrum,
the more he restricts the social environment he faces. That is, the man
who continually employs submissive reflexes tends to train people to
boss him and discourage people from looking to him for forceful
leadership. This tendency to repeat the patterns of the past is similar
to the principal of least action which is described by Whitehead (12,
p. 108) as that phenomenon in which "cases will group round the in-
dividual perception as envisaging (without self-consciousness) that
one immediate possibility of attainment which represents the closest
analogy to its own immediate past." The interpersonal world of the
submissive man tends to become quite lopsided, putting more and more
pressure on him to obey and not to command.
Survival anxiety presses the individual to repeat and narrow down
his adjustive responses. He thus comes to a stable but restricted
reciprocal relationship with his interpersonal world. But this is only
one half of the total event.
The Pressure to Change Responses. In addition to this tendency
for the familiar personal environment to become limited in scope, we
have seen that the environment at large presents one with a wide
range of social stimuh. In any single day most individuals roaming
around in their ecological space find suitable situations for expressing
all sixteen interpersonal mechanisms. To the extent that the indi-
vidual inhibits some of these, he is not employing the appropriate
responses demanded by the environment. Failure to adapt to the world
about it generally creates survival anxiety in the organism.
The Insoluble Dilemma of AdjustxMent: Stability Versus
Flexibility. The human being is, according to this view, caught be-
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 121
tween two polar whirlpools of anxiety. Rigid repetition of inter-
personal responses minimizes conflict and provides the security of con-
tinuity and sameness — in Whitehead's useful terminology called
"endurance." But the environment at large is not the same — and ad-
justment to it demands a flexible generality of inteqjersonal response.
The notational system and general premises of the present work lead
us to conclude that this is the critical survival dilemma — the basic
conflict, if you please, of human nature. A quotation from Egon
Brunswik (3) appears pertinent here. He points out that "survival and
its sub-units, which may be defined as the establishment of stable inter-
relationships with the environment, are possible only if the organism
is able to establish compensatory balance in the face of comparative
chaos within the physical environment. Ambiguity of [stimulus]
cues and means [i.e., organismic responses] relative to the vitally
relevant objects and results must find its counterpart in an ambiguity
and flexibility of the . . . mediating processes in the organism." ^ Or,
to use Whitehead's words, ", . . every scheme for the analysis of na-
ture has to face these two facts change and endurance^ The mo-
mentum of the logic we are using in this book has led us to define two
basic maladjustive factors in terms of these dichotomous sources of
anxiety: rigidity, which brings a narrow adjustment to one aspect of
the environment, and unstable oscillation which is an intense attempt
to adjust to all aspects of the presented environment. These concepts
involve the multilevel organization and diagnosis of personality and
must await publication in a subsequent volume.
Between the two maladjustive extremes of personality, rigid con-
tinuity and oscillating noncontinuity, occur the greatest majority of
human adjustments. Most individuals, as we have seen, tend to select
a limited set of preferred reflexes which operate spontaneously, but
not with inflexible repetition. The average individual is still able to
call out automatically any and all reflexes along the continuum to meet
the exigencies of the environment. In general orientation and in the
crucial decisions of his life, he is likely, however, to have employed
the narrowed responses. And he has very likely succeeded in training
the significant "others" in his life to react in reciprocity to his inter-
personal style. The average person has thus created himself and his
world along the lines of a purposive but limited set of interpersonal
relationships. He has worked out, usually by means of involuntary
reflexes, a balance which is best calculated to meet the double threats
of rigidity and chaotic flexibility. His Level I automatic communica-
tions have provided him with smoothly operating techniques (^e-
^ The italics and parenthetic notes are the author's.
122 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
termining the nature of his self and world. Like his more neurotic
brethren, he too gets from life the interpersonal returns for which he
has bargained — just that and no more.
The Principle of Reciprocal Interpersonal Relations
The principle of self-determination as it operates at Level I has
several implications. The notion that we must take the credit or blame
for our own life situations has had an obvious effect on clinical prac-
tice. It assigns to the individual patient the responsibility for develop-
ing and managing his own personality. This is a terrible power that
we assign to him, one which he is often not willing to believe or accept.
The key factors in personality seem to be the purposive messages we
express to others in our Level I communications. For many patients
these are signals of weakness and blame: "Others must help me" and
"Others are my undoing" are familiar and poignant themes expressed
by many psychiatric patients. The notion of self-determination re-
moves the protective devices of projection and externalization — giving
in return a priceless, but often unwelcome gift of personal power.
In developing these themes a rather curious imbalance may have
been noted. For purposes of exposition we have concentrated on the
viewpoint of the subject. At times it may have implied a paradoxical
situation in which everyone goes around training others to respond to
him in specified ways. This is, of course, rather puzzling. If everyone
is actively creating his own interpersonal world, this leaves no one
left to be passively trained by others.
This dilemma is caused by the concentration on one side of the
interpersonal exchange — the subject. Actually, we know that we can
never understand interpersonal relationships unless we study both sides
of the interaction. When we pause to isolate and study one side — the
self or subject side — of interpersonal behavior, we do so at the risk of
distortion. As we consider, in turn, the various levels and areas, we
encounter the danger of segmental overemphasis — one of the plague?
of psychological theory. The principle of self-determination is a
probability statement which has reference to the global organization of
personality in general and Level I in particular. The over-all system
of the total personality is for all predictive purposes the unit upon
which we focus. It has special importance in shaping a strategy and
tactic of psychotherapy. It should be kept clear that in the preceding
section we have, for expository purposes, stressed the "self" response
and understressed the "other," or environmental factors. In actuality
both partners in any relationship share the responsibility for its de-
velopment— a mutual determining operation is occurring. The mother
does not create the child's personality. The child does not create the
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 123
maternal reaction. They both are engaged in a most intricate recipro-
cal process to which both bring determinative motivations.
Many Interpersonal Exchanges Reinforce the Original Re-
flex. The time has now come to consider both sides of the interper-
sonal situation — the two-person commerce of communication. The
first point worth comment is the reinforcing quality of social interac-
tion. Our actions toward other people generally have the effect of
pulling a reciprocal response from them. This in turn tends to
strengthen our original action. If you walk up and aggressively shove
a stranger, the chances are good that he will shove you back. Of
course, this rule does not work uniformly. One out of a hundred
might be that Christian soul who would tenderly embrace you. A
few might slink away from you. A few might docilely attempt to
placate you. The largest percentage would mirror your aggression —
and probably shove back. Your counterresponse then becomes the
issue. You might apologize, you might retreat, but assuming you are
an "aggressive shover" to begin with, the statistically probable re-
sponse is to shove back, perhaps harder.
You have provoked a response which has reinforced your original
action. This reinforcing process has been dignified with the title of
the principle of reciprocal interpersonal relations. This is a general
probability principle. It holds that: Interpersonal reflexes tend {with
a probability significantly greater than chance) to initiate or invite
reciprocal interpersonal responses from the ^^other^^ person in the inter-
action that lead to a repetition of the original reflex.
Before considering the ramifications and quaUfications of this prin-
ciple we shall glance at a few examples of its operation.
How Group Therapy Patients Provoke Each Other to In-
creasing Repetition. Group psychotherapy provides a splendid op-
portunity to observe the development of interpersonal patterns. The
members come together as strangers. The initial sessions are anxiety-
provoking. The novelty and tension combine to produce interpersonal
reflex behavior which is quite clear-cut. Unless a definite selection
principle is employed, the members of a group tend to scatter around
the interpersonal circle. That is, one or two will demonstrate helpless,
dependent reflexes. One or two will be sullen and silent. One or two
will be superior, mildly antagonistic. One or two will briskly begin
to take leadership roles, try to "get the ball rolling," help the other
patients, etc. The pattern of reciprocal reflexes that develops is rich
and complex.
For demonstration purposes it might be best to review a less hetero-
geneous group. We think here of the group comprising three phobic,
124 "^"^ INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
dependent women, two schizoid men, and a psychosomatic man. In
the first session the three fearful women nervously described their
symptoms and then fell into a protective silence. The schizoid men
muttered their introductions and sank into an isolated retreat. The
floor was left to the therapist and the psychosomatic man.
The latter was a friendly, energetic, talkative person who rattled
on for about ten minutes about his symptoms and his life situation.
When he finished his competent and congenial narrative, the group
fell into a prolonged silence. After two or three intensely long minutes
of soundless hush the psychosomatic patient entered again with a ques-
tion to the therapist. The patient then expanded on this topic for about
five minutes. The tomblike silence resumed — interrupted only by the
shifting of chairs and the rustle of smoking activity.
The therapist then intervened to comment on the silence and asked
each patient in turn what his associations were to the topic introduced
by the psychosomatic patient. The therapist concluded the session
by reviewing the silence and explaining that he had intervened at the
end to help the patients learn how to communicate in the group.
During the second meeting the same pattern repeated. Long silences
developed. The tension clearly mounted during these lulls. The
phobic ladies squirmed, looked uncomfortable, but kept silent. The
schizoid men frowned, edged their chairs further toward the corners,
and kept silent. The pressure on the friendly, talkative member would
build up until he would finally begin to speak. He tried to get the
others to talk. He asked them questions. He described at greater and
greater length events from his own life (most of them concerning
superficial events — hobbies, work experiences, etc.). By the fourth
session the tension had mounted to an intense peak. The silences grew
longer and more painful. The psychosomatic patient found himself
involved in a series of monologues. It seemed that the patients were
all getting disgusted with themselves and with each other, the one for
talking too much and the others for not talking enough. By this point
the talkative patient, in fact, found it hard to refrain from talking.
When one of the others would venture a comment he would inter-
rupt, ask questions, and relate his own associations. The executive
outgoing patient had trained the others to be listeners. He later con-
fessed that he rather fancied himself as a subleader in the group, and
half-boastingly, half-sheepishly described his reflex skills in extro-
verted glibness.
The other group patients had successfully trained the extrovert to
dominate them. They had forced him into a responsible, competent
role and had thus emphasized and reinforced their own withdrawing
tendencies. Their original reflex patterns had contributed to a tense
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 125
situation. The more the tension developed, the more they increased
their reflex techniques for handling anxiety. The psychosomatic pa-
tient was almost frantically active and the others silent. They were all
making a failure out of the group along the same lines of their life
failures. When this reciprocal process had reached its optimal point,
the therapist intervened to help the members to understand how they
reacted to the tension and how they increased it by their reactions.
We expect each group member to contribute to the failure of com-
munication that tends to develop in our therapy groups. This initial
breakdown caused by the reciprocal principle is allowed to develop in
the early stages in the group since it allows each patient to repeat his
interpersonal imbalances in the therapy situation. The very real ten-
sion of the group situation provides valuable information about how
each person handles anxiety. It is somewhat analogous to the trans-
ference neurosis of individual therapy. It provides material for many
months of subsequent analysis.
This example centered around the reciprocal patterns of one mem-
ber versus the group. More discrete interactions between pairs of in-
dividual patients inevitably develop and pro\ide more complex and
specific examples of the reciprocal process. Earlier in this chapter we
have described a distrustful patient who was convinced that others
were unsympathetic and mean to him. He provides another example
of the reciprocal principle. We saw how this man easily and auto-
matically provoked rejection and dislike by means of his growling
suspiciousness. The hostile reception he received from the others led,
of course, to an increase in his bitter distrust. He invited responses
which led to a repetition of his original reflex pattern.
Reciprocal Relations Are Probable, Not Inevitable. The re-
inforcing process we have been describing is not an all-inclusive prin-
ciple. It is a probability function. It does not necessarily hold for the
individual interaction. Aggression usually breeds counteraggression.
Smiles usually win smiles. Tears usually provoke sympathy. In spe-
cific cases, however, these general rules break down. Aggression can
win tolerant smiles. Tears can provoke curses. But, when we study
the thousands of interactions that make up each day of social existence,
the principle becomes increasingly useful. Many kinds of variation
and inconsistency operate to lower perfect predictability of inter-
personal behavior. The meaning of the cultural context, the personal-
ity of the "other one," and oscillation tendencies in the individual are
always complicating factors. Like any other principle which involves
human emotions, the principle of reciprocal relations operates in
probabilistic terms.
126 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
Effect of the Other Person's Personality. Reciprocal rela-
tions are more likely- to develop with certain personalities. The prin-
ciple holds most uniformly with pairs of symbiotically "sick" people.
A phobic, dependent wife and a nurturant, strong husband would be
such a pair. The more the husband takes care of her, the more the de-
pendence repeats. The more the wife clings, the more pressure on the
husband to be gentle and protective. Even in a symbiotic marriage of
this sort, the reciprocity would tend to break down if other motives
enter the behavior of either. If hostile reproach lies behind the wife's
weakness, or impatient superiority behind the husband's strength, then
new chains of interaction may develop.
Another aspect of this principle: The sicker you are the more
power you have to determine the relationships you have with others.
A maladjusted person with a crippled set of reflexes tends to over-
develop a narrow range of one or two interpersonal responses. These
are expressed intensely and often, whether appropriate to the situa-
tion or not. Now a normal person has a fairly flexible range of re-
flexes. He can use any interpersonal response if the situation calls it
out. He is less committed to and, for that matter, less skillful in the
use of any particular reflex. When the two interact, it is the "sick"
person who determines the relationship.
Suppose that the suspicious young man just cited meets up with a
fairly well-rounded person. The latter may greet him cheerfully. The
other may frown, or shoot a sharp glance, then cast his eyes to the
ground. The normal person may invite the other to the movies — to
which he replies with a sullen remark. No matter how flexible or well-
meaning the one may be, the other will eventually force him to take a
negative critical position.
The more extreme and rigid the person, the greater his interper-
sonal "pull" — the stronger his ability to shape the relationships with
others. The withdrawn catatonic, the irretrievable criminal, the
compulsively flirtatious charmer can inevitably provoke the expected
response from a more well-balanced "other."
The flexible person can pull a greater variety of responses from
others — depending on his conscious or unconscious motives at the
moment. He can get others to hke him, take care of him, obey him,
lead him, envy him, etc. The "sick" person has a very narrow range of
interpersonal tactics, but these are generally quite powerful in their
effect. I have seen compulsive, responsible group members after sev-
eral months of treatment desperately trying to get the other group
members to understand and commiserate with their inner feelings of
weakness and despair. They had trained them well to look up and
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
127
respect them. Their own managerial reflexes kept firing even at the
moment they were verbally appealing for help and sympathy.
Variation Within the Individual Affects Reciprocal Rela-
tionships. Another qualification of the principle of reciprocal rela-
tions must be included. In describing human behavior the impression
is often given that a consistent line of adjustment is exhibited. In most
of the illustrations used in this chapter, the subject's role is made to ap-
pear fixed. Actually, we know that inconsistency and changeability
are the rule and not the exception in human emotions. The factors of
change and stability will come under detailed survey in Chapter 13.
They are, indeed, studied as a separate dimension of personality — the
variability dimension. Included under this topic are all the measurable
variations which affect human behavior — changes in cultural context,
changes over time, changes due to conflict and variety among the
levels of personality.
At this point it is sufficient to point out that no interpersonal role
is absolutely pure or rigid. The most withdrawn catatonic sends out
occasional tendrils of affect. The most hardened criminal occasionally
has a moment of congeniality. The most autocratic five-star general
occasionally admits he is wrong. Most people show considerable con-
flict or inconsistency in their actions from time to time. No matter
how thick and effective the reflex defenses, underlying inconsistencies
eventually manifest themselves.
When this happens the principle of reciprocal relations tends to
break down. The probable accuracy of the predictions drops. A
flirtatious woman provokes seductive responses from a man. His ap-
proaches set off stronger flirtatious actions. The man becomes more
seductive. At some point in this process underlying motives may step
in to change the pattern. In some cases, a flirtatious fa9ade may cover
deeper feelings of competition or contempt toward men. The woman
would then shift to behavior which Erickson describes as "bitchy,"
and rejecting. The reciprocal pattern of entice versus seduce would
shift. The man's reaction would then vary depending on the nature
of his multilevel pattern. He might continue to seduce, he might be
hurt, he might become dependent.
The same process of circular interactions leading up to an intense
breaking point often occurs between parent and child. Dependence
pulls nurturance which provokes further dependence — . In some
cases the spiraling increase in intensity leads to a temporary crash. At
some point the parent's underlying feelings of selfishness or self-pro-
tection lead to refusal. Father comes home one night tired and
128 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
grumpy. Outside events may have set off underlying feelings of dep-
rivation, or self-pity, or sadism. He may snarl at the child. The child
then whines. The whining might increase the father's irritation. A
new series of reciprocal events may thus be initiated.
Alternation of behavior is, of course, not an unhealthy manifesta-
tion. Moods shift; we carry over the feelings from one situation into
another. Events of the day set off underlying effects which may be
quite different from the current reality situation. It is safe to suggest
that everyone acts inappropriately many times each day. These incon-
sistencies can hardly be considered abnormal. The lines of inter-
personal communication are constantly breaking down momentarily,
but these involve no permanent disasters. A healthy father-child re-
lationship is not paralyzed because one of the two has a "bad day" or
carries over inappropriate effects.
On the other hand, very rigidly formed relationships can be upset
badly by shifts in the pattern of reciprocal relations. Some institu-
tional relationships are very inflexible and demand perfect reciprocity.
The army officer expects to provoke consistent obedience. A rent in
this kind of interpersonal fabric can be seen as unforgivable. Some
kinds of symbiotic marriages are so rigid that deviation in reciprocal
roles can cause intense anxiety. When a servile, docile husband shows
a flash of rebellion against a dominating wife, the results can be ex-
plosive.
Thus, we see that many factors tend to qualify the principle of
reciprocal relations. Among these we have considered variations in
the cultural context, variations in the personality of the "other one,"
and variations due to multilevel ambivalences in the subject's personal-
ity.
Multilevel Reciprocity Patterns. We have very little system-
atic knowledge about interpersonal relations. We do know that a
most complex, shifting matrix of forces operates in the simplest inter-
action. Throughout this book we are forced to limit the theory, the
illustrations, and the measurements to the simplest forms of interac-
tion. One example of a rich and vital phenomenon which is at present
beyond reach of our system has to do with multilevel reciprocal pat-
terns. Complex patterns of interaction exist at all the levels of per-
sonality. In some cases the smooth flowing exchanges of one level are
threatened and destroyed by clashes caused by underlying variations.
That is, two people may interact in a most automatic and rewarding
pattern at the level of the interpersonal reflex. The seductive man and
the flirtatious woman is one such situation. At the private level the
feelings of both partners may be quite different. The man may have
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
129
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w 4J ii 2 -7; 1J'
E
^ ^ S S =
j3 - J^ c (u
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IS ^
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, 30 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
deeper sadistic motives toward women. The flirtatious girl may have
underlying needs to reject and humiliate men. What starts off as a
most spontaneous and fluid friendship eventually ends in a brawl.
The underlying feelings of the participants do not lend themselves
to a durable relationship.
This aggressive ending might not occur if the underlying feelings of
the partners were reciprocal. Suppose that the woman's underlying
feelings, instead of being competitive and rejecting, were masochistic.
Their surface reflexes blend nicely into the pattern of seduce and en-
tice. Their deeper feelings would, in this case, also blend nicely into
the reciprocal pattern of sadism-masochism. The man's preconscious
aggressiveness would tailor nicely into the woman's private needs to
be aggressed upon. It is possible that many symbiotic marriages exist
in which multilevel needs of both mates fit together into multilevel
patterns of reciprocity. Our measurement methods are far from being
able to tap these intricate networks which seem to characterize even
the simplest relationships.
Incidence of Level I-M Behavior in Various Cultural Sam-
ples. A summary of the research findings concerning Level I be-
havior is presented after each of the eight clinical chapters (Chapters
15-22). At this point, to give an overview, it may be helpful to list
the percentage of Level I-M types found in several institutional or
symptomatic samples.
In the preceding chapter a method was described for summarizing
interpersonal behavior at any level in terms of a single point on the
diagnostic grid. The location of this summary point determines the
interpersonal diagnosis (see Chapter 12). Thus if the resultant of the
Level I scores for an individual locates in the AP octant he is diag-
nosed as a Managerial-Autocratic personality at this level. Table 2
presents the percentage of cases in fifteen samples falling in each
octant at Level I-M.
A detailed re-examination of these data will be found in later chap-
ters, but some of the meaning of Level I-M behavior can be derived
by inspection of the table. Some samples (military officers, normals,
psychosomatic cases) emphasize strong, hypernormal facades (octants
AP and NO). Those samples which include people in trouble (prison-
ers, psychiatric patients) manifest more alienated or passive behavior
(octants DE, FG, or HI).
References
1. Bales, R. F. Interaction process analysis. Cambridge, Mass.: Addison-Wesley
Press, 1950.
2. BiON, W. R. Experience in groups: III. Human Relations, 1949, 11, No. 1, 13-22.
THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION 131
3. Brunswik, E. The conceptual framework of psychology. International encyclo-
pedia of unified science, Vol. /, No. 10, Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1952. Copyright 1952 by The University of Chicago.
4. Cassirer, E. An essay on man. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1944.
5. Lawrence, D. H. Women in love. Modern Library ed. New York: Random
House, Inc., 1920.
6. Leary, T., and H. Coffey. The prediction of interpersonal behavior in group
psychotherapy. Psychodrama and gr. psychother. Monogr., 1955, No. 28.
7. Mead, G. H. Mind, self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1934.
Copyright 1934 by The University of Chicago.
8. Powelson, D. H., and R. Bendix. Psychiatry in prison. Fsychiat., 1951, 14, 73-86.
9. Sapir, E. Speech as a personality trait. Amer. J. Sociol., 1927, 32, 892-905, Uni-
versity of Chicago Press. Copyright 1927 by The University of Chicago.
10. Sw^EET, Blanche. A study of insight: its operational definition and its relation-
ship to psychological health. Unpublished doctor's dissertation, University of
California, Berkeley, 1953.
11. Thelen, H. a. Method of sequential analysis of group process. Mimeographed
working instructions, 1952.
12. Whitehead, A. N. Science and the modem world. New York: Macmillan, 1925.
8
The Level of Conscious Communication:
The Interpersonal Trait
This chapter is devoted to an examination of Level II, the data of con-
scious description. We deal here with the individual's perceptions of
himself and his world as he reports them.
Like the other levels of personality, this one is automatically defined
by the data which contribute to it. There is only one criterion for de-
termining Level II data: conscious verbal report by the subject. We
are interested in ivhat the subject says, the content of his verbal ex-
pressions. From these we focus on the interpersonal themes which he
attributes to himself and to "others." From these we obtain the
variables of Level 11.
It must be noted that the consensual accuracy or truth of these
verbal reports has no bearing on the definition of the level. If the sub-
ject says he is popular, the appropriate Level II code for this inter-
personal role is assigned. Now dozens of observers may agree that
he is quite unpopular with his associates. This fact shows up on our
diagrams for Level I. But the Level II rating concerns not what he
does, not what he privately thinks or wishes, but what he says.
This is called the level of conscious description because it reflects
how the subject chooses to present himself and his view of the world.
It will be noted that we do not call it the level of consciousness, but of
conscious communication. This is an important distinction. The
phenomenon of consciousness is one of the most elusive issues in the
history of Western thought. One of its most confusing aspects is, of
course, its subjective nature. The scientist can never understand or
measure what another person has in his consciousness. It is often quite
difficult for the subject himself to know the focus and limits or his
awareness. Between the subject and the psychologist there exists any
number of potentially distorting factors — deliberate omissions, expres-
132
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION 1^3
sive inaccuracies, and the like. And we never know the exact level of
awareness from which the statements come.
Since it is impossible to obtain an objective evaluation of the sub-
jective viewpoint of another person, many psychologists have at-
tempted to discard the whole issue of consciousness. But in so doing
an essential dimension of human behavior is lost.
Two principles must be applied to any scientific approach to the
conscious aspects of pei-sonality. The first is the classic solution de-
veloped (but not utilized) by the earliest behaviorists: treat the sub-
ject's introspection not as the essence of truth, but as a behavioral ex-
pression to be evaluated in the light of all the other measurements.
The second principle is an explicit corollary that can only develop
from a systematic multilevel analysis of behavior. It holds that the
data of conscious report have of themselves an ambiguous meaning
until they are systematically evaluated in the light of the data from
the other levels of behavior.
At Level II we deal, therefore, with conscious reports and not con-
sciousness. We define it operationally in terms of all the statements
an individual makes about himself or his world. We employ it and
evaluate it in relation to other levels of personality.
The Attributive Nature of Personality Language
Transcriptions of everything that a patient says during an hour of
psychotherapy provide one source of raw data for Level II measure-
ments. The patient's testimony in this form can then be studied from
the standpoint of the interpersonal system. Everything that the patient
says about himself becomes Level II "Self." Everything he says about
the people in his interpersonal world becomes Level II "Other." The
accuracy, the deeper significance, the immediate purpose behind these
responses is disregarded. Their direct surface meaning is the essence
of the Level II classification.
In studying the verbal content of these descriptions an interesting
fact develops. They are all attributive or adjectival. They are all
significations. They can all be interpreted as assigning a quality to the
self or the world. They can, thus, be reduced for analysis to a descrip-
tive adjective or to adjectival phrases. The interpersonal context of
everything that is said about oneself or one's world can be translated
into a generic attributive form: "I am a person, in relation-
ship to
Take, for example, the patient's testimony, "I was really angry at
my boss today. I took it docilely for a while. Finally I insulted him.
I've always hated his guts." The subject and object of this inter-
personal relationship are clearly self-boss. The four sentences vary
1 34 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
in their mode of expressing the interpersonal theme — adjective, verb,
participle — but they can all be translated into the attributive formula:
angry -|
I feel like an: insulrine- I P^^^^" ^^ relationship to my boss,
hating J
At the level of conscious description we deal with the subject's
language about himself and others. The interpersonal attributes are
the specific rated units. The interpersonal themes expressed in these
significations are coded according to the matrix of sixteen variables
and provide a systematic summary of the subject's view of himself and
his world. The operational procedure for defining a level in terms of
the source of the language is not unique to this level. It is now pos-
sible to look back at the Level I reflex communications and see that
they are also defined by the source of the language — the attributive sig-
nifications of the observers who rate the subject's behavior. At Level
I we do not deal with the reflex conversation of gestures itself but
measure its effect on others. We ask the individuals who observe or
interact with the subject to make attributive statements about him
which reflect his social stimulus value. The language by which the
subject is described, by others or by himself, comprises the data for
Levels I and II respectively.
The data from Level I can therefore be translated into the same
type of atributive formula. ''He is a person in relation
to This systematic^ approach to the linguistics of person-
ality provides a direct method for comparing the levels of personality.
The relationships between levels — discrepancies, concordances — de-
fine another dimension of personality, the variability dimension. The
direct measurement of these mechanisms which thus relate the levels
of personality is made possible by the rigorous analysis of the lan-
guage of personality.
The Measurement of Interpersonal Attributes
The unit with which we measure the language of conscious descrip-
tion is called the interpersonal attribute or the interpersonal trait.
These terms have been selected because they reflect the adjectival or
attributive nature of the Level II data. We classify Level I behavior
in terms of interpersonal reflexes, gestures, or mechanisms. We clas-
sify Level II behavior in terms of the interpersonal attribute or trait.
The interpersonal trait of Level II is formally defined as the inter-
personal motive attributed by the subject to himself or another in his
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
135
conscious reports. Every discernible or ratable interpersonal theme
in the content of the individual's verbalizations defines a unit of Level
II behavior.
The themes or categories employed are derived from the circular
continuum of interpersonal variables. It w^ill be recalled that in meas-
uring the subject's reflex behavior an inexhaustible list of sample verbs
was held to apply to each of the sixteen generic interpersonal pur-
poses. The same procedure is followed for measuring attributive be-
havior of Level II. The interpersonal traits were developed by simply
.M««^.^.
MANAGES OTHERS
DOMINATING
BOSSY
-^<i^
/c
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^\A p
:C
1 — ~~~--~.^
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(0
g
1
ten
\io
%
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'%
4i^
r*r
'\i\
OF
E/LI
/FRI
E T
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/ FONC
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EVERYBODY
ALLTH
LO-
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J"^e■'s^■ /CAN BE
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'^-^V^^'"^^
$i^/...,
^fslSe7^f- USUALLY
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MODEST
y^,
""6
^(i^"^
PASSIVE AND
UNAGGRESSIVE
MEEK/OBEYS TOO
WILLINGLY
0\
-Masochistic
Figure 6. Interpersonal Check List Illustrating the Classification of Interpersonal
Behaviors into Sixteen Variable Categories.
,36 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
replacing the verbs of Level I with the coordinate or appropriate ad-
jective. The adjectives which go with the reflex (i.e., verb) to com-
plain would obviously include complaining, resentful, bitter, etc. The
adjectives which parallel the reflex to love would be loving, affection-
ate, etc. This translation of verbs into adjective equivalents is not al-
ways so Hnguistically simple. There are many interpersonal reflexes
for which equivalent adjectives do not exist. Extensive methodological
procedures have been carried out in order to deal with these technical
difficulties. As a result of these exploratory studies, the interpersonal
meaning of most words in the English language which have a social
connotation has been determined in terms of the sixteen-point con-
tinuum.
Several adjectives characteristic of each generic interpersonal trait
(i.e., each point on the circular continuum) are included in Figure 6.
These adjectives are suggestive and illustrative. They are by no means
exhaustive of the entire range of traits which fit each point of the
circle. In analyzing the traits employed by an individual, we rate not
only the kind but the intensity of each attribute. Extreme, inap-
propriate, and maladjustive interpersonal behaviors are thus distin-
guished from the moderate and appropriate. The general nature of
these adjustive and maladjustive traits is suggested by the words listed
in the inner and outer rings respectively in Figure 6.
Four Methods for Measuring Level U Behavior
In Chapter 6 it was pointed out that several methods exist for ob-
taining the data for any level. Whenever Level II data are being dis-
cussed it is necessary to indicate the specific source — that is the opera-
tions through which the data were derived.
When trained personnel rate the verbal content of diagnostic inter-
views, i.e., the patient's descriptions of himself and others, the result-
ing data are assigned to Level Il-Di. These ratings are made from on-
the-spot observations, notes, recordings, or transcriptions.
When trained raters judge the verbal content of therapy interviews
(group or individual) the descriptions of self and others are coded
Level II-Ti.
Scores from the Interpersonal Adjective Check List on which the
patient rates his view of self and others are coded Level II-C.
Ratings by trained personnel of the conscious descriptions of self
and others taken from autobiographical essays written by subjects are
coded Level II- A.
There are, then, several methods for obtaining Level II data. The
essence of them all is that we get the subject to describe himself and
others. These reported perceptions are then scored in terms of the
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION 137
circular continuum. If the data are obtained through fixed, prepared
test stimuh- questionnaires, check Hsts, and the hke, predetermined
ratings assigned to each test item make the scoring automatic. If the
data come from free responses — conversations, interviews, autobiog-
raphies— then two or more trained technicians independently rate
each interpersonal reference.
The rating of interpersonal attributes at the level of conscious
description is illustrated in the following examples:
The scoring of interpersonal traits at the conscious level. To illustrate the
rating of interpersonal traits at the conscious level, there follow examples of
ratings of an adjective check list, the content of therapy sessions, and an auto-
biography.
a. The Scoring of Interpersonal Traits as Applied to an Adjective Check
List, Level II-C:
Adjective Trait Intensity
stubborn
proud
bossy
good-leader
reserved
withdrawn
b. The Scoring of Interpersonal Traits as Applied to the Content of Dis-
cussion of a Group Psychotherapy Session, Level II-Ti:
Other Self
And since I've been married I've been able to make a sub-
stitute, a transference of these feelings from my mother to
my wife. I guess I depend on my wife a lot, more than I K-3
C-3, A-2 should. She is a strong person. She admires strength. I
think it makes her retract, withdraw from me when I am
dependent on her. This makes me feel worse. Then she K-3
C-3, A-2 tries to drive me. She's an ambitious person. It makes me
feel very helpless. This is a real vicious circle and it has me 1-3
worried.
c. The Scoring of Interpersonal Traits as Applied to an Autobiography,
Level II- A:
Other Self
I guess I was a very co-operative child, but this is just from L-3
what I've heard. I've always been timid all my life. This is 7-3
especially true with girls. I believe my parents realized this
A-2 and often, especially my mother, tried to push me a little
which I resented and probably went out of my way to do B-3
the opposite. I have always resented and still do, being told F-3
A-'i what to do or obviously being led.
B
B
A
A
H
H
ijg THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
The simplest and most standardized method for obtaining an esti-
mate of Level II perceptions is to employ the Interpersonal Adjective
Check List. This test has been specifically designed by Robert Suczek,
Rolfe La Forge, and others to fit the matrix of the sixteen interpersonal
variables. In its present form (Form IV) it consists of 128 adjectives,
8 for each point on the circle (see Appendix 2). The check list is
calibrated in four degrees of intensity and the array of adjectives is
balanced according to the expected frequency of usage. The patient
simply checks all of the items which he believes describe his behavior.
Since each term is already prescored, his responses automatically
produce his Level II-C self-pattern.^ The patient can be asked to use
the same check list to rate the significant "others" in his life. This
gives a standardized picture of his own description of self and world.
The Patient Diagnoses Himself
Let us consider some illustrations of Level II measures from a clinic
patient with a history of chronic maladjustment. The data were col-
lected from the Interpersonal Adjective Check List Form IV on which
the subject (at the time of entrance to the psychiatric clinic) succes-
sively rated himself and his family members.
Figure 7. Level II-C Self-Description of Illustrative Subject
Based on Interpersonal Check List. Key: Radius of circle equals
16 check list words.
Figure 7 presents a diagrammatic summary of his self-descriptions.
It is clear that the patient sees himself as an "unbalanced" person. He
has consistently checked himself as being distrustful, passively hostile,
and isolated. The marked imbalance indicates that he claims these
* A table of norms for converting Level II-C dominance and hostility indices into
standard scores will be found in Appendix 5.
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
139
traits to the extreme degree, thereby diagnosing himself as disturbed
in his interpersonal behavior. Turning our attention to the inter-
personal themes that he does not attribute to himself (the blank area
of the circle) we see that he clearly denies all the affiliative (X, L, M,
N, O) and strong assertive (P, A,B,C) feelings.
We have here the patient's self-diagnosis — a most important shce
of the entire personality pattern. The Level II-C self-profile has
considerable clinical significance. Several probabiUty laws hold for
this single measure.
A Patient Diagnoses His Family Members
The patient's descriptions of his family members provide another
set of valuable data. Considering his view of his father (Figure 8), two
statements are immediately pertinent: (1) he diagnoses his father as a
distrustful (G), passively hostile (F), and isolated (H) person; (2) he
sees his father as being very much like himself. It is important to note
Figure 8. Level II-C Conscious Description of Father by
Illustrative Subject Based on Interpersonal Check List. Key:
Radius of circle equals 16 check list w^ords.
the difference between these two statements. To borrow the vocab-
ulary of the logician, the first is a class statement about a single area of
personality, his view of his father. The second is a relationship state-
ment comparing two discrete areas of personality — Level II-C "Self"
versus Level II-C "Father."
Turning to this patient's view of his mother (Figure 9) we observe
a contrast. The mother is seen as unyielding (B), rejecting (C), and
punitive (D) to an extreme degree. He does not attribute any affec-
tionate or passive qualities to her. Comparing the view of mother with
I40 THE INTERPERSONAL DIA4ENSION
his own self-perception (shifting thereby from a class to a relationship
context of discourse), a marked discrepancy becomes apparent. He
sees himself as being like his father but unlike his mother.
Figure 9. Conscious Description of Mother by Illustrative Sub-
ject Based on Interpersonal Adjective Check List. Key: Radius of
circle equals 16 check list words.
Level II Provides a Measure of Conscious Identification
By inspection or by quantitative comparison we can determine the
similarity-difference factors relating the self-profile to the Mother and
Father circles at Level IL These relationships comprise the network of
measurable phenomena called variability indices, which serve the func-
tion of relating the areas and levels of personahty. We have suggested
here that the relationships between Level II Self and Level II Other
can be called identification or disidentification. To illustrate some of
these relationship mechanisms as they operate at this level of personal-
ity we shall construct a diagrammatic summary of this patient's Level
II perceptions (see Figure 10). The lines linking the summary points
provide a linear index of the arithmetic discrepancies between the areas
of personality involved. The longer the line, the greater the difference
in interpersonal themes attributed to the persons in question. It is
then possible to translate this diagram into a verbal summary of the
Level II behavior, employing the useful, but semantically suspect lan-
guage of the clinic.
It might be said that this patient sees himself as exploited and re-
jected in relationship with an unsympathetic and cold mother. He is
consciously identified with a weak and distrustful father. He is con-
sciously disidentified with his mother.
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
141
The patient's view of his wife (see Figure 10) adds another factor
to the picture. He tells us that she is a hard-hearted, hostile, and re-
jecting person. He consciously equates his wife with his mother, at-
MANAGERIAL-
14P;
Figure 10. Diagnostic Summary Profile of Level II Self and Other Scores for
Illustrative Patient. Key: The center of the diagnostic circle is determined by the
mean of a clinic sample of 800 cases. The placement of the three summary scores
is determined by trigonometric formulas (see Chapter 6) which yield horizontal and
vertical indices. These are converted to standard scores. The lines between the sum-
mary points provide linear estimations of the amount of conscious identification or dis-
identification (see Chapters 6 and 13).
tributing the same interpersonal motives to both. A wealth of clini-
cal cues is summarized in the family descriptions. From them we ob-
tain the patient's conscious diagnosis of his own oedipal situation, his
marital relationship, and his relationships with three central figures in
his life. Many probability laws hold for each of these measures. His
^.j, THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
view of parents is correlated with psychiatric diagnosis, symptom,
and with the intensity and type of underlying conflict.
In one sense these systematic measurements are quite limited. A
clinical interview would give the same data just as easily and would
provide a much more rich, specific, and sensitive registry of these facts.
The circular profiles have some compensating virtues — they are
reliable, they are quantitative, and they are standardized and cali-
brated in terms of the sixteen variables by which we measure inter-
personal behavior at other levels. This means that we can directly
compare the different perceptions which the patient reports. They
allow us to build up a series of probability laws which hold for each
level and for the relationships among levels.
Level II Presents the Patient's View of the
'^Transference'' Situation
We have reviewed how a patient entering the Kaiser Foundation
Psychiatric Clinic diagnoses himself and his family members. The
relationships among these measures have provided indices of conscious
identification and conscious equation. When the intake evaluation
was completed, this patient began psychotherapy. After nine hours
of treatment he filled out the Interpersonal Check List on his therapist.
This gives us his conscious description of the therapist (Figure 11).
The patient diagnoses the doctor.
Figure 11. Level II-C Description of Therapist by Patient
Illustrating a Measure of (Conscious) Transference. Key: Radius
of circle equals 16 check list words.
This patient reported his therapist (Figure 11) as a well-balanced
person. He did not use intense or one-sided descriptive terms. He
attributed moderate themes of strength (A), punitive firmness (D),
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION 143
and mild rejection (C) to his therapist. A mild negative transference
at the conscious level is apparent.
When the view of therapist is compared with his pretreatment view
of self, we see that the patient is disidentified with the therapist. He
reports his therapist as being much more like his mother and his wife
(Figure 12).
1 bitter Mother 1 cold
Self I and ^-^ Wife I and
J depressed Therapist J punitive
In this manner the patient gives us a systematic picture of his oedi-
pal and his transference situations— fro?;? his oivn viewpoint. The pa-
tient's reports about these relationships may be quite different from
the therapist's. The latter might not consider himself as being cold
and strict with the patient. If the patient's description of his therapist
is consensually inaccurate, this fact takes on a considerable impor-
tance in understanding the treatment relationship. The relation be-
tween the patient's view of another and the consensual view of that
person allows for an operational definition of a classic defense mech-
anism— projection. Where this inaccurate perception involves the
therapist, we have obtained a measure of transference-projection.
Therapists Can Measure Their Own Misperceptions
The Kaiser Foundation research project has undertaken extensive
studies of process in psychotherapy. The aim of these studies is to
apply the interpersonal system to the therapeutic interaction and to
the perceptions of the patient and therapist. The working principle
employed in these studies is: the patient and therapist comprise a basic
interacting unit. We do not study the patient in therapy, but both
the patient and the therapist as they interacted. These therapeutic
studies cannot be included in this diagnostic monograph, but they are
worth brief comment here because they illustrate the application of
Level II measurements.
One procedure commonly employed is to have the therapist fill out
an Interpersonal Check List on his patient. This gives us a most in-
teresting measure. It tells us how the therapist sees the patient with
whom he is in relationship. Figure 1 2 presents the therapist's picture
of the patient we have been discussing. The circle tells us that the
therapist sees the patient as deferent (/) and dependent (/). Now
this description may or may not be consensually accurate. Regard-
less of its "pull," it does summarize some valuable information — it tells
us something about the conscious countertransference.
J .^ THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
We recall that the patient described the therapist as cold and re-
jecting. This implies a certain fear and passive hostility on the part
of the patient. He feels mildly rejected. The therapist sees the pa-
tient as mainly weak and dependent. This suggests certain discrepan-
cies in the communication pattern between the two. The therapist
might fail to sense the- patient's feelings of deprivation, and assume
deference and collaboration.
Figure 12. Level II-C Description of Patient by His Psycho-
therapist Illustrating a Measure of (Conscious) Countertransfer-
ence. Key: Radius of circle equals 16 check list words.
Fitting together the reciprocal perceptions by both members of the
relationship often reveals striking breakdowns in communication.
Projection and perceptual distortion on the part of patient and thera-
pist often become apparent by the use of Level II measures. -
This discussion brings us to a tricky problem of definition. We
have been talking about Level II behavior — the conscious descriptions
of self-and-other by the patient. When we introduced the therapist's
view of the patient we complicated the issues. From the standpoint of
the patient, the therapist's view-of-patient is Level I. The therapist
is thus an outsider rating the patient.
But in any study of therapeutic interaction we focus equally on
patient and therapist. The therapist's view of the patient is a Level
II Other measure from the standpoint of the therapist. Studies in
interpersonal relations which attempt to use multilevel patterns of
response can become quite complex since we must study both sides of
^ A most ingenious research which illustrates the phenomenon of countertrans-
ference, as measured by the interpersonal system, has been completed by Richard
Cutler (1). This research deals with misperception of self and others in the psycho-
therapeutic simation.
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION 145
the transaction. A's report of B is subjective (Level II) from the
standpoint of A, but it is objective (Level I) from the standpoint of B.
The specific definition, conceptuaHzation, and clinical meaning of
these relationship variables (e.g., identification, projection) need not
be taken up in detail here. In the context of this discussion of Level II
behavior it need only be suggested that the relationships between self-
perception and perception of "others" have considerable importance.
Lawful connections do exist between these self-and-other circles.
Patients who describe themselves as distrustful and isolated tend to
present predictable pictures of their parents and the significant "oth-
ers" in their lives. So do the patients who assign themselves to other
extreme positions on the Level II circle.
A host of low-order predictive functions can be called into play
if we obtain this one type of personality measure — a patient's con-
scious description of self. It should be kept clear that these are not
foolproof prognostications. They are probability statements which
allow us to make such predictions as, "If the patient describes himself
as siveet and docile (/K), the chances are 5 to 1 he will attribute to
at least one parent ideahzed, tender nurturance, and the chances are
2 to 1 that he will see both parents in this way." From Level II Self-
description alone we obtain a large but loose network of low-order
probability statements which make predictions about other levels and
areas. This is interesting theoretically, but of restricted practical value.
When we add the data from another level or area — his view of parents,
for example — the additional evidence tightens up the network of re-
lationships. It increases the complexity of the personality structure in
a geometrical rather than an arithmetical proportion. That is, it multi-
plies the permutations and combinations of relationships. It also in-
creases the accuracy of prediction.
Use of Level II Patterns in Child Guidance
We have stressed the point that Level II conscious descriptions are
the most simple, straightforward measures of personality and their
maximum usefulness is found in combining or comparing these con-
scious reports with other levels.
In child guidance. Level II patterns seem to have an especially
valuable application. Diagnostic evaluation of children's cases is a
complex process. One of the difficult aspects of this procedure is
caused by the multiplicity of interpersonal relations involved. Under-
standing the child's situation requires some knowledge of the child, his
siblings, both parents. Often the parents' attitudes toward child-rear-
ing are closely related to their own parents. Thus, a three-generation
matrix of relationships can be involved.
Mother's view of:
MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER
MATERNAL GRANDFATHER
lAP)
(HI)
CHILD BY MOTHER
Figure 13. Familial Pattern of Interpersonal
146
Father's view of:
PATERNAL GRANDFATHER
■f4p.
PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER
S (H .
FATHER BY WIFE
(hTT
FATHER BY SELF
•(h7)~
CHILD BY FATHER
Relations for Child Guidance Evaluation.
H7
148 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
A convenient way to systematize these patterns is to obtain Level
II-C descriptions from both parents. The mother, for example, is
asked to rate herself, her husband, her child, and both of her parents.
The husband does the same. As indicated in Figure 1 3 a matrix of ten
ratings is obtained. This three-generation pattern of interpersonal
scores provides a large number of cues for understanding the child
and his emotional background.
The family constellation diagrammed in Figure 1 3 reveals that the
mother sees herself as responsible, generous, and hypernormal; that she
sees her child as rebellious and passive-resistant, her husband as being
like the child. She describes her mother as being a strong, responsible
figure and her father as being a bitter and defeated man. The father,
on the other hand, describes the child as being less rebellious — which
suggests that most of the friction (and perhaps the motivating force
in bringing the child to the clinic) centers around the mother. The
father tends to see himself like the child and like his own father. He
describes his wife as being very much like his mother. A fairly wide
discrepancy exists between the wife's self-description and her hus-
band's view of her — he attributes much more hostility and bossiness
to her than she admits. This interwoven pattern of mutual mispercep-
tion and oedipal themes suggests several hypotheses which may be
useful in understanding this family's situation and the problems which
led the parents to bring the child to the clinic.
According to Mary Sarvis (2), it is not unusual to find that the par-
ents have quite different perceptions of the child, or that a certain
personality formation characteristic of a grandparent has skipped a
generation and reappeared in the child.
When these scores are compared with each other, a complex net-
work of discrepancy indices can be derived. We can measure the dif-
ference between the husband's view of himself and his wife's percep-
tion of him; or the similarity between the wife's view of her father,
her own husband, and the child. These relationships will be given
operational definition and further theoretical consideration in Chapter
13, which deals with the measurement of variability indices.
Variability and the Sublevels of Consciousness
At the end of the last chapter, it became necessary to consider the
objection that our clinical measurements are infinitesimally narrow
contrasted with the broad variety of human behavior. In each differ-
ent situation and at every point in time we deal with a changing or-
ganism. Our measurements, however elaborate, are generally limited
to a restricted range and to a fleeting span of time. It has been sug-
gested that the predictions be limited to the context in which the
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
149
measurements are made. The Kaiser Foundation system is a func-
tional clinical system. By aiming our predictions at the further be-
havior of the patient in the clinic, we use our information in the same
context in which it was collected.
Now, as we come to the close of this chapter, we are faced again
with the same issue. The range of conscious reports is diverse. A per-
son describes himself in a variety of ways, depending on his purposes
and the environmental, situation. He will emphasize certain trends
when he attempts to impress, others when he attempts to excuse him-
self, others when motivated to confide. How do we know that the
measurements of Level II we make in one or even several moments of
time reflect the over-all scope of the individual's conscious percep-
tions? Of course, we don't know. Here we must resign ourselves to
the familiar indeterminism. We can never hope to sample the breadth
of the individual's self-descriptions as they vary in time and context.
There are, fortunately, several steps which can be taken to limit our
ignorance. The first of these derives from the organismic premise that
no datum of personality can be evaluated except in the context of the
total organization. The tenor of our conscious reports is, as we well
know, related to the Level I situation. What one says depends upon
what one purposes. It depends upon the pressure of the social en-
vironment. Let us illustrate. Consider an initial treatment interview
in which the therapist is reflexly and unconsciously pushing the pa-
tient to free-associate and confide. Let us assume that the interview
has been recorded and the independent judge rates this behavior as
directive (AP at Level I Other) behavior. Let the patient be B (stub-
born, resistive) . We shall skip the question of responsibility for initiat-
ing the relationship, i.e., who provoked whom to develop these roles.
In most relationships this is a mutual process of training each other.
In this context, the therapist might make a brief didactic remark to the
effect that people sometimes have feelings about their childhood or
about their parents that are important. The patient might produce the
conscious description of self and other that she has nothing but the
most loving feelings toward her parents who have always been kind
and good to her. The following oversimplified formula has developed:
Self (Patient) Other
Level I B < — > AP (therapist)
Level II M < — > O (parents)
We verbally summarize by saying: "When the patient is being
resistive or defensive to a directive therapist, she reports herself as af-
fectionate to her idealized parents. Let us go on to assume that the
1^0 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
therapist works through this power struggle and that by the twentieth
treatment interview a participant phase of the relationship is develop-
ing. The therapist is communicating support (N), and the patient is
attempting to be cooperative (L), In this context she might confide,
"Many times I have been disappointed and hurt by my parents' un-
willingness to understand me and my point of view," The formula
for this sequence becomes:
Self Other
Level I L < — > N (therapist)
Level II G < — > C (parents)
This translates back to the verbal summary: When the patient is
confiding and cooperative to a supportive therapist, she describes her-
self as rejected by her parents who are seen as unsympathetic.
Here the content of conscious report has shifted dramatically in re-
lation to the interpersonal purposes involved. If, however, we had
drawn hard and fast diagnostic conclusions after the first interview, a
most incomplete picture would have developed, A working rule thus
develops. The data of conscious report must be studied in the light of
the three standard sources of variation: time, the interpersonal context,
and variation among the levels of personality. The last, which defines
structural variation, involves the relationship between the levels of
self-behavior. In the illustration we have just considered, we focus on
the interpersonal context in which the parents were described. The
patient's Level I purposes shifted from defensive disagreement to co-
operation, as the social environment, in the form of the therapist,
shifted its directive pressure.
It follows that one control over the variability in conscious descrip-
tion is obtained by indicating the organism — world matrix from which
the data come. Since patients give us their views of self-world in the
context in which we wish to employ the data — i.e., in the clinic — the
functional criterion enters again as a second useful control over varia-
bility. By pointing our predictions to future behavior in the clinic,
we keep constant, or at least more constant, the situational factor. The
advantage of limiting our predictions to the functional nexus has al-
ready been considered in the preceding chapter. They are equally
applicable to the problem of Level II variation,
A third partial solution to the issue of variation involves technical
procedures in the collection of data. There is a wide variety of meth-
ods for obtaining Level II material in the clinical situation — interview,
check list, autobiography, etc. They range from the personal revela-
tion at the most intensive moments of psychotherapy to mechanical se-
THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
151
lection of "yes" or "no" items on a questionnaire. For a complete eval-
uation of personality, we optimally obtain as many different types of
self-report as possible — as the subject varies in response to the most
free through the most controlled stimuli, from the most confiding to
the most defensive motivations.
In this w2Ly we tap not just the patient's self-description as revealed
by one Level II measure — but rather a range of Level II behaviors. If
the same self-description emerges from all the measures, then we can
be fairly certain that we have a durable estimate of Level II. If it
varies among the different sublevel measures, then we have an esti-
mate of the changeability of the self-description and the way it varies.
Figure 14 provides a hypothetical Level II variation in depth of con-
scious reports in different cultural contexts. The problem of varia-
bility, which we have raised here, is discussed in detail in a later sec-
tion of this book.
Various Level II Measures
Level III
Level II-C Level II-C Level Il-Ti Level II-Ti
Check list
of self
during job
application
o
Check list
of self
when tested
in clinic
o
De<:cription
of self
at begin-
ning of
therapy
Description
of self
after one
year of
therapy
o
o
Figure 14. Hypothetical Variation in Depth of Level II Measurements Due to
Change in Cultural Context.
Incidence of Level ll-C Behavior in Various Cultural Samples
Summaries of research findings involving Level II behavior are lo-
cated in the pertinent clinical chapters to follow. To familiarize the
reader with some of the general meaning of conscious descriptions of
self and others the percentage of Level II types occurring in several
symptomatic samples will now be presented in Table 3.
^2 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
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THE LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATION
153
It will be noted that in their self-diagnosis individual psychotherapy
patients emphasize passivity (HI), group therapy patients distrust
(FG), ulcer patients aggressiveness (DE), hypertensive and obese pa-
tients hypernormal strength (AP and NO).
Tests of significance among these samples and a detailed discussion
of the implications of these findings will be presented in Chapter 24.
References
1. Cutler, R. The relationship between the therapist's personality and certain aspects
of psychotherapy. Unpubhshed doctor's dissertation, University of Michigan,
1954.
2. Sarvis, Mary. Personal communication.
The Level of Private Perception.
The Interpersonal Symbol
The third level of personality — Level III — comprises the expressions
that an individual makes, not directly about his real self in his real
world, but indirectly about an imagined self in his preconscious or
symbolic world. The interpersonal motives and actions attributed to
the figures who people his fantasies, his creative expressions, his wishes,
his dreams define the subject matter for this level of personality. They
are called preconscious symbolic expressions because they stand for
or symbolize aspects of the subject (and his world) which are not di-
rectly denoted. The subject selects and employs themes. But he at-
tributes them not to himself or to his real world, but in an imaginary
context. They do have a relationship — although indirect and often un-
witting— to his conscious and communicative behavior. They have an
expressive function, not direct, but symbolic.
The use of the term preconscious to describe Level III expressions
is a debatable procedure. The preconscious as defined operationally
in this volume cannot be equated with the term as used by psycho-
analysts. Kris (6, p. 542) has cited two quotations from Freud which
define the preconscious. "In defining the quality of the preconscious,
Freud follows Breuer: preconscious is what is 'capable of becoming
conscious,' and he adds, 'capable of becoming conscious easily and
under conditions which frequently arise.' " It might seem, at first
glance, that the symbolic and projective responses which define Level
III might meet Freud's definition. The empirical situation is, un-
happily, not that simple. In actuality subjects do not always express
in response to projective stimuli their private or fantasy thoughts.
Many defensive, suppressive, rigid patients repeat in their response to
projective stimuli the same themes they report in their conscious de-
scriptions. What we get at Level III is, therefore, not preconscious ma-
154
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 155
terial, but those themes which the subject is wilUng to express in the
testing situation. Level III is defined by the source of the data. Level
III behavior should, therefore, be accurately labeled as the "response
to projective stimuU." This may not be indirect or symbolic or pre-
conscious. Since there is no single term in the English language for
denoting "that which the subject chooses to express in reaction to pro-
jective stimuli," I have hesitantly employed the familiar terms "sym-
bolic, imaginative, indirect, fantasy, projective and preconscious" as
synonyms for Level III behavior. To remind the reader that the
psychoanalytic concept is not denoted, the word preconscious will be
consistently in quotes.
Whenever the subject shifts the content of expression from the
actuality — believed, perceived, described — to the imagined, fantasied,
then he is communicating in the symbolic mode. In practice this dis-
tinction is quite simple and straightforward. The content of dreams,
fantasies, creative expressions, wishes, projective tests, automatically
becomes Level III data.
The Paradox of Symbolic Life
The phenomenon of symbolization is one of the most puzzling as-
pects of human behavior. In the first place it seems to be a universal
phenomenon. The dream, that obscure, enigmatic ripple across the
surface of rational life, is shared by the most literate and the most
primitive mind. Rituals, legends, myths, fantasies are woven into the
histories of all people and all cultures.
A second paradoxical quality of symbols is their function. Why do
all men channel so much energy into symbolization? Man's response
to the physical elements is fairly well rationalized. We can explain
the cognitive aspects of behavior — the communicative functions of
sign, gesture, words in the pattern of social survival has been exten-
sively studied. While the theories disagree in detail, the general
purpose of representative signs, whether cries of alarm or notational
ciphers, is an exphcable area of knowledge. Genetic and evolutionary
theories have had considerable success in explaining the survival value
of these communications. The discursive language of factual descrip-
tion, which we have discussed in the last chapter, is the most elaborated
and practical aspect of human intellectual life. The essence of this
form of expression is that it refers to events and things in the objective
world. This is called the representational function.
The symbolic function is, however, quite a different phenomenon.
It does not refer to the world as it is seen by others. It does not neces-
sarily rely on the lawful principles that regulate the events of reality.
Miraculous, magical processes can transpire in fantasies. The limits of
,j(5 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
space and time do not apply in dreams. The unreal quality of symbolic
productions, which for some philosophers is its outstanding character-
istic, certainly assigns them a different function in the economy of
human life. The imaginative mode is of little direct use in dealing im-
mediately with the practical aspects of life. Thus, as Langer points
out, creative-autistic expressions cannot be explained in terms of their
survival value in dealing with the real world. In many cases man's
myths and fantastic autisms have confused and hampered his adjust-
ment to the environment around him (7).
The most persuasive solution to this paradox is that symbolic ex-
pression is not a response by which man deals with the challenging
stimuli of the external environment; it is a response to internal am-
biguity and tension.
Reversal Theory of Symbols
In Chapter 7 when we discussed the level of public communication,
considerable emphasis was placed on the reflex tendency to select cer-
tain interpersonal responses and to avoid others. The phenomenon of
reciprocal interpersonal relations formalized this automatic process by
which we pull certain reactions from others and, in turn, respond with
a limited set of behaviors. The stable continuity that thus develops
results in an imbalance. Certain interpersonal techniques for minimiz-
ing anxiety are automatically employed. Others which cause anxiety
are less favored.
In Jungian terms, certain interpersonal functions are overdeveloped;
others are neglected. One side of the circle is predominant, the other
inhibited. An imbalance at one level of personality can have many
possible relationships to the rest of the character structure. The sim-
plest and most classic case is the reversal concept repression of the op-
posite. Here symbols are held to express the exact opposite of overt or
conscious behavior. This is an appealing solution of the conscious-
unconscious problem and has by far the most common sense appeal.
According to this version, something like a conservation of energy
process is at work. The themes which are inhibited and denied from
overt manifestation are held to be expressed in symbolic life. Almost
every theorist who has written on the psychology of symbolism has
leaned on this notion. Much anecdotal evidence supports it. The
private life of Walter Mitty is shot through with the acclaim, success,
and mastery which he does not express in his prosaic life.
Objections to the Reversal Theory of Symbols
The general popularity of the reversal theory of symbolism has not
been diminished by the two demurrers that can be raised against it. In
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 157
the first place, there are many cases in which it just does not work —
the nightmare dream, to take the extreme example, in which the pain
of reality is repeated again and again in exaggerated form. A second
restraint on the easy acceptance of this theory is that it has never had
objective assessment. The repression of the opposite theory has never
been put to the test because such testing requires a systematic method
for measuring behavior at the conscious and overt levels, for measuring
behavior at the symbolic level in terms of the same variable continuum,
and for relating the different levels.
The Kaiser Foundation Psychology Research Group has attempted
to test this reversal hypothesis in a series of correlational studies. This
research suggests that the tendency for symbols to express the opposite
of conscious or public behavior is not universal or inevitable. It holds
for about half of our cases, some of the time. Some persons do tend
to employ symbols which are the opposite of their conscious and pub-
lic imbalances, but others tend to report monotonously in their sym-
bols the same themes which characterize their behavior at other levels.
Thus, the reversal or equilibrium theory of fantasy is not a general
finding. It varies from person to person. This variability, the tendency
to use symbols which are the same or different from consciousness, is
a measurable, stable, psychological variable. In Chapter 13 it will be
defined and validated as a separate and vital dimension of personality
in its own right.
Symbols Are Important in Relationship to Other Levels
The fallacy behind oversimplified hypotheses such as the reversal of
sy^nbols theory is that they focus on a single level of personality — at
best, two levels — and attempt to generalize laws. The results are bound
to be disappointing and misleading.
We approach the indirect imaginative productions of the human
being not expecting them to serve any single function. Any level takes
on its full meaning only in relationship to all the other levels, that is,
to the total personality organization. This is the organismic assump-
tion. Every level or area of personality is in dynamic equilibrium with
all the other levels and the total intricate system of balance and
counterbalance makes up the fabulous complexity we call personality.
To prevent this organismic assumption from becoming a truism, the
syntactical procedures determining the exact number of the interlevel
relationships must be made explicit, then the connection between
Level III and the other levels of personality can be defined, measured,
validated, and understood. The permutations and combinations of
levels according to the present notational system will be presented
in Chapter 13.
1^8 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
Some Misconceptions About Projective Tests
These findings carry along in their wake some implications for the
projective testing movement. This branch of clinical psychology
concerns itself with responses to stimulus items which are unstructured
or semistructured. The subject is given vague or incomplete test cards
and asked to give his interpretation of them. In the Rorschach test he
tells what he "sees" in vague inkblot shapes; in the Thematic Apper-
ception Test (TAT) he tells stories which he believes fit and com-
plete the actions portrayed in magazine-type illustrations. The essence
of the technique is that the stimuli are ambiguous to some degree and
the patient "projects" his own imaginative perceptions. He attributed
his own fantasy themes. The theory claims that through his symbols
the subject shall be known. The themes elicited are believed to re-
flect a "deeper" and more valid picture of his personality than those
of conscious report.
The field of projective testing is a theoretical shambles. In the first
place, interpersonal, Freudian, Jungian, and stimulus-bound variables
are jumbled together. The diagnosis is often made in a rag-tail man-
ner, stressing whatever variables happen to drift into focus in the
patient's responses or in the clinician's observations. There is rarely
any attempt to separate levels. For these reasons, most of the objec-
tive assessments of projective test practices have come up with nega-
tive findings. Almost every time that independent researchers have
tested the hypotheses and predictions involved in projective testing to
see if they really work, the answer is "no." It can be flatly said that
the field of projective testing, whatever its popularity, is an unvalidated
or unsatisfactorily validated enterprise.
The great potential value of this approach to the symbolic has born
little fruit because the systematic conceptualization of levels and
variables of personality has not been employed. Consider, for example,
the patient who produces fantasy materials which are saturated with
themes of bitterness and murderous anger. What can we say about the
person on the basis of these data? Not very much. We know that his
symbols are hostile, but without knowledge of the other levels, our
predictions are very limited. If this subject consciously describes him-
self as loving-agreeable, the symbolic rage takes on one significance.
If the bitterness assigned to his fantasy heroes is also attributed to him-
self at Level II, quite a different interpretation results.
Formal, Noninterpersonal Aspects of Projective Tests
In addition to the content, another aspect of projective tests refers
to the so-called formal qualities. Here the clinician studies not the
themes but the expressive and stylistic factors of the subject's response.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION
59
The impulsivity, constriction, obsessive deliberation, flexibility, care-
lessness of the performance are observed and measured. They are then
indicated in the diagnostic report as characteristic traits.
These behaviors comprise a valid and important aspect of personal-
ity. They are noninterpersonal, i.e., they refer to symptomatic, stylis-
tic mood factors. They shift us into a dimension of personality which
is distinct from (although lawfully related to) interpersonal behavior.
Two critical comments appear to be appropriate in considering these
noninterpersonal variables. They are an important part of diagnostic
procedure. However, they take on increased meaning to the extent
that they are systematically related to interpersonal variables. No test
report is complete which summarizes the noninterpersonal style and
mood aspects of behavior and fails to include interpersonal prediction.
Noninterpersonal variables like any other personality measurements
have meaning only in relationship to the total multilevel pattern of
purposive behavior. The statement: "The patient acts depressed, im-
mobilized, and constricted on the Rorschach" is a good diagnostic be-
ginning, but it takes on considerably more meaning when we fit it into
the broader purposive context, "His immobilized sadness is accom-
panied by self-descriptions of weakness and helplessness (Level II)
and by dependent pressure directed toward the clinician (Level I),
etc., etc."
The symptomatic, diagnostic conditions which are not directly
interpersonal have been traditionally the central concern of descrip-
tive or medically oriented psychiatry. The Kraepelinian clinician is
especially interested in the peripheral area of mood (depressed, agi-
tated, manic) or style of expression (bizarre, obsessive, disorganized,
impulsive) . The more physiological-neurological the psychiatrist's ap-
proach, the more you may be sure that he will avoid interpersonal
terminology and depend on the peripheral-symptomatic. In shifting
the emphasis to the social dimensions of personality, we by no means
neglect the noninterpersonal. We make the hypothesis that the expres-
sive and mood variables of personality have a basic, although indirect
meaning. As we shall see, they are related significantly to interpersonal
factors at different levels of personality. The symptomatic aspects
of psychiatry thus take on an interpersonal meaning. They are related
to interpersonal purposes. They predict interpersonal behavior.
A second comment can be made in regard to the noninterpersonal
variables tapped by some projective tests. It should be, but rarely is,
kept clear that these reactions have little or nothing to do with the
symbolic mode. They comprise an entirely separate dimension of be-
havior. Certain expressive noninterpersonal factors are related to
specific interpersonal themes (e.g., energeticness is related to assertive-
,^o THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
ness), but two discrete dimensions of measurement are involved. Now
the content of imaginative expressions — the themes and purposive
motifs — comprise the language of symbolism which we study as Level
III data. The manner in which the subject deals with the symbolic
stimulus materials — lethargically, constrictedly, unhappily — define an-
other level and dimension of personality. The subject can produce a
fantasy story in which the themes involve dashing, daring, careless
impulsivity; but the way in which he narrates his story can be de-
liberate, plodding, and painstaking. The theme of the story can be
quite different from the way in which it is told. In this case, the inter-
personal content of imaginative expressions is assigned to Level III
while ratings of the manner and style of expression are assigned to
Level I in the noninterpersonal dimension, since they are actions ob-
served and judged by others.
Confusion and vagueness about levels, failure to define them, and
neglect of logical systematization has led to this strange situation:
many projective tests are employed to tap and study not the symbolic
mode, but the motor, perceptual response of the subject. The exceed-
ingly popular Rorschach test stands out as the classic example in this
regard. The standard text on Rorschach analysis devotes over seventy
per cent of its interpretative attention to variables that have nothing to
do with the symbolic mode. The subject's perceptual, executive, or-
ganizational techniques, the freedom or constriction of his "affect,"
the accuracy or deviation of his perceptions and similar topics carry
the interpretative burden. The nature and meaning of the symbolic
language — the content of the responses — has generally been the step-
child of Rorschach-type theory.
The importance of the perceptual and motor executive aspects of
behavior should, emphatically, not be minimized. To measure these
Level I noninterpersonal variables many straightforward testing tech-
niques suggest themselves. Experimental psychology and aptitude
testing procedures give any number of techniques for assessing im-
pulsivity, organizational synthesizing abilities, perceptual and intel-
lectual functioning. All of these techniques are free from the ex-
' haustive stimulus-bound complexity of the Rorschach. They are also
free from the crystal ball, medicine-man aura of the ink blot pro-
cedure, which often lends a mysterious and untherapeutic tone to the
clinical contact.
To measure symbolic behavior it is necessary to focus on the the-
matic aspect of the imaginative production. The diminishing popu-
larity of the Rorschach and the increasing trend toward content
analysis in projective tests are, from this standpoint, healthy develop-
ments.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION i6i
Formal Versus Thematic Interpretation of Symbols
This distinction between form of expression and content of expres-
sion has been made by most psychologists who have concerned them-
selves with thematic tests. (II) The syntax of levels sharpens this di-
vision and takes the important step of assigning the two behaviors to
two different dimensions and levels of personality. The logical classi-
fication which results has further implications in the broader field of
artistic interpretation. Whenever psychologists venture to apply their
theories to the aesthetic and creative realm they should, and usually
do, make it clear that their analyses refer not to the form but to the
content of the artistic production. Psychologists have made many
brilliant expositions of the thematic meaning of creative expression,
but they have properly said little as to the artistic or formal merit.
They attempt to understand ivhat the artist is communicating and not
hoiv skillfully he is expressing it.
The logic of levels makes this distinction quite clear. Our judg-
ments of the form, the style, the manner of behavior is a Level I op-
eration. We are rating noninterpersonal behavior. Our judgments as
to the meaning and thematic message being communicated is a Level
III operation. We are rating symbolic expression.
The Function of Symbols
In the last few pages we have been circling around the general ques-
tion of the meaning of symbohc activity. Symbols are not necessarily
the reverse of the coin of consciousness as the theory of opposites
would lead us to believe. Nor are they always the behaviors tapped
by the so-called projective tests. We shall now consider some answers
to the questions: "What is the function, meaning, and purpose of
symbols, and what is their practical clinical use?"
Symbols Are a Private "Preconscious" Language. First, it can
be said that imaginative expressions are a form of communication, an
indirect form. The individual does not tell us directly about himself;
he describes a fantasy or unreal set of events. Symbols are the vocab-
ulary of a private language. When the subject talks directly about
himself (in Level II) he is describing himself to another person. He
is telling the psychiatrist, the tester, or the other patients in his group
about his perceptions of self and world. When he talks in the sym-
bolic language of dream or fantasy he is not telling others about him-
self or his real world. He may be, in a sense, talking to himself. Sym-
bolic language is inexplicable and mysterious if we try to interpret it
as though the person were talking directly and openly about his con-
1 62 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
scious perceptions. When interpreted as private language, we see that
it can be understood only in the context of its personal meaning to the
subject.
It is very well known that all individuals have a set of private per-
ceptions, private opinions, and private reactions which often contrast
with the statements of conscious report. This has classically been the
despair of philosophers who have had to concede that we can never
know exactly what goes on in the mind of another human being. It has
made the topic of "consciousness" the source of unending speculative
frustration. The first step in approaching this riddle is to accept the
inevitable limitations and indeterminacy involved. The second step is
to develop the best means for getting as close as possible to the "pre-
conscious" or private world of our fellow men. At the present time,
this can be best accomplished through the language of symbolism. '
This is by no means a simple or unambiguous procedure. In many
cases the subject is made quite anxious if he attempts to translate his
own private expressions into the language of direct conscious descrip-
tion. In many cases he is made even more anxious at the prospect of
others approaching his idiom. The expression and interpretation of
symbols is loaded with complicating qualifications. Their meaning al-
ways depends on the dynamics of the total personality and of the
context in which the symbols are expressed. Thus the level of per-
sonality which includes imaginative indirect communications offers,
on the one hand, the most promising avenue to the private world of
the subject, and involves, on the other hand, the most ambiguity and
interpretive uncertainty.
Symbols Reduce Anxiety. Next we must consider the function
of symbolic behavior. Why do human beings develop private lan-
guages? The first answer to this question seems to follow quite logi-
cally; they develop indirect behaviors to avoid the anxiety of the direct.
They express certain themes privately to avoid the anxiety that pub-
lic expression would entail.
We have seen in earlier chapters that all individuals develop auto-
matic interpersonal response preferences. They use some favored re-
actions and avoid others which would involve greater anxiety. By
means of the language of symbolism it is possible to express inter-
personal themes that are inhibited from direct expression. We are re-
turning here to the old principle of expression of the opposite which,
we have learned from the data, works only part of the time. We must
complete the explanation by adding the other end of the continuum:
by means of the language of symbolism it is also possible to repeat and
thus strengthen the same themes that are manifested in direct expres-
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 163
sion and to avoid further the themes that are inhibited from direct ex-
pression. The purpose of symbolic behavior is to reduce anxiety.
For some individuals this is accomplished by employing fantasy as a
safety valve, an opportunity to "blow off" the interpersonal steam that
has built up through inhibitions and repressions. For others, even in-
direct, imaginative expression of the inhibited themes is anxiety-laden.
SymboHc behavior in these cases becomes a way of strengthening the
avoidance maneuvers.
Symbolic Mode Indicates the Source and Amount of Anxiety.
Thus we see that there is no simple, one-way explanation for the mean-
ing of symbolic language that works for all cases. We lose the com-
forting simplicity of a generalized rule. But we gain, instead, a new
illuminating hypothesis: symbolic language can serve as an index as to
the amount and source of the subject's anxiety. The patient who
rigidly limits his direct interpersonal activity at Level I to a few nar-
rowed responses and avoids all others can go on to develop any num-
ber of symbolic resolutions. If the rigid limitation continues in his
imaginative productions then we can assume that the anxiety which
cripples and inhibits the absent interpersonal themes is so intense that
he cannot express them even indirectly in the private language of
symbols.'^ If, on the contrary, the themes which are avoided in con-
scious report or pubhc communication appear at the level of private
conversation, we can make the hypothesis that the anxiety is less crip-
pling and that increased flexibility, mobility, and potential for change
exist. And we have, further, a clue as to the direction of the antici-
pated change, as indicated by the new themes that appear in the priv-
ate language of symbols. These hypotheses bear up under the ob-
jective test (see Appendix 3).
Symbols Can Express Underlying Feelings of Uniqueness and
Self-Consolation. We interpret Level III productions in the light of
the total personality. It is obvious that symbols can present the same
thematic picture as the other levels, they can be "more so," or they can
be different. If the latter is true, then the individual has expressed in
fantasy the themes he has inhibited in public communications. He may
say publicly, "I am meek and weak and suffering." Now he may add
the private comment, "but I am also concerned with the theme of re-
taliation, or power, or prestige." To present this illustration in other
words, the individual is saying: "I tell you openly that I am submissive,
^ The cultural situation in which the symbols are expressed is a crucial factor.
Powelson and Bendix (9) have described the effect that a punitive, custodial environ-
ment can have on patients' behavior. The cultural context must be added as a qualify-
ing variable to all the generalizations made in this chapter.
164 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
but I wish, or hope, or symbolically perceive myself to be strong and
powerful." Self-esteem is increased and anxiety diminished by the
secret fantasy of fearful power.
This kind of self-punitive masochist in fantasy asserts himself and
retaliates against his tormenters. This is a familiar tune. It illustrates
the notion of reversal. We have designated this as an interlevel con-
flict— masochism at Level II opposed to sadistic assertion at Level III.
But how about the masochist whose fantasy productions are saturated
with even more self-defeat? How is this explained in terms of warded
off anxiety and the theory of stabilization? These persons — and there
are many of them — are convinced at all levels of expression that suf-
fering and self-abasement is the safest, least threatening method of ad-
justment. They are, we assume, less anxious when they express maso-
chistic themes. They appear to get some consolation, excuse, and
poignant merit from unhappy fantasies.
These patients seem to be saying something like this: "I am overtly
meek, weak and suffering . . . and covertly I do not perceive my-
self as anything different." Often the pessimistic corollary is: "I dare
not change or I do not wish to change." Patients may enhance their
esteem and feelings of uniqueness by means of their private symbols:
"No one is as uniquely unloved, helpless, and martyred as I am."
The conceptualization of masochistic behavior is traditionally the
proving ground on which personality theories meet their most taxing
tests. It is the point where the logical assumptions based on survival
value begin to buckle and where new concepts, such as death instincts,
are classically dragged into action. We have attempted in the last few
pages to employ a motivating principle — avoidance of anxiety and
preservation of self-esteem — to explain symbolic activity in the same
terms as public behavior.
Time-Binding Nature of Symbols. With these remarks as pre-
liminary it is now possible to present the essential point of this chapter.
Symbolic, indirect or ''''pre conscious" activities are necessary for the
human being because he is a time-binding individual.
Unlike most other mammals, the human being continually faces and
deals with conflictful situations in which anxiety threatens in at least
two directions. The interpersonal world he has created pushes him
toward one set (and often an imbalanced set) of anxiety reducing be-
haviors. The pressures toward flexibility, both cultural and personal,
may push him toward another source of self-esteem. The individual's
overt behavior does not express the impulse or desire which he feels.
This point has been well made by Murray and Kluckhohn (5 p. 18).
They point out that: ". . . the personality is almost continuously in-
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 165
volved in deciding between alternative or conflicting tendencies or
elements." Personalities deal with these conflicts by constructing
"schedules which permit the execution of as many connotations as pos-
sible, one after the other." They go on to say, "Most men are forced
by circumstances to make decisions which commit them to schedules
arranged by others (e.g., the daily routine of a job); and so a large
portion of the temporal order of their days is not of their own shap-
ing. Also, every culture prescribes schedules, general and special,
which define the proper time, place or order of certain actions, and,
therefore, schedule-making is a sphere in which the individual is likely
to come into conflict with his society."
Postponement of impulse is thus an inevitable characteristic of hu-
man behavior. The individual is continually inhibiting some actions
in favor of others, generally moving in the direction of the lesser anx-
iety.
This postponement phenomenon is called the time-binding aspect
of human behavior. The function of "preconscious" or "unconscious"
activities might thus be explained as time-binding. The basic discovery
of Freud that unexpressed impulses do not disappear but remain as
active, although indirect, elements in the personality can be considered
as a temporal rather than a structural phenomenon. The unexpressed
motives relate to the past and the future.
From the functional viewpoint, the essence of private or "precon-
scious" factors is that they are potentials for later overt or at least
conscious expression. If they did not have this potentiality then they
have little meaning. This time-binding theory of the "preconscious"
is important and useful in the interpretation of symbolic behavior.
Whenever we obtain a symbolic, "preconscious" theme from a sub-
ject, it suggests that this theme is a potential for future action. The
time-binding theory of the "preconscious" places the symbol pro-
duced in the present on a temporal dimension pointing (we assume)
to earlier frustration and functionally more important to a later ex-
pression of the theme.
Symbols Predict Future Behavior. The functional value of sym-
bolic behavior to the clinician can now be stated. The data of Level
III are predictions of the future. We have proposed the hypothesis
that the patient's symbols tell us, in the case of conflict between con-
scious and "preconscious" themes: "Here is another side of my inter-
personal picture." In the case where the fantasy themes are not dis-
crepant from overt behavior he tells us: "My rigid pattern does not
change even in symbols." The "preconscious" themes tell us how
likely the person is to change his behavior and in what direction he is
,56 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
likely to change. The usefulness of this information in clinical prac-
tice is obvious.
If this theory is correct, then symbols should indicate the amount of
anxiety that operates in any given personality structure, and they
should give us an estimation of the amount of change to be expected
and the type of change to be expected.
If this theory is correct, a prognostic instrument of considerable
importance becomes available to clinicians. And conversely, if the
predictions do hold up when applied to clinical practice, a major theo-
retical step will have been taken in explaining that area of personality
which has always been so resistant to explanation. In helping the
clinician predict, we shall have validated the theory of symbols.
In order to test this hypothesis, several methodological problems
had to be met. It was necessary to convert the loose, diverse language
of symbols into scientific categories. The interpersonal variables thus
defined must be capable of reliable measurement. They must be di-
rectly and systematically related to the other levels of personality so
that interlevel conflicts and discrepancies can be measured.
The data for Level III, it will be remembered, are defined auto-
matically by the source from which they come. A dream, a fantasy, or
any projective and imaginative expression reported by a subject is
assigned to the symbolic mode. The "preconscious" level, like the
more overt levels, is divided into two areas: self and other, or symbolic
hero and symbolic nvorld. This division produces two distinctly dif-
ferent types of Level III material which have unique applications and
lawful relationships to other levels of personality.
Six Methods for Measuring Level III Behavior
There are six methods which have been employed by the Kaiser
Foundation project for measuring Level III behavior. Whenever the
discussion centers on the generic level of "preconscious" expression we
used the code Level III. Whenever we refer to specific measurements
of "preconscious" behavior it is necessary to indicate the specific
source of the data by adding the appropriate code letter. This is ac-
complished as follows:
When trained personnel rate the interpersonal content of responses
from the Iflund projective test (4) the scores are labeled Level lU-i.
Scores for the Blacky projective test (1) are coded Level lll-B.
When the interpersonal themes for dreams are rated by trained per-
sonnel the scores are indicated as Level lll-D. Themes from waking
fantasies are coded Level lll-F.
MMPI indices which are being developed to predict preconscious
behavior are coded Level lll-M.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 167
When trained personnel rate the interpersonal themes from the
Thematic Aperception Test (TAT) the scores are labeled Level lll-T.
The research studies reported in this book employ the TAT as the
standard instrument for Level III.
When trained personnel rate the interpersonal themes from the
Interpersonal Fantasy Test the scores are coded Level III-IFT.^
The hypothesis that "preconscious" symbols predict future be-
havior to be expected at overt or conscious levels has been tested by
means of several research studies. The design and detailed results are
presented in Appendix 3. These findings do confirm this hypothesis.
"Preconscious" behavior does predict the kind and the amount of
change to be expected in future overt behavior. If the TAT, for ex-
ample, is more hostile than the self-diagnosis at the first testing, then
the self-diagnosis can be expected to change over time in the direction
of greater hostility.
The methodology for measuring symbolic behavior which is used
in clinical diagnosis and in these validating research studies will now be
presented.
The Measurement of Interpersonal Symbols
The raw data of Level III comprise the verbal language of the
dream texts, fantasy stories, projective test protocols. The task here
is the same as at any other level of personality — to convert the raw
protocol language into objective categories. One of the basic prin-
ciples of the interpersonal system of personality is that the same matrix
of variables should be used at every level of behavior. This facilitates
direct comparison between levels.
This principle settles in advance the issue of what variables are to be
used in measuring symbolic behavior. The sixteen-variable circular
continuum by which we rate public communications and conscious
descriptions is also employed to analyze the imaginative data.
Classification of Fantasy Materials into ''Hero'' and ''Others''
We rate the heroes and protagonists of the fantasy world just the
way we rate the activity of the subject's real self and real ivorld at
Levels II and III. If the dream hero is fearful, he is scored H; if he is
murderously enraged, we score E, etc. The same procedure of differ-
entiating between the self and the other is preserved. The hero of the
^ The Interpersonal Fantasy Test is a projective instrument developed to tap the
subject's fantasy descriptions of the permutations and combinations of the most stand-
ard and crucial interpersonal relationships. It is tailored to the interpersonal system
just as the Interpersonal Check List is designed to tap the sixteen variable continuum.
The Interpersonal Fantasy Test is published by the Psychological Consultation Service,
Berkeley, California.
,58 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
dream becomes the symbolic self. The people he interacts with de-
note the interpersonal other. The identities of these figures of the
interpersonal world are specified much as they are at Levels I and II.
Formal rules and conventions for determining which character in a
dream or fantasy story is the hero and which are the "others" have
been developed. (See Appendix 3.)
This division into "preconscious" hero and "preconscious" other
is an important one. It defines two separate sublevels of the "pre-
conscious." Studies taken from several widely differing samples con-
sistently show that the "preconscious" other scores are significantly
different from the "preconscious" self or hero scores.
The establishment of an operationally defined hierarchy of "pre-
conscious" layers has functional value. It helps us understand the
amount of anxiety connected to any interpersonal behavior. If an
emotion — let us say, rebelliousness — appears at Level II, we can as-
sume that the subject is not made so anxious by the emotion that he
must avoid it consciously. He can tolerate this interpersonal behavior
in conscious report. If he completely avoids or denies it at Levels
I and II, one assumes its direct expression makes him anxious.
If, in this latter case, the rebelliousness appears at Level III hero,
this indicates that he can tolerate the emotion at the "top layer of
fantasy." This indicates that the anxiety connected with unconven-
tional behavior is not too massive or crippling.
Let us consider the case where rebelhousness is completely avoided
at Levels I, II, and Level III hero. This suggests that the three most
overt levels are organized against the expression of the emotion.
Considerable anxiety must be connected with its expression.
At this point the distinction between Level III hero and other be-
comes functionally useful. Since there is evidence that Level III other
is deeper than Level III hero, we look to the themes attributed to the
fantasy world. If they, too, are marked by an avoidance of rebellious-
ness, we have an added cue as to the amount of anxiety attached. If
the themes warded off at the three more overt layers finally appear in
the fantasy world, then they become potentially available for future
integration into awareness.
This brings us, of course, to a classic item of clinical folklore — it is
easier for the patient to master and integrate feelings which are pro-
jected onto others than if they do not appear at all. Pulling back
projections and accepting them into the self-structure is a basic thera-
peutic procedure. The differentiation of layers of "preconscious"
behavior is a useful device with considerable cHnical application.
Preconscious themes attributed to fantasy others are thus considered
part of the subject's personality, usually related meaningfully to the
conscious or preconscious self.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION i6g
Classification of Fantasy Images
There is a further differentiation of "preconscious" behavior which
has certain theoretical and chnical implications. The fantasy stories
are first divided into self or hero and the themes attributed to each are
scored according to interpersonal variables (see next section). After
the main hero-world themes are scored, then each character is classi-
fied according to his familial status. The categories employed are
maternal figures, paternal figures, cross-sex figures, and same-sex fig-
ures. It is then possible to add up the scores which summarize the re-
lationship between:
Male child vs. Maternal figure
Male child vs. Paternal figure
Female child vs. Maternal figure
Female child vs. Paternal figure
Fantasy figures of subject's sex vs. Cross-sex figure
Fantasy figures of subject's sex vs. Same-sex figure
These procedures give a summary of the interpersonal behavior as-
signed to these important role relationships at the level of fantasy. In
a later chapter we shall consider indices which systematically link these
interlevel processes, e.g., the similarity or difference between the con-
scious and "preconscious" views of maternal figures. The classifica-
tion of "preconscious" personages make possible the operational defi-
nition of such processes as displacement, "preconscious" identification,
and the like.
Symbols Involve Greater Violence and Intensity
There is a difference between the rating of Level III themes and
overt behavior. The actions and traits expressed in the symbolic mode
are usually much richer than those of the other levels. More intensity
of feeling and violence of action occurs. Patients rarely describe mur-
ders or world-shaking power motives in their conscious reports about
their real lives. In their Level I observed interactions in group therapy,
the patients may insult or help each other — but blood never flows.
The acts of generosity are limited and generally expressed verbally.
This is, of course, not so in fantasy. Intense affect, crime, rape, sui-
cidal grief, physical and material generosity, bodily exchanges of love
and hate often occur. The same interpersonal motives appear to
underlie the interactions of both levels. The sixteen-variable con-
tinuum seems adequate to categorize the behavior. It is the manner in
which the interpersonal purpose is expressed that is different.
lyo THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
For this reason additions to the rating system have been made in
order to handle symbolic data. The list of specific ways in which the
same interpersonal purposes can be manifested must be expanded. In
a therapy group or discussion group the motive D can be expressed
through sarcasm, disapproval, punitive comments, derision, verbal
threats, etc. In fantasy the motive D can be expressed in these same
terms, but in addition in a more intense manner. These generally in-
volve physical or material modes, brutal punishments, actual destruc-
tion, incarceration, execution, etc.
The illustrative key employed in analyzing symbolic activity,
therefore, includes all the actions measured at Levels II and I — but it
also includes the more intense and violent activities of the fantasy
world.
The Variables of Level III
Table 4 presents a hst of sample behaviors as rated at Level III. It
must be kept in mind the list of verbs used at Level I and the list of
attributes used at Level II also apply in the symbolic mode. We have
not duplicated these lists of behaviors here, but have listed just the
interpersonal events which are unique to Level III.
TABLE 4
Illustrative Classification of Interpersonal
Behavior at the Symbolic or Projective Level
A. The code A is assigned to themes of Power: Leadership, Command, Direction,
Authority.
B. The code B is assigned to themes of Narcissism: Independence, Self-Expression,
Superior, Power Struggle.
C. The code C is assigned to themes of Exploitation: Seduction, Rape, Rejecting,
Depriving, Selfishness, Keeping Away From, Keeping Children to Self.
D. The code D is assigned to themes of Punitive Hostility: Punishment, Coercion,
Brutality, Quarreling, Threat.
E. The code E is assigned to themes of All Forms of Pure Hostility: Disaffiliation,
Murder, Anger, Fighting.
F. The code F is assigned to themes of Unconventional Activity: Passive Resistance,
Rebellion, Generic Crime versus Authority, Pure Jealousy, Drunkenness, Stealing
Covertly, Offended, Bitterness.
G. The code G is assigned to themes of Deprivation: Distrust, Disappointment, Re-
jectedness. Suspicion, Bad Things Are Done to One.
H. The code H is assigned to themes of Masochism: Grief, Suicide, Withdrawal,
Guilt, Provoking Punishment, Self -Punishment, Fear, Anxiety, Insanity (Unspeci-
fied), Loneliness, Running Away.
I. The code / is assigned to themes of Weakness: Obedience, Submission, Uncon-
sciousness, Indecision, Ambivalence, Immobilization, Illness, Passivity.
J. The code / is assigned to themes of Conformity: Accepting Advice, Provoking
Advice, Being Student, Docility, Followership, Positive Passivity.
K. The code K is assigned to themes of Trust: Cling, Good Things Come to One,
Good Luck, Being Taken Care of. Dependence, Gratitude.
L. The code L is assigned to themes of Collaboration and Agreeability: Congeniality,
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION
71
Cooperation, "Generic Happy Ending" Caused by People Working Things Out,
Adjustment in General.
M. The code M is assigned to themes of All Forms of Pure Love: Affiliation, Mar-
riage, Friendship.
N. The code N is assigned to themes of Tenderness: Support, Kindness, Encourage-
ment, Solace, Pity.
O. The code O is assigned to themes of Generosity: Help, Curing Someone, Taking
Care of Someone, Giving.
P. The code P is assigned to themes of Success: Heroism, Popularity, Acclaim,
Achievement, Wisdom, Teaching, Explaining.
The cautionary statements made when we listed sample themes for
Levels I and II must be repeated again. This table of themes is illus-
trative. Actually the list of potential symbolic themes is exhausted
only by the seemingly infinite variety of man's autism and creativity.
We have included here only the most common. (A glance at Table 4
makes apparent the great variety of behavior tapped in the symbolic
mode. Any aspect of human experience can appear at Level III: sexual
events, relations to authority, law, nature, occupational and political
adjustments, the vicissitudes of childhood, mating, marriage, parent-
hood, of growing up and growing old.) The illustrative words in
Table 4 tap only a small fraction of the potential. We have concen-
trated, therefore, on the events most commonly obtained in response
to a standard projective test — the Thematic Apperception Test.
In actual practice the rating is assigned not in a routine, check-off
fashion, but by a judgmental application of the circular concept.
That is, the list of themes presented in this illustrative figure is not ap-
plied automatically. Murder can be scored as F, E, or D depending on
the power element involved in the hostility. Success is B if it involves
superiority or proving someone else inferior; it can be F if it involves
the notion of respect or admiration from others.
Here are examples of the interpersonal system applied to three
varieties of Level III data: a dream of Sigmund Freud (Level III-D),
a fantasy (Level III-F), and a projective test story (Level III-T),
The Scoring of Interpersonal Symbols
from a Dream of Sigmund Freud
Freud in The Interpretation of Dreams (2, pp. 195-96) presents
a protocol which can be used to illustrate the scoring of interpersonal
symbols. This dream concerns "preconscious" transference-counter-
transference feelings on the part of Freud and provides an example of
how Level III self and other scores are employed to yield different
measurements.
Freud prefaces this dream with the explanation that Irma was a
patient whose analysis ended only "in partial success." "I expected her
172
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
to accept a solution which did not seem acceptable to her." Later a
friend reported to Freud that Irma "was not quite well." Freud re-
ports he was annoyed by the possible reproach in the friend's voice
"that same evening I wrote the clinical history of Irma's case, in order
to give it, as though to justify myself. . . ."
These Level II conscious descriptions of Freud would be scored
as follows:
Other
Protocol Description Self
"I expected her to accept a solution which A or B
did not seem acceptable to her." F
A friend reproaches Freud. D
This "annoyed me." E
The patient's relatives did not approve of
the treatment. D
Freud tries to justify himself. B
The relationship between Freud and the patient is summarized as:
Freud = A or B < — > Patient = F
The relationship between Freud and the friend and relatives of the
patient is:
Freud = E and B < — > Friend = D
Freud's conscious description of self in this episode locates in the
upper left-hand quadrant of the interpersonal circle. He is strong,
right, and righteously angry.
The night following these events Freud had a dream. We shall
consider the first secrion of the dream which relates to the relationship
to the patient.
Dream of July 23-24, 1895
Freud
Patient
A great hall— a number of guests, whom we are re-
ceiving—among them Irma, whom I immediately take A— directs
aside, as though to answer her letter, and to reproach D— reproaches
her for not yet accepting the "solution." I say to her:
"If you still have pains, it is really only your own
fault."— She answers: "If you only knew what pains I
have now in the throat, stomach, and abdomen— I am
choked by them." I am stanled, and look at her. She
looks pale and puffy. I think that after all I must be
overlooking some organic affection. I take her to the A— directs
window and look into her throat. She offers some
resistance to this, like a woman who has a set of false D—is critical
teeth. I think, surely, she doesn't need them.
The scoring of this dream indicates that Freud's "preconscious'
view of his relationship with this patient is as follows:
F— complains
I— acts weak
F-rebels
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION
173
Freud's "preconscious" self = Strong, right, punitive
Freud's "preconscious" other = Weak and rebelUous
At this point we have data from three layers indicating Freud's
reaction to this interpersonal situation. At Level II Freud is strong
and self-confident. At the next deeper level of personality, i.e.. Level
III-D hero, he is strong and righteously angry. At Level III-D other,
he attributes to others rebellious and weak themes. This last statement
requires comment. We no longer consider Level III other as being a
characteristic of the "other one," but as a deeper estimate of the sub-
ject's own feelings which have been projected onto "preconscious"
images. The Level III other can be seen as an underlying identifica-
tion with weakness.
A three-layer summary of Freud's reactions to a rather difficult in-
terpersonal situation thus results. We see that at two top levels (Level
I is, of course, not available) Freud was maintaining a position of
strength, self-confidence, and sternness. At the deeper layer (Level
Ill-other) there is evidence suggesting that Freud felt resentful and
threatened by this experience. His rebeUiousness and feelings of weak-
ness, we assume, were accompanied by some anxiety because they ap-
pear at Level III-D other, projected onto the image of the patient.
This anxiety was not crippling as indicated by Freud's frank descrip-
tion of his feelings.
A classic example of fantasy behavior is found in the short story
"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber (10). A sum-
mary of his overt behavior is contained in the following episode:
Level I-R Behavior of Walter Mitty as Scored by the Interpersonal System
Self
F— passively resists
l-obeys
F— passively resists
Walter Mitty stopped the car in front of the
building where his wife went to have her hair
done. "Remember to get those overshoes while
I'm having my hair done," she said. "I don't
need overshoes," said Mitty. She put her mirror
back into her bag. "We've been all through
that," she said, getting out of the car. "You're
not a young man any longer." He raced the
engine a little. "Why don't you wear your
gloves? Have you lost your gloves?" Walter
Mitty reached into a pocket and brought out
the gloves. He put them on, but after she had
turned and gone into the building and he had
driven on to a red light, he took them off again.
"Pick it up, brother!" snapped a cop as the
light changed, and Mitty hastily pulled on his
gloves and lurched ahead.^
Others
A— directs
B— patronizes
D— ridicules
A— directs
D— accuses
A— directs
I— obeys
These interactions are profiled in Figure 15.
3 "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Copyright, 1939, James Thurber. Originally
published in The New Yorker.
74
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
Figure 15. Diagrammatic Summary of Walter Mitry Interaction at Level I-R. Key:
Radius of circle = 4 raw scores.
These profiles indicate that submissioa and passive resistance
characterize Walter iMitty's overt behavior. He provokes bossy, su-
perior, and critical behavior from others.
The underlying feelings of Thurber's hero are, of course, quite dif-
ferent. There are five fantasies included in this story each of which
portrays the hero as commanding, successful, proud, disdainful, and
deeply respected.
Level Ill-F of Walter Mitty as Scored by the Interpersonal System
(Molecular Rating)
Self
A— commands
"We're going through!" The Commander's
voice was like thin ice breaking. He wore his
full-dress uniform, with the heavily braided white
cap pulled down rakishly over one cold gray eye.
"We can't make it, sir. It's spoiling for a hur-
D— stem firmness ricane, if you ask me." "I'm not asking you,
Lieutenant Berg," said the Commander. "Throw
on the power hghts! Rev her up to 8,500! We're
going through!" The pounding of the cylinders
increased : ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa-poc^era-
pocketa. The Commander stared at the ice form-
ing on the pilot window. He walked over and
twisted a row of complicated dials. "Switch on
No. 8 auxiUary!" he shouted. "Switch on No. 8
auxiliary!" repeated Lieutenant Berg. "Full
strength in No. 3 turret!" The crew, bending
to their various tasks in the huge, hurtling eight-
engined Navy hydroplane, looked at each other
and grinned. "The Old Man'll get us through,"
thev said to one another. "The Old Man ain't
afraid of HeU!" . . .=»
Ibid.
B— confidence
A— commands
B— confidence
A— commands
A—coTnmands
Others
F— complain
I— obeys
I— obeys
]— admire
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 175
The item by item scoring of each interpersonal action in this fantasy
illustrates the molecular system for rating Level III-F behavior.
Where several fantasies are available it is often economical to assign a
single summary rating to the behavior of the hero and other. This is
called molar rating. The molar scores for this episode would be:
Mitty Others
AB 1}
This scoring translates into the verbal summary: "The hero is com-
manding and self-confident; others obey and admire him."
The Scoring of Interpersonal Symbols
from the The?natic Apperception Test
In the Thematic Apperception Test (8) the subject is given a series
of cards which contain magazine-type illustrations. The task is to tell
a story which fits the picture. He is requested to describe the action,
the feelings of the characters, and the outcome of the plot.
The following illustrative story was told in response to TAT Card
2-i which pictures a farm scene, a young woman in the foreground
holding books, an older woman in the background leaning against
a tree, and a man in the distance plowing. A patient told the following
story of this picture. The scored themes are italicized:
Symbolic Symbolic
Self (Hero) Other
Scores Scores
They probably got up and had breakfast— the Mother
and Daughter.
The daughter looks like she hates her Mother. £-3
I guess because of the Mother's stern look. D-2
Her body shows no emotion. I think she'll run away H-1
—but not from the school— because she resents her F-3
Mother who is so unkind to her and D-3
doesn't show her any love. C-2
My own feeling tells me she flees from the situation. H-3
It will be noted that every interpersonal feeling or action in this
story was given a separate score. This method of rating every inter-
personal unit is called molecular scoring — every interpersonal detail
gets a separate rating. It is possible to add up all the scores given to
the hero and to the "other" in this story — or to summarize all of the
molecular themes from all the TAT cards.
The scores for this particular story, combined into a Level III-T
profile, are shown in Figure 16. This graphically portrays the themes
of anger (£), resentment (F), and retreat (H) from a hostile (D)
and rejecting (C) parent.
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
SYMBOLIC HERO ( YOUNG WOMAN)
SYMBOLIC OTHER ( MOTHER)
Figure 16. Diagrammatic Representation of Interpersonal Scores for an Illustrative
TAT Story. Key: Radius of octants of circle = 4 scores.
Another method for scoring TAT data which has proved more
convenient is to read over the entire story and to assign an over-all
score to the basic relationship between hero and other. This is called
summary or molar TAT scoring. For this particular story the molar
rating would be:
Hero (Daughter)
Other (Mother)
This summary formula tells us that the fantasy hero resents and then
withdraws from an unsympathetic mother.
Case SumTnaries Illustrating the Relationship
Principle of Symbolic Data
At this point we have just about completed the description of three
of the four levels of personality which are now employed by the
Kaiser Foundation project. It is now possible to put the data for the
three levels together and to work out some tentative formulations
about some of the relationships among levels. The following case
studies are designed to show that symbolic data are useless when
studied in isolation and that they are most useful when studied in re-
lationship to other levels of personality.
Symbols of Distrust, Deprivation, and Isolation. As part of the
initial evaluation process at the Kaiser Foundation Psychiatric Clinic
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 177
patients are given a battery of tests which measure different levels of
the interpersonal system. When the tests from each level are scored,
the results are fitted together to determine the interpersonal diagnosis
and to provide the data for clinical prediction.
Let us consider a subject whose "preconscious" language is loaded
with themes of deprivation, distrust, and loneliness. One such patient
described all his heroes as failures, unloved, beaten, and exploited.
They all ended up suicidal, isolated, frustrated. All his endings were
unhappy.
With these data in mind, what predictions can we make about his
conscious view of self or his interpersonal reflexes? Many such pa-
tients see themselves consciously in the same way. They report their
real life as being frustrated, unhappy, isolated. They may describe
their interpersonal world as being reciprocally rejecting and disap-
pointing. In Figure 17 we see such a patient. The subject's conscious
description matches the discouragement of his symbols. The fantasied
others are unsympathetic, much as he describes his own father.
Many other subjects whose symbolic heroes are deprived and iso-
lated show a markedly different pattern at Level II-C. The self de-
scriptions, instead of being weak, isolated, and pessimistic, may empha-
size strength and success. A clear conflict exists between the self-
perception and the self as symbolized.
The meaning of the fantasy productions varies considerably in these
two cases. The passive deprivation means one thing when it dupli-
cates the pessimism of Levels II and I. It means another thing in the
context of overt overoptimism and expansiveness. A diagnosis of con-
flict is defined in the latter case. If this conflicting pattern is confirmed
by the other system measurements and by the clinical history, a con-
siderably different prognosis and therapeutic program would result.
Level III takes on meaning in relationship to the other levels of per-
sonality.
Conflicting Symbolic Themes of Power and Weakness. The
two cases just considered possessed rather narrow symbolic patterns
emphasizing the themes FGHI. This overloading of symbolic themes
in one direction is not unusual — neither is it inevitable. Many patients
reflect a more ambivalent picture at the symbolic level. In these cases
the fantasy material may indicate the nature of an underlying conflict
— but they do not tell us which side of the ambivalence is being ex-
pressed at the overt levels. They do not tell which interpersonal re-
flex pattern is employed.
Let us take as example a patient whose TAT stories were concerned
with the themes of strength and weakness. In some of his fantasies the
78
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
(Hi)
LEVEL II-C SELF
LEVEL II-C FATHER
LEVEL III-T HERO
LEVEL III-T OTHER
Figure 17. Level II-C and Level III-T Hero and Other Profiles for Illustrative Case.
Key: Radius of Level III-T circles = 8 scores; radius of Level II-C circles = 16 scores.
Raw scores are employed in these illustrative diagrams.
heroes were wise and respected figures winning the attention of ad-
miring followers. In other stories the heroes were docile, dependent
figures looking up to powerful, esteemed others. All the people de-
scribed in his imagination were either leading or being led. They
diagrammed in Figure 1 8 :
These symbols clearly reveal a preoccupation with strength and
weakness. They suggest that a marked ambivalence exists concerning
power motives. With this knowledge of the subject's fantasy con-
flict can we diagnose the other levels of personality.^ Not very well.
We can safely guess that the overt levels of behavior will fall along
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION
179
SYMBOLIC HERO
SYMBOLIC OTHERS
Figure 18. Diagrammatic Representation of Symbolic Hero and "Other" Scores
Illustrating Conflict Between Power and Weakness. Key: Radius of each octant of
circle = 8 scores (i.e., raw TAT ratings).
the power-submission axis {AP versus H, I, J, K). It is statistically
unlikely that he will describe himself or present himself as hostile or
affectionate. We can thus eliminate roughly one half of the circular
continuum (D, E, F, G and N, O, L,M).
What we cannot do is predict whether he will present himself as
strong or weak. His interpersonal reflexes may reflect either aspect
of the underlying conflict. They may express both sides. When a
conflict between dominance and submission exists at the "precon-
scious" level, about one half of such cases manifest themselves as strong
people denying weakness. Such patients resist psychotherapy, com-
plain of physical rather than emotional symptoms, deny emotional dis-
turbance, depression, or passivity. These patients express one side of
their ambivalence— the strong side. They "sit on" the weak aspects.
These patients are often called counterphobic or compensatory cases.
This means that they react against their underlying feelings of weak-
ness by appearing very strong, indeed. Figure 19 shows how one such
patient appeared at Levels I-S and II-C.
But many other patients with the same TAT pattern of conflicting
strength and weakness appear quite differently at the other levels.
They stress the passivity side of the power-passivity axis. They claim
to be depressed, immobilized, inferior people. They apply for psycho-
therapy eagerly. They have strongly developed reflexes of helpless-
ness. They willingly admit their need for treatment. These people
are also "sitting on" one side of their underlying conflict— the strong
side. The fantasy themes of power and esteem are consciously attrib-
i8o
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
LEVEL I-S SELF; INTERPERSONAL
REFLEXES AS OBSERVED BY OTHERS
LEVEL II-C SELF; CONSCIOUS
VIEW OF SELF
Figure 19. Diagrammatic Representation of Level I-S & II-C Self Scores Illustrating
a Facade of Power and Responsibility.
u ted to Others (often the therapist) . The strong-dominant side of their
fantasy coin which does not overtly appear usually manifests itself in
the later sequences of the relationship. Patients who present them-
selves in this manner are commonly called by several names (usually
depending on the specific, peripheral aspects of symptomology) .
They include the phobics, neurasthenics, anxiety neurotics. Figure 20
shows how a typical case might profile.
' (Hi
LEVEL I-S SELF: INTERPERSONAL
REFLEXES AS OBSERVED BY OTHERS
LEVEL II-C SELF: CONSCIOUS
VIEW OF SELF
Figure 20. Diagrammatic Representation of Level I-S & II-C Self Scores Illustrating
a Fagade of Weakness and Docility.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION i8i
Two theoretical points have been developed in this last series of il-
lustrations— one old, the other new. The first is the familiar refrain
— the language of symbols does not necessarily duplicate or reverse the
other levels of personality structure. In his overt behavior the patient
may repeat the symbolic motifs — or he may be counterbalanced away
from them. Symbols often predict future change in overt behavior
— but their meaning must always be assessed in terms of the total per-
sonality structure.
The second point concerns the notion of the conflict axis. We have
noted that symbols can be the same or they can be different from the
levels of reflex action and perception. They can also be mixtures —
combining the overt motives with the new themes unique to the sym-
bolic language. In these cases symbolic ambivalence is present. The
imaginative themes cluster into two polar areas. One of these is
usually stressed overtly and one is not.
When this pattern of scores develops, a conflict is defined. The
kind of conflict is determined by the location of the thematic clusters
around the circle. The last case presentation illustrated a phobic-
counterphobic conflict in which docile weakness covered underlying
conflict between strength and weakness.
When a patient's multilevel pattern of scores tends to cluster into
two areas in the diagnostic circle we speak of the conflict axis. In
the last two illustrations of phobic-counterphobic behavior the conflict
axis was I- A. Other common dichotomous clusters are D-H which
defines sado-masochistic conflict; O-K denoting nurturance-depend-
ence; M-E denoting love-hate, etc. The relation between fantasy
heroes and their protagonists often defines such reciprocal clusters. In
one story the disappointed hero is rejected by the exploitive lover. In
the next story the hero spurns his heartbroken mate to follow his own
selfish goals. In the language of the notational system these are ex-
pressed as:
1 ) Hero Lover
G C
2) Hero Mate
C G
A conflict of rejecting versus being rejected is thus suggested. The
conflict axis is C-G. The level of symbolism can help define the con-
flict axis — the focal centers around which the patient's behavior at
overt levels tends to cluster. Symbols can predict basic multilevel
conflicts.
Sweet Symbols Behind a Facade of Sweetness. In the last few
pages we have used some tentative case illustrations to fit together data
,82 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
from three levels of personality. These have served to underline some
earlier principles and to introduce some new concepts (such as the
conflict axis). We turn now to a third type of case which will con-
tinue this process of review and preview.
The subject in this case produced fantasies that are models of
"sweetness and light." The heroes are affectionate, conventional, and
generous. When evil or hatred appears it is met by virtue and agree-
abihty — and usually transformed into good. All the endings are happy.
In the case of the TAT even those cards which are loaded with nega-
tive stimuli are transferred into positive. One card is seen by most
people as portraying a girl slumped beside a gun. The case in ques-
tion sees this as a girl overcome with joy, the vague gun-like object
beside her becomes a "gift" from a loved one which has led to the
joyous collapse. Another card which pictures a sprawled-out figure
described by most people as dead or wounded is seen by our subject
as a "sleeping man exhausted from a day of good work." Figure 21
shows how the symbolic scores might profile.
The scores for Level II-C self and father are also included, showing
that the pollyanna pattern of optimism and goodness appears at the
level of conscious description. Now it is quite possible to have siveet
symbolic themes and hostile self-perceptions. When this occurs we
have a conflict between a rough exterior and a symbolic heart of gold.
The case profiled in Figure 2 1 shows no conflict, however. A sweet
and loving fagade covers sweet and loving symbols.
This means that the subject tells us — in the language of fantasy —
the same message that he has expressed in conscious description. He
denies hostility at Level II-C and both "layers" of Level III-T. We
have assumed that a defensive process leads to extreme avoidance of
negative affect in conscious description. The same process spills over
into the level of imagination. We call this phenomenon a rigid in-
varicmce. We conclude that the same anxiety process which imbalanced
Level II-C in the direction of socially approved motives is at work at
Level III-T. We suspect that hostility and assertive, bitter feelings
are so anxiety provoking that they cannot be expressed in the more
flexible language of symbolism. They cannot appear in responses to
the cards on which the average person reports them. They cannot
even be projected onto the fantasy "others." Even if the stimulus
picture on the card pulls for hostile themes, this subject can maneuver
his perceptions to avoid them. Ravaged corpses become sleeping
beauties.
Three points are worth stressing — the first two are familiar and the
other is new. The first: fantasy themes give a rough indication of the
interpersonal source of anxiety and the amount of it. If the themes
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION
[83
LEVEL II-C CONSCIOUS
VIEW OF SELF
LEVEL II-C CONSCIOUS
VIEVi^ OF FATHER
'(Hli
LEVEL III-T HERO
(Hi)
LEVEL ni-T OTHER
Figure 21. Level II-C & Level III-T Hero & Other Profiles for a Rigidly Conven-
tional Patient.
that are strictly avoided at Levels I and II are also eschevv^ed at Level
III we may speculate that these themes are the source of anxiety for
this patient. The consistency of the avoidance at all levels indicates
roughly how much anxiety. In the illustrated case we might guess
that there is plenty of anxiety connected with the expression of ag-
gression and antisocial motifs.
Symbolic Themes Are Not Always 'Tre conscious''
or Opposed to Consciousness
A second issue illustrated by this case concerns the nature of fantasy
expressions. The fact that themes appear in dreams or projective tests
I §4 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
does not mean that they are necessarily different from conscious per-
ceptions. Autistic productions are not an automatic "pipehne" to the
underlying motivation. They can simply repeat the pattern of secur-
ity operations employed at the overt levels.
This point has not been made clear in the psychological literature.
There is a common tendency to assume that symbolic or projective
data inevitably denote repressed or unconscious material. An amus-
ing illustration of this fallacious assumption concerns the symbolic
expressions of Nazi leaders who were given personality tests while
awaiting trial in Nuremburg. These findings have been described in
an excellent book by Dr. Gilbert, the prison psychologist ( 3 ) . One of
those tested was Colonel Hoess, the S. S. official in charge of the
Auschwitz concentration camp. It has been estimated that this man
was directly responsible for the deaths of over two million prisoners.
As such he probably ranks among the most murderous and sadistic
human beings who have ever lived. A book reviewer for a psycho-
logical journal noted w^ith surprise that the fantasy test expressions of
Colonel Hoess were loaded with savage, cruel hostility. This led the
reviewer to wonder why Colonel Hoess would have repressed sadism
in his TAT stories when he overtly acted out so much aggression in
his behavior.
It seems clear that this psychologist was erroneously equating
fantasy productions with repressed or unconscious material. The
theory of variability developed by the Kaiser Foundation research
(see Chapter 13) would expect that a person who expresses such in-
tense hostility and who rigidly avoids tender, humanitarian feelings at
Levels I and II would probably be unable to tolerate positive feelings
even at the level of symbolism. Colonel Hoess, we suspect, was least
anxious when he was employing cold, sadistic security operations. It
is not surprising that the same avoidance of affiliative emotions re-
appeared at Level III-T. Three-layer expressions of the same theme
are typical of chronic maladjusted characters.
Variation in Depth of Symbol Instruweiits
The third issue evolving from this sample case concerns the defini-
tion of levels and sublevels. At Level II we obtain the picture that the
subject wishes to present to us — his conscious reports. At Level III he
communicates in an indirect language that need not be bound by the
limits of the real world. We have assumed thap Level III is related to
the private world. x\ll human beings have a world of mental reserva-
tions which are more or less distinct from what they directly express.
The different layers of symbolic behavior, it seems, come closest to
expressing these.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 185
But in many cases Level III hero and other scores are the same as
Level IL The same themes are emphasized or avoided at both levels.
The bland hysterical personality just presented was one such case.
The sadistic Nazi executioner whose symbols were hostile is another
such case. Still other patients stress pessimistic themes. They are de-
pressed and bitter at Level II and an equally unhappy blackness stains
their symbols. We surmise that trustful, tender emotions are so threat-
ening to these patients that they must avoid them even in fantasies.
When the autisms of Level III are the same as the conscious descrip-
tions of Level II, a puzzHng question occurs. In this event it would
seem that the private language is the same as the overt and conscious.
This is faintly paradoxical. A confusion of levels is suggested. Since
the private is also public, it suggests either that these patients have no
thoughts that are exclusively private (i.e., secret) or that the symbols
have failed to express the private. If the first conjecture is true, then
the subject is unusually frank and honest — having, as it were, no men-
tal reservation. If the second is true, then the subject is unusually
repressive and secretive — he succeeds in blanketing his symbols with
the same avoidance tactics that characterize his conscious expressions.
The former would be bluntness and insight. The latter would be
evasion and symbolic denial.
According to the theory developed in this chapter, if symbols dupli-
cate the extreme imbalances of the conscious level, then considerable
information about the patient's anxiety system is available. The sub-
ject compulsively avoids hostihty in consciousness. Even in symbol
he cannot tolerate an expression of the negative. If he does have
private feelings of bitterness or aggression, they are not allowed sym-
bolic expression. He does not dare let his symbols express his private
feehngs. Level III instruments (e.g., TAT tests) are, in this case, tap-
ping only Level II. They do not "dig down deep enough." A very
thick layer of defensive avoidance exists — so that the Level III instru-
ments fail to get at the private world.
For some patients in some situations projective tests such as the
TAT fail to reach anything different from conscious report. Consider
a patient who covers feelings of distrust and depriv^ation with a facade
of extroverted congeniality. If he takes a TAT in connection with ap-
plying for a desirable job, the underlying feelings may not appear in
his fantasy stories. The same patient applying for therapeutic help in
the psychiatric clinic may produce TAT stories which express his
feelings of sorrow and defeat. The same person, were he attempting
to "buck for a medical discharge" from the Army, might overexag-
ger*ate his depressive feelings on the TAT — they might even be picked
up by Level II instruments.
,86 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
The fact that we obtain Level III fantasy protocols does not mean
that we are necessarily tapping the private world of the patient. Meth-
ods of measuring fantasy vary in depth. The "preconscious" self in
some subjects is closer to consciousness than the images of symbolic
others. Dreams seem to produce themes which are most distant from
conscious report and thus deeper. To use Freudian terminology, some
parts of some dreams seem to tap the primary processes characteristic
of schizophrenic or infantile thought. Projective tests and fantasies
are generally "preconscious" and probably tap secondary processes.
Level III instruments might be compared with drilling machines
which tap geological strata. We cannot assume that the TAT or a
fantasy automatically taps private feelings. The depth and thickness
of the strata of conscious report is a crucial and variable factor. As il-
lustrated in Figure 22, a flexible person with minimum anxiety (Case
2) may confide his "preconscious" feelings in interviews. He has some
conscious awareness of his ambivalences and is able to discuss them.
When the conflict is more severe and anxiety greater (Case 3) more
indirect instruments may be required to hit the private "layers." This
type of patient may present the same picture in a check list and even
in therapy interviews. The TAT themes and dreams may indicate the
other side of the ambivalence. In other cases (Case 4) the anxiety ac-
companying certain interpersonal emotions is so great that they do
not appear in the expressions of the "preconscious" self. The absent
themes may be projected on the "preconscious" world or they may
appear only in the subliminal expressions of Level IV,
Determining the Depth of the Measuring Instrument
Use of a Level III test thus does not guarantee that the "precon-
scious" will be discovered. This fact does not in any way lessen the
value of these tests. They always assist in determining the rigidity and
depth of the defensive processes. A vital part of interpersonal diag-
nosis is to determine the amount of anxiety and the way it operates to
inhibit or deny certain touchy emotions.
The interpretation of a projective test or dream is greatly facili-
tated if we know the depth of the private world and the "thickness"
of the conscious defensive processes. These are determined in two
ways.
As soon as the data are obtained from a Level III test we compare
them with the data from Level II. If the symbols clearly duplicate the
rigidities of Level II, then we estimate the conscious defensive pro-
cesses extended down to the depth of the test. The more rigid the
similarity between the symbolic instrument and Level II — the greater
the anxiety, the thicker the defensive strata. In these cases the thematic
u
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187
,88 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
aspects of Level III add nothing new. As each additional depth test
repeats the same themes, we learn nothing new about -what themes are
present in the elusive warded-off private world — but we do learn
something about how deep it is and how much anxiety is tied to it.
The first way of determining the depth of the measuring instrument is
to compare its themes with Level IL The more discrepancy, the
further from consciousness.
A second method for determining the depth of the measuring rod
involves use of internal cues of defensiveness. The two best internal
cues for estimating defensiveness from projective tests are mispercep-
tions of stimuli and avoidance of specific themes. These issues are dis-
cussed in the next chapter.
Situational Relativity of Symbols
Another factor which exerts strong pressure on symbolic expres-
sions concerns the motivation of the patient in the particular situation.
Consider a subject whose private feelings concern weakness and des-
pair. Suppose he is applying for a job which entails executive responsi-
bility, and as part of the application procedures is administered a
fantasy test. Since the job situation would tend to motivate the ex-
pression of strength and assertion — the expression of his private feel-
ings would be threatening. The feelings of inferiority and depression
would, therefore, not be likely to appear. The subject might really
have the wishful fantasy of retreating from the demands of the world
into an isolated, lonely, passive life. He might secretly yearn to be a
forest-fire watcher or a beachcomber. But if the employment inter-
viewer asks him projective questions about his hopes for himself, he
might respond with the wishful statement: "I want a responsible,
managerial job with a big company." We are, in this last statement,
obviously not tapping the symbolic level. Level III is being used to
support the overt presentation.
The cultural situation in this example was the "job application."
The cultural situation we are concerned with in this book is the
psychiatric clinic. We are attempting to develop a functional diag-
nostic system which will lead to predictions about clinic behavior.
When patients come to a psychiatric clinic for diagnostic evaluation
they vary considerably in their motivation. Their symbolic produc-
tions will vary considerably. Many patientis sense psychological
evaluation and therapy as a threat to their imbalanced, inflexible ad-
justments. These patients may avoid in their fantasy tests the same
themes that cause them anxiety at Levels II and I. Motivation of the
patient, as well as the source and amount of anxiety, is a complicating
factor in symbolic interpretation.
THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION 189
This is not a particularly distressing complication to the psychol-
ogist evaluating the patient. Certainly we concede that motivation
varies from patient to patient and these variances influence the Level
III material. But "amount of motivation," far from being a distracting
irrelevant factor, is actually most central to prognosis. If motivation
effects the production of symbols, then symbols can help estimate the
amount and kind of motivation. They can help plan the correct
therapeutic program that works with and does not clash headlong
against the unique defensive set-up of the particular patient.
Let us recall the hysterical patient (page 181) who presented sweet
symbols behind a facade of sweetness. The TAT themes duplicated
the conventional, pious traits of Level II. This suggests that the de-
fensive structure is "thick" — the anxiety accompanying antisocial or
negative feelings is very high. The patient might be panicked by being
referred to psychotherapy. He might react with a severe anxiety at-
tack. Most likely, he would react by increasing the bland denial of
pathology. Both of these reactions would postpone the onset of effec-
tive psychological help.
At the Kaiser Foundation Psychiatric Clinic a patient with such a
hysterical "normality syndrome" would not be rushed into psycho-
therapy. The nature of treatment might be explained to him. The
intake worker might discuss with the patient (in nontechnical lan-
guage) the nature of his current adjustment — by referring to the pa-
tient's own claims to health and hypernormality. This is done sup-
portively. To use psychoanalytic terminology, it is done "from the
side of the ego." The rigid claiming of goodness is not attacked as a
defense but might be praised as a valuable means of adjustment. No
speculation is made about underlying motivation. The advantage of
living with the present adjustment (and the symptoms it involves)
might be discussed. The function of psychotherapy as possibly lead-
ing to different solutions might be mentioned, but not pushed. The
patient is offered the opportunity to return to the chnic at any later
date if symptoms worsen or if he feels it worthwhile to learn more
about his patterns of living and the possibility of changing them.
This process might be called "planting the seed." The TAT, in this
case, provides the information that, at present, this patient is deeply
committed to hysterical bland techniques of adjustment. Even in
fantasy these motives appear. The TAT predicts that exploration of
other feelings is, at present, not likely. It predicts that the patient in
the immediate future is moving away from and not toward his
warded-off feelings.
Level III thus has many sublevels. Some of these are determined by
the nature of the measuring instrument. Dreams appear to be the
190
i-J !-?
h i
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
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THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE PERCEPTION
[91
deepest sublevel. Wishful fantasies and projective tests are less deep.
These sublevels vary from situation to situation. In six months the
patient described here may return to the clinic. He may see it this
time, not as a threatening institution ready to expose his antisocial
feelings. He may be less defensive. His thick protective strata (which
are measured by the extent to which Level II themes penetrate and
duplicate Level III data) may be considerably diminished. His sec-
ond testing battery may show the same conscious description but a
more changeable TAT. He would then be considered more ready to
deal with his conflict between bland sweetness and the underlying feel-
ings.
Incidence of Level lll-T Behavior in Various Cultural Samples
Detailed summaries of the research findings involving Level III
behavior are presented in the clinical chapters and Appendix 3. At this
point the percentage of Level III-T types found in several sympto-
matic and institutional samples are presented in Table 5.
It will be observed that psychotics manifest "preconscious" sadism
(DE) and distrust (FG); medical controls (normals), underlying
power (AP) and narcissism (BC); obese patients, power (AP) nar-
cissism, and hostility; ulcer patients, an intense amount of underlying
dependence (JK), etc.
Significance tests and discussion of the clinical and theoretical im-
plications are presented in Chapter 24.
References
1. Blum, G. S. The Blacky Pictures: a technique for the exploration of personality
dynamics. New York: The Psychological Corporation, 1950.
2. Freud, S. The basic writings of Sigmund Freud. New York: Modern Library,
1938. Copyright, New York: The Macmillan Co.
3. Gilbert, G. M. Psychology of dictatorship. New York: The Ronald Press Co.,
1950.
4. Iflund, B. Selective recall of meaningful materials as related to psychoanalytic
formulations in certain psychiatric syndromes. Unpublished doctor's dissertation.
University of California, Berkeley, 1953.
5. Kluckhohn, C, and H. A. Murray. Personality in nature, society and culture.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1949.
6. Kris, E. On preconscious mental processes. Psychanal. Quart., 1950, 19, pp. 540-60.
7. Langer, S. Philosophy in a new key. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1942.
8. Murray, H. A. Thematic Apperception Test. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1943.
9. Powelson, D., and R. Bendix. Psychiatry in prison. Psychiat., 1951, 14, 73-86.
10. Thurber, J. "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." Copyright, 1939, James Thurber.
Originally published in The New Yorker.
11. ToMKiNs, S. S. The Thematic Apperception Test. New York: Grune & Strat-
ton, 1947.
10
The Level of the Unexpressed:
Significant Omissions'
The levels of personality described in the last three chapters have
moved steadily from overt observable behavior (Level I) through
conscious description (Level II) into the two private or underlying
layers of the "preconscious" (Level III Hero and Other). This se-
quential progression frpm the external to the internal brings us now
to the deepest level of personality — Level IV.
This is called the level of the unexpressed. It comprises those inter-
personal themes which the patient consistently, significantly, and spe-
cifically omits in the three other levels.
The Two Criteria for Defining Level IV Themes
The essence of Level IV themes is that they not be expressed in ac-
tion, in consciousness, nor in the "preconscious." The first criterion is
that the themes be avoided at these levels. This negative evidence can-
not in itself be taken as proof that the themes are "dynamically" ab-
sent nor that they exist in deeper strata of the personality. To accept
this absence at one level as a sign of presence at another level is to com-
mit the ancient fallacy of reversal which was discussed in the preced-
ing chapter.
The second criterion for defining Level IV requires evidence that
the themes are actively avoided. It must be demonstrated that the sub-
ject selectively and stubbornly refuses to respond to these themes
when they are appropriate in the situation. It is not enough to report
that a patient fails to express a particular cluster of themes — let us say
competitive hostility — at the three top levels of behavior. In addition,
* This level of personality has not been studied systematically by the Kaiser Foun-
dation psychology research group. The definition and discussion in this chapter is
tentative and suggestive. Readers who are interested in the current clinical or re-
search applications of the interpersonal system can safely omit this chapter.
192
THE LEVEL OF THE UNEXPRESSED
193
it must be shown that he has been exposed to situations in which he is
naturally or consensually expected to perceive, react to, or express
these themes and that he has refused to do so.
This level of personality has received little empirical attention and
is therefore not included in the systematic or clinical studies described
in this book. This chapter will present a definition and a survey of
some tentative, unvalidated techniques for measuring Level IV. Al-
though in the subsequent chapters no reference will be made to Level
IV, the present discussion is included as a preliminary description of
this incomplete aspect of the interpersonal system.
From the functional point of view the existence of unexpressed
interpersonal themes seems to be of some importance. It might be
argued that in clinical practice we are interested, not in the absent
motives, but in the strata of ego functions which lie above them and
which seem to be organized in warding them off. When we deal with
a patient who presents conventional, bland themes at Levels I, II, and
III, our diagnostic attention is obviously going to be focused on these
ego processes. On the other hand, it is useful to know that inter-
personal themes comprise the Level IV significant omissions. These
themes can be expected to be anxiety-laden. If the patient is con-
fronted with them, panic may develop. Level IV defines the "touchy
spots" most vigorously and desperately avoided.
In the Kaiser Foundation research we have tended to concentrate
on the three more overt levels. In psychoanalytic language we have
been attempting to develop an ego psychology. Research is now being
planned which will investigate some of these aspects of the signifi-
cantly omitted.
The methods being considered for these future studies will now be
reviewed.
The Measurement of Unexpressed Themes
It has been pointed out that there are two empirical criteria for the
measurement of Level IV themes. They must negatively be demon-
strated to be significantly absent at the three top levels; they must
positively be demonstrated to be actively avoided. Two separate
measures of Level IV are therefore available — the omission and the
avoidance scores. These two criteria will be treated separately.
The Measurement of Omission of Interpersonal Themes.
The first criterion is easily measured. The scores at Levels I, II, III
Hero, and III Other are examined to see what behaviors are consist-
ently avoided. This can be done by inspection of the profiles or by
means of arithmetical indices.
194
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
Figure 23 presents the profiles of an illustrative patient who has
clearly failed to express rebellion or unconventional themes.
'(HI)
LEVEL I-S SELF
(Hi)
LEVEL II-C SELF
LEVEL III-T HERO
(Hi)
LEVEL III-T OTHER
Figure 23. Profiles of Interpersonal Behavior at Four Top Layers of Personality
Illustrating the Avoidance of Rebellious (FG) Behavior.
By inspection we see that the FG and DE octants are conspicuously
neglected. The Level I profile is obtained from sociometric ratings of
other group therapy patients. It will be observed that the fellow group
members did not use any FG or DE words to describe this patient's
impact upon them. In his Level II-C self description he completely
denied any of these behaviors. Even his fantasy heroes and others
fail to receive any of these motivations. It is possible to determine
by glancing at these four interpersonal profiles that there is a con-
THE LEVEL OF THE UNEXPRESSED
[95
sistent tendency to avoid the expression of resentful, rebellious, hostile
themes.
In addition to the diagnosis of Level IV omission by inspection of
the profiles it is also possible to employ mathematical techniques.
These allow the Level IV omission profile to be plotted in terms of a
single summary point. These are determined by the horizontal and
vertical indices just as in the case of the three overt levels.
There are many ways in which Level IV omission scores can be
calculated. It is possible to study at each of the four more overt levels
the sectors which the subject neglects. We could study all of the items
on the interpersonal check list not used by the fellow group members
in rating the patient. These could be treated hke the "yes" scores,
converted into the horizontal and vertical factors and plotted. This
provides an omission-at-Level-I score. The same could be done for
the interpersonal check list self-description at Level II.
We want, however, a single summary score which will give the
over-all pattern of what is omitted at Levels I, II, and III. A single
way of estimating the Level IV omission score is to take the standard
score indices for Levels I, II, III Hero, and III Other (which are used
to plot the diagnostic people) and to establish the mean horizontal
and vertical indices for these four scores.
For the patient profiled in Figure 23 the scores were:
Vertical
Standard
Score
Horizontal
Standard
Score
Level I-S
Level II-C
Level III-T Hero
Level III-T Other
64
62
41
60
66
70
94
85
Total
227
315
Mean = ^ = 57
f = "
These two mean indices provide a summary of the themes the pa-
tient has expressed at these four layers of personality. If these indices
are each subtracted from 1 00 they give a summary of what the patient
has avoided at Levels I, II, and III. The mean omission scores for this
patient are vertical =43, horizontal =21 (see Figure 24). This is
located in the FG octant and indicates that this patient compulsively
and markedly omits rebellious, unconventional, and bitter behavior in
his expressions at Levels I, II, III Hero, and III Other.
The Measurement of Significant Avoidance of Interpersonal
Themes. There are two criteria for determining significant omis-
96
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
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Figure 24. Diagnostic Grid Containing Summary Points for the Four Top Layers
of Personality and the Level IV Omission Score Calculated by Subtraction. Key:
Radius of diagnostic grid = 6 sigmas, / =: Level I-S; S =r Level II-C description of self;
H = Level III-T (Hero): O = Level III-T (Other); IV = Level IV omission score.
sions at Level IV. The first is to demonstrate that certain themes are
consistently omitted at the upper levels. A method has just been pre-
sented for determining this type of Level IV score.
The second criterion involves the demonstration that these themes
are actively avoided by the patient at the upper levels. The omissioii
score just calculated for Level IV indicates that the patient has
"claimed" or "expressed," and by a process of subtraction we obtain
the Level IV index. The avoidance score is obtained in a different
manner.
There are at least three techniques for estimating the tendency to
avoid themes at Levels I, II, and III. The first of these is based on sta-
tistical procedures and estimates the tendency to fail to perceive or
THE LEVEL OF THE UNEXPRESSED 197
express interpersonal themes where, consensually, most others do per-
ceive or express them.
It is possible to determine for each interpersonal test item at each
level the probability of its being expressed. The interpersonal check
list employed at Levels I and II has been subjected to intensive sta-
tistical analysis. The percentage of the clinic sample expected to re-
spond to any particular word has been determined. The 128 words
on the check list have been classified into four groups along an inten-
sity dimension in terms of its probabiUty of occurrence. Intensity 1
includes words which are checked as "true-about-self" by approxi-
mately 90 per cent of psychiatric clinic patients. There are minimal
amounts of the trait which almost everyone is willing to attribute to
himself. Intensity 2 includes words employed by 50 to 90 per cent of
the clinic population. Intensity 3 employs more intense themes used
by relatively fewer (10-50 per cent) patients. Intensity 4 employs ex-
treme loadings of the theme which are rarely checked by clinic pa-
tients. Here are illustrations of check list items at the four intensities
for the interpersonal variable D, which includes themes ranging from
appropriate sternness to punitive sadism.
Intensity 1 (very common, expected): Able to be strict
Intensity 2 (average-moderate): Stern but fair
Intensity 3 (fairly intense): Sarcastic
Intensity 4 (rare-extreme): Cruel and unkind
Each item on the check list is thus weighted in terms of its consensual
or average usage. If a patient does not check the Intensity 1 word for
any interpersonal variable, he is failing to attribute to himself a mild
amount of this theme which 90 per cent of the clinic population does
express. In determining the Level II diagnostic indices, the weightings
of the items are not considered. All the words used in every octant are
fed into the formulas.
To determine the significant avoidance score these weights are of
usefulness. At Levels I and II which employ the check list we can
study the pattern of avoidance of Intensity 1 and 2 items. Weights can
be assigned so that the failure to check these mild, average, statistically
common items about the self can be cast into numerical indices of sig-
nificant avoidance.
At Level III (as measured by the TAT) the test stimuli are pictures
which portray human beings in interaction. The probability of any
given interpersonal theme being expressed in reaction to any particular
card has been determined. Thus we discover that 85 per cent of the
clinic population respond with the fantasy theme HI (sorrow or
1 98 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
guilt) on card 3BM, whereas less than 2 per cent will produce a story
involving AP (dominant power). This information makes it possible
to weigh the thematic pull of every card on the TAT (or any other
fantasy test). Patients who consistently resist the card pull for any
particular interpersonal theme can be assigned Level IV avoidance
indices which are based on the percentage expectance.
This general method for measuring significant omission has been
previously described by William E. Henry in his monograph on TAT
Analysis (1). He defines two areas of TAT content interpretation:
positive content and negative content. "The difference between
positive and negative content can be summarized in this way: the
analysis of positive content is concerned with what the subject actu-
ally has said, the analysis of negative content is concerned with what
the subject has failed to say and with what he might have been ex-
pected to say considering the usual responses made to that picture."
Normative and validating research on the significant avoidance
scores based on these statistical characteristics of the tests for Levels I,
II, and III is now being done. Since these studies have not been com-
pleted, the Level IV avoidance scores are not included in this volume.
There are two additional sources of Level IV significant avoidance
data which will now be briefly reviewed. Both of these are based on
special psychological techniques for measuring the selective factors in
memory and perception.
A test of repression developed by Boris Iflund (2) seems to pro-
vide an excellent measurement of Level IV data. The Iflund test deals
with selective memory factors. It consists of 34 cards, each of which
contains a picture. Twenty-eight of these are illustrations of personal-
ity needs (as listed by Murray). Six pictures are bu^er cards which
contain nonloaded (street or landscape) scenes. The subject is told
that he will be shown the stack of cards, each card being exposed for
5 seconds. He is told that after the entire deck has been shown to him
he will be asked to recall as many as he can. After the subject has re-
called as many as he can the nonbuffer (i.e., thematic) cards which he
recalled are removed from the deck. The same process of presenta-
tion and recall is repeated until all cards have been recalled. In indi-
vidual administration an inquiry period after the test is employed to
clarify accuracy or misperceptions of the cards.
This test is based on the psychoanalytic theory of repression. It is
held that the themes which the subject remembers last are subject to
more repression than those he recalls first. The serial order of recall
is believed to relate to intrapsychic defensive processes holding sensi-
tive themes for awareness.
THE LEVEL OF THE UNEXPRESSED 199
To the extent that the Iflund test does isolate warded-ofF themes,
it can be used as an estimate of the stratification of personality and as
an indicator of Level IV themes. The most-forgotten themes, i.e.,
those remembered last, should be close to the Level IV omission score.
Research on the Iflund test is currently uncompleted and is not
included in the systematic and diagnostic studies reported in this book.
A third technique for determining Level IV significant avoidance
scores has been suggested. This involves the theory of perceptual
vigilance or perceptual defense in relation to sensitive or warded-off
emotional stimuli. Methods have been developed by experimental
psychologists for determining the level of perceptual readiness to re-
spond to varied stimuli. The tachistoscope (which is a machine for
exposing stimuli cards to an observer at split-second speeds) is em-
ployed in these experiments. There is some evidence suggesting that
the speed of recognition varies in relation to the emotional loading of
the stimuli. Subjects whose personalities are mobilized to ward off
hostility from awareness tend to require slower speeds of presentation
in order to perceive hostile motifs on cards.
To the extent that this theory of motivated perception and per-
ceptual defense holds true, tachistoscope recognition speed becomes an
estimation of Level IV. The themes which are recognized most
quickly should be those which are expressed or consciously claimed at
the upper levels. Those which are recognized at the slowest tachisto-
scope speeds should also be avoided at the levels of action and con-
scious report. Perceptual defense thus becomes an estimate of the
significantly avoided and a measure of Level IV.
References
1. Henry, W. E. The Thematic Apperception Test technique in the study of culture-
personahty relations. Genet. Psychol. Monogr., 1947, 35, 3-135.
2. Iflund, B. Selective recall of meaningful materials as related to psychoanalytic
formulations in certain psychiatric syndromes. Unpublished doctor's dissertation.
University of California, Berkeley, 1953.
11
The Level of Values: The Ego Ideal
There Is another area of human behavior which because of its func-
tional value and theoretical uniqueness has been designated as one of
the operating levels of personality. This is Level V — the level of
values. It includes the interpersonal aspects: ideals held by the indi-
vidual— his conceptions of "lightness," "goodness," of w^hat he should
like to be.
The last four chapters have presented Levels I through IV, working
sequentially from the public overt aspects of behavior into the more
private, unexpressed areas. At this point the trend is reversed. The
numerical designation of Level V suggests that this is the deepest
level — which, of course, it is not. Level V is concerned with con-
sciously reported ideals. The subject is asked to list, or describe, or
check his picture of how he should like to be.
Level V Is aji Independent Area of Fersonality
Level V, as presently measured in the interpersonal system, is not
a very complicated or deep measurement. It simply gives us a pic-
ture of how the subject wants us to see his ideals. It tells us which
values he consciously stresses. The subject may privately have dif-
ferent goals and stress different feehngs. His private value system
may be in contradiction to his openly reported principles.
The working procedures of the Kaiser Foundation research proj-
ect simplify this complexity of values. The general empirical ap-
proach of this system of personahty is to select several narrow opera-
tionally defined areas of behavior (which are called levels) and to
utihze the same matrix of interpersonal variables to measure behavior
at these levels. The levels are defined by the nature of the data, that is,
by the way it is obtained, by the technical context of the measurement
process. If the subject produces fantasy themes in response to pro-
jective test stimuli then Level III is defined. When he attributes inter-
personal themes to his ideal then Level V is defined.
THE LEVEL OF VALUES 201
Although Level V is a rather simple measure of consciously re-
ported values, it possesses a clear-cut statistical independence. That is
to say, it does not duplicate the other levels. Patients' descriptions of
their ideals are very often quite different from their conscious self-
descriptions and their fantasy expressions. This measure seems to vary
independently of the other levels. This offers reasons for expecting
that it may serve a unique psychological function and possess a unique
clinical application.
The Universality of Value Systems
The Level V value system gives us a picture of the interpersonal
standards which the subject holds for himself. The notion of ideal, it
should be noted, is widely accepted and natural. During our testing
procedures patients readily take to the task of describing their ideal.
The concepts of "right" and "good" and the interpersonal themes
associated with these values seem to be taken for granted.
The vital and universal process of idealization has been recognized
by almost every personality theorist. Kluckhohn and iMurray ( 1 , p. 2 1 )
for example, state that: "One of the important establishments of a per-
sonality is the ideal self, an integrate of images which portrays the
person 'at his future best,' realizing all his ambitions." The related
concepts of ideal, superego, and introjection have been receiving in-
creasing emphasis in psychoanalytic theory.
Ethical standards appear to exist in all cultures. In an earlier chap-
ter the universality of symboHc behavior was noted. The same can be
said for moral standards of conduct. It is hard to conceive of a society
or a social group which does not possess many principles of "rightness"
and "wrongness." Not all the members of a society necessarily share
(publicly or privately) the same set of values. Some may assign posi-
tive values to force, others to deceit, others to charity. In many so-
cieties women may publicly accept standards which are different from
men's.
Although the specific qualities to which "goodness" and "bad-
ness" are attached may vary, what seems to remain constant is the as-
sumption that there are standards of right and wrong.
It is these principles which we tap in Level V when we study the
interpersonal themes which the subject idealizes and those which he
avoids attributing to his ideal.
The Function of Value Systems
This poses the questions: Why do individuals develop standards
and ethical principles of behavior? What is the function of these
ideakc^
202 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
A detailed discussion of this topic is well beyond the scope of this
book, encompassing as it does the genesis and meaning of ethics and
morals. The general assumption about human motivation employed
in this book does suggest certain approaches to these questions.
The basic function of the individual's interpersonal behavior is to
ward off survival anxiety. Any personality pattern can be viewed as
an attempt to come to terms with the social environment. In this light
the development and maintenance of value systems can be seen as pro-
viding several bulwarks against anxiety.
First of all, the acceptance of certain ideals tends to link the indi-
vidual to strong forces in his world. By taking over and expressing
these ideals the subject identifies himself with powerful images of
rightness. The standards may come from his parents, from his con-
ception of religious figures, from the standards held by his social
groups, etc. Generally they come from all these sources. Symonds
(2) has described the process by which the individual combats his
feelings of weakness and develops a feeling of omnipotence by taking
as models and values those of the group: "One looks for support by
acceding to the wishes of society through its laws and customs, so
that one feels secure as a member of the group and derives power from
the group. A still further development is to align oneself with the
universe and to look to God for strength. So the religious person, by
obeying the rules of morality, is continuing this process of gaining
strength for himself by aligning himself with superior forces."
By taking on standards and ideals the individual wins approval and
attempts to ward off disapproval. Heightened self-esteem and the
avoidance of shame and inferiority can be achieved by the acceptance
and expression of value systems. It appears that all human beings
maintain this one unique area of their personality which reflects their
conception of what they should or could be.
Like behavior at other levels, the value system may play a de-
structive and unsettling role in the total personality structure. Ideals
which are too elevated or standards which are too strict may lead to
severe conflict with other levels. Thus the Level II self-conception
may fall far short of a rigid, demanding set of ideals — with a resulting
feeling of guilt and self-dissatisfaction. This phenomenon has been
noted at other levels where extreme, exaggerated behavior at one level
creates new circles of conflict and anxiety.
Human beings presumably develop standards in an attempt to lessen
anxiety, win approval, or to win security through linkage with power-
ful parental and societal forces. But the complexity of social adjust-
ment generally creates the tragic paradox of humaa nature — the tech-
THE LEVEL OF VALUES 203
niques for avoiding anxiety at one level are related to the activities of
other levels. They cause tension at other levels w^hich in turn may
increase anxiety and lead to an increase in the original behavior.
Kluckhohn and Murray ( 1 ) have commented on certain aspects of
this process. They point out the relationships of aspirations and ideals
to the "frustration and dissatisfaction" of overt behavior. "High as-
pirations can cause unhappiness and discontent, while the process of
low^ering aspirations to realizable levels is functional."
This process of relaxing standards is, however, not a simple or
voluntary procedure. The ideals held by individuals, like the behavior
expressed at any other level, are not easily changed. This is, we pre-
sume, because they play a vital functional role in the total personality
pattern. Human beings develop ideals for the very important purpose
of warding off survival anxiety and avoiding shame, weakness, and
disapproval. These ideals develop and are expressed in reciprocal
response to the activities of other levels. Frustrations (and the ac-
companying anxiety produced) at Level I may result in a lowering of
the associated Level V ideals; or they may result in an increase. Inter-
personal behavior at any level of personality has the function of ward-
ing off anxiety. This behavior can shift in response to stimuli from the
external environment or in relationship to pressures or changes from
other levels of personality. A most complex chain of multilevel
processes is involved in any interpersonal pattern at any single level.
The interpersonal ideals which we measure at Level V are not excep-
tions to this principle. In the latter sections of this chapter some of
these multilevel relationships (the indices of self-acceptance and ideali-
zation) which involve Level V and the other establishments of the per-
sonality will be reviewed.
The Measurement of Interpersonal Ideals
To obtain measurements of Level V behavior it is necessary to have
the subject communicate his system of values. His ideals are then
categorized in terms of the continuum of sixteen interpersonal var-
iables. These scores are then treated in the same way as the scores from
other levels; they can be formalized, standardized, diagramed, and
then related to the total multilevel pattern.
There are many methods for obtaining the raw protocol data for
Level V. The subject can be asked to describe his ideals either in
interview or in essay form. He can be given check lists or question-
naires about his values. Regardless of how the data are collected the
rating procedure is the same. The interpersonal aspects of these ex-
pressions are coded into the language of the interpersonal system.
S04
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
At the present time the Kaiser Foundation project is employing
three methods for obtaining Level V data.
Scores from the interpersonal adjective check list on which the pa-
tient rates his ego ideal are coded Level V-C.
Ratings by trained personnel of the subject's ideals as expressed in
diagnostic interviews are coded Level V-Di; in therapy interviews,
Level V-Ti.
The Kaiser Foundation research project routinely obtains Level V
protocols (along with measures at seven other areas or levels) as part
of the personality test battery. The key measuring instrument in this
process is the interpersonal check list. Each patient uses this check
list to rate first himself then his parents, his spouse, and his ego ideal.
The instructions for the Level V-C test request the patient to check
the items which describe "his ideal, his picture of himself as he should
like to be." The patient is thus allowed to describe his value system on
the same measuring instrument which he has employed to describe
himself and three important family members. The empirical ad-
vantages of this procedure for comparing behavior at different levels
has been previously discussed.
Figure 25 presents the Level V-C profile of a patient tested in the
Kaiser Foundation clinic. For comparison we have also included the
LEVEL Il-C CONSCIOUS
SELF-DESCRIPTION
LEVEL V-C EGO IDEAL
Figure 25. Illustrations of Level II-C and Level V-C Profiles for a Docile Patient
Whose Ego Ideal Involves Strength.
Level II-C self profile. These diagrams indicate that the patient sees
himself as a weak, docile person. His ego ideal stresses themes of
strength and power.
THE LEVEL OF VALUES 205
The Functional Value of Level V
Level V is a simple but useful diagnostic tool. Its first and most
obvious application is the insight it gives us into the subject's value
system. Human beings vary in the interpersonal themes they idealize.
Some stress congeniality and conventional agreeability. Others em-
phasize strength and assertion. Some prize competition. Others are
concerned with frank, blunt honesty, or modest reserve. There seem
to be relationships between diagnostic types and the nature of the
ego ideal. Patients who stress dominance or submission at Level I-M
emphasize pure power in their ego ideal. Patients who manifest either
hostility or love at Level I-M are significantly less concerned with
power and more involved with friendliness in their ideals. In other
words, subjects whose actions fall along the vertical axis place their
ideals at the top of the vertical axis (dominance). Subjects whose ac-
tions locate on the horizontal axis place their ideals close to the hori-
zontal axis (affection).
Another and perhaps the most important use of the Level V score
is obtained by comparing it with other levels. The discrepancy be-
tween ideal and Level II Self provides an index of self -acceptance.
This variable plays a most crucial role in arousing motivation for
therapy. Similarly, the kind and amount of discrepancy between the
ideal and the conscious descriptions of family members provides an-
other set of valuable indices. These discrepancies are called the in-
dices of idealization.
The essence of these and the other interlevel discrepancies between
the ego ideal and the other areas of personality is as follows: once we
systematically locate the subject's ego ideal we can compare all the
measures from the other levels of personality to see how close they
fall to the ego ideal. Different theoretical and clinical implications
are attached to these idealization indices.
Limitations of the Level V Score
The measurement of ego ideal employing the interpersonal adjec-
tive check list is somewhat limited because of the tendency of all pa-
tients to stereotype their ideals. In one sample of 207 routine clinic
intake patients, 53 per cent placed their ego ideal in the managerial
octant and 37 per cent in the responsible-hypernormal octant. This
means that 90 per cent of all patients had ego ideals In the upper right-
hand quadrant and less than 2 per cent placed their ego ideal in the
lower (weak) half of the diagnostic circle.
This homogeneity is a cultural stereotype. We might expect that
some other cultures would stress aggression and some (oriental, for
2o6 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
example) might idealize the passivity and modesty which American
urban subjects so dramatically devaluate.
References
1. Kluckhohn, C, and H. AIurray (eds.). Personality in nature, society and culture.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1949.
2. Symonds, p. The dynamics of human adjustment. New York: Appleton-Century-
Crofts, Inc., 1946.
12
A System of Interpersonal Diagnosis'
We have suggested in Chapter 6 that functional diagnosis of personal-
ity involves two basic dimensions — interpersonal behavior and varia-
bility. The preceding five chapters of this section have dealt with the
concepts and measurement techniques by which we systematize the
interpersonal dimension of personality. We have defined the inter-
personal variables by which security operations of the human being
can be classified. We have considered the levels at which this behavior
is observed.
With these theories and methods as background, it is now possible
to consider the application of this personality system for interpersonal
diagnosis.
Purpose of Personality Diagnosis
An examination of psychiatric nosology reveals considerable varia-
tion in terms. Some diagnostic categories refer to the symptomatic
picture. Some are clearly moralistic or evaluative epithets, e.g., in-
adequate personality. Some refer to character traits, e.g., obsessive-
compulsive. Some are global terms for disease entities which sum-
marize many specific factors, e.g., schizophrenic and hysteric.
In order to evaluate these terms it is necessary to inquire into the
purpose of personahty diagnosis. Just why do we need a nosology?
Just what is it to be used for?
Psychiatric or personality diagnosis terms actually have many dif-
fering uses, depending on the institutional or cultural context. In the
* Appendix 4 presents an inrerpersonal diagnostic report written for the psychiatric
clinic. This report serves as a clinical illustration of the theory and methodology pre-
sented in this chapter. The execution of multilevel interpersonal diagnosis is facili-
tated considerably by the use of a printed booklet in which the tabular and diagram-
matic steps involved in diagnosis are organized. This "Record Booklet for Inter-
personal Diagnosis of Personality" also includes a simplified procedure for calculating
interlevel discrepancies (variabihty indices), for plotting them on a profile sheet, and
for preparing verbal summaries of the indices. A copy of this booklet is presented in
Appendix 4.
207
2o8 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
legal situation, to take an extreme example, the diagnostician is usu-
ally called upon to determine whether the patient is grossly psychotic
or not. The judicial authorities are generally not the least bit interested
in the fine shadings of ego organization or the complexities of the
oedipal situation. A single "yes" or "no" as to the sanity of the sub-
ject is generally sufficient.
Many psychiatric centers employ broad categories which are just
as gross and dichotomous. Some admitting wards, observation cen-
ters, etc., have the sole mission of deciding where the patient will be
routed. If the patient is markedly psychotic, he goes to a psychiatric
hospital; if he is neurotic, he is sent back to the community. For such
purposes, these agencies do not require subtle differential, diagnostic
categories.
In most psychiatric hospitals the diagnostic decisions are somewhat
more complex. Differential diagnosis relates to differential treatment
plans. One type of patient may be assigned to electric shock therapy,
another to insulin treatment. Therapies of this sort are aimed at
symptom removal and not character reorganization. The diagnostic
and prognostic terms, therefore, tend to focus on the descriptive or
symptomatic aspects of behavior. An interpersonal or characterologi-
cal diagnostic system is, in this case, not the most relevant tool. In de-
ciding between two types of physical therapies the nature of the pa-
tient's interpersonal reflexes, the type of repressed motivation or the
expected transference are not the central criteria.
Descriptive diagnosis as presented in psychiatric textbooks is gen-
erally considered to be crude, unreliable, and nontheoretical (1, 2, 3,
5). The main reason for the slow progress in psychiatric nosology
parallels, perhaps, the general crudeness of most psychotherapeutic
techniques. Medical diagnosis is, by comparison, extremely specific
and definitive because of the differentiated maturity of medical knowl-
edge. There are hundreds of detailed medical diagnoses all pointing
to specific medical treatment plans. By contrast, psychological theory
and psychiatric practice is most limited. This situation seems, how-
ever, to be improving.
R. E. Harris, for example, points out: "With progress in psycho-
therapy, diagnosis is becoming more and more a matter of assaying
'therapeutically relevant' variables, i.e., those which are related to
what happens in therapeutic interviews — the resistances, the defenses,
the strength of the ego, the amount and quality of the anxiety and its
sources, the quality of reality testing, etc. These variables are defined
and understood both as they are inferred from the historical recon-
struction of the life history and, more importantly, as they appear in
the interaction between therapist and patient." (4, pp. 27-28)
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
209
The modem American psychiatric clinic is taking on an increasing
number of prognostic decisions. A survey of the intake procedures
of the Kaiser Foundation Psychiatric Clinic revealed that there are
over twenty ways of disposing of a case. Most of these decisions are
based on characterological or interpersonal factors: the amount of ego-
alien anxiety, the interpersonal techniques for handling anxiety, the
kind and amount of motivation for personality exploration and change.
Certain "pure" hysterics and psychosomatic patients whose bland, ego-
syntonic, hypernormal adjustments mobilize against psychotherapy
might be sent back to the referring physician with recommendations
for supportive medical handling. Other hysteric or psychosomatic
patients whose personality patterns reveal underlying feelings of de-
pression, anxiety, or deprivation might be referred to specific, care-
fully delimited therapeutic relationships. Patients are assigned to sev-
eral kinds of individual psychotherapy depending on the nature of
the personality picture. Three types of group therapy are available
for certain kinds of patients.
In a psychiatric clinic of this sort interpersonal predictions which
define the amount of anxiety and the interpersonal patterns to which
it is attached are most useful. For patients beginning the long road of
orthodox psychoanalysis, interpersonal diagnosis is less relevant.
Transference factors are provoked and dealt with during the lengthy
process, and preanalytic predictions might not necessarily save any
time or energy. In the clinic, however, where flexibility of treatment
program is emphasized, predictions as to expected behavior, expected
resistances, and cues concerning the nature of repressed motives are
at a premium. Interpersonal variables which measure the social re-
activity of the patient, overt and covert, current and future, appear
to have the highest functional "cash value."
From the standpoint of practical application and research objectiv-
ity, interpersonal diagnostic patterns seem superior to Kraepelinian or
psychiatric diagnostic terms. This is not to say that standard psychi-
atric nomenclature should be or could be abandoned. There are, in-
deed, several factors which argue against the offhand rejection of
psychiatric language. In a following section we shall seek to discover
relationships and communalities between interpersonal and psychiatric
diagnoses. Such relationships, if they exist, would greatly broaden the
functional and theoretical power of both diagnostic systems.
Any personality diagnosis, thus, serves several ends. It provides a
classification most useful for administrative, legal, predictive, and
research purposes. A more detailed interpersonal diagnosis serves the
added function of predicting the kind and sequence of security opera-
tions to be expected from the patient.
2IO THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
In the following pages we shall present a diagnostic system com-
prising 65,536 categories. These are based on the permutations of
interpersonal measurements "adjustive and maladjustive" at three lev-
els (four layers) of behavior. This is an automatic diagnostic pro-
cedure. It is based on the logic, theory, and methodology which have
been discussed in the preceding chapters. There is no clinical judg-
ment or psychological intuition involved in making an interpersonal
diagnosis. The personality data are collected and fed into the nota-
tional apparatus, and the diagnosis automatically rolls out. In the
Kaiser Foundation Clinic the tests of Level I and II are scored by
clerical workers; the themes of Level III are rated by nonprofes-
sional technicians. The resulting indices are plotted on standardized
graphs, and a diagnosis involving three levels of interpersonal be-
havior, as well as a diagnosis of variability, is obtained. Not one minute
of professional time is required for these systematic diagnoses. (An
independent clinical diagnosis is, of course, prepared by the psychiatric
intake worker, and the two assessments of the patient are fitted to-
gether in the clinical evaluation conference.)
Systematic diagnosis based on multilevel test batteries is much more
precise and detailed than clinical diagnosis. It is quite difficult to ob-
tain reliable diagnoses when clinicians use only their own percep-
tions and observations. Studies of the reliability of psychiatric judg-
ments are notoriously low even when the simplest, broadest fourfold
categories are employed (1, 2, 3, 5). If clinicians were asked to select
a diagnosis from a list of 65,536 categories, an endlessly long period of
intensified training would be necessary to effect any kind of reliability.
The systematic diagnoses we are about to consider require, how-
ever, no intuitive decision. The categorization system works some-
thing like a table of logarithms or square roots. Much time and some
creativity have gone into the development of these mathematical tables
— but to use them is a routine, clerical, and reliable procedure. What-
ever clinical experience and theoretical competence was available
has been built into the classification schema. The application of the
system is a rote process. The professional worker then takes the re-
sults of the systematic operations and fits them to his clinical knowl-
edge of the case.
Three Systematic Methods for Summarizing Personality
The meaning and function of diagnosis will be made clearer if we
compare it with the other methods of summarizing personality data.
The Kaiser project has employed three different kinds of assessments
of human personality — each with its own purpose and significance and
each possessing certain limitations and advantages. These are: (1)
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 2 1 1
the diagnostic code-formula of personality, (2) the diagnostic profile
of personality, and (3) the diagnostic description of personality.
The diagnostic code is a succinct, systematic multilevel label or
coded formula which is taken from a finite standardized list of mutu-
ally exclusive terms. These terms should be operationally defined.
The diagnostic classification should, therefore, be highly reliable. Its
primary purpose is to summarize the essence of the multilevel pattern
of personality, to make predictions with known probability about cer-
tain crucially important aspects of behavior, and to prognosticate the
success of specific clinical, therapeutic techniques.
The multilevel diagnostic code can be calculated by well-trained
clerical workers. The predictions can also be produced by clerical
procedures since they involve the looking up of probability indices
based on group statistics. A highly skilled clerical worker with no
knowledge of psychological theory could hypothetically assemble the
raw data, feed them into the tables and indices, and arrive at the auto-
matic multilevel code diagnosis. This worker could then enter a set
of correlation matrices and make probability statements about the
patient. Statements of the following nature could be made: 'This pa-
tient is an overtly autocratic personality; less than 20 per cent of pa-
tients with this Level I diagnosis enter individual psychotherapy; of
those patients who do enter individual psychotherapy, more than 65
per cent quit within six weeks; of those who enter group therapy,
more than 40 per cent quit within six weeks; etc."
The advantages of the diagnostic code include brevity, reliability,
finite listing of possibilities, and the fact that it does not require the
expenditure of professional energy. The disadvantages are numerous:
it has no explanatory value; it predicts only for a group (i.e., in
probability figures) and takes no account of the unique complexity of
each individual.
The diagnostic profile of personality presents a diagrammatic and
numerical summary of the patient's behavior at each level, and of his
variability indices. It summarizes his behavior in terms of the inter-
personal measurements, and in terms of the operationally defined
indices of personality organization. The procedures on which the
profile is based have a known reliability.
The diagnostic profiles can be prepared by well-trained technicians,
i.e., semiprofessional workers with a rudimentary knowledge of per-
sonality theory. These technicians, in the Kaiser project, administer
the testing batteries. They supervise the scoring of the Level I and
II tests. They work in teams to score the fantasy material in terms of
the interpersonal variables. They perform the necessary arithmetic
procedures — calculating the horizontal and vertical indices, convert-
212 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
ing them to standard scores. They plot the interpersonal scores on
the diagnostic grids. They measure the discrepancies among these
scores and thus determine the amount of the variability indices. They
plot the variability profile.
With these two diagnostic patterns — the variability and interper-
sonal profiles — it is possible to classify patients in a most detailed man-
ner. Eight interpersonal indices (at four levels) and 14-18 variability
indices are available for automatic interpretation. These technicians
are capable of translating this matrix of scores into statements which
summarize the personality. They can report the behavior at Levels
I, II, III, and V. They can indicate the amount of each variability
mdex. A considerable mass of finely graduated information can be
routinely reported for clinical or research purposes. In addition to
these detailed classificatory statements, the personahty profiles al-
low for a battery of individual predictions. Each of the eight inter-
personal and the many variability indices have a set of empirical facts
related to them. The Level II versus V discrepancy (self-description
versus ego ideal) if high defines low self-acceptance or high motiva-
tion for treatment. This is correlated highly with entering and remain-
ing in psychotherapy. This variability index, thus, leads to a specific
clinical prediction. The other indices have similar prognostic applica-
tions.
The personality profile serves, in this way, as a precise, detailed
classificatory system, and as a source for numerous specific clinical pre-
dictions. It has, however, limited explanatory value. It is also re-
stricted because of its routine objective nature. The personality pro-
files are rehable — they do not involve speculation or intuition. The
variability indices are ground out automatically, but they fail to inte-
grate the complex network of scores. They do not in any way lessen
the necessity for clinical, professional interpretation. They rather
serve as a highly articulated assistance to the clinician.
The personality diagnostic report.^ In the Kaiser Foundation Clinic
the professional diagnostician enters the picture after the personality
profiles have been plotted. All the testing, scoring, tabulating, and
statistical predictive procedures are accomplished by technical work-
ers. The task of the professional clinicians is to weave the multi-
dimensional pattern of scores and probabiUty statements into a unique,
meaningful summary which fits a particular patient. This is ac-
complished by means of the personality diagnostic report.
The main task of the diagnostic classifications is to categorize re-
liably. The profiles provide a long list of standardized probability
* A sample diagnostic report written about an illustrative patient is contained in
Appendix 4.
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 2 1 3
statements. The diagnostic report has the function of explaining the
personality. The clinician studies all aspects of the interpersonal pro-
file and relates them to the case.
The intake worker's notes on family history are compared with
the patient's view of mother, father, and spouse — and with his fantasy
images. The indices of motivation and prognosis are compared with
the patient's symptomatic presentation. All the available clinical data
are reviewed in light of the personality profiles and indices. In this
way, the experience of the clinician is brought to bear on the evalua-
tion process. The thousandfold, multifaceted pattern of the patient's
situation can be assembled in the mind of the professional worker.
The diagnostic evaluation and the predictions are, of course, in-
creased in efficiency as the clinical material qualifies and amplifies
the conclusions of the more routinized profiles. The diagnostic report
allows room for the creativity and insight which no systematic schema
can duplicate. The profiles are, of course, analogous to the laboratory
and radiological indices provided to the medical diagnostician. The
final diagnosis and prescription is based on the multiple correlation
procedure of great complexity which takes place in the mind of the
professional worker.
The diagnostic report deals with such a vast array of cues — clini-
cal and systematic — that it is highly individualized. It is less reliable
than the classification and profile ratings. It has a margin of unrelia-
bility which must be hazarded because of the complexity of the sub-
ject matter.
From the research standpoint, the personality report possesses a
great value. The correlations and results by which we test yesterday's
hypotheses are provided by the objective indices of the interpersonal
and variability profiles. In our scientific validation procedures we do
not rely on the intuitive personality report for proof. The qualitative
clinical report has, however, an inestimable research value because it
produces the hypotheses of tomorrow. Scientific progress in personal-
ity psychology works upward from the clinical, creative speculations
which are first expressed in the personality reports. The profiles, it will
be noted, serve admirably to give objective tests to hypotheses and to
yield probability predictions. Their very objectivity, however, guar-
antees that they will never generate a new idea.
The future of personality research lies in the front lines of the
functional situation. The neat predictions from the research office get
dented and pushed around by the rough pressure of human individual-
ity. We know very well that the indices do not take into account the
familial, occupational, cultural, or educational history of the patients
for whom they attempt to predict. At exactly the spots where the
214
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
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A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 215
predictive indices fail, the clinician is present to observe and to inte-
grate. If the predictions hit an accuracy of 90 per cent they still fail on
ten patients in every hundred. Each ten failures may be related to new
clinical variables which may later be added to the system, recast in
operational language, and tested for validity. Inaccurate predictions
are not embarrassments but sources of new hypotheses.
All three elements of diagnosis — the classification, the profiles, and
the report — are necessary for optimal evaluation of personality. Each
has its limitations — each makes its unique contribution to the clinical
and research aspects of the science. Many problems and frictions in
psychology might be lessened if the nature and function of these three
elements is kept straight. Table 6 presents a summary of these three
types of diagnostic procedures which are now employed in the Kaiser
Foundation project.
Functional Diagnosis
The evaluation of personality which we are describing in this book
is called functional diagnosis. The aim of our measurements is to un-
derstand the patient-in-his-relationship-to-the-clinic and to make pre-
dictions about the patient-in-relationship-to-his-future-therapist. The
focus of our diagnostic observations is the interpersonal behavior in
the context in which we (the clinical staff) have commerce with him.
The results of a psychological test battery can be studied from many
vantage points. It is possible for psychologists to predict competence
in combat flying, academic success in college, occupational fitness, etc.
These predictions may, in certain situations (in the air force, on the
campus, in the factory) , be quite functional and relevant. They would
not be much help to the psychiatrist attempting to decide the best plan
of psychotherapy.
Psychologists often use clinical tests to estimate the patient's
creativity, constriction, impulsivity, etc. These findings have some
value in the understanding of personality, but they would be of little
use to the clinician who wants to know: "Why is this patient coming
to the clinic? How much and what kind of motivation is present?
How will he react to different types of treatment? "
Other psychologists are able to outline with impressive sophistica-
tion the probable genetic history of the patient, the early traumatic
events, and the finely detailed nuances of the patient's sexual adjust-
ment. For patients who enter psychoanalysis or long-term treatment
these predictions undoubtedly point ahead to materials which will
emerge in the associative content. The Kaiser Foundation project has
not attempted to measure these areas of personality — partly because
they are beyond the scope of our technical capacity, and partly be-
2i6 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
cause we believe them to be less functional in regard to the crucial
aspects of pretherapy planning and of therapeutic interaction.
The first aim of functional diagnosis is to summarize before treat-
ment the aspects of the personality which have a bearing on the choice
of treatment. What is the motivation of the patient in coming to the
clinic? Does he come with self-depreciation, ready to unburden his
innermost thoughts and expecting some kind of mystical cure to fol-
low his confidences? Disappointment and bitter reproach may be the
easily predicted outcome if this motivation is not perceived and
planned for. Does he come under pressure from someone else (e.g., a
physician), defensively mobilized against any self-examination? A
stubborn power struggle and angry departure may be predicted if this
motivation is not recognized and responded to.
Clinical diagnosis concerns ego factors which influence the choice
of treatment. How much anxiety is manifested? What are the se-
curity operations by which the patient handles anxiety? What is the
interpersonal pressure put by the patient on the chnic?
The first aim of functional diagnosis is, then, to assess motivation for
treatment. The second aim is prognosis of treatment — to summarize
the kind of behavior which will appear in future therapy. How fast
or slow will be the course of therapy? Many patients who are well
motivated for change (thus satisfying the first criterion of functional
diagnosis) also manifest chronic, deeply rooted security operations
which are most resistant to change, or underlying psychotic distrust
which had best be left unexplored.
Another aspect of prognosis concerns the nature of the intrapsychic
conflicts. In many cases it is possible to point to private or "precon-
scious" motives which will probably afl^ect the later treatment rela-
tionship. A different transference relationship and prognosis are indi-
cated depending on whether the underlying themes involve distrustful,
passive resistance, or independent autonomy, or nurturant tenderness.
In making our prediction about the first (or motivational) aspect of
functional diagnosis we are mainly interested in "ego" factors. In
making the second prediction we concentrate on the deeper, "pre-
conscious" aspects of personality and their relationship to the more
overt or public factors. We use the total interpersonal profile to map
out areas of anxiety, the security operations by which it is handled, and
the transference phenomenon which they will tend to elicit during
psychotherapy.
Interpersonal Typology
To accomplish functional diagnosis the total personality pattern
(both the interpersonal and variability profiles) is employed. In-
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 217
volved in this total matrix are thousands of individual measurements
which are summarized in terms of sixteen interpersonal diagnostic
circles and an extensive assortment of variability indices. The com-
plexity of this system of diagnosis is such that it is almost impossible
that any two patients would ever show exactly the same kind of multi-
level profile.
For this reason a typological system is needed. jMethods have been
developed for summary classification of interpersonal and variability
types. In this chapter we shall consider the interpersonal typology.^
Two Kinds of Interpersonal Typologies. We recall that inter-
personal behavior has been rated at five levels. Two of these — Level I
communication and Level II self-description — are considered to refer
to the overt picture which the patient expresses in the clinical situa-
tion. These are designated presenting operations. A technique has
been worked out for typing or categorizing the more overt, conscious
aspects of the patient's personality. We shall speak, for example, of
the managerial type or the over conventional personality.
The categories which serve to summarize these behavioral opera-
tions do not directly apply to the underlying motives of the patient.
The "preconscious" themes of Level III tend to require a different
typological language. In an earlier chapter we have noted that sub-
jects in their fantasy themes express motives which are more intense
and extreme than those which they manifest in their overt behavior or
conscious self-descriptions. For this reason it is necessary to develop
a typology for summarizing the underlying operations of the patient.
The presenting operations (of Levels I and II) are, therefore, sum-
marized in terms of behavioral types, and the underlying operations
are categorized in terms of thematic motives. The specific diagnostic
classes of these two aspects of personality will now be presented.
Interpersonal Diagnosis of Presenting Operations. The first
goal of interpersonal diagnosis is to summarize the overt behavioral
impact of the patient upon the clinic. The task here is to determine:
(1) the kind of security operations, (2) the adaptive or maladaptive
pattern of conflict. This is accomplished as follows. First, the Level
II Self and the Level I symptomatic scores are converted into hori-
zontal and vertical indices and plotted on the diagnostic grid.''
These summary placements, it will be noted, reflect two aspects of
the Level I and II behaviors. The sector of the circle tells us what
interpersonal operations are involved, and the distance from the center
^The variability dimension of personality is discussed briefly in Chapter 13.
" The methodology for converting conscious self-descriptions and "symptomatic
communications" into horizontal and vertical indices and for plotting these indices on
the diagnostic grid has been explained in earlier chapters.
2l8
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
tells us how extreme or intense they are. Figure 26 presents an illus-
trative diagraming of the Level I-M and II-C scores for an overcon-
ventional patient. Both the Level I-M and II-C scores fall in the M
sector of the circle, and both fall in the outer ring of the circle, indi-
cating that they are more than one sigma above the mean in the direc-
.^'''
.^'
MANAGERMt-
Up;
Auroc/f
ATic
^<r.
/
\s^^ / \
/■.
^__^.^
-v
/ \, \
/ \^
•I
° ,,, 1 ,,,,?,,, ,
]0
'0
60
•»
\ /.
\X''
E»
I'l-F^
^JF^
2^[^;«AS0CH1STIC
Figure 26. The Summary Placements of the Level I-M and II-C Scores for an
Overconventional Patient. Key: The center of the grid js determined by the intersec-
tion of the means of the honzontal and vertical distributions. The grid is calibrated in
standard score units.
tion of conventionality and blandness. Two typological procedures
allow us to classify this pattern. The first step is to summarize the
sixteen-variable matrix into eight diagnostic categories. This is ac-
complished by combining adjacent variables and assigning a descrip-
tive term which reflects the interpersonal meaning. Pairing the sixteen
variables yields eight sectors of the diagnostic circle, which are called
octants. Thus we combine A (forceful dominance) with ? (respected
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
219
success) into a power octant, and we combine B (self-confident inde-
pendence) with C (competitive self-seeking) into a narcissistic octant.
We also express in our diagnostic summaries the adjustive or mal-
adjustive aspects of the presenting operations. If the subject's behavior
falls in the outer ring of the circle (one sigma above the mean), an
intense or maladaptive degree of this interpersonal behavior is indi-
cated If his security operations fall within one sigma of the center of
the circle, a moderate, adaptive degree is indicated. A statistical tech-
nique for diagnosing normality-abnormality or adaption-maladaption
in terms of degree is thus available. Figure 27 presents a schematic
AP
BC
NARCISSISTIC
PERSONALITY
AUTOCRATIC
PERSONALITY
NO
DE
. p COMPETITIVE
^ PERSONALITY
SADISTIC /
PERSONALITY /
MANAGERIAL /Av HYPERNORMAL
personality/^ ^v^ PERSONALITY
\
\
RESPONSIBLE \
PERSONALITY ^
AGGRESSIVE
PERSONALITY
COOPERATIVE I
PERSONALITY qvER-
^ REBELLIOUS
\ PERSONALITY
\
"^v / SELF-
DISTRUSTFUL ^, ^/ EFFACING
PERSONALITY ^V PERSONALITY
' CONVENTIONAL/
/ PERSONALITY / Liyi
DOCILE \ /
PERSONALITY^^
/
/
FG
MASOCHISTIC
PERSONALITY
DEPENDENT
PERSONALITY
HI
JK
Figure 27. The Diagnosis of Interpersonal Behavior at Levek I and II.
illustration of this method of interpersonal diagnosis and illustrates the
fact that there are eight interpersonal diagnostic categories by which
we summarize the overt behavioral presentation of the patient and that
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
there is an adaptive and a maladaptive degree to each type. These eight
adjustive and maladjustive categories are formally listed in Table 7.
TABLE 7
The Adaptive and Maladaptive Interpersonal Diagnostic Types
The Adfiistive Inter-
personal Types {one
sigma or less from
Interpersonal the mean) and the Nu-
Variable merical Code Used to
Code Designate Them.
AP 1 Managerial personality
BC 2 Competitive personality
DE 3 Aggressive personality
FG 4 Rebellious personality
HI 5 Self-effacing personality
JK 6 Docile personality
LM 7 Cooperative personality
NO 8 Responsible personality
The Maladjustive Inter-
personal Types {one sigma
above the mean) and the
Numerical Codes Used to
Designate Them.
Autocratic personality
Narcissistic personality
Sadistic personality
Distrustful personality
Masochistic personality
Dependent personality
Overconventional personality
Hypernormal personality
It v^^ill be noted that for each adaptive and maladaptive type there
is a verbal descriptive category (e.g., conventional; overconven-
tional) and a numerical code. The numerical designation for the con-
ventional type is 7, and for the overconventional type it is 7. The
numerical index is a most convenient w^ay of summarizing behavior at
any level because the digits can be combined into diagnostic formulas.
An italic diagnostic digit always refers to the moderate amount of the
interpersonal trait. A roman-face diagnostic digit always refers to the
intense or extreme amount of the behavior. This system of numerical
code diagnosis will be discussed in later sections of this chapter.
These diagnostic terms are employed to summarize security opera-
tions at Levels I and IL The diagnosis is accomplished automatically
by locating the indices for Level I in the correct octant sector and se-
lecting the interpersonal term which reflects this particular behavior.
This yields the Level I diagnosis. The same procedure is followed for
Level II — the indices determine the proper sector, and the appropriate
term is thus determined.
A printed booklet for deriving a multilevel interpersonal diagnosis
is presented in Appendix 4.
Figure 28 presents an illustration of Level I and Level II diagnosis
for two sample patients.
The Level I-M scores for patient "X" fall within one sigma of the
mean of the NO octant. Referring to Table 7 we see that this defines
an adaptive degree of responsible behavior. Patient "X" is therefore
diagnosed at Level \-\{ as a Responsible Personality (numerical code
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 221
diagnosis = 8). The Level II-C score for this patient is in the same
octant but beyond the normal range. This patient is self-diagnosed as
a Hypernormal Personality (numerical code diagnosis =8). For rou-
tine diagnostic research categorization of what we have called "pre-
senting operations," the Level I and II diagnostic terms can be com-
bined in a hyphenated designation, which for patient "X" would be
Responsible-Hypernormal Personality. A more convenient summary
method is to combine the numerical codes, which for patient "X"
would be 8S. The first term (verbal or numerical) in any diagnostic
formulation always refers to Level I-M symptomatic behavior, and
the second term to Level II-C self-description.
The Level I-M of the other illustrative patient "Y" falls in the outer
ring of the HI sector. This (by reference to Table 7) is seen to define
a Masochistic Personality at Level I-M (numerical code diagnosis
= 5). The Level II-C scores fall in the extreme end of the JK octant.
The Level II-C diagnosis is: Dependent Personality (numerical code
diagnosis = 6). The combined diagnosis of presenting operations is
Masochistic-Dependent personality, or more simply a ''56" personality
type.
In practice, the single level diagnosis is rarely employed. The focus
of the functional diagnosis generally includes the combined presenting
operations of Level I-M plus Level II-C. There are sixteen possible
categories for diagnosis at Level I-M — eight adjustive and eight mal-
adjustive types. The same number of categories are available for sum-
marizing Level II-C behavior when we turn to the combined diag-
nosis involved in the presenting operations. There are, therefore, 256
categories for interpersonal diagnosis of presenting, or facade
operations.
To present a diagnostic system involving 256 types would seem to
be an audacious gesture, placing an impossible task on the diagnostician
who attempts to use this system. It has already been pointed out that
diagnosis in the interpersonal system is a most routine and unde-
manding procedure. What we ask of a diagnostic label is an objective
summary categorization for administrative or research classificatory
purposes. We do not ask our diagnosis to take the place of a personal-
ity profile or a personality description. It is, instead, an automatic and
rehable classification. In practice, the interpersonal diagnosis is rou-
tinely determined by clerical procedures. The patient's scores on
Levels I and II are placed on the diagnostic grid, and the appropriate
diagnostic terms or two-digit diagnostic codes are automatically de-
termined. The theory and methodology of the interpersonal system
is complex, but the employment of the system for the purpose of diag-
nostic classification is simple.
222
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
Figure 28. Illustration of Interpersonal Diagnosis at Levels I-M and II-C for Two
Patients, "X" and "Y" {see facing page) .
Interpersonal Diagnosis of "Underlying Operations." The sec-
ond goal of functional diagnosis is, we recall, to summarize the the-
matic "preconscious" motifs, to relate them to the overt presenting op-
erations, and to employ these data to make predictions about the fu-
ture course of treatment. We shall now consider a method for sum-
marizing the "preconscious" themes of Level III.
The theory and measurement methods for Level III fantasy expres-
sions were presented in Chapter 9. It was emphasized that there are
two layers of "preconscious" data — the themes assigned to fantasy
heroes and those assigned to fantasy "others." These sublevels involve
different psychological functions. They have different lawful rela-
tionships with the other aspects of personality structure. These two
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
223
K^^^^'
MANAGffiMt
^^
,N^
,>^V
Uj
'^uroc,
'%/,
'J>>:
.^0
/A
•I
ffr.
^is
•n
^2^>(S0CHIST\C
^(HiJ ■
^^5^^
PATIENT Y
Figure 28 (cont.)
sublevels provide two diagnostic types of underlying operations.
In Chapter 9 we presented a method of measuring the interpersonal
themes from fantasy data and for converting the resulting scores into
indices which locate the subject on the diagnostic grids for Level III-T
Hero and Level III-T Other. There remains the task of formally di-
viding the Level III-T grids into summary diagnostic sectors. This is
accomplished in the same manner as for Levels I-M and II-C. The
sixteen-variable matrix is combined into the same eight sectors and the
appropriate descriptive terms or numerical codes assigned. The Level
III diagnostic circle is presented in Figure 29.
In comparing the diagnostic grid for Level III with that used for
Levels I and II, two differences will be observed. The first concerns
terminology — Level III deals with underlying private motives and
not behavioral manifestations. The diagnostic terms tend, therefore,
to reflect general motivational purposes rather than social role be-
2 24
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
2 EXPLOITATION
SADISM
DEPRIVATION
POWER
NURTURANCE
/^\
LOVE
DEPENDENCE
MASOCHISM
Figure 29. The Diagnosis of Interpersonal Behavior at Level III Hero and Other.
havior. A second difference concerns the degree of intensity. At
Levels I and II we distinguish between adaptive behavior and mal-
adaptive extremes. At Level III no such distinction is maintained in
setting up verbal descriptive categories. There are two reasons: Theo-
retically it is questionable that "preconscious" imagery can be con-
ceptualized as being adaptive or maladaptive. In one sense it appears
that this differentiation violates the notion of the equilibrium or
"safety valve" function of fantasy. In some cases the most violent
and antisocial autism may serve a healthy balancing function. The sec-
ond reason for not making the adaptive-maladaptive distinction at
Level III tends to make the first argument academic. At this point our
measures of Level III fantasy are so crude and preliminary that the
fine distinctions of normal versus abnormal autisms have been difficult
to study. The distinction between italicized numerical digits (for
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 225
moderate behavior) and roman-face digits (for intense behavior) is
maintained at Level III, but it simply reflects the amount of the inter-
personal emotion.
There are, then, eight verbal summary categories and sixteen nu-
merical categories for diagnosing behavior at Level III Hero and Other.
We have been continually reminded by one of the basic mottoes of
this book that no level has meaning by itself, and each level must be
interpreted in light of the other levels. Some theories of personality
do tend to diagnose on the basis of underlying motives. The Kaiser
Foundation system, on the contrary, does not follow this procedure.
We may tend to overemphasize the presenting operations (i.e., diag-
nosing from Levels I and II), but complete diagnosis includes the un-
derlying thematic behavior.
Multilevel Interpersonal Diagnosis. We are now ready to
proceed to the complete interpersonal diagnosis of the two sample
cases whose behavior we have been considering in this chapter. Inter-
personal diagnosis is accomplished by combining the sumiTmry descrip-
tive terms for Self behavior at Levels I and II, and the Self and Other
behavior at Level III. The significant omissions of Level IV, and the
behaviors of ''others'' at all levels (except III), and the value-themes of
Level V are not included in the diagnostic categorization. It must also
be kept in mind that we are dealing, in this chapter, with the inter-
personal aspects of diagnosis. The variability diagnosis, which com-
prises the other half of functional diagnosis, will be treated in Chap-
ter 13.
Figure 30 presents the Self scores of two patients, "X" and "Y," at
the three levels (I-M, II-C, and III-T) which comprise interpersonal
diagnosis. The methodology for plotting the summary scores on the
diagnostic grid has already been described. The diagnostic classifica-
tion is automatically obtained from Table 7 (for the Level I-M and
II-C terms) and Figure 30 (for the Level III terms). The Level I-M
score for patient "X" falls in the adaptive ring of the NO octant (nu-
merical code = S), his Level II-C score in the maladaptive range of the
same octant (numerical code = 8), the Level III-T Hero and Other
scores in the DE octant (both coded 3). His interpersonal diagnosis
is: responsible-hypernormal personality nvith underlying hostile feel-
ings. The four digit diagnostic code is 5*833.
The Level I-M and II-C scores for Patient "Y" fall in the mal-
adaptive ring of sectors FG and JK respectively (coded 46). The
"preconscious" Hero scores are in the outer ring of the BC octant
(coded 2) and the "preconscious" Other scores are in the inner ring
of the HI octant (coded J). Referring to Table 7 (for the Level I
226
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
^;^^*
U^p;
.#'
^/§/ m-T
Q
/::\^.
"-^W
10c
5^A
^^^.
1^2^S0CHIST\C
X
n-c
/
\
\^ ^ T
r "" ■/
\
/ \
^^^^^-^—-^
nr-o
,0
2\l^
'/h^
|. M?M,
, , , '|° , M 1 , , , ,'
^__-^
_j^^
\\i
L-^^^
^/
[\ /^\
/
Figure 30. Illustration of Interpersonal Diagnosis at Levels I-M, II-C and III-T
for Two Patients ("X" and "Y"). Key: For Levels I-M and II-C the circular dotted
line indicates the distance of one standard deviation from the mean. (The mean for
both the honzontal and vertical distributions in the center of the circle.) At Levels
1-M and II-C scores falling vi'ithin the inner circle are considered adaptive and those
in the outer circle maladaptive. At Level III-T the verbal distinction between adaptive-
maladaptive is not maintained. Figure 29 presents the interpersonal diagnostic cate-
gories for Level III.
and II terms) and Figure 29 (for the Level III terms), we see that his
interpersonal diagnosis is: distrustful-dependent personality with un-
derlying narcissism and deeper feelings of masochism. The diagnostic
code for this four-layer pattern is 5625.
The verbal diagnostic formula comprises a four-part sequence. The
Level I diagnosis comes first, and it is always paired with the Level II
diagnosis. The hyphenated description summarizes the presenting op-
erations of the patient. The Level III Hero and Other diagnoses fol-
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
227
^^f'
MANAGfRMt.
I-M
m-H
A
'I'^A
n-c
•''%^^
/
-^
y
\
\v / \
/
^ '\
>0
, . , 2,0, , ,'
/
1 , , , ,'m . , ,
, , , ,•<» ,«
---^^C/
\
\
\ /n-{
\
-'\
/
^ThJ)
.€
^vv^"^
PATIENT Y
Figure 30 (cont.)
low. The standard grammatical structure of an interpersonal diag-
nosis can now be considered:
" - Personality with Underlying ,
AND Deeper Feelings of
The first two elements,
personality," are
The third element
," is obtained
determined by the Level I and II summary scores
in the diagnostic formula, "with underlying
from the Level III Hero summary scores. The fourth element comes
from the Level III Other indices. To complete the functional diag-
nosis we add the variability diagnosis.
The Numerical Diagnostic Code. The numerical diagnostic
summary is a four-digit formula which sequentially presents the Level
I, II, III Hero, and III Other scores.
22$ THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
This four-layer system of interpersonal diagnosis provides an ob-
jective, reliable, and standardized classification. The diagnostic for-
mula summarizes the four aspects of the patient's security operations
which are most central to the decisions which clinicians make about
patients: How does he act? How does he see himself? What are his
underlying interpersonal potentials?
A detailed and complex diagnosis is involved in the four-layer
formula. It was pointed out that there are 256 types of presenting op-
erations. Each of these 256 diagnostic types can be characterized by
any one of eight Level III Hero patterns and by any one of eight Level
III Other patterns. For example, the patient whose presenting opera-
tions are diagnosed "responsible-hypernormal" can have underlying
"preconscious" themes located in any of the eight Level III Hero
sectors and in any one of the eight Level III Other sectors. There are
64 combinations of Level III Hero and Other scores. There are, there-
fore, 16,384 (256 X 64) verbal diagnostic formulas available for
summarizing human security operations. When we consider the four-
layer combination of numerical codes, a much larger set of possibili-
ties exists. It will be recalled that the distinction between moderate
and extreme behaviors is preserved in numerical diagnosis, italic num-
bers referring to the former and roman-face numbers to the latter.
There are, therefore, 65,536 (256X16X16) numerical formulas
available for summarizing interpersonal behavior at four layers of
personality.
Of the 16,384 verbal diagnostic categories, one quarter characterize
the adaptive or adjusted personality (at the level of presenting opera-
tions). One quarter of them involve maladaptive types. One half of
them designate personalities who have inconsistent ratings of adjust-
ment-maladjustment. Of this latter group it is obvious, by definition,
that half of them are self-diagnosed as adaptive in the context of a
symptomatic (Level I) diagnosis of maladjustment, while the other
half of this mixed group are self-diagnosed as maladjusted in the
context of a clinical symptomatic rating of adjustment.
Each of these four broad categories has an obvious clinical and
theoretical meaning. A diagnostic formula is, of course, a crude and
rough estimate of the security operations of the individuals, and it in
no way can be substituted for the more detailed pattern obtained from
the interpersonal and variability profiles or from the personality report.
With this qualification in mind, it can be seen that a specific multilevel
diagnosis (of the sort we have just presented) provides a useful core of
relevant information. In one standardized four-digit formula we ob-
tain a summary of (1) the interpersonal behavior at three levels and
(2) an estimate of kind and degree of adjustment-maladjustment.
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 229
The Relationship of Interpersonal Diagnosis to
Pyschiatric (Kraepelinian) Diagnosis
In an earlier chapter it seemed pertinent to comment on the prob-
lems created by the novelty of the interpersonal system. When the
reader who has struggled to acquaint himself with sixteen variables,
five levels, fourteen variability indices is now presented with 16,384
verbal diagnostic types or 65,536 diagnostic codes, the proliferation
of new terms and concepts may seem to be getting out of hand. At
this point it may prove encouraging to point out that the interpersonal
diagnostic system is not completely divorced from the traditional
language of the clinic. In our diagnostic formulations we employ a
behavioristic and interpersonal language to summarize the patient's per-
sonality. We are often called upon to communicate our diagnoses to
other clinicians who are not familiar with the systematic language of
the interpersonal system.
The interpersonal language — masochistic, autocratic, etc. — has
the advantage of a narrow and parochial usage. The Kraepelinians'
diagnostic language, by comparison, possesses an almost universal
popularity of usage, but is often vague and unclear. Most every
clinician tends to use labels such as schizoid or hysteric, but many of
them mean quite different things by these terms. One clinician may
conceive of the hysteric in terms of certain colorful symptoms; an-
other may refer to the state of psychosexual development; another
may denote a certain pattern of repressive defenses when he employs
the term.
However obvious its drawbacks, the Kraepelinian nosology has two
irrefutable claims to survival — its widespread acceptance and its im-
plicit connotations. A great deal of wisdom has accumulated in the
folklore of psychiatry. By this we mean that a psychiatric label
(e.g., hysteric) is a crude, disorganized synthesis of many variables
of behavior. Some of these are inconsistent, some subjective to the
user, some tautological, some unimportant, some valuable. Further,
it seems safe to say that most psychiatric labels have some interpersonal
factor loading. Schizoids show different interpersonal behavior from
hysterics, or from phobics, or from obsessives. It follows, therefore,
that there must be considerable overlap between the standard Krae-
pelinian nosology and the interpersonal diagnostic system presented
in this chapter.
With this hypothesis in mind an investigation of the interpersonal
factors in psychiatric terminology was undertaken by the Kaiser
Foundation research project. If this hypothesis is true, then several
advantages will accrue to both diagnostic systems. The objectivity.
j,o THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
reliability, and systematic complexity of the interpersonal schema can
be related to the standard Kraepelinian terminology. The latter might
be partially defined in terms of the operational language of the for-
mer. The pathological, maladjustive emphasis of the Kraepelinian sys-
tem may be amplified by the adaptive dimensions of the interpersonal
schema.
Testing the Relationship Between Interpersonal
and Psychiatric Diagnosis
The question now posed might be worded as follows: What is the
relation between interpersonal and standard psychiatric diagnosis? The
preceding sections of this chapter have presented a method for
establishing interpersonal diagnosis at three levels (four sublevels) of
personality. For comparison with Kraepelinian categories it seemed
logical to employ the levels which define presenting operations, i.e.,
Levels I and II. For the exploratory investigations it was decided to
use the Level II self-description as the interpersonal diagnostic cri-
terion. The obtaining of an index of interpersonal diagnosis was, thus,
a single straightforward task. The next problem was to find a
measurement or rating of Kraepelinian diagnosis to compare with the
interpersonal criterion. This was not as easy a procedure. The most
obvious solution was to ask psychiatric clinicians to make diagnostic
judgments of the same patients where Level II profiles were employed
for interpersonal diagnosis. This proved to be unfeasible for two
reasons. In the first place, psychiatric diagnostic judgments are no-
toriously unreliable (1, 2, 3, 5). If one side of the comparison is an
undependable measure, the extent of the true relationship between
the variables is clouded. A second disadvantage of clinical diagnostic
ratings concerns the subjective factors unique to each clinician. Ex-
tended conversations with practicing clinicians revealed a wide varia-
tion in individual preferences for use or avoidance of certain Krae-
pelinian terms. Some psychiatrists expressed doubt as to their ability
to employ certain diagnostic categories satisfactorily. Others believed
that pure Kraepelinian types were rare, and that most patients show a
mixture of reactions. Most all of them expressed a preference for dy-
namic or psychoanalytic language.
The search for a criterion measure of psychiatric diagnosis which
would be reliable and standardized led us in the direction of psycho-
metric estimates. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
seemed to be a most satisfactory estimate of psychiatric diagnosis be-
cause it is reliable and because there are widely accepted patterns of
scores which are valid estimates of psychiatric diagnosis.
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
231
The comparison procedure can be briefly summarized as follows.
The MMPI diagnosis of 200 clinic patients was determined (by pooled
ratings of three psychologists) .
Six of the most common neurotic types or character disorders were
employed as the diagnostic criterion. The Level II diagnoses of these
same patients were obtained. The results are summarized in Table 8.
They indicate that these six psychiatric diagnostic types are related to
different interpersonal modes of behavior,
TABLE 8
Median Interpersonal Self-Description Score for Six MMPI Clinical Groups
Median
Score
on Level
Verbal
MMPI
Number
II Inter-
Summary of
Psychiatric
Sorting
of
personal
Level II
Diagnosis
Criteria
Cases
Continuum
Score
Psychopathic
F, Pd, Ma
12
D
Aggressive, sadistic
Schizoid
D, F, Sc, Pd
32
F
Bitter, distrustful
Obsessive
D, Pt
42
H
Self-derogatory, passive
Phobic
D, Pt, Hy
48
K
Docile, dependent
Hysteric
Hy, K
31
M
Bland, overconventional
Psychosomatic
Hs, Hy
35
M-N
Responsible, hyper-
normal, generous
Patients who employ aggressive, nonconventional modes of mal-
adjustment tend to obtain the psychiatric diagnosis of psychopathic
personality. Distrustful, passively-resistant modes of adjustment tend
to be called schizoid; submissive, self-punishing patients tend to be
called obsessives; docile, dependent patients tend to be labeled phobics;
bland, naive, overconforming patients tend to be diagnosed hysterics;
and responsible, hypernormal patients fit the psychosomatic pattern
of the MMPI.
Of the eight interpersonal modes of adjustment-maladjustment, six
are related to psychiatric categories. Two interpersonal modes, how-
ever, the autocratic-managerial and the competitive-narcissistic, seem
to have no psychiatric equivalent. A new question arises: Why do
two interpersonal modes fail to merit psychiatric diagnostic cate-
gories? Why do managerial and competitive people fail to excite diag-
nostic attention, and thus avoid formal psychiatric recognition? These
categories are not unmentioned in the clinical literature. Exploitive,
narcissistic, power-oriented techniques have been described by Fromm,
Horney, and Sullivan. Prior to these culturally oriented writers little
reference has been made to these cases. They have not obtained
nosological popularity in any formal diagnostic system.
232
THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
We are led to speculate that these types have received little diag-
nostic attention because they do not come for help. Perhaps they do
not seek therapeutic assistance because the very essence of these mal-
adjustments is a compulsive maintenance of autonomy, independence,
and domination. These social techniques clearly preclude the role of
a psychiatric patient.
Our personality theories have generally been grounded in clinical
practice. But there seems to be increasing evidence that major neu-
rotic groups exist which are exposed to psychological testing diagnosis
and therapy in disproportionately small numbers.
Interpersonal Diagnosis. The data and speculations just pre-
sented have encouraged the possibility of relating interpersonal and
psychiatric diagnoses. It now seems feasible and profitable to define
psychiatric diagnoses in terms of the interpersonal expressions of the
patient. In this manner we preserve the values inherent in psychiatric
diagnosis, its widespread acceptance, and its statistical, administrative,
and theoretical advantages, which would be lost by a total rejection of
classical terminology. For these reasons the Kaiser Foundation re-
search project has retained the older clinical categories, combining
them with, and defining them in terms of, interpersonal factors.
Table 9 presents the eight modes of interpersonal adjustment and
maladjustment and the suggested psychiatric categories to which they
may be hnked. Under each interpersonal category we have listed not
one trait, but a syndrome of behaviors which are most typical, and
which often seem to go together. The category HI actually includes
many normal responses — retiring modesty, thoughtful reserve, sensi-
tive, deferent self-appraisal, etc. The same HI sector of the circle
also includes an assortment of extreme, maladjustive reactions — pas-
sive withdrawal, ruminative immobilization, submission, and self-
punitive attitudes. A variety of psychiatric terms seems to be related
to this generic interpersonal mode. Patients who fall in this area of the
diagnostic circle are often clinically labeled masochistic, guilt-ridden,
obsessive, or psychasthenic. This cluster of psychiatric terms is thus
related to the interpersonal mode. Wherever syndromes of psychiatric
categories or parallel diagnostic terms exist, they are included in
Table 9.
The relationships presented in Table 9 mark an important step in
the segmental development of this book. They establish an important
linkage between systematic interpersonal language and standard clini-
cal terminology. They relate the standard categories of psychopath-
ology to a continuum of maladjustive and (theoretically niore im-
portant) adjustment types.
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
233
TABLE 9
Operational Redefinition of Psychiatric Categories in
Terms of Interpersonal Operations
Numer-
ical Variable
Code* Code
Interpersonal Mode
of Adjustment
Interpersonal Type
of Maladjustment
AP
BC
DE
FG
HI
JK
LM
Executive, forceful. Managing, auto-
respected personality cratic, power-ori-
ented personality
Independent, com-
petitive personality
Blunt, frank, criti-
cal, unconventional
personality
Realistic, skeptical
personality
Modest, sensitive
persona'lity
Respectful, trust-
ful personality
Narcissistic, exploit-
ive personality
Aggressive, sadistic
personality
Passively resistant,
bitter, distrustful
personality
Passive, submissive,
self-punishing, maso-
chistic personality
Docile, dependent
personality
Standard Psychiatric
Equivalent of Inter-
personal Type of
Maladjustment
No psychiatric
equivalent (Com-
pulsive personality')
No psychiatric
equivalent (Counter-
phobic' Manic')
Psychopathic, sadis-
tic personality
Schizoid personality
Masochistic, psychas-
thenic, obsessive
personality
Neurasthenic, mixed
neurosis, anxiety
neurosis, anxiety
hysteria, phobic
personality
Hysterical
personality
Bland, conventional. Naive, sweet, over
friendly, agreeable conventional per-
personality sonality
8 NO Popular, responsible Hypernormal, Psychosomatic
personality hyperpopular, com- personality
pulsively generous
personality
* The numerical codes for interpersonal diagnosis also designate adaptive or mal-
adaptive intensity. Numbers in roman face refer to extreme maladjusted interpersonal
behavior and italicized numbers denote an adjustive mode.
We define "hysteric," "phobic," and other clinical diagnostic types
in terms of the presenting operations of Levels I and II. It is immedi-
ately possible to study the behavior of these diagnostic types at the
other level of personality and in terms of the variability indices. How
do hysterics (diagnosed at Level I-M) see their mothers, fathers, and
spouses? What are the identification-disidentification indices for
schizoids (diagnosed at Level I-M)? What are the Level V value-
aspirations of obsessives, hysterics, etc.? What are the Level III
fantasy patterns of psychosomatics? The eight clinical chapters of
tliis book are entirely devoted to a consideration of these questions, to
234 "^^^ INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
a summary of these new conceptions of diagnosis, and to their valida-
tion.
Thus, in linking interpersonal terminology to psychiatric diagnoses
we have facilitated a systematic investigation of many important clini-
cal problems. It will be noted, however, that this research enterprise
is based on what seems to be a rather shaky foundation — the equiva-
lence of the Kraepehnian-type diagnosis to interpersonal patterns. An
objection to this equation might point out that the relationship of
MMPI diagnostic patterns to interpersonal types is far from being a
convincing validation. Even though the MMPI is one of the most ac-
cepted and popular diagnostic tests, and even though it is based on
carefully diagnosed criterion groups, this one test cannot be considered
a satisfactory criterion of psychiatric diagnosis. This objection is well
taken. This is not a satisfactory criterion — but it still stands as the best
criterion. The unhappy fact is that there is no possibility of getting a
watertight estimate of Kraepelinian-type diagnoses. Like so many
other complex, multilevel concepts in psychiatry the diagnostic cate-
gories, because of unreliabiUty and subjectivity of conception, possess
no standard criterion value.
Five years of experience in applying the interpersonal system to
clinical problems, plus the validating evidence from MMPI studies,
have led to the conclusion that the relationships presented in Table 9
provide a satisfactory functional definition of these six psychiatric
categories. In a later section of this book eight chapters will be de-
voted to the eight basic interpersonal diagnostic types. As we take up
each adjustive-maladjustive mode, we shall review the Hterature per-
taining to the psychiatric equivalents. At that time it will be suggested
that the standard clinical definitions of these six Kraepelinian-type
categories do involve interpersonal factors that tend to substantiate the
relationships from our MMPI studies which are summarized in
Table 9.
The logic of operational definition, we recall, allows the scientist to
define his concepts in terms of his measurements. Because of the use-
fulness of psychiatric diagnostic terminology, and its implicit inter-
personal connotations, it has seemed valuable to include it within the
interpersonal diagnostic system. The relationships presented in Table
9 therefore stand as operational definitions of the psychiatric terms
concerned (at the designated level). In the subsequent chapters we
shall be employing the terms "overconventional," "dependent," etc.
When they are used it will be understood that they correspond to the
respective psychiatric equivalents (at Level I-M or II-C) as indicated
in Table 9.
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS 235
The Use of Standard Psychiatric Terms in Interpersonal Diagnosis
The Kraepelinian-type categories are taken to be synonymous for
the appropriate maladjustive types. According to this system hysteric
is a synonym for over conventional personality; obsessive can be used
interchangeably with masochistic personality . The Kraepelinian-type
terms do not interchange with the adjustive types, but only with the
maladjustive types.
The new clinical terminology is employed in exactly the same man-
ner as the interpersonal maladaptive categories. If a patient manifests
extreme LM at Level I and extreme FG at Level II, he is designated in
interpersonal terminology as an overconventional-distrustfjil personal-
ity (numerical code = 74). For research purposes we employ the nu-
merical code. If we wanted to communicate with a future therapist
who is familiar with the interpersonal system we would probably use
the interpersonal terms. If we wanted to communicate with a con-
ventionally trained psychiatrist who is unfamiliar with the inter-
personal language we would diagnose the patient hysterical-schizoid
personality .
Two additional considerations remain before concluding this chap-
ter on interpersonal diagnosis. Table 9 presents the eight basic inter-
personal types and lists many standard psychiatric categories which
seem to relate to them. According to this system of diagnosis, phobics,
neurasthenics, reactive depressives, and anxiety neurotics all can be ex-
pected to manifest docile-dependent trends. When the diagnostic
label is tied to the security operations displayed by the patient, some
changes in meaning and accompanying paradoxes can be expected. It
is possible for a patient to exhibit a phobic or anxiety symptom and
not the dependent behavior that we expect to go along with it. Some-
times a most aggressive or boastfully self-confident patient comes seek-
ing psychiatric help for phobic complaints, i.e., irrational fears or anx-
iety reactions. We diagnose, however, on the basis of character or
symptomatic pressure, not on the basis of the symptom itself. The
diagnosis summarizes the presenting operations. In cases of this sort we
generally find that the symptoms are a result of some threat to the
overt security operations. Sometimes the underlying operations reflect
the interpersonal themes that go with the symptom. Thus the pa-
tient who presents (at Levels I-M and II-C) as a counterphobic, self-
satisfied person with a phobic symptom would be given the present-
ing diagnosis of competitive or narcissistic personality {22 or 22).
Examination of his "preconscious" behavior might reveal fearful
and dependent themes (which we have seen to be related to phobic
material).
236 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
The symptom can be related to any level of personality, or it can
simply reflect an environmental pressure which makes the overt se-
curity operations inadequate or inappropriate. An example might be an
acute anxiety attack suffered by a compulsive, managerial personality.
If the multilevel profile involves "preconscious" passivity (e.g., 1 166),
we might surmise that the symptom represents a leaking out of the
underlying fear. If the multilevel pattern involves a solid four-layer
edifice of strength and power (e.g., 1111), then the symptom would
undoubtedly be a reaction to an environmental pressure for which his
compulsive, managerial operations are inappropriate or inadequate.
The pedantic, compulsive professor may be threatened by the loss of
his job; or the bossy, self-made businessman may be threatened by the
prospect of failure. Systematic diagnosis cannot, therefore, allow itself
to be tied to description of symptom. The solution, we submit, is sys-
tematically to describe and summarize behavior at the levels in which it
is manifested.
A final point merits comment. In looking over the list of standard
psychiatric diagnostic terms to which we have given interpersonal re-
definition, it will be noted that a few common categories are omitted.
Among the terms which are left out of the list of maladjustments are
such familiar labels as manic-depressive, paranoia, catatonia, etc.
These have been excluded because there seems to be no typical
interpersonal pattern associated with them. The essence of these dis-
orders is an inconsistent behavior. The emphasis, on the contrary,
seems to be on the changeability of behavior. This is obviously true of
the hyphenated term manic-depressive — the variability is the essence
of the personality. The term catatonic (which seems, by the way,
vaguely defined and diminishing in popular usage) is generally
described in variability terms. Paranoid, however, seems on the sur-
face to have a most clear interpersonal meaning. It is used, in fact,
synonymously with the distrustful, suspicious personality . While not
everyone would agree, we have come to the conclusion that paranoid
is one of the most loosely defined words in the psychiatric dictionary.
A brief review of its connotations will reveal its protean and paradoxi-
cal complexity. We have already mentioned its denotation of suspi-
cion (FG). It also refers to delusions of grandeur (BC). Paranoids
are generally associated with litigations, quarrelsomeness, or dangerous
outbursts of aggression (DE). They often present themselves as
pedantic and domineering (AP). They often claim to be hypernormal
— denying pathology and weakness (NO). They are most frequently
characterized by an obtuse, self-righteous, bland overconventionality,
which Robert E. Harris has called "poignant naivete" (LM, JK).
It is clear that there are a variety of specific interpersonal and
A SYSTEM OF INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS
^37
symptomatic pressures that the so-called "paranoid" puts on the chni-
cian. In fact, it seems that the essence of the term implies a complex,
unapproachable, unstable personality. Many clinicians tend to sniff
out the so-called "paranoid reaction" whenever they have the uneasy
sense that multiplicity (and perhaps duplicity) of motive exists in the
person they are dealing with. The essence of this diagnosis might be
reduced to these factors: (1) complexity and variety at the level of
presentation, (2) underlying hostility and distrust (which cannot be
included in the diagnostic summaries of presenting operations), and
(3) duplicity and/or self-deception (i.e., discrepancy between self-
perception and view of self by others). These three criteria seem to
suggest that the diagnosis of paranoia revolves around a certain pattern
of variability (especially conflict between presenting operations versus
underlying themes, and between the two types of presenting opera-
tions [Level I-M versus Level II-C]).
For these reasons the psychiatric terms paranoid, manic-depressive,
and catatonic are not considered as denoting interpersonal patterns of
presenting operations. They seem, instead, to p6int to certain phe-
nomena of changeability, conflict, cyclical oscillation, and mispercep-
tion.
The Diagnostic Continuum. In the preceding section we have
cited evidence relating the interpersonal types to standard psychiatric
diagnoses. The interpersonal types are on a continuum in such a way
that neighboring behaviors are related, and behaviors opposite on the
circle are considered to be negatively related.
When we substitute psychiatric diagnostic terms for interpersonal
categories we are suggesting that a diagnostic continuum exists.
The advantages of such a continuum (if valid) are considerable.
The process of diagnosis can be changed from a hit-or-miss pigeon-
hole classification to a more systematic enterprise. The reliability and
meaning of diagnosis can be increased. If one cHnician using the
standard nosology calls a patient an hysteric, and a second labels him
as phobic, a complete diagnostic "miss" must be registered. The use of
the diagnostic continuum can clarify this situation. In this illustrative
situation the two diagnosticians would be considered to be in fairly
close agreement since they are just one unit off in their disagreement
(since hysteric is one unit removed from phobic on the continuum).
The value of this system depends, of course, on its validity. We
have listed the diagnoses in a rough ordinal array. Does this make
clinical, empirical sense? Are hysterics closer to phobics than they are
to obsessives?
The evidence from the Kaiser Foundation research seems to con-
firm the hypothesis that they are. This research, however, is based on
238 THE INTERPERSONAL DIMENSION
measurements which are shallow and obviously not as broad or deep
as clinical impressions.
The validity of this diagnostic continuum can be checked by the
reader with clinical experience who can determine if the ordering of
categories correlates with his diagnostic experience.
The meaning of the diagnostic continuum can be broken down as
follows: Psychopathic personalities are held to be closest to schizoids.
They both share the alienation and isolation from conventional be-
havior. The former are more active in their hostihty, the latter more
passive.
Schizoid personalities are also close to obsessives. They both share
a pessimistic, self-derogatory attitude. The former are more bitter and
distrustful, the latter are more self-derogatory and worried.
Obsessive personalities are also close to phobics. They both share a
depressed, worried passivity. The former are more guilty, more aware
of their emotions. The latter fail to recognize the emotional sources
of their condition and are more concerned with symptoms external to
their character structure.
Phobic persoTialities are also close to hysterics. They both share a
repressive, conventional facade. They both externahze and tend to be
unaware of specific interpersonal problems. The former are more fear-
ful and worried, the latter are more bland and unworried.
The hysterical personality is also close to the psychosomatic adjust-
ment. They both share conventional operations and claim to be un-
worried and sound "psychologically." The former are more aware of
some symptomatic "tension"; they present physical symptoms which
are directly symbolic of underlying emotions. They are also relatively
more passive and conciliatory. The psychosomatic personality em-
phasizes more activity and hypernormal responsibility than the hys-
teric.
The managerial and narcissistic personality types are not usually
considered standard diagnostic categories and will therefore be
omitted from these comparisons.
Rejerences
1. AscH, p. The reliability of psychiatric diagnoses. /. abn. soc. Psychol., 1949, 44,
272-76.
2. DoERiNG, C. R. Reliability of observation of psychiatric and related characteristics.
Amer. J. Orthophyschiat., 1934, 4, 249-57.
3. Elfin, F. Specialists interpret the case of Harold Holzer. /. abn. soc. Psychol.,
1947,42, 99-111.
4. Harris, R. E. Psychodiagnostic testing in psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine.
In Recent advances in diagnostic psychological testing. Springfield, III.: Charles C.
Thomas, 1950.
5. Masserman, J. H., and H. T. Carmichael. Diagnosis and prognosis in psychiatry.
/. Ment. Sci., 1938, S4, 893-946.
Ill
The Variability Dimension of Personality:
Theory and Variables
Introduction
The Kaiser Foundation research project works within the scope of
two areas of personality — the interpersonal and variability dimensions.
In Part II we presented the five levels at which we measure inter-
personal behavior, and a multilevel system of interpersonal diagnosis
was described.
This section of the book presents an over-all view of the variability
dimension and the Kaiser Foundation theory of variability.
The variables by which we measure conflict and interlevel dis-
crepancy are called variability indices. These are the variables of per-
sonality organization — which relate behavior at different levels. Chap-
ter 1 3 presents operational definitions of forty-eight indices of varia-
bility. Some of these interlevel relationships are like classic psycho-
analytic defense mechanisms. These indices are described and defined
because we shall be employing them in the subsequent descriptions of
clinical and diagnostic types. Their detailed description, validation,
and clinical applicability will not be included in this book.
Our present purpose is to outline a system of interpersonal diagnosis
and the variables by which this is accomplished. Some of the research
findings which involve variability indices (e.g., identification and mis-
perception) are summarized in the diagnostic section (Chapters 14
through 23). Other descriptions and validations of variability indices
have been published in scientific journals (I, 2).
The chapter to follow will, therefore, be restricted to a brief discus-
sion of theory and a listing of the indices of variability.
References
1. LaForge, R., T. Leary, H. Naboisek, H. Coffey, and M. Freedman. The inter-
personal dimension of personality: II. An objective study of repression. /. Pers.,
1954, 23, 2, 129-53.
2. Leary, T., and H. Coffey. The prediction of interpersonal behavior in group
psychotherapy. Fsychodrama Group Psychother. Mojiogr., 1955, No. 28.
240
13
The Indices of Variability
The preceding pages of this book — Chapters 1 through 12 — have con-
sidered the interpersonal dimension of personality. We have seen that
security operations can be classified in terms of sixteen variables. We
have also considered the fact that interpersonal behavior exists at dif-
ferent levels and that these levels may be defined in terms of the source
and nature of their expression.
The interpersonal dimension has five levels. A circular continuum
of variables is employed for all measures of emotional behavior. We
have dealt in some detail with the measurements, meaning, and func-
tion of these five levels. In presenting this material, the levels were
considered separately. The point was made repeatedly that the data
from any level are most useful in relation to all the other levels. But so
far we have concentrated on statements about each level in isolation,
because we have had no systematic way of dealing with the dynamic
interplay among levels. The time has come to discuss these relation-
ships. We are going to fit together four^ discrete parts of personality
structure in order to build a systematic theory of personality organi-
zation. We are going to study the integration of the over-all personal-
ity. The shift in reference we make here is important to note. Up
until now we have dealt with unilevel data. Now we are going to
study multilevel phenomena — the dynamics of organization. It is
necessary, at this point, to distinguish between statements that refer to
security operations and to the arrangement of interpersonal variables
at a single level or area (i.e., the circle) and those which refer to the
differences among the circles. The former can be called class (i.e.,
unilevel) statements and the latter relationship (i.e., multilevel) state-
ments.
When the interpersonal behavior of an individual at one level of
personality is classified, the resulting data might take the form of the
following: "The patient complains to the therapist." "He attacks the
^ Level IV not included.
241
2^2 THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
other group members." These are class statements. They refer to one
area of security operations — Level I Communications. A patient says,
"I like my therapist and the other group patients." These are also class
statements. They refer to another area of behavior — Level II, Con-
scious Descriptions.
When behavior at one level is compared to behavior at another
level, relationship statements are being made. The discrepancies be-
tween levels become the focus. We note, for example, that a patient
consciously reports himself as friendly, although his behavior as rated
by others is hostile. We might say that this patient misperceives his
hostile behavior. The word Tmsperceives is a relationship term since it
compares two levels of observation — the subjective and objective
view of the patient's behavior.
When we shift from sentences about a single level to sentences
about the differences between levels, a new set of concepts is involved.
The term misperceives is an example of such a concept, A new vocab-
ulary and syntax come into play. This comes under the heading of
the "Logic of Levels." The distinction between class and relationship
statements must be kept clear or faulty conceptualization will result.
What Is the Variability Dimension?
We are dealing here with an entirely new and different type of
data — the relationships among the levels of personality. We designate
this as the variability dimension of personality. This is a most impor-
tant aspect of behavior. Variability has classically been the stumbling
block in the development of personality theory. Every systematic
treatment of human nature has had to labor with the perverse incon-
sistency of behavior. It has never been difficult for theorists to invent
typologies and variables of emotions. The trouble has always come
when the elusive human subject begins to demonstrate his protean
complexity.
The first theoretical lever which succeeded in moving this obstacle
was provided by the theory of unconscious motivation. When Sig-
mund Freud defined the multilevel nature of personality, he offered the
first systematic explanation of conflicts, ambivalence, and incon-
sistency. The essence of a dynamic psychology is variability. The
great advantage of a depth theory is that it explains the puzzling com-
plexity and contradiction inherent in human behavior. The psycho-
analytic theory of personality and of neurosis is defined in terms of
interlevel conflict, i.e., variability. There are certain motives at one
level and certain other motives at another. Their interplay spells out
the organization of personality. When Freud presents his great tri-
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY 243
partite division of character into ego, superego, and id, he is mainly
concerned with conceptualizing the multilevel variability of behavior.
VariabiUty is involved in almost every aspect of personality that we
study. Conflict, ambivalence, defense mechanisms, growth, regression,
change, improvement-in-therapy — all these phenomena have the basic
factor in common — one unit of measure varies in relation to another.
It is a major thesis of this book that all change phenomena are, to a
certain extent, functions of a general rigidity-oscillation factor. This
factor is measurable and predictable in terms of the time and the
amount of variability. Some human beings are more variable, some are
less. Some express variation between certain areas of their personality;
others express it in different areas. The amount and kind of variability
is a most significant variable of human behavior. It defines the type
and intensity of conflict. It determines the tendency to change or to
maintain a rigid adjustment. It becomes a key variable in the diag-
nostic and prognostic formulas through which we conceptualize hu-
man personality.
Structural, Temporal, and Situational Variability
In considering the variability factor it is useful to make the follow-
ing distinctions between structural, temporal, and situational variabil-
ity.
Structural variability refers to differences among the levels of per-
sonality. It is well known that drastic discrepancies and inconsistencies
develop when we compare the conscious self-description with be-
havioral or symbolic expressions. The subject who presents himself as
a warm-hearted, tender soul may produce dreams or fantasies which
are bitterly murderous. Social interactions, as observed by others, may
be quite different from the subject's own view of them.
Temporal variability refers to inconsistencies in the same level of
behavior over a time span. Time inevitably brings changes, great or
small. Many subjects show marked cyclical swings of mood or ac-
tion. The interpersonal behavior of an individual generally mutates
as he moves from age 13 to 31. The temporal changes we study in
psychiatric patients are called spontaneous remissions, therapeutic re-
coveries, psychotic episodes, and the like.
Situational variability refers to differences in cultural and environ-
mental factors. The man who is a lion at home may be a lamb in the
office. Reactions often vary according to the sex, age, and cultural
status of the "other one" with whom the subject is dealing.
The Kaiser Foundation research project is studying the hypothesis
that all of these types of changes are related to the same variability
244 THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
factor. To distinguish between them may be an artifact, operationally-
useful in the light of the scientific manageability of change phenomena.
It is difficult enough to measure interpersonal behavior at one time
and at one level. To study variation it is necessary to have two sets of
data on the same subject which we compare. Three distinct operations
are required. We must measure one set of behaviors, then the other,
and finally, the discrepancy or change index. We can isolate tem-
poral variation by holding constant the level and the situation from
which the data come, and measuring the change over time. Repeating
the same personality test on a control patient might be an example of
this type of variation. Observing in a group therapy session a patient's
successive reactions to a nurturant therapist and a competitive fellow
patient would illustrate a change in the interpersonal situation often
leading to variance in the subject's responses. If we establish the kind
of variability in one of these classes (e.g., in personality structure) we
can make probability predictions as to the kind of variation to be ex-
pected in another class.
Comparison Between the Interpersonal
and the Variability Dimension
The network of relationships of the various parts of the system —
and that is what we deal with here — obviously tells us something about
the organization of that system. Interlevel discrepancies are therefore
indices of organization. They tell us about the agreement or conflict
between the various levels of behavior. They tell us not how the sub-
ject relates to his environment, but rather how the different areas of
his personality relate to each other. In the interpersonal dimension
we study different phenomena and employ different variables. For ex-
ample, the subject's Level I profile is measured in terms of the sixteen
interpersonal variables, summarizing his actual relationships with other
people. The Level II profile employs the same sixteen variables to
summarize his consciously described relationships with other people.
When we compare the Level II and III profiles we get a discrepancy
score. We move into a new dimension and must employ a new set of
variables.
These variables are not interpersonal, but intrapersonal. Projec-
tion and suppression are terms used to describe certain kinds of rela-
tionship between levels of personality data. Notice that they are not
directly interpersonal; one does not project or suppress another per-
son. He projects or suppresses his own private motivation. These re-
lationship variables refer not to his social relationships but to the rela-
tionships which hold between the areas of his own behavior. Similarly,
the rating of amount of interlevel discrepancy must be distinguished
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY 245
from an interpersonal rating. We do not use the terms rigidity and
conflict to describe what one person does to another — we employ them
to describe the tightness, looseness, consistency, or ambivalence among
the levels of personality.
Thus, we have introduced into the interpersonal system not just a
new variable, but a new category of classification. This is called the
variability dimension of personality. A new order of measurement is
involved which taps all of the variability phenomena of human be-
havior: similarity-difference, change, discrepancy, conflict. There are,
as we have seen, many types of changes that show up in human be-
havior— those due to time, situation, and chance, as well as those due
to lawful inconsistencies among the levels of personality. The vari-
ability dimension is a formal aspect of personality as opposed to the
more empirical procedures by which we measure interpersonal be-
havior. Its variables are determined not from empirical observation,
but from logical procedures.
In developing the interpersonal variables, we began with actual
interpersonal behavior. We collected emotional data of all kinds and
then developed a system which best reflected the varieties of inter-
personal purpose. In developing the levels of personality the same em-
pirical technique was followed. The diff^erent sources of data were
examined and combined into the four levels. But in determining the
measurement and conceptual units for the variability dimension, a dif-
ferent solution is involved. We are not dealing with actual human be-
havior, but with indices of change — changes in the scores from the
interpersonal dimension. The variables of the variability dimension are
not units of the subject's behavior, but of the scientists' behavior, for
it is the scientist who performs the operations.^
This is a point worth stressing. The number and kind of inter-
personal variables were limited and determined only by our observa-
tions of what individuals do to each other in their social interaction.
The number of levels was similarly determined by empirical evidence.
A certain flexibility in the selection of variables and levels does exist
because any scientist has the right to increase or diminish the number
of categories by which he classifies behavior. In setting up empirical
categories, some room for interpretive judgment is allowed — the em-
pirical data guides, but does not dictate. Once the number of levels is
determined, however, the system becomes "set." When the scientist
^ To be more precise we should say that the variability dimension is twice removed
from behavior, and the interpersonal dimension is once removed. The patient does
something; then the scientist categorizes or measures it. The interpersonal data ob-
tained in this way are once removed from the subject's behavior. Then the scientist
goes on to compare the different levels of areas of interpersonal data. These formal,
analytic operations are thus twice removed from raw behavior.
246
THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
goes on to compare the differences between the levels he has selected,
there is no longer any freedom for interpretation or creative choice.
The logic of levels takes over and dictates the range and nature of the
interlevel discrepancies.
An empirical system for measuring multilevel behavior leads, then,
to a somewhat new theory of personality organization. A different
conception of conflict is defined, not in terms of the interplay between
postulated forces, but in terms of the discrepancies between measures.
The Indices of Variability
The relationships between areas of personality are called variability
indices. We have already discussed their general similarity to the con-
ception of (but not the clinical use of) Freudian defense mechanisms.
These indices comprise one aspect of the variability dimension of per-
sonality. They reflect the stabihty or variation existing among the
levels of personality at one point in time. They are to be distinguished
from other kinds of change phenomena included in the variability di-
mension, such as modulations over time (which includes change in
psychotherapy) or variability due to differences in the cultural situa-
tion. We deal here with indices of interlevel conflicts and con-
cordances.
The term variability index has been assigned to this kind of varia-
tion for the following reason. This is a rather neutral term. It is in-
tended to point out that we are not dealing with mechanisms or even
with behaviors, but rather with formal, comparative operations. These
discrepancy relationships do not "do anything." It is risky to mechan-
ize or humanize them. There are no body organs or neural centers for
repression or suppression.
From the empirical point of view, there is simply behavior at dif-
ferent, discriminable levels of expression. There are measured rela-
tionships between these levels. In the present insecure state of our
knowledge it seems safest to call them indices. But indices of what?
To answer this question is to produce a theory of personality organiza-
tion.
Variability index is, we expect, a temporary holding term which
can be replaced by a more dynamic term whenever the nature of the
dynamic principle is determined. In the meantime, it seems to express
exactly what we know to be true about the interlevel relationships. It
tells us how stable or variant these relationships are. If the themes of
Level II parallel those of Level III, then the variability index is low.
The aggression, let us say, of one level is repeated at the other. If the
two levels are discrepant — if, for example, the aggression at Level II
changes to docile cooperativeness at Level III — a high variability index
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY 247
is obtained. Variation between the levels is present. There is another
and more important aspect of variability. There is evidence (see Ap-
pendix 3 ) that the more stable the organization of personality — that is,
the more the data from Levels II, III, and I tend to repeat the same
themes — the less variation we can expect in the personality organiza-
tion over time. Conversely, the more conflict or oscillation among the
levels of personality, the more change we can predict will take place
in the future; and this includes change in therapy. These findings
make the term variability index doubly appropriate. While we can-
not, at this point, say that interlevel discrepancies possess the dynamic
qualities of pushing toward equilibrium, we can say that they refer to
structural stability of personality (this by definition), and they predict
the degree of stability of personality organization to be expected in
the future. They give us, first of all, an index of systematic variation
in the personality structure at the time of evaluation, and they point
out the direction and amount of change to be expected over future
time.
The Function of Variability Indices
The interpersonal system does not assign a function to these inter-
level discrepancies. Behavior at all levels is seen as having one basic
function to ward off survival anxiety. The discrepancies or conflicts
between levels are seen as another dimension of conception which con-
cerns the psychologist's behavior. It is the psychologist who measures
the discrepancy or conflict between the two levels of the patient's be-
havior. We assign, for semantic convenience and heuristic necessity,
conceptual titles to the important discrepancies between the levels of
the subject's behavior. We do not, however, assign functions to them.
The only assumption upon which an empirical theory of personaUty
need be based is the premise of survival anxiety. The only function
we assign to behavior is the maintenance of security and the diminish-
ing of anxiety. The indices of diff^erence, ambivalence, or conflict
among the varieties of behavior do not seem to require the postulation
of additional functions.
Closely connected to this question of the function of defense mech-
anisms (or variability indices) is another issue which has received con-
siderable attention in the recent literature. This involves the differen-
tiation between adaptive and defensive functions. Are defense mech-
anisms pathological and neurotic, or can they sometimes be construc-
tive? Fenichel, for example, places all "successful defenses" under the
heading of sublimation, and describes "unsuccessful defenses which
necessitate a repetition or perpetuation of the warding-off process to
prevent the eruption of the warded-off impulses." Mowrer has dis-
248 THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
tinguished between the mechanisms used in development and those
used in defense. This issue of the adaptability or pathology attached
to the discrepancies of concordance and conflict in personality is in-
variably complicated by value judgments (e.g., what is adaptive?) and
tlieoretical assumptions about the function of defense mechanisms.
These are legitimate questions from the standpoint of the psycho-
analytic approach and deserve the attention they have received.
From the position of the interpersonal system, this issue could be in-
terpreted as follows: (1) the variabihty indices have no function; (2)
discrepancy or conflict between levels cannot be assigned an adaptive
or maladjustive value by definition but must be interpreted as part of
the total personality picture. The level and amount of the conflict and
its relationship to the over-all character structure determine the posi-
tive or negative interpretation.
A not infrequent clinical misinterpretation of psychoanalytic
theory implies that defense mechanisms are negative or neurotic proc-
esses. This is, indeed, one reason which supports the use of the more
neutral term variability index for the interlevel conflicts. A discrep-
ancy between conscious self-description and "preconscious" fantasy
(which we shall designate repression) should not necessarily be con-
sidered unhealthy. If the Level II self-image is one-sided and the "pre-
conscious" fantasy a moderate balance in the opposite direction, the
conflict might well designate an adaptive equilibrium. If the patient is
markedly disidentified with his father, the adjustive aspect of this dis-
crepancy would certainly depend somewhat on the kind of motives
attributed to self, to father, and to others.
In the subsequent pages we shall be considering several variability
indices which have been given names of psychoanalytic defense mech-
anisms where these seemed to fit the nature of the conflict. In order
to understand the meaning and use of these indices in the interpersonal
system, it is essential that two points be kept in mind: (1) These con-
cepts are not mechanisms or dynamisms, but rather numerical indices
of interlevel variation; as such they have no function. (2) They have
no a priori value-loading as far as adjustment and maladjustment are
concerned; they can describe flexibility and healthy ambivalence, or
they can indicate pathological rigidity or maladaptive oscillation.
Two Interpretations of Variability
When we obtain the variability indices among the levels of per-
sonality, two interpretations of the resulting variation can be made —
both of theoretical and practical interest. We can concentrate on
what the variation is, or we can focus on how Tmich. The first tells us
that the individual represses so much hostility or misperceives this
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY 249
much passivity. The second way of handhng variability indices is to
disregard the content of the interpersonal themes, study the pattern of
variability for all the discrepancy relationships, and simply determine
how variable this person is in over-all terms. This focuses on the
amount of variability. We can then make such statements as, "This
patient is extremely conflicted and variable, being two sigmas above
the mean."
We have seen that the logic of levels determines the kind of rela-
tionships among levels. We have developed a system in which there
are eight general levels and areas of personality. Therefore, when
we ask the question, "What are the relationships among the areas of
personality?" the answer is already settled for us. They are the rela-
tionships among these eight areas — the discrepancies which occur
when we compare each level or sublevel with every other level.
Formally, then, there are as many relationships or variability indices
as there are permutations among the areas.
Figure 31 presents these eight areas. Each circle represents a dis-
crete area of personality data. The lines joining the circles represent
the interlevel or interarea discrepancy indices determined by the logic
of levels. They comprise the network of variability indices which
link the parts of personality structure into an organized totality.
Validation of these indices is beyond the scope of this book. Thirteen
of these relationships — those most relevant to current theory and
clinical practice — are defined in this chapter.
The Record Booklet for Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality
(Appendix 4, Figure 61) provides a simplified method for measuring
discrepancy indices and for plotting them in diagrammatic summary
form.
The next task is to determine the meaning of these interlevel rela-
tionships. The subtractive procedures, it will be recalled, indicate
the kind and amount of interpersonal behavior in one area that is pres-
ent in another area. Giving names to these relationships is, in one way,
the simplest problem of all. The term which best mirrors the rela-
tionship is selected and operationally defined in terms of the cross-level
subtraction. A procedure of this sort satisfies all the logical require-
ments, but the reader is likely to remain unsatisfied and to ask the
further questions, "This is all very well, but what do they mean?
What is their functional value? What do they predict?"
A scientific system can be objective and logically virtuous and still
have no function except perhaps to entertain the originator. It would
be possible to assign very impressive terms to the interlevel relation-
ships, calling this one "repression" and that one "displacement" and a
third "introjection," etc., until the long list of relationships (or the
250
THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY
251
imagination) is exhausted. The resulting nomenclature would be
logically consistent and objective (since all the terms would be opera-
tionally defined), but, what is rather unfortunate, it would be quite
irrelevant. In developing a system of personality, the first problem
is the selection of the categories. The next is to validate them, that is,
to relate them to other independent and relevant variables, to harness
them to functionally useful predictions. The three criteria for effec-
tive research, we recall, are objective measurement, logical analysis,
and, far from the least important, functional relevance.
If it were feasible to list and label all the possible interlevel relation-
ships, the next task would be to validate them against functional
criteria. Such labeling and validating would place an enormous drain
on inventive imagination, research resources, and reader endurance
alike. At this point, we shall attempt to define twelve generic varia-
bility indices, and then list forty-eight specific indices which fall into
the twelve broader categories.
The twelve variability indices about to be defined have been chosen
because they appear to possess the most clinical meaning, functional
value, and theoretical implication. As we begin this exercise in the
mathematics of personality, it is well to keep in mind the formal or
logical aspect of the task. In one sense, it is not absolutely necessary
to develop a notational system for linking up the levels of personality.
In our diagnostic procedures we could conceivably just present the
interpersonal behavior at all levels. We would indicate that the sub-
ject is hostile at Level I, claims to be docile at Level II, describes his
father as autocratic at Level II Other, etc. The language of variability
allows us to relate these areas or levels of personality. It allows us to
define systematically the dynamic network which links up the de-
scribed areas. This is a great convenience. Like any formal, notational
device, the language of variability makes possible concise, precise sum-
maries of conflict, concordance, discrepancy, etc.
Operatioiial Definition of the Variability Indices
There are twelve generic variability indices to be defined and
validated in this chapter. Most of these generic discrepancies have
several subdivisions which are specific indices referring to the impor-
tant familial figures to which the subject is related. Thus, under the
generic index conscious identification there are four specific indices
referring to identifications with father, mother, spouse, and therapist.
Table 10 presents the twelve generic variability indices and indicates
the subvarieties which are subsumed under this general title.
In the left column of Table 10 are listed the most familiar titles of
the twelve generic variability indices. In the right-hand column are
2J2 THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 10
Informal Listing of the T'welve Generic Variability Indices
Code Number of the Specific Variability
Title of Variability Indices Indices Subsumed Under this General Title
Role Coincidence 11 SO
Interpersonal Perception 12 SS, 12 OO
Conscious Identification 22 SM, 22 SF, 22 SSp, 22 ST
Equation 22 MF, 22 MSp, 22 FSp, 22 MT, 22 FT, 22 SpT
Repression 23 SH
Cross-level Identification 23 MH, 23 FH, 23 SpH, 23 TH, 23 SO, 23 SM,
23 SF, 23 SSp
Conscious-"Preconscious" Fusion 23 MM, 23 FF, 23 SpSp
Displacement 23 A'lF, 23 FM, Z3SpM, 23 SpF
23 M Sp, 23 F Sp, 23 TM, 23 TF, 23 TSp
"Preconscious" Identification 33 HM, 33 HF, 33 HSp, 33 HO
Self-Acceptance 25 IS
Conscious Idealization 25 IM, 25 IF, 25 ISp, 25 IT
"Preconscious" Idealization 35 IH, 35 IM, 35 IF, 35lSp, 35 lO
noted the code designations of the specific variability indices which
are the subvarieties of the generic indices. It will be observed that
there are forty-eight of these specific indices. All of these will be
operationally defined in the subsequent pages.
It will be noted that many of these generic variability indices have
been given the names of classical psychoanalytic defense mechanisms.
Although borrowing terminology from another theory has its risks,
we have ventured to employ the familiar terms wherever they seem to
fit the general nature of the discrepancy concerned. In this manner
we have sought to avoid the proliferation of novel terms and the
idiosyncratic "timid neologisms" which Egon Brunswick has deplored.
Several of the discrepancy indices, however, involve reflex inter-
personal communications — a level of personality which has not been
isolated by the psychoanalytic theory. This has necessitated the intro-
duction of some new terminology — or in Freudian language, some
new "defense mechanisms."
Confusion between these variability indices and psychoanalytic
mechanisms of the same name may be avoided if the reader keeps in
mind the operational definition of each index. It may be helpful to
present a diagrammatic operational definition of these twelve vari-
ability indices. They are defined by the amount of discrepancy be-
tween levels or areas of personality as illustrated in Figure 31.
Several points require comment. First, it will be noted that the re-
lationships of Level IV (the level of the unexpressed unconscious) to
the other levels are not included. No data are available for this area of
personality. It must also be noted that only one circle is presented for
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY 253
each area of "other" behavior.^ In practice, there are several "others"
who are always included in the personality diagram. As we recall
from the chapter on Level II (Chapter 8), the conscious view of
mother, father, and spouse (and, where possible, the therapist) is
routinely included in the personality pattern. Similarly, in scoring
fantasy material, we separate the themes attributed to father, mother,
and cross-sex figures. These specialized circles are not all included
in Figure 31. We have included an extra Level II Other circle, labeled
"father," to illustrate the variability indices of Familial equation, de-
fined as the process of consciously ascribing similarities or differences
to various family members or describing nonmembers (such as the
therapist) as being like or unlike family members. If a patient de-
scribes hij therapist in the same way that he describes his father, the
two indices will show little or no discrepancy. We would be able to
say, "The patient consciously equates his therapist with his father."
We have also included an extra Level III Other circle to illustrate
the variability indices of displace?nent, which is defined as the process
of consciously ascribing to one "other" (e.g., father) the interpersonal
traits which are preconsciously assigned to another "other" (e.g.,
mother) .
Operational Definition of Forty-eight Specific Variability hidices
It was mentioned above that the twelve generic variability indices
subdivide into forty-eight specific variability indices. If we consider
all the permutations and combinations of interrelatedness among the
levels and the personages at each level, a list of variability indices sev-
eral times forty-eight would be obtained. The forty-eight indices now
to be defined were selected on the basis of the theoretical and clinical
meaningfulness. The plan of exposition is as follows: We shall first
present an operational definition for each of the forty-eight variability
indices and a formal title for the high and a low discrepancy for each.
The listing, coding, formal designation, and operational definition of
each variability index is contained in Table 1 1 , The key to the num-
bers and letters employed in coding the variabihty indices is presented
in Table 12.
The Coding of the Variability Indices
The first column in Table 1 1 gives the code number of the variabil-
ity index. The code number is a simple, straightforward notational
device which summarizes exactly what discrepancy is involved in this
index. Every code number for a variability index comprises four
^ An exception to this statement— two circles are included in Figure 31 for Level II
Other and Level III Other to illustrate the indices of equation and displacement.
254
THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 11
Operational Definition of Forty-eight Indices of Variation
Low Discrepancy
High Discrepancy
Between the Two
Between the Two
Code
Measures Is Called:
Measures Is Called:
11 SO
Role coincidence
Role reciprocity
12 SS
Self-perception
Self-deception
12 GO
Other-perception
Other misperception
22 SM
Conscious identification
Conscious disiden-
(maternal)
tification (maternal)
22 SF
Conscious identification
Conscious disiden-
(paternal)
tification (paternal)
22SSp
Conscious identification
Conscious disiden-
(spouse)
tification (spouse)
22 ST
Conscious identification
Conscious disidentifi-
with therapist
cation with therapist
22 MT
Maternal-therapist
Maternal-therapist
equation
disequation
22 FT
Paternal-therapist
Paternal-therapis:
equation
disequation
22SpT
Spouse-therapist
Spouse-therapist
equation
disequation
22 MF
Maternal-paternal
Maternal-paternal
equation
disequation
22MSp
Maternal-spouse
Maternal-spouse
equation
disequation
22FSp
Paternal-spouse
Paternal-spouse
equation
disequation
23 SH
"Preconscious"
"Preconscious"
duplication
repression
23 MH
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (maternal)
cation (maternal)
23 FH
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (paternal)
cation (paternal)
23SpH
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (spouse)
cation (spouse)
23 TH
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (therapist)
cation (therapist)
23 SO
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (other)
cation (other)
23 SM
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (maternal)
cation (maternal)
23 SF
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (paternal)
cation (paternal)
23SSp
Cross-level identifica-
Cross-level disidentifi-
tion (cross-sex)
cation (cross-sex)
23 MM
Fusion (maternal)
Diffusion (maternal)
This Variability Index
Is Operationally De-
fined by the Discrep-
ancy Between:
Level I self vs. Level I
other (specialized or
total)
Level I self vs.
Level II self
Level I other vs.
Level II other
Level II self vs.
Level II mother
Level II self vs.
Level II father
Level II self vs.
Level II spouse
Level II self vs.
Level II therapist
Level II mother vs.
Level II therapist
Level II father vs.
Level II therapist
Level II spouse vs.
Level II therapist
Level II mother vs.
Level II father
Level II mother vs.
Level II spouse
Level II father vs.
Level II spouse
Level II self vs.
Level III hero
Level II mother vs.
Level III hero
Level II father vs.
Level III hero
Level II spouse vs.
Level III hero
Level II therapist vs.
Level III hero
Level II self vs.
Level III other
Level II self vs. Level
III maternal images
Level II self vs. Level
III paternal image
Level II self vs. Level
III cross-sex images
Level II mother vs.
Level III maternal
image
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY
^55
TABLE 11— Continued
Operational Definition of Forty -eight Indices of Variation
Code
Low Discrepancy
Between the Two
Measures Is Called:
23 FF
Fusion (paternal)
23 SpSp
Fusion (cross-sex)
23 MF
Displacement
23 FM
Displacement
23SpM
Displacement
23SpF
Displacement
23MSp
Displacement
23FSp
Displacement
23TM
Displacement
23 TF
Displacement
23TSp Displacement
33 HM
33 HF
33HSp
33 HO
25 IS
25 IM
25 IF
25lSp
25 IT
"Preconscious" identi-
fication (maternal)
"Preconscious" identi-
fication (paternal)
"Preconscious" identi-
fication (cross-sex)
"Preconscious" identi-
fication (total)
Self-acceptance
Maternal idealization
Paternal idealization
Spouse idealization
Therapist idealization
High Discrepancy
Between the Two
Measures Is Called:
Diffusion (paternal)
Diffusion (cross-sex)
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
Cross-level diffusion
"Preconscious" disiden-
tification (maternal)
"Preconscious" disiden-
tification (paternal)
"Preconscious" disiden-
tification (cross-sex)
"Preconscious" disiden-
tification (total)
Self -rejection
Maternal devaluation
Paternal devaluation
Spouse devaluation
Therapist devaluation
This Variability Index
Is Operationally De-
fined by the Discrep-
ancy Between:
Level II father vs. Level
III paternal image
Level II spouse vs. Level
III cross-sex image
Level II mother vs.
Level III paternal
image
Level II father vs. Level
III maternal image
Level II spouse vs.
Level III maternal
image
Level II spouse vs.
Level III paternal
image
Level II mother vs.
Level III cross-sex
image
Level II father vs.
Level III cross-sex
image
Level II therapist vs.
Level III maternal
image
Level II therapist vs.
Level III paternal
image
Level II therapist vs.
Level III cross-sex
image
Level III hero vs.
Level III maternal
image
Level III hero vs. Level
III paternal image
Level III hero vs. Level
III cross-sex image
Level III hero vs. Level
III total other
Level V ideal vs.
Level II self
Level V ideal vs.
Level II mother
Level V ideal vs.
Level II father
Level V ideal vs.
Level II spouse
Level V ideal vs.
Level II therapist
2j6
THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 11-Continued
Operational Definition of Forty-eight Indices of Variation
Code
35 IH
35 IM
35 IF
35ISp
35 lO
Low Discrepancy
Between the Two
Measures Is Called:
"Preconscious" hero
idealization
"Preconscious" mater-
nal idealization
"Preconscious" paternal
idealization
"Preconscious" cross-
sex idealization
"Preconscious" other
idealization
High Discrepancy
Between the Two
Measures Is Called:
"Preconscious" hero
devaluation
"Preconscious" mater-
nal devaluation
"Preconscious" paternal
devaluation
"Preconscious" cross-
sex devaluation
"Preconscious" other
devaluation
This Variability Index
Is Operationally De-
fined by the Discrep-
ancy Between:
Level V ideal vs.
Ill hero
Level V ideal vs. Level
III maternal images
Level V ideal vs. Level
III paternal images
Level V ideal vs. Level
III cross-sex images
Level V ideal vs. Level
III other
TABLE 12
Key to Numbers and Letters Employed in Coding Variability Indices
Number Codes Letter Codes
1 = Level I S = Self (i.e. the subject)
2 = Level II M = Mother (the subject's own mother
3 = Level III is at Level II and the maternal im-
5 = Level V age at Level III)
F = Father or paternal image
Sp = Spouse (if at Level 'II) or cross-sex
figures (in Level III fantasies)
T = Therapist
I = Ego ideal from Level V
elements: two arable numbers and two letters. The numbers indicate
which levels are being compared. Thus, "12" means that behavior at
Level I is being compared with behavior at Level II; "22" indicates
that the comparison is between two different scores at Level II. The
two letters refer to the respective personages at each level that are
being compared. Thus, "12 SS" indicates that the subject's own be-
havior seen by others (Level I) and that seen by self (Level II) are
being compared. The coding "23 FM" indicates that the subject's
conscious description (Level II) of his father is being compared with
the summed maternal images for Level III.
It will be noted that any code number is actually a formula sum-
mary of the processes involved in obtaining the index and is thus an
abbreviated operational definition of the index. Since dozens of varia-
bility indices are obtained for each patient studied in the Kaiser Foun-
dation project, the codings allow a numerical filing system for variabil-
ity data.
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY
57
The Titles of Variability Indices
For each variability index, there are two titles which refer to high
or low discrepancies between the two levels or personages involved.
If a patient's self-description is close to his observed behavior (i.e., a
low discrepancy) the first, or positive, designation "self-perception" is
employed. If the two levels are far apart (i.e., a high discrepancy)
then the second, or negative, designation "self-deception" is used.
The specific procedure for measuring the variability indices will be
presented below. It will suffice here to say that if a discrepancy be-
tween two levels is below the mean of the normative sample, the
positive term (second column in Table 11) is assigned. If the dis-
crepancy is above the mean, the negative term (third column) is em-
ployed.
The Operational Definitions of Variability Indices
The fourth column in Table 1 1 contains the operational definition
of each of the forty-eight variability indices. This involves simply the
specific designation of the levels and personages being compared.
Methodology for Measuring Variability Indices
The Kaiser Foundation psychology research project has devoted
several years to the development of methods for measuring the kind
and amount of variability between levels of personality and the kind
and amount of variability between two tests of the same level ad-
ministered at different times. The former are structural variability
indices; the latter are called ternporal variability indices.
A main criterion for an effective discrepancy measure is the re-
flection of changes in line with the general meaning of the inter-
personal circle. Thus a large numerical discrepancy between two
levels or between the same level tapped in pretherapy and posttherapy
tests should designate an extreme change in interpersonal behavior,
e.g., from submission to dominance.
One method of assessing discrepancy involved measuring the linear
distance between the two scores in centimeters. This has the ad-
vantage of directness and simplicity. It had the overweighing disad-
vantage of doing violence to the concept of the circle. A large centi-
meter difference was deceptive where the pre- and posttherapy scores
were far from the center of the circle. Both scores could be in the
same octant and involve a similar extreme interpersonal behavior (e.g.,
sadism) for which the centimeter distance index would be very large.
The development of the numerical diagnostic codes (see Chapter
12) made possible improved methods of measuring change.^ In the nu-
* The remainder of this chapter was written by Joan S. LaForge.
2j8 THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
merical code system every score falling in the same octant is assigned
the same code category. Thus a simple subtraction process yields a
discrepancy estimate. If the patient is a 5 before therapy and a 2 after
therapy, he has changed three units (i.e., 5 — 2 = 3). At first a crude,
intuitive discrepancy system was established. Arbitrary values were
assigned to the various differences. The comparison between the ex-
treme and the moderate scores (e.g., 74) became an insoluble problem
because there was no provision for assigning discriminatory weights.
DOM
BLACK
8 7 RED
Figure 32. Model Employed To Determine Summary Points on the Diagnostic
Grid and To Calculate Horizontal and Vertical Discrepancy Values.
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY
259
The attempt was then made to estabHsh a set of points on the circle
to represent the eight octants at two intensity levels, a total of sixteen
points. Any point falling in an octant is then considered to fall always
at one point. A model establishing these points was derived in the fol-
lowing way. The plane was divided into two areas (inside and outside
areas), one standard deviation from the center point being the di-
viding line. Those points in the inside area were considered to be of
moderate intensity. The center of mass of each pie-shaped area was
taken as the location of the representative point and derived from the
formula
where x and y are points along the abscissa and ordinate, and s is the
area, integrated over the region R. Once this collection of eight points
was established, the problem of finding a point-representation for the
extreme intensity of each octant was a little more difficult. There can
be no center of mass because each outer area is infinite.
At this juncture, consideration of the meaning of relative discrep-
ancies was taken into account. Clearly a change in the same octant
should be less than the change, even at the least intensity, between two
octants. With this principle in mind, a set of points was arbitrarily
selected to represent the extreme intensities for the eight octants, main-
taining, for example, that a red 1 -black 1 discrepancy be a little less
than a black i-black 2 discrepancy.
The intersection of each point with the x (hostility-affiliation) and
y (dominance-submission) axes was established, and the continuum of
these points was assigned the values from -\-56 to —56, with zero at
the center of the circle (Table 11). Now it was possible to establish
vertical and horizontal components of each discrepancy. The geo-
metric distance given by the formula
VdJTl?
(where d^ is the vertical discrepancy and dv the horizontal) is then
taken as the measure of discrepancy.
Here another conception of the meaning of discrepancies was con-
sidered. At all times the discrepancy between any two equally distant
points should be the same, regardless of the position of the points on
the circle, i.e., red 1-black 1 should equal red 2-black 2. However,
from Table 13, the following is noted: for red 1-black 1 the x and y
discrepancy components are —23 and —5, and for red 2-black 2 they
are —19 and +13. The squares of each respective discrepancy are 554
and 530.
i6o THE VARIABILITY OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 13
Horizontal (Lev) and Vertical (Dom) Values for Each Octant
Red I +56 +11 Black
Doni
Lov
+56
+ 11
+47
-32
+ 11
-56
-32
-47
-S6
-11
6
-47
+32
7
-11
+ 56
8
+ 32
+47
Do?/i
Lov
1
+ 33
+ 6
2
+28
-19
3
+ 6
-33
4
-19
-28
5
-33
- 6
6
-28
+ 19
7
- 6
+ 33
8
+ 19
+28
Theoretically, the square roots of these numbers should be equal if
our principle is to be met. The two square roots are 23.537 and 23.022.
In all such cases encountered, the closest luhole number to both square
roots was taken to be the discrepancy (in this case, 23). In this way
fourteen possible discrepancies are obtained. They are presented in
Table 14.
TABLE 14
All Possible Discrlpancies Around the Pair 1-7 and Their Magnitudes
Pair
Discrepancy
1 1 (/ /)
00
1 / (i 1)
23
7 2
26
1 2 (7 2)
41
1 2
44
7 3
48
1 4
62
1 5 (7 3)
66
7 5
68
1 3
81
1 4 (7 4)
84
1 5 (7 5)
91
1 4
105
1 5
114
Key: The italic numbers refer to moderate (black) diagnostic intensities and the
ronian-face numerals lo exireme (red) intensities
The model was then examined in terms of meaning for these dis-
crepancies and the conceptual-numerical relationships. Table 14 shows
one set of discrepancies and their jelative magnitudes.
Careful examination of this table shows the inner relationships of all
possible distances from one octant. All other octants show the same
relationships because of the equivalent-distant principle used in estab-
lishing discrepancy magnitudes. Considering the extreme combina-
tions only, we have the following set of discrepancies: 1 1 = 00,
THE INDICES OF VARIABILITY 261
1 2 = 44, 1 3 = 81, 1 4 = 105, I 5 = 114. The same grouping for
lesser intensity combinations yields the following: 1 1 = 00, 1 2 = 26,
13^ 48, 1 4 = 62, 1 S ^= 68. Pairwise comparison of equal octant but
different intensity groups shows that as the distance around the circle
becomes greater the ratio of the two discrepancies becomes less, i.e.,
00:00, 26:44, 48:81, 62:105, 68:114. This relationship leads to the
fact that the discrepancy between 1 5 (most extreme of the lesser in-
tensities) is between the discrepancy for 13 and 12, placing a greater
discrepancy value for a moderately distant discrepancy of extreme in-
tensity, i.e., 13, than on- an extremely distant discrepancy of moderate
intensity, i.e., 1 5.
Placing all discrepancies in intervals of 20, we have the results in
Table 15.
TABLE 15
Illustration of the Grouping of All Possible DiscREPANaES
Involving the Diagnostic Codes 1 and 1
Code Discrepancy Numerical Value
1 I a 1) 00-20
1 i (i 1), 1 2 21-40
1 2 (i 2) 1 2, / 5 41H50
1 4, \ 3 {1 I), 1 5 61-80
I 3, I -^ (/ 4), 1 5 (i 5) 81-100
1 4, 1 5 101-120
This grouping shows approximate equations of the various mixed
discrepancies, such 2.s 1 4 approximately equals 1 3 approximately
equals 1 5, i.e., the two most extreme moderate-intensity discrepancies
are approximately equal to the discrepancy between moderate and
intense of medium distance around the circle.
A table of weighted scores for each possible interlevel discrepancy
is presented in Appendix 5.
This consideration of discrepancy relationships seems to indicate
that the model we constructed is consistent with the meaning of
change in terms of the theory of the interpersonal circle.
IV
Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality
14
Theory of Multilevel Diagnosis
The preceding thirteen chapters have presented a theory and an em-
pirical system of personaHty. A compHcated array of variables have
been described, and the relationships among variables have been classi-
fied.
In this fourth section of the book we are going to apply this system
of personality to the task of clinical diagnosis and prognosis. The
numerical code diagnosis, it will be recalled, provides 65,536 personal-
ity types — at four layers of personality. It is clearly impossible to ex-
pect to locate sample cases illustrating each of these 65,51)6 multilevel
combinations. It is equally out of the question to give a clinical de-
scription of each of these types.
To use this diagnostic system in clinical situations it is necessary
only to employ the notion of multilevel analysis and to apply a com-
mon-sense interpretation of the numerical diagnostic formula. The
eight-digit diagnostic code, it will be recalled, is nothing more than a
shorthand summary of the way in which the patient responded at the
several levels of personality.
The system is quite complex in the sense that it provides for a great
variety of types. But the processing of the data and the derivation of
the diagnostic code is a straightforward clerical, technical (nonpro-
fessional) task. The interpretation of the diagnostic code is not a de-
manding assignment since the diagnosis for every level simply denotes
which interpersonal behaviors the patient manifested. The chnical
implications follow quite naturally. We simply ask the questions:
What does it mean if he says this about himself but acts that way?
What does it mean if he says this and manifests these underlying be-
haviors.^
Application of the system is facilitated by some clinical experience
with it, and by some knowledge of the empirical results obtained in
normative studies. These will be presented in the eight clinical chap-
ters to follow.
265
2 66 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
There is, however, no high-powered theory which has to be mas-
tered. There is the one assumption that all interpersonal behavior
serves to reduce anxiety and to maintain self-esteem. The rest is based
on behavior. What did the patient do, say, indirectly express? A
multilevel summary of interpersonal behavior yields considerable addi-
tional infoi:mation about the rigidity of security operations (kind and
degree) or about conflicts and ambivalences (kind and degree).
This information is then used to answer functional questions about
motivation and treatment.
The system can be seen as a hierarchical pattern of levels which un-
fold symmetrically. For research or clinical categorization it is con-
venient to work from the surface into the indirect or deeper areas of
personality.
Single-Level Diagnosis
In considering an individual case or a general research problem we
look first at Level L There are sixteen interpersonal types (eight mod-
erate and eight intense) at this overt behavioral level. Much of our
research has taken place at this single level. We have attempted to
discover what probability indices hold for this level. We discover, for
example, that patients who are hypernormal (code 8) at Level I re-
main in psychotherapy only half as long as distrustful (code 4) pa-
tients; and that ulcer patients do not differ significantly from hyper-
tensive patients at this level.
Double-Level Diagnosis
Adding the Level II material we get a much more complicated two-
layer pattern. First, it should be noted that there are probabiUty find-
ings which allow us to predict on the basis of Level II alone. When
we combine the Level I and II indices, new meaning appears. The
number of possible types multiplies. There are 256 two-level types
(16 at Level I X 16 at Level II).
A double-level diagnosis is useful because it points up conflict or
discrepancy in the presenting fa9ade. Some patients give a dependent,
fearful symptomatic picture (Level 1 = 6) and may see themselves as
independent and self-confident (Level II = 2). The code label "62"
thus becomes loaded with meaning. It points to an ambivalent moti-
vation, to a marked misperception by the patient of the eff^ect of his
symptom. It complicates the clinical predictions we are to make about
the patient since his symptoms (6) are dependent, and his self-regard
is the opposite (2),
The double-level diagnosis ''66" forecasts an entirely diff^erent clini-
cal course. Here, the docile, fearful overt symptomology is duplicated
THEORY OF A1ULTILEVEL DIAGNOSIS 267
by the conscious self -perception. A two-layer commitment to the
same interpersonal operations is indicated.
Triple-Level Diagnosis
The summary code of the subject's fantasy-hero behavior provides
the third digit for the diagnostic formula. There are sixteen fantasy-
hero codes (eight moderate and eight extreme). When these are com-
bined with the double-level codes, a total of 4,096 diagnostic types ex-
ists (256 double-level types X 16).
When we consider the third digit in any diagnostic formula, con-
siderable empirical information is available. We know, for example,
that the fantasy-hero score predicts future behavior. Thus, the third
digit is of clinical interest in itself. It indicates what shifts in con-
scious self-perception we can anticipate. When combined with the
first digits it fills out a more meaningful pattern.
A "773," for example, denotes a patient who is friendly and over-
conventional at the levels of overt presentation and conscious self-
description. The third digit, "3," indicates a "preconscious" concern
with hostility. It suggests that underlying antisocial feeUngs exist be-
neath a fa9ade of bland normahty and that they will probably appear
in future behavior at the overt levels.
The clinical meaning of a "773" is very different from a "777."
The latter maintains a solid, triple-layer structure of affiliative, over-
conventionality. Self-satisfaction would probably be high and moti-
vation for therapy low, since the patient cannot tolerate hostile or un-
conventional feelings at any of the top three layers. A "773" would be
handled quite differently, clinically, since a conflict exists between a
conventional fa9ade and underlying "preconscious" sadistic feelings.
Four-Level Diagnosis
The fourth digit in the diagnostic code denotes the themes at-
tributed to fantasy "others." There is less empirical significance or
clinical meaning attached to this layer. This level has not been studied
extensively, and no specific empirical significance attaches to it. This
layer does suggest how rigid or flexible the subject's range of security
operations is. If themes which are avoided at the top three layers were
to appear in the fourth code digit, then we might assume that the
subject does not completely avoid that area. Consider, for example,
two patients who present triple-layer structures of solid distrust and
bitterness (444) . One might have a fourth digit of "4," which would
indicate a complete commitment to schizoid operations. The second
patient might present an "8" in his "preconscious-other." The code
"4448" indicates that some tender, responsible feelings exist and can
268 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
be tolerated, at least at this more indirect level of expression, A com-
mon-sense hypothesis might be that the latter patient would have a
slightly less pessimistic prognosis than the patient who could not al-
low any affiliative behavior at any level.
The fourth digit is, therefore, included in the diagnostic code but
is given minimal consideration in the clinical sections to follow.
When the 16 "preconscious-other" codes are combined with the
4,096 triple-layer types, a total of 65,536 is obtained.
Organization of the Interpersonal Typology
A system of interpersonal diagnosis which involves this many types
may appear bewildering in its scope. We have stressed, however, that
the system is fairly simple to apply if the common-sense meaning of
any particular multilevel combination is kept in mind. First the eight-
digit formula is derived for a patient. To understand the patient's per-
sonality organization we simply translate the code digits into diagnos-
tic terms. The conflicts or rigid duplications existing in the multilevel
pattern will become apparent.
The eight diagnostic chapters which follow present the clinical and
research data now available. These chapters refer to the eight typo-
logical categories at Levels I and IL The "schizoid" chapter is con-
cerned with patients who present as "44's" at Levels I and II. In
each clinical chapter the general findings typical of the pure, uncon-
flicted case will be presented.
15
Adjustment Through Rebellion:
The Distrustful Personality '
This chapter deals with those individuals who select distrust and re-
bellion as their solutions to life's problems. This is the "44" personal-
ity type. In their crucial relationships with others, these human beings
consistently maintain attitudes of resentment and deprivation. They
handle anxiety by establishing distance between themselves and others.
At the critical moments of relationship with others they become cyni-
cal, passively resistant, and bitter.
The distrustful way of life is in some ways a puzzling phenomenon.
The ideals of our culture stress adjustment, closeness, and cooperation.
It is generally taken for granted that trustful, loving relations with cer-
tain important others is one of the basic human goals. There exists,
however, a very large group of individuals who consistently avoid
this relationship. They compulsively eschew closeness with others.
They are traumatized and threatened by positive feelings.
These human beings often do not voluntarily seek distance and dis-
appointment from others. In their conscious ideals, on the contrary,
they may strive and long for tenderness. They are usually frustrated,
depressed, and most dissatisfied with their situations.
They regularly manifest, however, the reflexes of distrust and re-
sentment. They involuntarily provoke rejection and punishment from
others. They cannot tolerate durable relationships of conformity or
collaboration.
The Purpose of Distrustful Behavior
Those human beings who are overtly bitter and cynical have se-
lected these operations because they find them most effective in ward-
* In this chapter and the subsequent seven, we shall be discussing pure interpersonal
types based on Level I-M and II-C diagnosis. We shall describe the unconflicted sub-
ject who presents the same security operations in his symptomatic behavior and in his
conscious self-descriptions. Space does not permit a consideration of the conflicted
types.
269
270 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
ing off anxiety. Pain and discomfort are traditionally associated with
alienation from others, but for these subjects this discomfort is less
than the anxiety involved in trustful, tender feehngs. For the person
who has experienced past rejections or humiliations there are certain
comforts and rewards in developing a rebellious protection. The
essence of this security operation is a malevolent rejection of con-
ventionality. Trust in others, cooperation, agreeability, and affilia-
tion seem to involve a certain loss of individuahty. Giving or sharing
or trusting requires a sacrifice of pure narcissism and some relinquish-
ing of the critical function.
The rebellious adjustment provides a feehng of difference and
uniqueness which is most rewarding to some individuals. Inevitable
ties and responsibilities go with an agreeable, conventional adjustment.
For the person who avoids this way of life there are certain rewards
— a rebellious freedom, a retaliatory pleasure in rejecting the conven-
tional, a delight in challenging the taboos, commitments, and expecta-
tions which are generally connected with a durable affiliative rela-
tionship.
In the extreme case, the security opeiations of distrustful aliena-
tion involve a spiteful and bitter rejection of love and closeness. This
phenomenon has been best understood by Sullivan. He has given a
most thoughtful description of this process:
Some years ago, the young nephew of one of my friends was admitted to
the Henry Phipps Psychiatric Clinic. The patient was suffering an acute
schizophrenic disturbance, catatonic in type. He was placed under principal
care of a close friend of mine, and I followed developments closely and saw the
patient occasionally. As he became unmanageable, he was transferred to the
Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, arriving there mute and requiring feeding
by the nasal tube. He was extremely resistive to this feeding unless I did it, in
which latter case he came to help with the insertion of the tube. I thoughtlessly
took over on all these occasions and otherwise greatly interested myself in him.
As he was convalescing quite nicely, he underwent what I call a malevolent
transformation of interpersonal relations and became first mischievous and later
definitely "hateful" on the ward. The outcome was a chronic dilapidating ill-
ness requiring State Hospital care.
From the few facts recited above and sundry other observations in my own
and, mediately, other psychiatrists' work I inferred the theory of malevolent
transformation of "personality," now taught in the Washington School of Psy-
chiatry, after considerable supporting evidence as to its current adequacy had
been derived from data on personality development.
In brief, this theory holds that if one progresses into a relatively enduring
situation in which one's indicated needs for tenderness are customarily re-
buffed, one comes to manifest malevolent behavior when one needs tenderness,
in lieu of showing the need, and to expect— and by this pattern all but guarantee
—an unfavorable attitude towards one in others. (6, pp. 451-52)
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH REBELLION 271
The purpose of the malevolent transformation, we assume, is to
avoid the intense anxiety created by the patient's tender feeHngs.
These patients apparently have come to expect that loving feelings in
themselves or in others are the prelude to anxiety and rejection. The
reflexes of bitter distrust resolve this dilemma very nicely. Such re-
flexes w^ard oflF one's own trustful feelings and tend to push away the
other person.
In moderate intensity the "44" security operations of rebellious
skepticism have certain adaptive advantages for the individual and for
society. They are associated with a healthy, critical approach to the
accepted conventions and to the accepted forms of social relationship.
There is a familiar observation that every creative expression is an act
of rebellion, a critical questioning of some conventional concept.
Skepticism gives the human being a sense of freedom and uniqueness.
It protects against surprises. A mildly disappointed cynicism is an ex-
cellent preparation for future disappointments.
The critical, rebellious person can play a most healthy role in any
social group. Docile inertia or fearful-need-to-conform or need-to-be-
liked can lead to a stultifying atmosphere. There are valuable rewards
for the successful rebel who maintains a realistic, accurate skepticism
toward the accepted ways of doing things.
James Joyce has provided an interesting illustration of this rela-
tionship between bitter rebellion and creativity. When his hero dedi-
cates his Hfe to art he adopts the motto non credo, non serviam and
recognizes that this rejection of family, church, and society commits
him to a life of "silence, exile and cunning."
The "44" mode of adjustment has been eulogized by many writers.
Its most enthusiastic advocate is Robert Lindner. He states: "It is pos-
sible, then, to escape from history, to break out of the cage whose
outer limits never have worn smooth and deeply grooved with endless
pacing. And it is possible to do this without the letting of blood, with-
out violence, without the sacrifice of basic values. All that is re-
quired is to reach for one cup wherein the heady mixture of true re-
bellion, the brew of sweet life-affirming protest, has been poured,
for this — and this alone — is the elixir vitae." (3, p. 296)
This author has taken one mode of adjustment (at one level of per-
sonality) and has made it the key to mental health. In the Kaiser
Foundation system, the overt reflex security operation of rebellious
nonconformity is one of eight generic security operations, each of
which has an adaptive and a maladaptive intensity.
Skeptical alienation from convention and from acceptance of others
can serve several purposes for the individual who selects this way of
272 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
life. These include: protection for disappointment, realistic critical
rejection of the conventional, the warding ojff of anxiety generated by
trust and tenderness, the freedom associated with uniqueness and re-
bellious individuality, and, in the pathological extreme, malevolent re-
taliation for the feelings of rejection by society in general or specific
"other ones."
The Effect of Distrustful Behavior
Bitter rebellious behavior pulls punitive rejection and superiority
from others. In systematic language, FG provokes BCD; crime pro-
vokes, punishment.
In the passage just quoted Sullivan has described this phenomenon
very clearly. He speaks of this pattern almost guaranteeing an un-
favorable attitude in others. A sour, distrustful approach invariably
establishes distance from others, provoking them to ignore, condemn,
or disaffiliate.
In the case of the adaptively, moderately rebellious person the same
reaction develops to a milder degree. We consider here the individual
who communicates in his actions, his demeanor, and his interpersonal
reflexes a message of skepticism and passive rejection of conventional-
ity. These persons are seen as iconoclastic, eccentric, different, creat-
ive. Originality is inevitably linked to rebellion, i.e., rejection of the
established, the authoritative, the conventional. The iconoclastic ap-
proach usually pulls irritated rejection from those who represent au-
thority and from those who conform to it.
One of the most consistent and interesting results of the Kaiser
Foundation research has been the empirical importance attached to
the conformity-nonconformity axis of the interpersonal diagnostic
circle. Conventionality (as measured by the points L, M, and N on the
circle at Levels I and II) is closely related to absence of overt anxiety,
to the presence of psychosomatic symptoms, to a state of low moti-
vation for psychotherapy, and to many other personality variables
(see Chapter 18). The nonconventional operations of distrust, rebel-
lion, and alienation are defined by the opposite end of the LMN axis,
i.e., by the points F and G on the circle.
The individuals whose overt operations emphasize nonconformity
and skeptical distrust invariably isolate and alienate themselves from
others. Conventional people are often irritated and made anxious by
the sullen, rebel. Even the most agreeable and overtly friendly souls
can be provoked to disapproval when faced with distrustful opera-
tions.
The psychotherapy group provides an excellent locale for observ-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH REBELLION 273
ing these processes. Group members are quickly trained to reject or
isolate themselves from the sullen patient. By their tone of voice, their
gestures, often by their dress, these patients communicate the message,
"I am different; I distrust and disagree with you."
The principle of reciprocal relations operates in the case of the re-
bellious personality with impressive and depressing results. These pa-
tients provoke disregard and hostility from others. This behavior on
the part of others leads to an increase in retaliatory distrust. The sul-
len, distrustful person creates for himself a world of punitive rejection.
These reciprocal processes do not work with uniform consistency.
There are some individuals who are so committed to friendly, nur-
turant responses that they do not immediately react with hostility
when faced with distrustful reflexes in another. They may attempt to
win the sullen person over into a close relationship. Where the rebel-
lious fagade is adaptable and not extreme, this may lead to a relaxation
of the distrustful defenses. This often happens in social and thera-
peutic experiences.
Where the distrustful reflexes are intense and are the sole means of
warding off anxiety, then positive feelings in the "other one" tend to
be rebuffed. This bitter reaction will eventually discourage the most
persistently friendly "other" and will inevitably lead to irritation.
The severely distrustful person is most comfortable when he is ex-
pressing bitter feelings. He is threatened and suspicious of tenderness
which can be viewed as an intolerable threat to his mode of adjust-
ment. The common assumption that what the deprived, distrustful
person needs is love and affection can be seen to be a well-meaning but
naive notion. To the person with a set of severely crippled reflexes
tenderness in the "other one" is a loaded gun — a most frightening and
fearful stimulus. The "malevolent transformation" described by Sulli-
van is often the reaction to the threat of affection.
D. H. Lawrence has provided us with a clear illustration of the way
in which the distrustful, disaffiliated person avoids tender feelings.
The hero of Aaron's Rod announces: "I don't want my Fate or my
Providence to treat me well. I don't want kindness or love. I don't
believe in harmony and people loving one another. I believe in the
fight and in nothing else. I believe in the fight which is in everything.
And if it is a question of women, I believe in the fight of love, even if it
blinds me. And if it is a question of the world, I believe in fighting it
and in having it hate me, even if it breaks my legs. I want the world to
hate me, because I can't bear the thought that it might love me. For
of all things love is the most deadly to me, and especially from such a
repulsive world as I think this is. . . ." (1, pp. 307-8)
2 74 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
Clinical Manifestation of Distrust and Rebellion ^
The symptomatic correlates of this mode of overt adjustment are
quite typical, and clearly different from other diagnostic types.
These patients exhibit sour, pessimistic, or indifferent feelings. This
may often appear to be a fiat affect or an absence of feelings. This is
probably an incomplete and misguided interpretation. There is no
evidence to indicate that the distrustful person feels less intensely. It
is necessary to look at the interpersonal implications of a resigned or
skeptical approach. These patients do not admit to conventional reac-
tions. Their nonconformist facade means that they express different
feelings in different ways. They are communicating by their actions
and their verbalizations an intense and emotionally loaded message of
sullen distrust.
Clinically this attitude may be expressed in the generic motto: "I am
a sullen, disappointed person; you can't do anything for me."
These patients do not participate in therapeutic planning with
docile eagerness or enthusiastic hope. They may agree to treatment,
but the note of skeptical passive resistance is often obvious.
In regard to symptoms, these patients tend not to have psychoso-
matic ailments;^ nor do they complain of the overt anxiety of the
phobic or the worries of the obsessive. They present characterological
or straightforward interpersonal disorders. They tend to complain of
marital discord, social isolation, frustration, distance and disappoint-
ment in their relations with others. A most typical symptom is occu-
pational or academic difficulty. They may describe a history of re-
bellion against authority, and are often stalemated in their vocation.
They are frank to admit their disillusionment and irritation with others.
They tend to complain of their treatment at the hands of others; yet,
in contrast to some of the poignant masochists described in the foUow-
^ In this secdon and in the "Clinical Manifestation" sections of the following seven
chapters, we shall consider the symptomatic pictures presented by the various diag-
nostic types. These discussions are highly generalized and suggestive. Two qualifica-
tions must be kept in mind. First, we are considering here the symptomatic picture
of the pure type (in this chapter the "44"). Variations in behavior at other levels can
change the symptomatic presentation; thus, the "41" comes to the clinic presenting a
facade diflferent from the "44." The second qualification refers to the precipitating
cause for psychiatric referral. Most of the patients coming to the psychiatric clinic
are in some state of anxiety. Often something has happened recently to threaten their
overt security operations (whether they are schizoid or hysterical). We are con-
sidering, in this section, the general clinical impression made by the patient which is
often quite different from the "current" anxiety which brings him to the clinic.
^ In one diagnostic study comparing the Level I interpersonal diagnoses of a group
of psychosomaoc and neurotic patients, only 7 per cent of the psychosomatics fell into
the rebellious-distrustful octant {FC) of the diagnostic grid, whereas 43 per cent fell
into the opposite sector. (2)
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH REBELLION 275
ing chapter, they do not attempt to win pity or to present them-
selves as good and blameless. They stress instead a grievance against
the M^orld, a pessimistic disappointment with self and others.
These security operations, it will be noted, do not lend themselves
to a well-motivated, eager acceptance of psychotherapy. They often
agree to treatment with a half-hearted pessimism: "I guess I'll have to;
I don't see any other solution," etc. These patients often express pas-
sive complaints about the kind of therapy offered, about the therapist
to whom they are assigned, about the necessity to be in a clinic, etc.
Often these patients will sullenly refuse the therapy that is recom-
mended. For example, they may interpret the assignment to group
therapy as a sign of rejection by the clinic.
In the case of the moderate rebel, these gloomy, resistant operations
may not become apparent. They may employ a sarcastic, self-immo-
lating humor. They may describe their isolation and disappointment
with a bitter, wry irony. If they sense honesty and reasonability in
the clinician they may muffle or shelve their skepticism.
Regardless of the intensity or rigidity of the character structure,
there is one interpersonal rule which invariably holds for the "44"
personality. They are painfully sensitive to phoniness, pomposity,
naive obtuseness, or arrogance on the part of the "other one." These
patients tend, as a group, to load their perceptions of others with a
hostile skepticism. They look for dishonesty and hostility in others.
They are incredibly sensitive instruments for picking up rejection or
punitive feelings in others. Naive hysterical patients, on the contrary,
tend to act on the assumption that others (in their in-group) are con-
ventional and sweet like themselves.
We have noted in Chapter 7 that all maladjusted persons are skilled
in provoking others to certain reciprocal responses. The distrustful
patient is most accomplished in pulling bureaucratic or moral disap-
proval from others. He often puts the therapist to elaborate tests
aimed at provoking impatience or moral censure. He compulsively
clings to the often automatic and involuntary conviction that the
clinician fails to understand him, or acts in a pompous, overconven-
tional manner. He specializes in provoking the therapist to set limits
and re-create an authority-rebellion or rejecting-distrustful relation-
ship.
The distrustful "44" personality type described in this chapter has
certain similarities to a behavior pattern observed in group psycho-
therapy by Jerome Frank et al. (5, pp. 215) Frank calls this type the
"help-rejecting complainer" and states that the pattern "consists of a
patient's continuing attempt in the group to elicit help — often without
actually asking for it — and his attempt to prove greater need than
276 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
other people, while either imphcitly or explicitly rejecting all help
offered. This pattern seems to be an expression of conflict between
the patient's perception of himself as needing help and his anger at
all potential help-givers for being unable or unwilling to supply it.
His behavior justifies his anger toward the help-givers and maintains
his claim for help while preventing him from becoming dependent
on the distrusted potential help-givers."
We have so far stressed the symptomatic and interpersonal aspects
of the clinical picture. There are certain psychometric correlates of
the rebellious presentation which appear on personality tests — for
example, the MMPI and the Rorschach — which are independent of
the interpersonal system.
Patients who behave in a sullen, distrustful manner (Level I) have
a typical pattern on the MMPL Their high peaks fall on depression,
schizoid, and psychopathic scales. They also have elevations on the F
scale which is a rough measure of nonconformity. They generally
do not have elevations on the L, K, Hy, and Hs scales.
This suggests that pessimistic dysphoria (D), alienation (Sc), rebel-
lious disidentification (Pd), and nonconventionality (F) are character-
istics of the distrustful personality. The scales on which they show
low scores are those related to denial of antisocial or hostile tendencies
and to a naive, conventional, sweet fagade. The distrustful personality
can be differentiated on the MMPI from the obsessive-masochist. The
latter have pronounced depression and psychasthenic scales. The
former exhibit schizoid scores which are higher than psychasthenia;
and, though the depression scores are elevated, they are not as marked.
The higher the F, the more likely that rebellion and not masochism is
the security operation.
On the Rorschach or TAT these patients characteristically manifest
different, odd, idiosyncratic content. Unconventional themes are
common — bizarre situations, freely described sexual themes, and poor
form responses.
Interpersonal Definition of the Schizoid Maladjustment
Chapter 12 presented evidence that certain standard psychiatric
diagnoses were related to specific interpersonal patterns. Extreme,
imbalanced social patterns thus can help to establish psychiatric diag-
nosis.
Distrustful, intensely rebellious behavior is characteristic of the
schizoid personality. Such a personality shows maladjustment essen-
tially in bitter, disappointed alienation and tends to handle anxiety by
avoiding close, tender contacts with other individuals and by avoiding
close commitments to society in general. In the extreme case this be-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH REBELLION 277
comes a malevolent rejection of people and of conventional social
standards.
Many of the symptoms of the schizoid condition may be inter-
preted in the light of interpersonal communication. They seem to be
expressions of a bitter alienation from accepted standards, a refusal to
conform which in the extreme case becomes a rigid pathological in-
ability to conform. Highly individualistic, eccentric behavior is (in
the absence of organic disease) generally pathognomonic of schizo-
phrenia. It seems possible ro think of this as being an intense, and often
desperate, attempt to express difference, to establish a complete, bit-
ter break from conventional reality.
Kobler, speaking from therapeutic experience with schizophrenics
in the Pinel Foundation Hospital, believes that schizoid malevolence
can be seen as asking the question, "Even if I do this and am Uke this,
can you still love me?" The therapeutic staff at Pinel senses hope and
a violent testing of the therapist with the anticipation of, "No, the
other cannot love." When the reaction of the therapist is not rejec-
tion, Kobler states that there is further negativistic testing and at the
same time the continued hope of finally finding the one who will not
reject.
The Schizoid Psychosis
The interpersonal effect of bizarre behavior is to provoke exas-
perated rejection from others. Marked eccentricity flaunts to the
world the message, "I do not accept your ideals of conduct; I do not
conform. I do not want your approval." This usually guarantees to
the subject the disapproval of others. In the extreme case (psychosis)
it provokes society to punitive incarceration.
The tendency for bizarre behavior to pull rejection from others
was illustrated by the reactions of some therapy group members to the
schizoid fantasies of a fellow member. This particular group had
been meeting for almost a year and an unusually frank, honest recog-
nition and acceptance of each other had been developed. One of the
members was a chronic, severe, ex-state-hospital schizoid who had ap-
parently never been able to integrate a friendly, trusting relationship
with another human being. The group had initially ignored and de-
spised her. By the fourth month, her ability to train others to reject
her was the focus of considerable study. Even after this had been
worked through for two more months, she could be reduced to panic
by a warm smile or casual friendly compliment.
In one session a woman who employed narcissistic, exhibitionistic
operations described her fantasy of parading down the street in glam-
orous clothes in order to provoke envy and admiration from others.
278 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
The schizoid woman then confided the repeated fantasy of run-
ning naked out into the street. The question was then posed to the
group what reaction would be provoked from them at the sight of a
neighbor running naked in the street. Their associations were, "I'd
think she's nuts," "I'd call the cops to come and take her away," etc.
These associations demonstrated the effect of the bizarre fantasy in
pulling rejection and intolerant contempt from others. Expressed in
the context of an honest and accepting group they sharpened the
schizoid patient's understanding of the rebellious and alienating effect
of her security operations.
Many schizoid or schizophrenic symptoms can be interpreted as
interpersonal communications conveying to others the theme of ma-
levolent disaffiliation. The inability or refusal to integrate close rela-
tions with others and the tendency to perceive and react differently
have such a consistent and inevitable impact on others that they seem
to confirm the hypothesis that an interpersonal purpose is involved.
In the extreme case these desperate violations of customs and accepted
social patterns become the symptoms of psychotic negativism; autism,
incontinence, refusal to eat, etc. The bitter, rebellious anger involved
in these behaviors has often been commented on by clinicians.
Some interesting complications are introduced by cultural differ-
ences. A schizophrenic psychosis is defined as a desperate, repetitious,
malevolent, distrustful rebellion. Now, the behaviors which express
these motives may differ from one society to another. Thus, failure to
eat and an insistence upon the reality of one's own fantasy life are, in
our society, negativistic and alienating behaviors. In another society
the same behavior may be symptomatic of an extreme desperate at-
tempt to overconform. It may express the message of frantic re-
ligious overconventionality. The interpersonal effect of the symptom
is the key to its diagnostic meaning.
A glance at the symptomatic signs of schizophrenia listed in any
psychiatric text seems to suggest that most of them are calculated to
provoke frustration and irritation in others. The symptoms of the
obsessive state, by comparison, tend to provoke feelings of superiority
in the other one.
The rebellious implication of the schizoid maladjustment has been
noted by other writers. Powdermaker for example writes:
Why does the schizophrenic use the particular defenses that he does against
these fears and conflicts? Why does he make himself ununderstandable and
so different from the social norm in his relationships, instead of endeavoring to
conform to the social norm as the neurotic does? That the schizophrenic is an
unsuccessful rebel appears to be one of the outstanding aspects of his behavior.
This was pointed out in the work of Ackerly, in which he showed how the dc-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH REBELLION 279
linquent acts of some of his adolescent patients had s^ved them from a probable
schizophrenic breakdown. (4, pp. 61-62)
Research Findings Characteristic of the Distrustful Personality
Here is a summary of some of the studies accomplished on the
schizoid personality by the Kaiser Foundation project.
1. Patients who exhibit rebellious distrust in their overt operations
do not tend to have psychosomatic symptoms.
2. Psychosomatic patients do not tend to utilize these interpersonal
operations at Levels I or IL
3. Distrust at Levels I and II is related to depression (D), noncon-
formity (F), schizoid tendencies (Sc), and rebellious disidentification
(Pd) on the MA4PI.
4. These patients are among the initially best motivated for psycho-
therapy. They do not tend to terminate their clinic contacts after
evaluation but are likely to go on into treatment and to remain in treat-
ment.
5. They are (along with the psychopathic personalities) the most
consciously disidentified with their mothers and their fathers.
6. They tend as a group to be extremely disidentified with their
spouses.
7. They (along with the psychopathic personalities) show a ten-
dency to misperceive the interpersonal behavior of others. They are
inclined to attribute too much hostility to others.
8. Considering all the eight diagnostic types (at Level I), the
schizoid group comprises the largest number of unmarried individuals.
This suggests that more schizoid patients than patients of any other
diagnostic type have failed to accomplish a durable, conventional mat-
ing relationship.
9. The schizoid personality tends to appear in certain cultural and
institutional samples much more frequently than others. The per-
centage of rebellious individuals (Level I-M) in various samples is
presented in Table 16. The percentage figure expected by chance for
these groups is 12.5. It will be noted that eight groups contain more
than or close to the expected number of rebellious-distrustful person-
alities— the four psychiatric samples, the graduate student, the overtly
neurotic dermatitis, the prisoner, and the psychotic samples. All but
two of these define "people in trouble," i.e., at odds with or malad-
justed to society. The fact that the graduate student sample contains
a higher percentage of schizoid personalities than the more conven-
tional groups suggests that rebelliousness is a characteristic of this sam-
ple. This is an interesting confirmation of the hypothesis that creativ-
ity, delinquency, and alienation involve somewhat similar security
28o INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 16
Percentage of Rebellious-Distrustful Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Rebellious-Distrustful
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admission
537
12
CoUege Undergraduates
415
3
University Psychiatric Clinic
133
22
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
121
3
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
31
13
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
57
7
Unanxious Dermatius Patients
71
3
Group Psychotherapy Patients
109
24
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
49
12
Hypertensive Patients
49
0
Ulcer Patients
43
0
Medical Control Patients
J7
3
University Counseling Center
93
4
University Graduate Students (Male)
39
13
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
52
10
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients
28
14
Officers in Military Service
39
3
Total
J903
Operations — rebelliousness toward conventionality. The overtly neu-
rotic dermatitis sample differs from the other psychosomatic groups
in the amount of bitter, masochistic behavior manifested. Rebellious-
distrustful patients comprise the largest percentage of patients who
enter and remain in group therapy at the Kaiser Foundation clinic.
One out of every four patients (24 per cent) entering group therapy
were schizoid personalities. Two factors are suggested to account for
this finding. The clinic intake conference has found that group
therapy is the most effective therapeutic agent for patients who are
isolated, distrustful, and distant from others. Thus, the clinicians re-
fer more schizoid patients to groups. Obsessives and phobic patients,
on the contrary, are more likely to be referred to individual treatment.
A second possible explanation for this finding is that schizoid per-
sonalities tend to remain in therapy because the diffused and diluted
transference phenomena in the group are less intense than the trans-
ference of individual therapy. These distrustful people can apparently
stand the interpersonal pressure in the groups where they can remain
silent or sullen for considerable periods without completely disrupt-
ing the therapeutic process.
10. The percentage of subjects who diagnose themselves as re-
bellious-distrustful (Level II-C) is presented in Table 17. These find-
ings tend to be in line with the Level I-M data just discussed. Group
% of Rebellious-Distrustful
N
Personalities
207
10
46
11
101
20
38
31
13
56
70
41
42
49
0
100
0
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH REBELLION 281
TABLE 17
Percentage of Rebellious-Distrustful Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
Institutional or Symptomatic Savrple
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Panents
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
Medical Control Patients
Ulcer Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
Total 781
psychotherapy patients again comprise the largest percentage of
schizoid cases. Overtly neurotic dermatitis patients, again, differ from
the other psychosomatic groups in the emphasis on bitter behavior.
1 1 . Schizoid patients consciously perceive their parents to be v/t2k
and distrustful people. The mean placement of fathers of schizoid
patients is in the FG section of the diagnostic grid. Mothers locate
in the guilty, self-punitive {HI) sector. Schizoid patients report their
marital partners as strong and exploitive.
Rejerences
1. Lawrence, D H. Aaron^s Rod. New York- Thomas Seltzer, 1922.
2. Leary, T., and H. Coffey. Interpersonal diagnosis: Some problems of methodol-
ogy and validauon. /. abnorm. soc. Psychol., 1955, SO, No. 1, 110-25.
3. Lindner, R. Prescription for rebellion. New York: Rinehart Press, 1952.
4. Powdermaker, Florence. Concepts found useful in treatment of schizoid and
ambulatory schizophrenic patients. Psychiat., 1952, 25, No. 1, 61-71.
5. Rosenthal, D., J. Frank and E. Nash. The self-righteous moralist in early meet-
ings of therapeutic groups. Psychiat., 1954, 11, No. 3, 215-23.
6. Sullivan, H. S. Therapeutic investigations on schizophrenia. In P. Mullahy
(ed.), A study of interperso7ial relations. New York: Hermitage House, 1949.
Copyright, New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons.
16
Adjustment Through Self-Effacement:
The Masochistic Personality
We are considering in this chapter the many personality types which,
despite their multilevel differences, have one important thing in com-
mon— they all present in their overt operations a fagade of self-efface-
ment. This is the ''55'' personality type.
The message which they communicate to others in their face-to-
face relations is "I am a weak, inferior person." Through their auto-
matic reflex operations they train others to look down upon them
with varying intensities of derogation and superiority.
The mild form of this security operation is manifested as a modest,
unpretentious reserve. In its maladaptive extremes it becomes a maso-
chistic self-abasement. In either case the person employing this gen-
eral mechanism avoids anxiety by means of retiring, embarrassed
diffidence. He is automatically mobilized to shun the appearance of
outward strength and pride.
The Purpose of Self-Depreciation
The individuals who employ this security operation do so because
they feel that this social role is the safest and least dangerous position
to be assumed in this particular situation. Now persons vary in the
consistency with which they employ any interpersonal behavior.
Some repetitiously respond with the same reflexes in almost all situa-
tions, whether appropriate or not. Others may automatically assume
modest, retiring reflexes in particular situations where they expect it
to be appropriate. Many subjects, for example, act embarrassed and
reserved when facing strong and potentially dangerous others.
In this chapter we are considering those patients who present a
fagade of guilty submissiveness in their approach to the clinic. We
cannot assume, of course, that all these patients act in this wav in all
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH SELF-EFFACEMENT 283
their life relationships. We simply know that this is their inter-
personal impact on the clinic. It is, therefore, the aspect of their per-
sonality that we must begin to respond to and deal with.
Whenever we observe or measure this security operation, we may
assume that an individual has learned to employ self-depreciation as a
protective device in certain situations, or in all situations. Later in-
vestigation (e.g., measurements at other levels) will indicate the range
and consistency of this security operation.
The role of masochism in contributing to the security of the indi-
viduals has been pointed out by several psychoanalytic authors.
Menaker has contributed an excellent summary of these theories:
The observation that masochism is a way of avoiding anxiety, a point on
which a number of analysts agree, is a clue to the fact that one of its important
aspects is its function of defending the ego. Important psychoanalytic contribu-
tions to the understanding of masochism, however, have thus far been too ex-
clusively concerned with its libidinal meaning. The point of departure has
been how gratification is achieved for the individual through masochistic be-
havior, rather than examining the way in which it serves the ego.
We find that viewing the problem of masochism from the standpoint of the
self-preservative functions of the ego leads to new insights. As might be ex-
pected, the ego function of the masochistic attitude is most clearly discernible in
the study of moral masochism. Berliner, confining his observations primarily
to moral masochism, has made an important contribution to the concept of
masochism as a defense mechanism of the ego. He takes masochism out of the
sphere of the instincts and views it as a function of the ego. It is 'a pathologic
way of loving' in which the ego through processes of introjection, identifica-
tion and superego formation turns the sadism of the love object (not its own
sadism) on itself. The motivation for so doing is the need to cling to a vitally
needed love object. The dependent child accepts the suffering emanating from
the rejecting love object as if it were love, failing to be conscious of, or denying
the difference between, love and hate. Once the hating love object has become
part of the superego, the constant wish to please and placate the superego causes
the individual to lose his identity and to 'make himself as unlovable as he feels
the parent wants him to be.'
Analytic experience confirms Berliner's view of masochism as a function of
the ego in the service of maintaining a vitally needed love relationship to a
primary object. (4 pp. 207-8)
The general purpose of the masochistic mechanism seems to involve
the warding off of anxiety by means of self-depreciation. The more
specific meanings of the mechanism vary from case to case depending
on the multilevel pattern.
The fact that the rather shallow methodology of the interpersonal
system defines several thousand types which express masochism at one
or more levels of personality testifies to the difficulty of making broad
generalizations about the specific meaning of masochism. The pattern
284
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
of conscious and "preconscious" identifications give different inteqjre-
tations of self-punitive behavior. The introjection patterns are also
crucial in some cases. We have developed one hypothesis which is in
line with the psychoanalytic theories summarized above. It seems
logical to assume that wherever masochism is expressed at any level
of personality, then sadistic feelings are also present. These may be
attributed to the conscious or "preconscious" perceptions of others or
they may be restricted to deeper levels of "self-behavior." Guilt does
not exist without some introjection or underlying acceptance of puni-
tive themes. Self-criticism seems inevitably to involve some aspect of
hostile criticism expressed against or projected on others.
It must be kept clear that we are discussing involuntary reflexes at
this point. We are not referring to the conscious, deliberate assuming
of a humble role — nor to the expression of modest words (i.e.. Level
II humility) ; we are thinking rather of automatic tendencies to handle
insecurity by means of weak, depressive, shy operations.
The Effect of the "'55'' Security Operations
Self-effacement pulls depreciation and patronizing superiority from
others. (In the code-language of the interpersonal system, HI pulls
BC and DE from others.) That is to say, if a person acts in a glum,
guilty, withdrawn, and weak manner, he will tend to train others to
look down on him and to view him with varying amounts of contempt.
One interesting expression of masochistic behavior which invariably
provokes others to scorn is the "buffoon" personality. One psycho-
analytic interpretation of the interpersonal meaning of the clown's
behavior points to the assumption of the castrated role. According to
Grotjohn (1) the clown in his dress, gestures, and thematic expres-
sions is telling the audience: "I am a harmless, weak, defeated person."
The social buffoon seems to exhibit his shameful, inferior position and
to force the onlookers to laugh at him and to patronize him.
The reciprocal interaction does not occur in every case. The
phenomenon of reciprocity is, as we have seen in Chapter 7, a prob-
ability statement. Self-derogation sometimes pulls initial sympathy,
but if the guilty reflex does not shift in response to this positive re-
action, the "other one" will inevitably respond with irritation and dis-
approval. Another factor preventing the reciprocal process from in-
variably working resides in the personality of the "other one." If a
modest person, or a buffoon, is dealing with a rigidly docile "other"
— the latter may not respond with superiority and disdain. In general
these relationships do not remain durable since the self-depreciator
tends to gravitate away from "equal" relationships and to prove re-
jection by means of withdrawal. The docile person tends also to avoid
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH SELF-EFFACEMENT 285
equal relationships and to seek strong, guiding partners. If two indi-
viduals with submissive fagades maintain a durable relationship, it will
generally be found that a reciprocity of underlying themes (often
of a competitive or depreciatory nature) is preserving the interaction.
Self-abasing individuals provoke punitive and arrogantly superior
reactions from others. Most persons do not prefer to maintain rela-
tionships with weak, guilty people. They tend to look down on the
masochists when they encounter them and do not enter into durable
interactions.
While most people avoid the masochists, there are, however, some
dramatic exceptions to this rule. By the systematic and statistical logic
of the interpersonal circle, one quarter of the population is bound to
fall into the upper left-hand quadrant. This is the area which includes
the operations of exploitation (C), narcissism (B), and punitive hos-
tility (D). These individuals provoke fear, envy, and guilt in others.
The modest masochist, we have seen, trains others to reject and despise
him. The beautiful interlocking of reciprocal reflexes which occurs in
the relationship between these two types is, of course, one of the
most familiar problems in dynamic psychology.
Self-effacing, guilty individuals feel the least anxiety when they are
manifesting their masochistic reflexes. They therefore gravitate to
and stay with those individuals who will provoke the least anxiety —
the aggressive, exploitive characters from the upper left part of the
diagnostic grid.
This reciprocal phenomenon is seen over and over again in the mal-
adaptive masochistic marriage — the overtly sorrowful, martyred,
abasive wife hopelessly entangled with the brutal husband — or the
overtly shy, timid man wearing himself out in service of the exploitive,
narcissistic wife.
This exchange of guilt and superiority also exists with remarkable
frequency in the relationships of normal, adaptive individuals. One
individual takes the modest, inferior, self-eflFacing part, while the
other exercises the superior role — to the comfort of both. Such
reciprocal relations are generally complicated by underlying motives.
We are discussing in this section the general aspects of the modest
masochistic security technique as exhibited in overt interpersonal re-
flexes. We shall therefore postpone the detailed discussion of the
multilevel patterns which usually underly the self-abasive fa9ade.
Level I modesty and self-depreciation can be adaptive or rigid, mal-
adaptive responses. Their purpose is to ward off anxiety. They lead
to the counterreactions of depreciation and superiority on the part of
the "other one." Extreme, rigid masochism invariably sets up new
chains of conflict and increased anxiety which can be responded to by
286 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
increased repetition of self-abasement, by related symptomatology,
and by other signs of psychic distress.
We shall now consider some of the clinical manifestations, both
interpersonal and symptomatological, of the modest-masochistic per-
sonality.
Clinical Definition of the "55" Personality
The symptomatic, clinical aspects of the overtly self-effacing per-
sonality are easily described. The outstanding symptom is depression.
These people are overtly anxious and unhappy. They exhibit guilt
and self-depreciation. Doubt, rumination, and obsessive uncertainty
are emphasized. Associated with this is an immobilized passivity.
They are not active or self-confident. They are not assertive or
reasonable. They do not challenge or compete with the clinician.
Their interpersonal impact on others involves weakness. They
often admit their need for psychotherapy. They tend to make the
clinician feel comfortable in his role because tHey readily assume the
position of a patient. These are the patients who keep the clinics in
business.
These patients are often riddled by guilty, obsessive thinking.
Hecht's investigation of the masochistic personality revealed that ob-
sessive rumination (as measured by the MMPI) had an important diag-
nostic relationship to self-effacement (2). This has been confirmed
repeatedly by our own studies, which have revealed a correlation be-
tween obsessive thinking and self-depreciating behavior.
When a patient comes to the clinic emphasizing such messages as
"People are mean to me," "I have done wrong," "I am unworthy,"
and "I am inferior," then the presenting operations of masochism can
be suspected. The effect of this approach is to make the other one
feel strong, slightly superior, perhaps, and initially supportive. The
superior reaction of the clinician is often bound up in his therapeutic
role so that he may not be aware that this response is being pulled
from him. The untrained clinician is often provoked to sympathetic
gestures. The more sophisticated diagnostician is usually struck by
the force of the self-punitive superego.
This brings us to another aspect of this personality type — the moral-
istic quality of their self-reproaches. The masochistic, guilty patient is
generally obsessed with matters of "right and wrong" and measures
himself (to his own disadvantage) against his own strict ideals. This
point is clearly demonstrated by the finding that the sector of the
diagnostic circle which defines self-effacement is the farthest re-
moved from the standard ego-ideal image of our culture. Their be-
havior is rated in the HI sector of the circle — whereas the ego ideal is
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH SELF-EFFACEMENT 287
invariably located in the opposite sectors. These patients are dissatis-
fied with themselves, and this is, of course, related to their relatively-
high motivation for psychotherapy.
In their social demeanor these patients typically tend to be silent,
fearful, and unsociable. In the moderately self-effacing person this
may be seen as a modest reserve. In severe cases it becomes a marked
withdrawal.
Obsessive Neurosis and Selj-Ejfacement
The self-effacing personality manifests the symptoms of depression,
immobilization, and ruminative self-doubt. Patients whose overt inter-
personal behavior is masochistic or self-derogatory are often given the
standard psychiatric diagnosis of obsessive neurotic. In Chapter 12
common clinical diagnostic categories were compared to interpersonal
types. Evidence was cited which showed that the HI sector of the
circle at Level II was related to the familiar obsessive category. Re-
search on Level I behavior has confirmed this finding. Patients who
were diagnosed by fellow group patients as falling in the masochistic
sector of the circle invariably manifested the symptoms of the obses-
sional disorder. On the MMPI these patients have their highest scores
on the depression and psychasthenia scales — which are generally seen
as diagnostic of obsessional processes.
Several correlation studies between MMPI scales and Level I be-
havior have been reported (3). When the depression and psychas-
thenia scales are correlated with the Level I-S vertical index, significant
negative correlations with dominance are consistently obtained. De-
pression and worry are related to passivity.
There is considerable research evidence pointing to a relationship
between the interpersonal security operation of masochism and ob-
sessive symptoms and chnical diagnosis of obsessive neurosis. In addi-
tion, there are some theoretical links between masochism and the ob-
sessive process. When this relationship was first suggested by our
data, there was considerable question on the part of the research staff,
as well as the advising clinicians, as to the accuracy of tying masochism
to obsessiveness.
Subsequent diagnostic work has tended to confirm the relationship
and has shed some light on its possible theoretical meaning. The link-
ing factor seems to concern guilt and self-derogation. It is generally
accepted that the obsessive symptoms — rumination, concern with
right and wrong, self-doubt, etc. — are connected with guilt. So is
masochism. It seems to make clinical and theoretical sense that self-
effacement is the interpersonal expression, and obsessiveness the symp-
tomatic expression of the same overt security operation.
288 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
The Obsessive-Cofnpulsive Phenomenon
The relationship between the interpersonal security operations of
self-effacement and the standard symptomatic diagnosis of "obsessive"
raises an interesting terminological issue. Obsessions have to do with
persistent ideas, intellectual preoccupations, doubts, worries, guilty
thoughts. These generally lead to inhibition of action — expressive,
spontaneous action in particular. Obsessiveness is typically accom-
panied by indecisiveness and depressive immobilization. The inter-
personal correlate of obsessiveness is modest passivity and self-punitive
timidity. Worried rumination communicates the interpersonal mes-
sage, "I am unsure, fearful, self-doubting."
Compulsions have generally been distinguished from obsessions.
Compulsions are repetitive activities, e.g., promptness, orderliness,
precise activity, disciplined behavior. Compulsions often have an
interpersonal impact quite different from obsessiveness. Compulsive
individuals are often not indecisively immobilized; they expend a great
deal of energy in exact, demanding action. They often communicate
not an interpersonal message of doubt or fear, but, on the contrary,
one of righteous self-satisfaction, pedantry, and superiority. It seems
in some cases that when compulsions are successfully executed they
express the opposite interpersonal meaning of obsessive behavior.
Obsessive and compulsive behavior are traditionally linked in
psychiatric terminology. The terms are often used synonymously.
In most diagnostic texts the two are considered together and a para-
doxical mixture of symptomatic cues is lumped together. Worried
self-doubt and pedantic superiority are often cited together as diag-
nostic cues for the same personality type. From the standpoint of
descriptive or symptomatic psychiatry these inconsistencies do not
appear too striking; but when they are viewed from the position of
interpersonal theory, the paradoxical and dichotomous nature of the
obsessive-compulsive syndrome comes sharply into focus.
The interpersonal meaning of successful compulsivity is, "I am
right and superior." The interpersonal meaning of pure obsessiveness
is, "I am wrong and unsure."
The general practice of combining these two opposing security
operations is a confusing and inefficient terminological practice. The
functional meaning of rigid compulsivity is quite different from that of
pure obsessiveness, and different from both of these are the many
cases which show alternations of both behaviors. Obsessive-compul-
sive is hyphenated because the two elements appear to be opposing,
dichotomous factors; they are diametrically different ways of han-
dling guilt and weakness. Sado-masochism is another familiar hyphe-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH SELF-EFFACEMENT 289
nated term in psychiatry. These two elements are also Hnked because
they are diametrically opposite ways of dealing with hostility. Clini-
cians seem to recognize, however, that although sadism and masochism
are reciprocally related, the two words are not synonymous. It is of
crucial importance to know which side of a sado-masochistic conflict
is overt and which is underlying. The functional problems involved
in getting an overtly sadistic personality into therapy are quite dis-
tinct from those involving the overt masochist. The latter is often
initially better motivated.
It is useful to make the same distinction in the case of the obsessive-
compulsive phenomenon — that is, to determine specifically whether
a patient is presenting overtly as an obsessive, guilt-ridden, depressed
person, or whether compulsive defenses are successfully operating.
In the latter case the patient is outwardly active, more self-confident,
and manifests a righteous, active fa9ade.
Many cases seen in the psychiatric clinic show mixtures of obses-
sive-compulsive symptoms. In the interpersonal language they may
be guilty and self-effacing at Level I-M, but this may be seen as a
temporary breakdown of a compulsive personality. Often Level I-M
may be depressed and masochistic while the Level II self-description
emphasizes managerial, responsible themes. This indicates that the
compulsive defenses are weakening; guilt and weakness in the form
of symptoms are breaking through.
Arthur Kobler of the Pinel Foundation Hospital has added an im-
portant qualification to the point being made in this section. He be-
lieves that the distinction between the interpersonal implication of
obsessive versus compulsive behavior may hold for the popular, ad-
justing aspect of compulsivity. He states, however, that severe com-
pulsive rituals — "driven actions with magical quality" — are closer to
obsessiveness. The interpersonal theory would be in strong agree-
ment with this statement because it interprets these bizarre rituals as
diagnostic of the schizoid message, "I am different, queer, alienated."
Since schizoid behavior in the interpersonal system falls next to ob-
sessiveness on the diagnostic continuum, Kobler's valuable clarification
seems to fit the "circle" theory.
To summarize: The distinction between compulsive and obsessive
behavior is functionally valuable. Pure compulsivity (where there is
no breakthrough of the warded-off, underlying guilt) indicates inter-
personal power, pedantry, and self-righteousness. Pure obsessiveness
is associated with overt interpersonal passivity and humiUty. It is
possible to use the hyphenated term obsessive-compulsive to refer to
multilevel patterns of conflict, but the meaning (symptomatic and
interpersonal) of the separate terms should be kept distinct.
290
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
Research Findings Characteristic of the
Self-Effacing-Masochistic Personality
The characteristics of the masochistic personahty which have just
been discussed are based on research findings of the Kaiser Founda-
tion project. These have been described in other publications. Some
of these findings will now be summarized.
1. Patients who exhibit masochistic operations at Levels I and II
do not tend to have psychosomatic disorders, except for the overtly
neurotic dermatological symptom groups (acne, seborrheic dermatitis,
and psoriasis) .
2. Psychosomatic patients do not present self-punitive behavior in
their overt operations, except for the above-listed skin disorders.
3. Patients who express masochism at Level I tend to have MMPI
profiles emphasizing obsessive (Pt), depressive (D), and passive (Mf)
trends.
4. Self-punitive behavior at Level II is also related to the same
MMPI scales.
5. These patients tend to stay in psychotherapy longer than hys-
teric, managerial, narcissistic, or psychosomatic patients. They tend
to stay in therapy about the same length of time as schizoid, phobic,
and psychopathic personalities. They belong to the well-motivated
group of patients.
TABLE 18
Percentage of Self-Effacing-Masochistic Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Self-Effacing-Masochistic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Persona
Psychiatric Clinic Admission
537
13
College Undergraduates
415
University Psychiatric Clinic
133
14
Aliddle Class Obese Patients (Female)
121
Neurodermatitis Cases
112
13
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
31
16
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
57
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
71
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
49
22
Hypertensive Patients
49
Ulcer Patients
43
Medical Control Patients
37
University Counseling Center
93
University Graduate Students (Male)
39
0
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
52
2
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients
28
11
Officers in Military Service
39
0
Total
1903
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH SELF-EFFACEMENT 291
6. They tend to be consciously disidentified with their mothers.
7. They tend to be consciously disidentified with their fathers.
8. They tend to be consciously disidentified with their spouses.
9. The masochistic personality is found most frequently in certain
institutional and cultural settings (see Table 18). Masochists appear
more often in psychiatric samples and rarely occur in psychosomatic
or normal samples. One exception to this statement — certain neuro-
dermatitis groups are more often masochistic (at Level I) than any
other psychosomatic sample.
10. The percentage of self-effacing personalities (defined by Level
II-C) found in various samples is presented in Table 19.
TABLE 19
Percentage of Self-Effacing-Masochistic Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Self-Effacing-Masochistic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
Medical Control Patierits
Ulcer Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
Total
Neurotics and neurodermatitis patients express the most masochism.
Psychosomatic and normal groups the least. It is of interest that the
psychotic group manifests considerably less self-effacement than the
neurotic samples. The impHcations of these findings are discussed in
Chapters 23 and 24.
References
1. Grotjohn, M. Jake Gimbel lectures, University of CaUfomia, 1955.
2. Hecht, Shirley. An investigation into the psychology of masochism. Unpub-
lished doctor's dissertation, University of California, 1950.
3. Leary, T., and H. Coffey. The prediction of interpersonal behavior in group
psychotherapy. Psychodrama gr. psychother. Monogr., 1955, No. 28.
4. Menaker, Esther. Masochism— a defense reaction of the ego. Psychoanal. Quart.,
1953, 22, No. 2, 205-20.
207
9
46
6
101
14
38
21
31
16
56
7
70
4
41
5
42
2
49
0
100
3
781
17
Adjustment Through Docility:
The Dependent Personality
This chapter is concerned with those individuals who present in their
approach to the clinic a fa9ade of dependent, docile conformity. This
is the ''66'' personality type. The interpersonal message it conveys to
others is, "I am a meek, admiring person in need of your help and
advice."
The moderate form of this security operation is expressed as a re-
spectful or poignant or trustful conformity. In its maladaptive inten-
sity it is manifested as a helpless dependency. These subjects in their
interpersonal reflexes avoid the expression of hostility, independence,
and power.
The Purpose of Docile Conformity
Human beings utilize these security operations because they have
found that they are least anxious when they are outwardly relying on
or looking up to others. Some individuals employ these reflexes in
their relationships with everyone they contact. Others assume this
role when they assume it to be called for by the situation. They act
helpless and fearful when dealing with strong individuals, authority
figures, and the like.
Many patients automatically assume this role in approaching medi-
cal or therapeutic agents. The doctor-patient relationship is loaded
with dependency implications. Most patients manifest a certain
amount of helpless trust in coming for diagnosis. The normative sta-
tistics employed in the interpersonal diagnostic grids are based on
large samples of clinic patients. In this chapter therefore we shall be
describing those individuals who express more dependency than the
average clinic visitor. We have isolated these persons who seem to go
out of their way to pull sympathy, help, and direction from others;
292
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH DOCILITY 293
who use their symptoms to communicate a helpless, painful, uncertain,
frightened, hopeful, dependent passivity.
Now many of these patients exert this interpersonal pressure in the
clinic but may act quite differently in other situations. They may be
fairly independent in certain social interactions. At other levels of
behavior they may be less phobic and docile. The fact that they pre-
sent dependence as their calling card to the clinic is an indication that
this is the functionally critical point at which to begin the diagnostic
evaluation. This defines their initial motivation, their first line of de-
fense.
Whenever we observe this security operation, we tend to assume
that the patient has come to employ docile dependence as a means of
handling anxiety in this type of situation. Further investigations may
reveal the flexibility or rigidity of this behavior and may indicate
that opposing motives exist at other levels or in other situations.
The Effect of Docile Conformity Upon Others
Docility pulls strong, helpful leadership from others. Dependence
provokes nurturance. In the language of the circle, ''JK pulls AP and
NO from others."
If a person acts in a poignant, helpless, respectful manner, he trains
others to offer help, advice, and direction. He who asks tends to get
taught. These subjects tell others by means of their reflexes that they
are weak-and-friendly. They thereby provoke others to be strong-
and-friendly.
These reciprocal tendencies do not occur inevitably but within
probability limits. Some punitive individuals react with stern disap-
proval to dependence in another. Severe masochists are unable to ex-
press nurturance even though the other is exerting intense dependent
pressure. In general, however, docile individuals tend to be most com-
fortable when they are involved with strong, responsible individuals.
Nurturant people naturally seek admiring, trustful individuals who
will respond to and need their help. The docile phobic person tends to
irritate the rebel and to threaten the counterphobic; he does not gen-
erally integrate durable relations with these individuals. Close sym-
biotic ties link the meek, admiring (JK) individual to respected, help-
ful (APNO) partners.
These reciprocal situations hold for brief encounters as well as
durable interpersonal pairings. Poignant, tearful helplessness in the
first few seconds of an interaction provokes tenderness and guidance
from another. Patients who present these reflexes in an initial psychia-
tric interview generate forces which may tend to pull assurance from
the clinician. Whenever the clinical interviewer finds himself un-
294 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
usually inspired to help, to promise, to reassure, to explain, to do some-
thing to relieve anxiety and tears, he will generally find that he is deal-
ing with security operations of dependent docility.
The effect of JK behavior is, therefore, to train the "other one" to
assume a strong, friendly role. Circular chains of interaction, of course,
develop. The respected, responsible, nurturant person in turn presses
the dependent person to increased dependence. Where these sym-
biotic tendencies are uncomplicated by underlying conflicts on the
part of either partner, a most comfortable durable relationship de-
velops. The passive son attached to a strong nurturant mother pro-
vides a typical example of this process. The docile, adoring wife
dutifully tied to a responsible, managerial husband is another.
Where the docility is intense and all other reflexes are crippled or
where underlying motives conflict with the overt dependence, then
anxiety fails to be warded ofl^. This anxiety can be dealt with by in-
creased helplessness, eventually leading to a fairly typical set of psy-
chological symptoms. The neurotic expressions of severe dependent
conformity will now be considered.
Clinical Definition of the ''66" Personality
The defensive operations of docile conformity, when employed in
the intense maladaptive degree, result in a set of specific symptoms
which are related to and a logical outcome of the tactics.
The first clinical indication is helplessness and overt anxiety. Clini-
cally this is generally expressed as a marked depression. Fears, wor-
ries, elaborate concern over physical or emotional discomfort are
common.
A most definitive sign of this personality type is the presence of
phobias. The patient is fearful of events or experiences without any
direct rational cause. Descriptive psychiatry of the last century has
listed dozens of impressive-sounding hyphenated terms denoting the
different phobic reactions. While it seems fruitless to recapitulate this
list of descriptive labels, it seems worth while to point out that they
generally refer to an irrational and inexplicable intense fear of some
stimulus — fear of heights, fear of crowds, fear of being alone, etc.
The theory of the interpersonal circle offers one possible rational
correlation of these fears with docile-dependent operations. Fears, of
course, tend to give the impression of weakness and helplessness. This
pulls for help and support.
But the fears of the phobic are, in essence, displaced fears. It is well
known that the relatively innocuous stimuli avoided by these patients
generally stand for more directly intimate interpersonal figures who
are covertly feared. We recall that Little Hans's panic about horses
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH DOCILITY 295
was related to certain unconscious perceptions of his father and
mother. (2) A repressive tendency is at work here. The patient can-
not directly attribute hostile, dangerous motives to real, known figures
but unconsciously displaces these motives to figures or stimuli which
are vague, and psychologically distant. One effect of this is to allow
the patient to preserve a consciously conforming, docile relationship
with close figures against whom he may feel negative, rebellious emo-
tions.
At this point the theory of the interpersonal circle can be intro-
duced. The points / and K which define the phobic personality are
midway between weakness (HI) and conventional agreeability (LM).
On the circular diagnostic continuum, the phobic is related on the one
hand to the obsessive and on the other to the hysteric. Clinically this
suggests that phobics combine fears and obsessions on the one hand
with a conventional, repressive, bland tendency to see family mem-
bers and intimates as sweet and loving. The MMPI pattern for the
phobic personality involves peak scores on depression, psychostenia,
and hysteria. This tends to confirm the clinical impression of a per-
son who is unhappy, anxious (D), worried, and fearful (Pt), and at
the same time blandly repressive (Hy). He is afraid, but he does not
know what he fears. He is helpless and weak within the context of
docile, naive conformity.
So far we have emphasized the phobic symptoms of the docile-de-
pendent personality. The point has been made that inexplicable fears
seem to fit nicely the mixture of weakness plus bland conventionality
which characterizes this personality type. There are other symptoms
which allow the patient to be helpless, depressed, and anxious, and to
maintain a conforming conscious picture of self and others. Diffuse
physical symptoms, for example, have the same psychological implica-
tions. They tend to be typical of, and partially diagnostic of, the
docile phobic personahty.
We are considering here symptoms which seem to be physical ex-
pressions of anxiety and tension; insomnia, transient digestive com-
plaints (e.g., "butterflies in stomach" and nausea or bowel reactions in
response to stress) and transient circulatory symptoms (blushing, faint-
ing behavior, cardiac responses to stress, etc.). Many diffuse hypo-
chondriacal concerns have docile-dependent overtones.
The interpersonal function of these symptoms is to present a pic-
ture of a worried, distressed person in need of help because of symp-
toms which have an indirect emotional significance. The patient suf-
fering from diffuse physical symptoms often does not complain spe-
cifically or directly about his interpersonal problems or those of his
intimates but displaces much of his concern onto areas which are
2^6 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
psychologically more distant and much more indirect. Again, he is
anxious but he does not know why.
The third and most pathonomonic set of symptoms characteristic of
the docile-dependent personality includes the manifestations of overt,
free-floating anxiety. When a patient comes to the clinic openly ex-
pressing signs of weakness, discomfort, concern over self (e.g., tears,
fidgeting, fearful behavior), then the security operations of phobic
conformity may be suspected. The interpersonal message expressed
by these tactics seems to be: "I am a distressed, weak, unhappy person
in need of your help and direction." This and the preceding generali-
zations refer to the generalized or pure or consistent case. Alany pa-
tients manifest alternations of behavior in a diagnostic interview. They
may initially exhibit interpersonal reflexes of self-confident superior
strength and then lapse suddenly into fearful, tearful behavior. In
this case the hypothesis of intense phobic-counterphobic conflict
would perhaps be considered.
Relationship of Docile Conformity to Standard
Psychiatric Diagnosis
The preceding section has suggested that the interpersonal traits of
overt docile dependence are related to certain clinical symptoms.
These were anxiety, phobias, and diffuse physical symptoms.
Patients who employ these operations and manifest these symptoms
can be given five difl^erent standard psychiatric diagnoses. The diag-
nostic label used is generally determined by the kind of symptoms
which characterize the patient.
1. The term anxiety neurosis generally defines a docile-dependent
personality. Malamud describes this diagnostic type as follows:
Clinically, this disturbance expresses itself in attacks of vague, unexplained
but intense fear which, at least in the beginning of the disease, does not seem
to be attached to any particular object. It can best be described as being near
to a normal fear of a vital danger, but is different from it in that no such dan-
ger is present and, in most cases, not even imagined to be present. The con-
comitant symptoms are usually of the same kind as found in real fear— a kind of
paralyzed state of the musculature, cold shivers, a sense of pressure in the head
and precordial regions, profuse cold sweating, palpitation of the heart, and at
times relaxation of the sphincters. As time goes on the attacks may be con-
sciously associated with some of the concomitant symptoms. The person may
develop the fear that his heart may stop, that something will burst in his head,
or that some serious disease is developing in his gastro-intestinal system. The
concomitant symptoms may also assume the controlling feature of the picture,
and thus instead of pure anxiety attacks we may have tachycardia, alternating
constipation or diarrhea, dizziness, or even vertigo, and others. (3, p. 853)
The patient who complains of these symptoms usually approaches
the clinician in a dependent manner, seeking relief and help.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH DOCILITY 297
2. The term phobic is also used to describe docile patients. Again
the interpersonal implication of the fearful state is that the patient is
a weak, helpless person. There is considerable overlap in the descrip-
tions of anxiety neurotics and phobics. Notice in Malamud's definition
the emphasis placed on fears. The difference between anxiety neurosis
and phobia seems to involve superficial descriptive aspects of the con-
tent of what is feared. Both types seem to describe the same generic
personality syndrome.
3. In the Freudian literature a similar overlapping of terms occurs.
In defining anxiety hysteria Fenichel states that "the anxiety is spe-
cifically connected with a special situation, which represents the neu-
rotic conflict. (1, p. 194) In discussing "the choice of the specific
content" of the fears in anxiety hysteria, Fenichel (1, p. 195) moves
immediately to a consideration of phobias, and it is clear that he con-
siders phobias the characteristic symptom of the anxiety hysteric.
It appears that the terms anxiety and phobic as used in diagnostic
labels are descriptive and symptomatic. The value of these terms for
nosology is limited. One is led to question (1) the usefulness of
descriptive diagnostic labels and (2) the proliferation of these over-
lapping terms.
4. There is a fourth standard diagnostic category which is related
to the docile-dependent personality. This is the term neurasthenic.
Malamud gives a description of this condition:
In its pure form it is characterized by feelings of physical and mental in-
adequacy, complaints of fatigability without adequate exertion, paresthesias in
the back of the neck, and a sense of general weakness. In the more chronic and
severe forms of this disturbance the patients usually describe themselves as
mental and physical "wrecks." They cannot concentrate on any activity, they
wake up in the morning feeling exhausted, "fagged out," unable to get started
on any work. Irritability, feeling of lack of sexual vigor at times amounting to
impotence, and a vague sense of anxiety may complicate the picture. In contra-
distinction to the anxiety neuroses, these states are usually monotonously
chronic without any great degree of variation and as is too frequently the case
the patient seeks for help only after long duration of the symptoms. (3, p. 854)
The similarity of neurasthenia to anxiety neurosis is apparent in
this description and is, in fact, recognized by Malamud. It seems that
the differentiating factor is chronicity — a dubious reason for retaining
a nosological category.
5. A fifth diagnostic term which usually defines the overtly de-
pendent personality is hypochondriasis. Diffuse physical symptoms
and worry about bodily functions can serve as a defense in many types
of maladjustment. Often these concerns operate in very sick patients
to ward off psychotic processes. It is safe to say that in any hypo-
chondriacal condition, whatever the underlying problem, displace-
298 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
ment and repressive processes are at work. At the level of presenta-
tion to the clinic the interpersonal implications of hypochondriasis are
(1) dependence and need for help and (2) some tendency to displace
negative emotions onto physical reactions. These two factors are
characteristic of the personality type we are discussing in this chapter.
Research Findings Characteristic of the ''66'' Personality
This section presents a summary of some of the empirical studies
accomplished on the phobic personality at the Kaiser Foundation re-
search.
1 . Patients who present docile conformity in their overt operations
do not tend to have the psychosomatic symptoms of ulcer, hyperten-
sion, or neurodermatitis. (Although they do not manifest organ
neuroses, they do tend to complain of diffuse physical symptoms of
anxiety.)
2. Docile dependency at Levels I and II is related to depression
(D), ruminative worries (Pt), and naive blandness (Hy) on the
MMPI.
3. These patients tend to be initially well motivated for treatment,
remaining in treatment for an average of eleven interviews. Pure
phobics (i.e., without underlying ambivalence) remain in treatment
an average of twenty times, that is, longer than any other diagnostic
group. They are solidly docile and dependent. Conflicted phobics
(i.e., with underlying hostility, strength, or conventionality) on the
contrary do not remain in treatment, being seen on the average of 2.6
sessions. This dramatic reversal of the pure and the more ambivalent
cases points up the necessity of fitting the variability dimension into
the diagnostic picture.
4. Docile subjects are on the average ambivalent in their conscious
identification with parents. They are not so disidentified as the
psychopaths, schizoids, and obsessives. They are less close to their
parents than the conventional and responsible personality types.
5. They are similarly about in the middle on the variable of marital
identification, being closer to their marital partners than the uncon-
ventional diagnostic groups and less close than the conventional.
6. Docile patients consciously describe their parents as being con-
ventional, agreeable, and somewhat nurturant people. This reflects a
conforming attitude to parents and places them close to the hysterical
and psychosomatic patients. Phobics picture themselves as weaker
than the latter two personality types, but share their conventional per-
ception of parents.
7. Phobics emphasize nurturance in their conscious description of
marital partners more than any other diagnostic group. They are
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH DOQUTY 299
themselves dependent and marry people whom they see as strong and
giving.
8. They are therefore not identified with their spouses but report
reciprocal "needs help-gives help" marital relationships.
9. On the Naboisek study of interpersonal misperception, phobics
(when combined with obsessives) seem to be the most accurate of any
diagnostic type. They correctly perceive the strong to be strong and
the weak to be weak. They manifest misperception only in the case
of the hostile persons, to whom they erroneously attribute more weak-
ness than hostility. Docile dependent patients seem to be thrown off
by aggressiveness in others, preferring to see this as weakness. This
may reflect an avoidance of the same interpersonal themes they avoid
in their overt behavior.
10. The phobic personality is found most frequently in certain in-
stitutional and cultural settings. Docile people (Level I-M) do come
to the psychiatric clinic for help. They are not found as frequently
in normal nonclinical settings (see Table 20).
TABLE 20
Percentage of Docile-Dependent Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Docile-Dependent
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions 537 12
College Undergraduates 415 2
University Psychiatric Clinic 133 10
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female) 121 5
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients 31 10
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients 57 5
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients 71 3
Group Psychotherapy Patients 109 11
Individual Psychotherapy Patients 49 16
f lypertensive Patients 49 5
Ulcer Patients 43 5
Medical Control Patients 57 5
University Counseling Center (Male) 93 2
University Graduate Students (Male) 39 5
Stockade Prisoners (Male) 52 6
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients 28 21
Officers in Military Service 39 0
Total 1903
11. Docile-dependent patients tend to be assigned to individual
psychotherapy. They are second only to the obsessives in the per
cent referred to and remaining in individual treatment. They are not
referred as frequently to group therapy. They do not remain in group
300 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
psychotherapy as frequently. Four other diagnostic types supply
more patients who remain in groups. The phobics top only the hys-
terics, psychopaths, and narcissists in percentage of group therapy
numbers. This is probably due to the following facts: The phobic
tends to be quite ambivalent about treatment in general. He wants
help but not necessarily psychological exploration. When he is seen
individually, this ambivalence about motivation and commitment to
therapy can be made the focus of attention and dealt with directly.
The docile patient is more likely to feel comfortable in a two-way
doctor-patient relationship. The dependent operations work more
smoothly. In a group the ambivalent motivation is very easy to over-
look. The patient does not have a single comfortable situation of a
nurturant therapist but is thrown into interaction with several other
patients and personality types. Underlying ambivalences can be
intensified and the phobic often drops out of the group.
12. The frequency of docile-dependent subjects at Level II-C is
presented in Table 21. It will be noted that this personality type is
again most numerous among hospitalized psychotics. The second most
frequent occurrence of this personality type is in the individual therapy
sample.
TABLE 21
Percentage of Docile-Dependent Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
%
of Docile-Dependent
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
207
11
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
46
20
Group Psychotherapy Patients
101
11
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
38
18
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
31
3
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
56
13
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
70
3
Medical Control Patients
41
5
Ulcer Patients
42
2
Hypertensive Patients
49
6
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
100
2
Total 781
Therapeutic Handling of the Phobic Personality
Some phobics express underlying counterphobic power; others
show sweet hysterical conventionality in their "preconscious" expres-
sions. Entirely different therapeutic results may be expected from
these varied multilevel patterns even though they are all presented
overtly in the same way. Generalizations about the phobic personality
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH DOCILITY 301
must therefore be considerably limited, although it is possible to ex-
amine some of the implications of the docile fagade which seems to
characterize most phobic patients.
The first characteristic worth noting is their apparent readiness and
eagerness for psychiatric help. The word help is used here in contrast
to the word treatment — for many phobics are not at all eager for ex-
tended therapy. Because of their dependence, their admission of fear
and weakness, they give the appearance of being highly motivated and
cooperative patients. This appearance is often misleading.
Phobic patients in their underlying levels have their share of all the
sixteen generic interpersonal motivations. They have as much (or
perhaps more) ambivalence and conflict as any other overt personality
type. The deceptive factor here is the fact that they have a fa9ade of
cooperative, passive docility. This often lulls the imperceptive clini-
cian into the expectation that the patient is wholeheartedly involved
in the treatment plan. If questioned, the phobic may appear to be in
complete conformity with the program outhned by the clinician.
Here we think of the typical and familiar phrase, "I'll do anything
you suggest, Doctor."
Thus the ambivalence and conflicting motivation which we expect
in almost every patient tends to be easily overlooked in the case of the
docile phobic.
In dealing with most other overt personality types, the intake diag-
nostician is automatically led to look for ambivalence or conflict. In
the case of the schizoid patient some partial abandonment of his dis-
trustful operations is required in order for him to express the collabora-
tive feelings involved in a commitment to therapy. Similarly, a strong,
self-confident counterphobic patient must make some admission of
weakness and need-for-help if he is to commit himself to treatment.
In the case of the docile phobic patient, ambivalence is often present
but can be easily overlooked because of the superficial eagerness of
these patients to please and conform to the clinician's suggestions. For
this reason these patients tend to present tricky and confusing prog-
nostic problems. In the early days of the clinical training program at
the Kaiser Foundation clinic, phobic patients were often assigned for
therapy to novitiate interns. The reasoning was: "These patients are
anxious, cooperative, well-motivated, and not too distrustful, and are
thus excellent patients for the beginning therapist."
This generalization has proved optimistic. We have found it to be
difficult to predict the clinical course of an overtly docile patient.
In a preceding section it has been pointed out that phobics on the
diagnostic continuum fall between hysterics and obsessives. Func-
tionally, this means that they tend to combine punitive self-deprecia-
302
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
tion and bland naivete. The repressive hysterical element often leads
phobics to an early departure from the clinic as soon as they sense that
therapy is not a magical cure but rather a process of realistic self-
evaluation. The latter, of course, is quite alien to the repressive opera-
tions.
We have found that many phobics can present an initial facade
which involves severe anxiety, marked conformity to treatment plans,
and apparent motivation for therapy. The underlying motivation may
involve other interpersonal operations and might predict an early
"repressing" out of therapy, or the development of severe feelings of
distrust and isolation, etc. Phobics may often resist (in a conciliatory
manner) the clinician's attempt to clarify their motivation — particu-
larly if they sense that a reproach or criticism is impUed. This is gen-
erally followed by a reaffirmation of their willingness to conform to
the "doctor's orders." A supportive and sympathetic explanation of
the phobic's motivation will often allow the prtient to express his un-
derlying doubts, or fears, or critical resistance to psychotherapy.
Again it must be recalled that these comments are limited by the
multilevel variations which differentiate the 2,048 types who present
overtly as docile-dependent. The temporal sequence of interpersonal
behavior to be expected varies according to the configuration of the
total personality. The therapeutic handling of overt phobics, there-
fore, varies according to these differences.
References
1. Fenichel, O. The psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. New York: Norton, 1945.
2. Freud, S. Analysis of a phobia in a five-year-old boy. Collected papers. Vol. 3.
London: Hogarth Press, 1948.
3. Malamud, W. The psychoneuroses. In J. McV. Hunt (ed.), Personality and the
behavior disorders. New York: The Ronald Press Co., 1944.
18
Adjustment Through Cooperation.
The Overconventional Personality
Conventional, friendly affiliation with others is the mode of adjust-
ment discussed in this chapter. This is the "77" personality type. We
shall be discussing those individuals whose overt security operations
involve agreeability, and who strive to be liked and accepted by others.
Adaptive Forms of the Conventional Personality
Extroverted friendliness is the adaptive form of "this generic secur-
ity operation. The individuals who utilize these interpersonal reflexes
seem to be comfortable when they are evoking "good feelings" and
establishing harmonious, amicable relations with others.
They tend to seek satisfaction in sociabihty with others. Accepted
values are important to them. They are more likely to cooperate, to
go along with the conventional pattern, to compromise. External
harmony is more important than internal values. They are less likely
to emphasize a unique, original, or highly controversial point of view.
Individuals who employ this interpersonal machinery with flexibil-
ity are productive and valuable members of society. They are popu-
lar, well-liked, and agreeable members of any group. They deal with
social anxiety by friendly, amicable responses.
This mode of adjustment is probably the highest stated ideal of our
Western civilization. The loving, peaceable, brotherly person is given
the most honored role in the ethical hierarchy. This is, it must be
noted, a cultural ideal. The personal ideal of most individuals (as
measured by the interpersonal system) clearly emphasizes a combi-
nation of conventionality and strength. The pure loving person is the
third most idealized figure, power and sympathetic responsibility
being the ego-ideal values preferred by the individuals studied. The
person who acts or describes himself in terms of cooperativeness and
303
304 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
friendliness seems to be attempting to meet the stated rather than the
real cultural conventional standard.
Maladaptive Forms of the Conventiojial Personality
Individuals who rigidly and inappropriately express agreeable,
afEliative behavior are diagnosed as overconventional personalities.
These are the persons who cannot tolerate any critical or strong or
guilty behavior in themselves. They continually strive to please, to
be accepted, to establish positive relations with others.
It is difficult to describe these security operations because the Eng-
lish language has a scarcity of words denoting this condition. It was
pointed out in Chapter 2 that our English dictionaries do not contain
terms defining the state of being overaffectionate or too friendly or
overcooperative. The notion that a person can be maladaptively sweet
is apparently alien to our culture.
Thus we face the dilemma of describing persons for whom there
exists no ready-made, common terminology. We have had to meet
this problem (in our empirical studies) by hyphenated words or ex-
tended phrases denoting the person who is abnormally and rigidly
friendly.
The items on the interpersonal check list which designate this con-
dition are:
L M
too easily influenced by friends fond of everyone
will confide in anyone likes everyone
wants everyone's love too friendly
agrees with everyone loves everyone
The interpersonal behaviors which diagnose these security opera-
tions involve the compulsive, repetitious expression of affiliative be-
havior. These individuals smile, agree, collaborate, conciliate. They
are extroverted and outgoing to an intense degree. They are so com-
mitted to conventional responses that they forfeit originality and in-
dividuality.
External values and approval from others dominate their social in-
tercourse. Bland, often naive, uninsightful behavior is the inevitable
correlate. Gross misperceptions of social reality characterize their
approach. They just cannot see hostility or power in themselves.
They avoid feelings of depression. A rigid overoptimism is quire
typical. They often misperceive the interpersonal behavior of others
and tend to saturate all their social exchanges with affihative motifs.
The maladaptive aspects of these security operations are obvious.
Like any set of crippled reflexes, the repetitious and inappropriate ex-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COOPERATION 305
pression of positive feelings lends to a general restriction of personality.
Their repertoire of responses is narrow. They are limited only to the
conventional actions and perceptions. They forget or misinterpret
other kinds of behavior. They seem to fear being individuals. Their
imagination and creativity is lost in the attempt to be acceptable or
to be liked. A sterile conventionality or a self-satisfied piousness re-
sults.
The Purpose of Overconventional Behavior
The security operations of conventional agreeability are employed
to ward off anxiety. These individuals are uncomfortable in the
presence of hostile, unhappy, or power-oriented feelings. They avoid
these responses.
The overconventional person apparently has learned that he can
reduce anxiety and gain heightened self-esteem by means of opti-
mistic blandness. He has discovered that acceptance and approval
from others can be won by means of friendly operations. He feels
safe, comfortable, secure when he is employing these protections.
When the reality situation involves unconventional behavior or
threatens their optimistic (and often shallow) approach, these sub-
jects become upset. They may strive to handle the situation by in-
creased optimism and sociability. If these maneuvers fail, they tend to
get out of the anxiety-provoking field. Psychiatric evaluation and
self-exploration are, of course, among the most threatening events
faced by this personality type.
Their unique methods for handling the anxiety aroused by psychia-
tric referral will be discussed below.
The Effect of Overconventional Behavior
Friendly agreeability tends to provoke approval and friendliness
from others. In the systematic language, LM pulls MN from others.
The extroverted, optimistic person trains others to like him. Co-
operativeness induces a reciprocal positive response in others.
These reciprocal relations are, of course, part of the folklore of our
culture. The Dale Carnegie texts and the salesmen's manuals have
pointed out the effect of the "positive approach," and our empirical
studies have tended to confirm these bromides.
A qualifying remark must accompany these generalizations. The
principle of reciprocal interpersonal relations is a probability state-
ment. It tends to hold most of the time. There are many cases where
it does not work. LM does not always pull MN.
The maladaptive intensity of the response provides a special case.
Many situations call for anger or sorrow or power. If the overcon-
3o6 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
ventional person is unable to respond appropriately, his attempts to
win approval may fail.
The personality of the "other one" is another important factor.
If the alter in any social interaction tends to respond with a different
inteq^ersonal reflex, then the ability of the overconventional person
to pull approval is limited. Skeptical individuals can be infuriated by
overoptimism in another. Power-oriented individuals may see co-
operative agreeability as a form of docility and an invitation for them
to increase their bossy reflexes.
The selectivity of interpersonal relationships enters the picture at
this point. Overconventional people tend to avoid persons and places
which threaten their fa9ades. The "sicker" or more restricted the
person is, the less able he is to tolerate differences which raise anxiety.
Thus it often transpires that bland overfriendly persons tend to
gravitate towards other agreeable, optimistic, pious, conventional peo-
ple and do not tend to seek out antisocial or highly original partners.
In cases where negative feeUngs are involved, these patients charac-
teristically resolve the situation by the maneuver of "going along"
with the feelings of their in-group. If the group to which they con-
form is angry, they can be angry; but the hostihty is directed against
an out-group figure and it is usually not expressed directly. These sub-
jects can be very critical of an out-group person who is not present.
The generalizations made in this section require qualification.
Multilevel variations and conflicts provide new complications. Some
patients with overconventional fagades tend to have underlying feel-
ings which involve less-conventional themes (such as masochism or
sadism). These "preconscious" tendencies may lead them to become
involved with individuals who are unloving and unconventional.
Even with the qualifications introduced by multilevel conflicts
and by the personality of the "other one" the general principle of
reciprocity holds as a low-order probability statement. Patients with
low scores on nonconformity (i.e., the F scale on the MMPI) see them-
selves as loving and cooperative and are seen in the same positive
fashion by fellow group therapy members.
Clinical Manifestations of the "77" Personality
There are several cHnical characteristics of the overconventional
personahty.
First it should be noted that this personality type is not a common
visitor to the psychiatric clinic. The essence of the psychiatric process
is self-examination and an analysis of one's own unique patterns of
living. The essence of the bland, friendly overagreeable mode of
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COOPERATION 307
adjustment is the inhibition of one's uniqueness and one's individual
feelings and the emphasis on external values.
The overconventional person does not come to the psychiatric
clinic because of a dissatisfaction with self or a desire for self-exami-
nation. He is not depressed. He does not complain of internalized
emotional problems (e.g., guilt, distrust).
The specific symptomatic picture can vary, but the interpersonal
message of bland self-acceptance is usually present.
There are three reasons which bring these patients to a psychiatric
clinic. These are (1) generalized "nervousness" or anxiety, vaguely
defined and not tied to emotional causes; (2) physical symptoms, often
with a direct symboUc meaning; (3) complaints about the behavior of
others.
The first of these complaints — generalized nonspecific anxiety — is
the most common symptom, so typical that it is quite diagnostic.
These patients use the words tension, nervousness, and cnixiety in their
self-descriptions. The significance of these particular terms is that
they have a relatively vague quality. They designate a symptom
which is not tied to a specific, recognized emotional problem. The
patient does not know why he is anxious. He is not depressed or fear-
ful. This differentiates the overconventional from the phobic personal-
ity. The latter is unhappy and sees himself as weak and timid. The
overconventional person comes to the clinic because of anxiety which
is described as a phenomenon quite removed from his personality.
This symptom of vague tension can generally be traced to an inter-
personal trauma or friction in the patient's life. Pressure is being put
on the patient to react in a negative way (hostile or defeated). The
overconventional person cannot handle these situations appropriately.
He strives not to recognize the emotions which they arouse in him.
His rigid attempts to misperceive and deny negative feelings in him-
self and others seal off the emotional meaning and leave him only
with intense anxiety. The threat of his own negative feelings (usually
provoked by the traumatic external pressure) is the most intolerable
experience for this personality type. He comes to the clinic, needless
to say, not consciously desiring to have the cover removed from his
misperceptions and negative emotions but to have the anxiety removed.
When these patients sense that psychotherapy might threaten their
bland denial they clearly express their disinterest in treatment.
These patients present particularly pathetic pictures when they
arrive at the psychiatric clinic. Their fear of their own negative feel-
ing brings on the tension, but psychiatric interviews tend to arouse
exactly the same anxiety. Caught between the pain of the illness and
3o8 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
the pain of the cure, they usually handle this dilemma by intensifica-
tion of their favored security operations; that is to say, they attempt
to re-establish their bland, optimistic protections and move themselves
out of the therapeutic situation.
The complaint of diffuse tension can thus be seen as a symptom
external to the patient's view of his own character structure. They
come to the clinic seeking relief from this isolated symptom and not
psychological explanation. This extended discussion of one sympto-
matic presentation has been outlined in detail for two reasons. First,
it is important for the clinician to recognize the fact that the com-
plaint of tension or nervousness is not attached to the patient's con-
ception of himself as a person. The intensity of the anxiety may make
these patients appear to be well motivated for therapy. The bland,
conventional nature of their security can be revealed by sensitive inter-
viewing and is picked up very clearly in the Level I and Level II tests.
Failure to distinguish this difference may lead to a breakdown in
communication and the patient's flight from the clinic. The second
important aspect of this syndrome is its frequency. Over 50 per cent
of the overconventional patients seen in the Kaiser Foundation men-
tion the vague, nonspecific terms tension, nervousness, or anxiety in
describing their reasons for coming to the clinic.
The second most frequent symptom mentioned by "77" patients
involves physical complaints. These are often symbolic of unrecog-
nized emotional conflicts. Headaches (which our clinicians believe
to reflect underlying hostility) and menstrual complaints (believed to
reflect sexual constriction) are probably the most common physical
symptoms. Examination of the case material of overconventional pa-
tients reveals that the great majority of the female patients are sexu-
ally frigid. This is sometimes recognized but is rarely developed as a
complaint, these patients being unalarmed about this condition. The
physical symptoms classically characteristic of hysterical blandness
(e.g., paralyses, amnesias, anaesthesias) are rarely seen in the Kaiser
Foundation clinic. When they do appear they are not generally re-
ported by the pure overconventional personality (77) but by severely
or chronically disturbed patients with conflicted fagades. We think
here of the schizoid-hysteric (47) or the masochistic-overconven-
tional conflict (57).
The third clinical characteristic of the "77" personality involves
complaints about the behavior of other people. A sudden flare-up
of marital trouble (previously unrecognized) is a common precipitat-
ing event. The spouse may demand a divorce, thus breaking through
the optimistic fa9ade and confronting the "surprised" patient with
unpleasant emotions. Antisocial behavior on the part of a family mem-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COOPERATION 309
ber (delinquency, crime, sexual eccentricity) may bring about the
same result.
These situations confront the patient with emotions which his
security operations have previously denied. It must be noted, how-
ever, that the resulting anxiety is not seen as intrinsic or related to the
personality but (like the diffuse tension or physical symptom) is seen
as external.
Turning from the symptomatic picture to the clinical impression
given by these patients, we see a new set of diagnostic cues.
The bland overconventional person is often seen as immature by the
clinician. This term runs through the typical case reports and reflects
the naivete, the artless, childlike ingenuousness which these security
operations maintain. These patients see no evil, hear no evil, think no
evil, do no evil. They handle interpersonal situations by complaisant,
serene machinery.
The rigidity by means of which these individuals can distort and
misinterpret reality can reach astounding proportions. These misper-
ceptions (sincere and not deliberate) can lead to disastrous misunder-
standings. We think here of the patient who employed two solid layers
of bland optimistic friendliness to handle feelings of despair so severe
as to reach psychotic proportions. In the face of several catastrophic
failures (loss of two jobs, threatened divorce), this patient insisted in
the intake interview that everything was going well, that he was not
depressed, etc.
The discrepancy between the reality situation and his happy re-
actions finally emerged. The intake worker reviewed with the patient
the intense conflict between desperate fearful depression and the
cheerful fagade. The latter operations were supported, but the need
for treatment was stressed. The patient was delighted with the course
of the interview, enthusiastically accepted the mild summary of the
clinician, and eagerly cooperated in making plans for therapy, arrang-
ing future appointments, etc.
Within two days the clinician received phone calls from three irate
and puzzled people (his wife, his employer, and the referring phy-
sician), all of whom had been informed by the patient that "the psy-
chiatrist said I am perfectly normal and don't need treatment." In a
subsequent interview the patient remembered the negative or reality
side of the clinician's original summary and stated that he had "for-
gotten" the plans for therapy and discovered the appointment slip
which had been "lost" in his wallet.
This patient was not a dishonest or prevaricating person. The
rigidity and intensity of the ingenuous naivete, as well as the com-
plete crippling of any other interpersonal reflexes, were quite evident
3IO INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
in his Level I and II test patterns and testified eloquently to the pres-
ence of a blanket denial process which made it intolerable for this
person to face unpleasant reality.
This same process is regularly observed in group therapy where
hysterical patients completely misperceive hostility in others and for-
get the occasion when they have been momentarily angry or depressed
in the group.
The Relationship of Over conventionality to
Standard Psychiatric Diagnosis
Patients who manifest the reflexes of intense, maladaptive over-
conventionality are often given the psychiatric diagnosis of hysterics.
If we review the clinical characteristics of the conventional per-
sonality, we will observe that they tend to fit the general conception
of hysterical behavior — the physical symptoms, bland denial of emo-
tional problems, etc.
The chapters in psychiatric texts which describe the hysteric usu-
ally center the discussion around the dramatic symptomology: fugues,
amnesias, paralyses, etc. (3,2) In recent years these colorful symptoms
tend to appear in diminishing frequency and the diagnosis of hysteria
is increasingly being based on dynamic, interpersonal or psychosexual
criteria (4, 1).
The bland, optimistic conventionality of the hysteric has been dis-
cussed in the literature for over sixty years. Charcot defined this diag-
nostic characteristic in describing "la belle indifference des hyster-
iques."
The current trend in diagnosis seems to emphasize the dynamic
aspects of the hysterical personality. Schafer in his competent diag-
nostic volume (4) consistently employs "functional" or dynamic
variables rather than symptomatic or descriptive cues. He defines
hysterics as persons who "rigidly and persuasively resort to the defense
of repression." He speaks of the narrowed cultural and intellectual
interests, the impaired ability to think independently or to express
original, individual themes. He also refers to the naivete of these pa-
tients.
In the interpersonal diagnostic system the term hysterical per-
sonality is used to describe patients whose presenting operations stress
bland, narrow conventionality. It must be emphasized that we are
diagnosing overt operations. Hysterics vary considerably in their un-
derlying motivation. Some patients employ an optimistic overcoop-
erative fagade to mask underlying schizoid or sadistic feelings. Other
overt hysterics present solid, four-layer structures of friendly con-
geniality.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COOPERATION 3 1 1
When we employ the term hysteric, we do not necessarily desig-
nate the "simple-hysteric-serving-girl" syndrome for which sugges-
tion and hypnosis have traditionally been used as therapeutic tools.
Patients with overt hysterical operations can be very complex in their
multilevel patterns. A wide variety of treatment regimes can be
recommended depending on the nature of the underlying material,
the ability to tolerate the warded-off emotions, etc.
Research Findings Characteristic of the "77" Personality
Here is a summary of the empirical studies of the overconventional
personality.
1 . Patients who utilize overconventional security operations present
MMPI profiles which stress hysteria (Hy) and denial-of-psycho-
pathology (K) and which underemphasize schizoid isolation (Sc)
and nonconformity (F).
2. These patients are not well motivated for psychotherapy. They
remain in treatment for an average of nine sessions and rank fifth
among the eight diagnostic types on this variable.
3. They are closely identified (consciously) with their mothers and
their marital partners — ranking third among the eight diagnostic types
on this variable.
4. They are the most consciously identified with their fathers of
any diagnostic group.
5. They misperceive the behavior of others by attributing too
much friendliness and affiliativeness to others. They tend to blanket
others (in their therapy groups) with the same conventional sweetness
that they claim for themselves.
6. The overconventional personality appears in certain cultural
and institutional samples more frequently than others. The percentage
of hysterics in various samples at Level I-M is presented in Table 22.
The highest percentage of overconventional cases is presented by
the self-inflicted dermatitis group. These patients bend over back-
wards to inhibit the unconventional at Level I, although in their fan-
tasies they are more hostile than any other sample (see Chapter 24).
Another high percentage of hysterical subjects is found in the hy-
pertensive example. This is an expected result. It has been repeatedly
claimed in the psychosomatic literature that hypertensives present un-
usually sweet friendly fagades. This bit of clinical folklore has been
confirmed by the Kaiser Foundation research studies on psychoso-
matic subjects, in which we have found hypertensives presenting the
facades of conventionality.
An equally high percentage of hysterical subjects is found in the
individual therapy sample. We have already noted that they do not
537
9
415
3
133
8
121
10
31
6
57
14
71
11
109
6
49
12
49
12
43
10
37
5
93
8
39
0
52
10
28
4
39
3
312 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 22
Percentage of Cooperative-Overconventional Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Cooperative-Overconventional
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
College Undergraduates
University Psychiatric Clinic
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Ulcer Patients
Medical Control Patients
University Counseling Center
University Graduate Students (Male)
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients
Officers in Military Service
Total 1903
tend to remain long in treatment. The identity of the groups with the
next highest frequency of hysterical personalities is, however, some-
what startling. The ulcer sample, the obesity sample, and the stockade
prisoner sample are tied for third rank. This suggests that the most
conventional sample (middle class women seen in a nonpsychiatric
setting) and the most antisocial sample (prisoners) share the same
percentage of naive, bland subjects!
From the standpoint of a multilevel theory, the latter result is not
completely unexpected. Many of the most severely antisocial indi-
viduals present fa9ades of piety and virtue which are almost painful to
observe. Alany delinquents, addicts, criminals are characterized by a
bland, naive, innocent front behind which rage intense feelings of dis-
trust or rebellion.
The same is true of some institutionalized psychotics. This fact has
confused some psychologists who observed that some of the most se-
verely disturbed paranoids and deluded schizophrenics presented hys-
terical, repressive MMPI profiles. Some state-hospital psychologists
have reported that the MMPI is invalid because so many psychotic
patients have conventional, bland records. This objection completely
misses the multilevel complexity of personality. Many hospitalized
patients are psychotic because they tried to maintain a brittle fa9ade of
pious, self-satisfied virtue and were unable to tolerate their own intense
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COOPERATION 3 1 3
hostile or guilty feelings. Many psychotics and delinquents attempt
to preserve the appearance of naive innocence and are diagnosed (by
the interpersonal system) as hysterics or hypernormals (at Levels I
and II) with underlying feelings of a more antisocial nature.
7. The frequency of this personality type at Level II-C is slightly
different from the picture at Level I-M (see Table 23). The sample
of normal controls (labeled medical controls) manifests the largest
percentage of overconventional personalities. Individual therapy pa-
tients again provide a larger percentage of this type. The psycho-
somatic and neurotic samples run about equal to chance expectancy
except for the ulcer group. The self-diagnosis of this latter sympto-
matic sample seems to emphasize stronger and more competitive feel-
ings (see Chapter 24).
TABLE 23
Percentage of Cooperative-Overconventional Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Cooperative-Overconventional
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
Overtly Neurotic Dermautis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
iMedical Control Patients
Ulcer Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
Total 781
8. Hysteric patients consciously perceive their parents to be sweet
and docile. They describe their fathers as being conventional and
loving (ranked third out of the eight diagnostic groups on the LM
axis). They see their mothers as being sweet, docile, and trustful
(ranked second on the affiliative axis and third on the passivity axis).
9. These patients, on the contrary, see their spouses as relatively
hostile (ranked fifth on the affihative axis). They describe their
marital partners as more hostile than do the schizoid and narcissistic
patients. This seems to fit in with the clinical finding that these pa-
tients come to the chnic not because of dissatisfaction with their own
character structure or with their past life (e.g., their parents) but
because of current external stress (which often involves misbehavior
of or rejection by their spouses) . The hysterics thus "cross the circle,"
207
15
46
9
101
10
38
18
31
19
56
14
70
20
41
22
42
2
49
12
100
11
314 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
attributing themes to their marital partners which are the opposite of
their own self-conceived sweetness. Narcissistic patients, it might be
noted, do the opposite. They present themselves as superior, snobbish,
competitive, and somewhat exploitive. They picture their spouses as
being the most naive, docile, and gullible.
References
1. Fenichel, O. The psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. New York: Norton, 1945.
2. Landis, C, and M. Marjorie Bolles. Text book of abnormal psychology (rev.
ed.). New York: The Macmillan Co., 1950.
3. Malamud, VV. The psychoneuroses. In J. McV. Hunt (Ed.), Personality and the
behavior disorders. New York: The Ronald Press Co., 1944.
4. ScHAFER, Roy. The clinical application of psychological tests: Diagnostic sum-
maries and case studies. New York: International University Press, 1948, p. 34<5.
19
Adjustment Through Responsibility:
The Hypernormal Personality
In this chapter we shall become acquainted with the responsible hyper-
normal personality type. This comprises those patients whose overt
behavior locates in the ON octant of the diagnostic grid. This is the
"88" personality type. These individuals employ strong and conven-
tional security operations. They present themselves as reasonable,
successful, sympathetic, mature. They avoid the appearance of weak-
ness or unconventionality.
Adaptive Forms of the Responsible Personality Type
Here we deal with the individual who attempts to present himself
as a "normal" person. He presents himself as strong — but his power
and self-confident independence are used in an affiliative way. He
strives to be close to others — to help, counsel, support, and sympathize.
He wants to be seen as tender with his intimates, reasonable and re-
sponsible with his acquaintances.
These individuals often give the impression of maturity and parental
strength. They appear sound, sympathetic, considerate. They are
often popular figures — they attempt to get along well with others
and to provoke admiration from others. They are leaned upon and
depended upon by other people. They strive to fulfill an idealized
role of successful conventionality.
Maladaptive Forms of the Hypernormal Personality
An inflexible, repetitious use of responsible, hypernormal reflexes
leads to a maladaptive condition. Individuals of this type cannot take
a passive or aggressive or bitter role, even when it is called for. They
avoid these latter behaviors so compulsively that they become carica-
tures of hypernormality.
3»5
3i6 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
These individuals "knock themselves out" to be popular. Their
attempts to be helpful and responsible are often inappropriate. They
may overextend themselves in promises to others — offers of help and
sympathy which they cannot fulfill. They may desperately attempt
to maintain the fa9ade of normality when the situation and their own
private feelings involve other reactions. They are often driven by
relentless ideals of service and contribution to others.
Extreme NO behavior inevitably leads to a bland, uninsightful
fagade. These individuals cannot tolerate unconventional or weak
feelings. They are so compulsively attached to their hypemormal
strivings that they completely deny and inhibit feelings of frustra-
tion and passivity.
These extreme operations generally indicate severe conflicts which
are expressed not in the classic symptoms of neurosis, but in indirect
(often psychosomatic) manifestations.
The Purpose of Responsible or Hypemormal Behavior
Those human beings who are strong and conventionally normal
have selected these operations because they find them most effective
in warding off anxiety. Their feeUngs of self-esteem are bolstered by
appearing mature and generous. They are most secure when they are
involved in close, friendly protective relationship with dependent
others.
They are, we assume, most threatened by the prospect of appear-
ing defeated, deprived, unfriendly, or passive. Their genial, generous
operations tend to relieve feelings of anger, helplessness, or isolation.
They give the assurance (at least consciously) of being involved in
tender, protective relations with others.
There are many obvious rewards to the responsible hypemormal
way of life. This mode of adjustment is close to the cultural ideal.
It thus brings great conscious superego satisfactions. These patients
are the most self-satisfied individuals seen in the clinic.
In its adaptive form this is a most positive and socially constructive
personality type. In that Utopian society where skepticism, sternness,
competition, or modesty would not be necessary responses and where
consistent aflSliative behavior would be appropriate, the generous NO
type would be the rule. Even in the nonutopian twentieth century
culture the ideals of tender, protective nurturance are undoubtedly
the most appealing standards. The conventionally successful and
popular person in our society is usually the one who employs the NO
interpersonal reflexes a large part of the time.
Compulsive and inappropriate maintenance of these operations
leads to the phenomenon of the "hollow man" — isolated by his self-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH RESPONSIBILITY 317
satisfied piety from the realities of life and (more dangerously) from
his own inner feelings of bitterness or weakness.
The Effect of "88" Behavior
Responsible, protective behavior pulls dependence and respect
from others. The person who overtly gives tends to attract those who
want to receive. In the language of the interpersonal system, NO
pulls KL.
Tender, supportive operations tend to train others to agree, con-
ciliate, and depend. This rule (like the previous generalizations about
interpersonal reciprocity) is a probability statement. Generosity does
not always pull friendly dependence. Those who are rigidly com-
mitted to other interpersonal reflexes will react to the reasonable, gen-
erous person with their favored responses. In general, however, most
people tend to expect good things from those who promise good
things.
Another exception to this rule of reciprocity (i.e., NO pulls KL)
occurs when the hypernormal behavior is extreme or inappropriate.
Here we think of the overmotherly woman, the compulsive popularity
seeker, the overprotective parent. While these behaviors generally
tend to pull cooperative dependence, their uncalled-for intensity may
eventually provoke resentment or frustration from the "other one."
In therapy groups, the "88" individual takes the role of the assistant
therapist. He encourages, suggests, and sympathizes with the other
patients. He does not exhibit needy or helpless reflexes but is seen as
the competent helpful leader.
Typically the group members cannot understand why he is in
therapy. They see his reasonable, generous fagade as an ideal adjust-
ment. At this point the interpersonal network tightens. The other
patients increasingly put more dependent pressure on the "88" person.
He is now being asked for help, expected to give, and is given less and
less allowance to present his own problems as a fellow patient.
These patients are thus the popularity leaders of the group. By
acting in a hypernormal way they are not seen as patients needing
help. They build up an interpersonal process which would lead to
their getting no therapeutic help from group therapy. At this junc-
ture the task of the therapist is to step in and assist the "88" person in
understanding what he has done to the others to block himself off
from the possibility of help.
Clinical Manifestations of the Hypernormal Personality Type
Patients whose overt security operations strive towards normality
do not present the typical neurotic symptoms when they appear in
ji8 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
the psychiatric clinic. They are not anxious or depressed. They do
not report interpersonal failures. They do not complain of timidity,
isolation, distrust, etc. They tend to describe their emotional adjust-
ment as adequate and normal.
Why then, do they come to the clinic? In the Kaiser Foundation
clinic which services a large general hospital, 23 per cent of all appli-
cations are hypernormal individuals. The overwhelming majority of
these patients are not self-referred, but have come at the request of a
physician. Their symptoms are psychosomatic or physical.
From 40 to 50 per cent of patients with psychosomatic diseases fall
in the NO octant. (The frequency expected by chance is 12.5 per
cent.) Seventy-nine per cent of psychosomatic patients fall in the NO
octant or its two neighboring octants. For this reason patients who
locate in this sector of the diagnostic grid can be called psychosomatic-
type personalities.
It must be pointed out that we refer here to organ neurosis condi-
tions and not to somatic expressions of anxiety (nervous stomach,
transient pains, etc.). The latter are typical of the docile phobic per-
sonality. The symptoms manifested by the "88" personality are not
transitory expressions of tension. The hypernormal personality is usu-
ally successful in warding off anxiety and presents a bland, strong
fa9ade.
In addition to psychosomatic symptoms the "88" personality often
comes to the clinic for the purpose of putting indirect pressure on
family members. They may present a story of marital difficulty in
which it becomes clear that the spouse or a child is "sick and in need
of help." The subject may recount a history of patient tolerance of
the family member — the implication being that the diagnostician will
give the patient a clean bill of health and suggest that the errant spouse
be brought in to treatment. The poised, "mature" reasonableness of
the "88" fagade may tempt the inexperienced clinician into collaborat-
ing in the plans to inveigle family members into therapy.
A third reason for the "88" personality coming to the clinic in-
volves certain forms of isolated behavior disorders such as alcoholism,
gambling, or certain sexual aberrations. These patients may be self-
referred or sent in by family pressure or court order. They readily see
the symptomatic behavior as ego-alien — but isolate it from their per-
sonality. The motto for these patients might be: "I am a well-adjusted
nice guy — if only I could get rid of that crazy behavior pattern."
Many alcoholics or addicts fall into other diagnostic categories.
The guilty or the defiant types do not, of course, locate in the "88"
sector of the diagnostic grid. Alany behavior-disorder patients, how-
ever, do attempt to maintain a repressive hypernormal fa9ade.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH RESPONSIBILITY 319
Many cases of impotency or frigidity fall in the hypernormal sec-
tor. Here again the symptom (like that of the psychosomatic) is seen
as isolated from the well-adjusted personality.
Many severely deluded paranoid patients present themselves as
hypernormal at the symptomatic level. This is really not a paradoxical
situation if the theory of levels is kept in mind.
Level I summarizes the patient's impact on the clinician. The es-
sence of certain forms of many severe paranoid conditions is that the
patient strives to appear hypernormal. When we assign this Level I
diagnosis, we do not assume that this means the patient really is
normal, but rather that his security operations at this level strive to
create this impression.
Very often patients reporting to an out-patient clinic after hospital-
ization for a psychotic break present as hypernormal at the level of
symptoms. These patients have utilized repressive measures to handle
their psychotic impulses. They are sitting on their conflicts and striv-
ing to maintain a fa9ade of conventional strength. The multilevel pat-
tern and the clinical interview will usually indicate how precarious or
brittle these surface operations are.
In summary it can be said that whatever the reason bringing the
hypernormal patient to the clinic, it is seen by him as an annoying ap-
pendage separate from his perception of his own personality. This
situation makes the "88" patient a particularly tricky prognostic prob-
lem.
Standard Psychiatric (Kraepelinian) Equivalents
of the Hypernormal Personality
There appears to be no standard psychiatric diagnosis which covers
the behavior described in this chapter. Psychiatric literature has tra-
ditionally neglected the normal, the superior, and the supernormal
personality, and those who present these operations.
Before the increasing popularity of psychosomatic concepts, the
"88" personality type did not appear in the psychiatric consulting
rooms. The early psychiatric theories and nosologies were clinical in
origin. The overtly strong, popular, protective personality failed to
receive conceptual attention.
The Kaiser Foundation clinic (because of its consultative relation
to a general hospital) has evaluated hundreds of patients whose overt
and conscious behavior is hypernormal. The Foundation's research in
psychosomatic medicine has collected multilevel test batteries on more
than one thousand of these cases.
Analysis of these protocols has led us to view strong, affihative,
supportive security operations not as ideal or normal ways of behaving
320 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
but as machinery for warding off anxiety, avoiding disapproval, and
raising self-esteem. There are several hundred multilevel patterns of
behavior which can underly a hypernormal fagade. Some of these
patients might be given psychiatric or psychosomatic labels (depend-
ing on their specific symptomology). Some of them are psychotic
individuals (usually paranoid) who desperately cling to an overt ap-
pearance of adjustment. Many of them would remain undiagnosed
according to current psychiatric nosology and, if labeled at all, would
be called "normals."
Research Findings Characteristic of the Hypernormal Personality
The Kaiser Foundation research has studied several hundred sub-
jects with the Level I diagnosis of responsible-hypernormal personal-
ity. Here is a summary of current findings.
1. Forty-three per cent of all patients with psychosomatic symp-
toms fall in the NO octant at Level L Psychosomatic patients there-
fore use these hypernormal operations three or four times more than
chance expectancy.
2. Fourteen per cent of nonpsychosomatic psychiatric patients fall
in this sector. These patients, therefore, do not use these operations
more than chance expectancy.
3. Hypernormal operations are characterized by the following
MMPI pattern: high scores on hypochondriasis (Hs), repressive
blandness (Hy), denial of pathology (K), low scores on nonconform-
ity (F), depression (D), schizoid (Sc), and obsessive tendencies (Ft).
4. These patients are not well motivated for psychotherapy. They
rank as the lowest group in average number of therapy sessions. This
indicates that they refuse treatment or quit soon after beginning.
Pure or stable hypemormals remain in treatment on the average of six
sessions. Conflicted hypernormals remain in treatment about twice as
long (average equals eleven sessions). Here the underlying trends (of
weakness or bitterness) make them more likely to remain in therapy.
5. They are highly identified with their parents. In our study of
conscious identification with mother, father, and spouse, they rank
first: and on another study, second among the eight diagnostic groups.
6. Hypernormal patients (along with hysterics) tend to misper-
ceive the interpersonal behavior of others in a consistent direction.
They attribute too much friendliness and cooperativeness to others.
They also tend to see others as stronger than they are consensually
judged to be. This indicates that responsible personalities consistently
tend to see others as like themselves — falsely perceiving others as more
loving and strong than they are. This is unquestionably a function
of their attempt to maintain a bland, conventional atmosphere which
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH RESPONSIBILITY 321
fails to take into account the actual amount of hostility- weakness pres-
ent in others as well as themselves.
7. The hypernormal personality type appears in certain cultural
and institutional samples much more frequently than in others. The
percentage of responsible individuals in various samples at Level I-M
is presented in Table 24.
TABLE 24
Percentage of RESPONSlBLE-HYPER^"ORM^L Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
7o of Respoiisible-Hypernormal
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
College Undergraduates
University Psychiatric Clinic
Middle Class Obese Patients (Fem.ilc)
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Ulcer Patients
Medical Control Patients
University Counseling Center
University Graduate Students (Male)
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
Hospitalized Psychotic Pauents
OflScers in Military Service
Total 1903
The percentage figures expected by chance for these groups is 12.5.
The psychiatric sample contains more than the expected percentage
because the Kaiser Foundation clinic services a general hospital and
four additional medical centers. The number of patients with somatic
and psychosomatic referrals is much greater than that seen in the
standard psychiatric clinic. The clinic policy of referring certain
naive, conventional, or hypernormal patients to group therapy for
educational reasons accounts for the fact that a higher percentage of
responsible patients are seen in group therapy.
In general it will be noted that the noncHnic samples of "normal"
subjects (e.g., army officers) contain three to four times the expected
percentage of hypernormal subjects.
8. The percentage of responsible-hypernormal individuals in var-
ious samples at Level II-C is presented in Table 25. It will be observed
that the psychosomatic samples tend to have three times the expected
number of hypernormal patients. The ulcer sample and the neuro-
537
22
415
33
133
31
121
36
23
33
29
109
19
12
54
48
38
39
31
25
28
14
39
49
322 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
dermatitis samples, whose respective tendencies towards aggression
and masochism have been previously noted, are exceptions to this
generalization. The fact that a fairly high percentage of psychotics
claim to be hypernormal is an interesting finding, the significance of
which is discussed in Chapter 23.
TABLE 25
Percentage of Responsible-Hypernormal Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Responsible-Hypernormal
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
Medical Control Patients
Ulcer Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
Total 781
9. Hypernormal patients see their fathers as exceedingly strong-
conventional people. The father is consciously idealized. The mother
is seen as extremely loving, tender, and agreeable. A most conven-
tional portrait of both parents is produced. They also see their marital
partners as conventional, friendly — but slightly more docile than their
conscious picture of their mothers. The conscious descriptions of all
three family members are located on the conventional side of the
diagnostic grid.
10. Of all the "88" patients seen in the psychiatric clinic over a one
year period, 74 per cent did not go into psychotherapy. By compari-
son only 46 and 48 per cent of distrustful and masochistic patients did
not go into therapy. This lends empirical support to the statement
that hypernormal subjects are not initially well motivated for psycho-
therapy.
207
IS
46
15
101
16
38
11
31
13
56
21
70
33
41
27
42
14
49
35
100
36
20
Adjustment Through Power:
The Autocratic Personality
Power, success, and ambition as means of warding off anxiety and in-
creasing self-esteem comprise the theme of this chapter. We shall con-
sider those individuals whose overt interpersonal operations stress
compulsive energy, authority, and dominance over others. This is the
"11" personality type.
Until recently, these patients were not often seen in psychiatric
consulting rooms. The nature of their security operations is such that
they were not seen as needing psychiatric help and would hardly con-
sider asking for help.
Adaptive Forms of the Power-Oriented Personality
Adjustment through power can be an adaptive and successful way
of life. Included here are those persons who express strength, force,
energy, and leadership, and who win from others respect, approbation,
and deference.
The generic idea of hero belongs to this mode of adjustment. So
do all forms of ambition. So do the traits of energy, planful organiza-
tion, and righteous authority. Behavior which is designed to excite
admiration or to provoke submission from others can be considered
as diagnostic of this security operation.
There are many ways in which power can be manifested. Physical
strength, especially in the case of the male, is a means of winning
respect. Intellectual strength is another common power operation.
The sage, the wise man, and the savant are all roles which earn respect.
The interpersonal mechanism of teaching is, in fact, probably the most
common manifestation of power motivation. The ordinary, common-
place frequency of the teaching behavior makes its power implications
go unnoticed. It seems clear, however, that whenever one person be-
323
3H
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
gins to instruct, inform, or explain to another, he is conveying the
interpersonal message, "I know something you do not know, I am
wise and better informed on this subject than you." Intellectuals are
often power-oriented individuals who maintain illusions of strength
and prestige through their knowledge. The nonintellectual who can-
not understand why teachers seek out and remain in positions of such
low pay may fail to recognize the rewards and securities which accrue
to the pure undiluted power expression of the pedagogue.
Teaching is thus a most adaptive and constructive manifestation of
the autocratic impulse.
In addition to physical and intellectual strength, there are several
other ways in which power can be gained and expressed. Social
status is perhaps one of the most effective means of exerting authority.
Prestige — either bureaucratic or social — is a power magnet for at-
tracting respect and deference.
Financial strength is another common form of power expression.
Most forms of conspicuous consumption are diagnostic of the attempt
to maintain a superior (22) or powerful (11) fa9ade.
In summary it can be said that the "11" personality is characterized
by energetic, organized behavior, by the attitude of knowledge, com-
petence, strength, and authority.
Maladaptive Forms of the Poiver-Oriented Personality
The extreme forms of this way of life are characterized by auto-
cratic, domineering behavior. Compulsive attempts to control are
diagnostic of this maladjustment. So is power-ridden, overambitious
behavior. Pedantry falls into this category; as do status-driven at-
tempts to impress.
The person who tries to overorganize his life and the lives of those
around him is utilizing maladaptive power operations. The compulsive
person is often striving to increase his fa9ade of competence and ef-
ficiency. His exaggerated attempts to be planful, precise, and correct
are diagnostic of the "11" maladjustment.
The key factor in this maladaptive type is the complete avoidance
of weakness and uncertainty, and the compulsive endeavor to appear
competent, organized, and authoritative.
The autocratic person exhibits his power-oriented machinery of
adjustment rigidly whether it is appropriate to tne situation or not.
He cannot relax his compulsive, energetic operations. In social or
recreational contexts he grimly clings to his mantle of efficiency and
competence however uncalled-for it may be. The extremes of thi^
type of maladjustment often involve hyperactivity and manic be-
havior.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH POWER 325
In the clinic the autocratic individual is thus easily diagnosed by his
inappropriate responses. He does not act like a patient coming for
help — but as a strong competent person seeking to inform or impress
the clinician.
The Purpose of "11" Behavior
Individuals select power-oriented security operations because they
have found them to be effective in warding off anxiety. They feel
secure when they are exerting control over people and things. They
apparently dread the possibility of being weak, uninformed, submis-
sive.
The rewards and comforts which can be obtained through control
and power are numerous. The strong person feels defended and pro-
tected. He wins awe, admiration, and obedience from others. He
gains a feeling of certitude and organization — which serve as an il-
lusory buffer against the mysteries and uncontrollable possibilities of
existence.
The autocratic individual is, we assume, made most anxious when
he feels uncertain, confused, or passive. He attempts to maintain
security and self-esteem and to avoid derogation and hurt by means of
his power-oriented operations.
The Effect of "11" Behavior
The fagade of power and control provokes others to obedience,
deference, and respect from others. This is to say, AP pulls //.
In most situations the person who manifests wisdom is looked to
for advice. The person who demonstrates planful control and compe-
tence is respected.
This principle of reciprocal interpersonal relations is, of course, a
probability statement. It can be altered by the personality of the other
person. Thus a managerial person interacting with another who uses
the same interpersonal reflexes may generate a power struggle. He
may receive agreeable cooperation from a person with hysterical op-
erations.
In general it will be found that rigid autocratic individuals seek out
docile admiring followers. They are most comfortable when they
are paired with those who symbiotically match their interpersonal
reflexes — who flatter, obey, and respect them.
Clinical Manifestations of Managerial Power
It has been pointed out that prior to the 1930's the managerial per-
sonality was not a frequent visitor to the psychiatric clinic. In recent
years, however, a broader definition of neurosis (as any form of ex-
326 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
treme or maladaptive behavior) has developed. In addition, the con-
cepts of psychosomatic medicine have stressed the point that certain
physical symptoms can be manifestations of maladaptive conflicts.
For these reasons, more and more patients whose overt fagade
stresses power and energy are being referred for psychiatric diagnosis.
There are several specific clinical characteristics of the power-oriented
personality.
Psychosomatic symptoms are a most common complaint. Ulcer
patients are classically seen as driving, ambitious, energetic people.
Certain dermatitis diagnostic groups utilize strong interpersonal re-
flexes. Overweight women tend to present clinically in the same man-
ner. Asthmatic men tend to stress power and deny weakness in their
approach to a psychiatric clinic.
Some strong managerial individuals come to the clinic because of
their concern about other family members. One frequent type of
referral involves the competent, industrious woman who is married to
a weak, delinquent, or rebellious husband. The managerial wife comes
partially seeking the clinic's support in getting her husband into treat-
ment and partially because of her own underlying passive needs. This
type of strong woman inevitably manifests "preconscious" masochism
and is usually involved in a complicated guilt-power conflict with her
husband.
Many cases of alcoholism or gambling present a power-oriented
facade to the clinic. These patients see their symptomatic behavior as
isolated from their character structure and are not initially well
motivated for therapy. The prognosis in these cases depends upon
the ability to tolerate consideration of their underlying rebellious or
passive feelings.
Another symptom typical of the "11" personality involves an iso-
lated anxiety attack. The patient regularly uses compulsive, energetic,
self-confident operations to handle anxiety. This fagade may tem-
porarily crack (in response to a particularly threatening environmental
circumstance). The patient comes to the clinic because he is scared
by the possibility of a recurrence. (An anxiety attack or any other
sign of weakness is, of course, the most paralyzing catastrophe to the
person who utilizes power security operations.) By the time the
patient comes for his intake interview, his routine compulsive reflexes
may be working smoothly again. He mobilizes against the threat of
anxiety created by psychological exploration and presents a fa9ade of
competent strength. These patients see their anxiety attacks as iso-
lated events, not integral to their strong character structure. The lat-
ter they do not usually want to change.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH POWER 327
Some managerial personalities (male) come to the clinic with symp-
toms of impotency. The fagade of strength is particularly disturbed
by sexual inadequacy. Generally these patients are eager to have the
symptoms (which are uncomfortable signs of weakness) removed and
are not pressing to explore the underlying passivity or fear which the
symptoms represent.
(Occasionally some "11" types come to the clinic because of dis-
satisfaction with their interpersonal relationships with others. The
competent wife puzzled by her errant husband has been mentioned.
The compulsive, righteous husband frustrated by a rebellious wife, or
by resentful children, is another example. Now and then compulsive
patients come under pressure from their employers who threaten to
fire them because of friction generated by their power strivings. A
particularly sad variety of managerial operations is afforded by the
masculine, driving woman who finds herself lonely and neglected by
men and who hopes to find relief from her vague dissatisfaction with
self without relinquishing her compulsive protections.
There is one exception to this generalization. Some highly intelli-
gent, psychologically sophisticated individuals come to the clinic seek-
ing intensive treatment or psychoanalysis. These patients are actu-
ally hoping to change their character structure. They may have some
of the symptoms mentioned above and are insightful enough to want
therapeutic help. These patients are intellectually (and not emotion-
ally) motivated for psychotherapy. They will exhibit their power re-
flexes but have enough insight to ask for and remain in treatment.
Such patients are usually referred to psychoanalysts or assigned to
intensive psychotherapy.
Relatio?2ship of Power-Oriented Personality
to Standard Psychiatric Diagnostic Types
Although adjustment (or maladjustment) through power has not
classically been the focus of much psychiatric theory, there are two
diagnostic types which have some of these interpersonal factors im-
plicit in their definition.
The compulsive personality seems to involve definite power mo-
tives. The compulsive person is one who is active, prompt, well-or-
ganized, industrious, pedantic, planful, and often righteously compe-
tent. The person who exhibits these traits is clearly trying to impress
others with his effectiveness. (The fact that he is generally trying to
deal with his own inner feelings of guilt or impotency may appear in
the form of multilevel conflicts which often characterize the com-
pulsive patients seen in the clinic.)
-28 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
Successful, well-adjusted compulsives are generally respected by
others for their diligence and organization. The notion of efficiency
(for the American and German cultures, at least) is heavily loaded
M^ith power connotations. In Chapter 16 we have attempted to dis-
tinguish between the obsessive and the compulsive modes of adjust-
ment. It was suggested there that these two behaviors are quite dis-
tinct in terms of symptom and interpersonal meaning to others.
The obsessive person usually presents as guilty, passive, and un-
certain. The compulsive as strong and right. While their security op-
erations are different, they can sometimes be seen in the same per-
sonality pattern, usually when the compulsive defenses are breaking
down.
The specific power elements of the compulsive state have not been
made the central diagnostic key — usually being subordinated to
symptomatic factors. Some of the dominance-submission aspects of
compulsivity are implicit in certain psychoanalytic writings. Freud's
first and most authoritative paper on the compulsive character was
published in 1908 (2). At this time he presented his conception of
the three anal characteristics: orderliness, parsimony, and obstinacy.
In the paper "Character and Anal Eroticism" he first described the
first great power struggle of life: children's "great self-will about
paning with their stools." He then describes the parents typical at-
tempt to "break his (the child's) self-will and make him submissive."
Fenichel (1, p. 280) sees the anal character trait of orderliness as "the
elaboration of obedience."
Most psychoanalytic writers tend to agree as to the power elements
of the compulsive personality but draw psychosexual rather than inter-
personal conclusions. Compulsivity is thus seen as a reaction forma-
tion against the child's stubborn, managerial wish to foil the parent by
soiling.
Mullahy (3, p. 61) has presented a summary of the resolution of
this archaic power struggle which is very congenial to the inter-
personal theory. He points out the strivings for "self-determination"
associated with anal activities and then makes the additional (and
crucial remark) : "When the child succeeds in making a virtue out of
necessity, he is said to identify himself with the requirements of his
educators and is proud of his attainment. Thus, the primary injury to
his narcissism is compensated, and the original feeling of self-satisfac-
tion in being 'good.' "
Compulsivity (through identification) thus provides the individual
with the feehng of power and righteousness.
This relation between self-satisfaction and power is confirmed by
the empirical findings of the Kaiser Foundation research. Managerial
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH POWER 329
personalities are most closely identified (consciously) with their par-
ents. They are closely identified with their ego ideals. They are
pleased with themselves.
Obsessive patients, on the contrary, are the most self-disapproving
and are least identified consciously with their ego ideals.
A clinical description of a personality type which seems similar to
the managerial personality has been presented by Frank et al. (4, p.
215) They entitle this behavior pattern the doctor'' s assistant, which
they say, ". . . consists of a patient's tendency in the group to de-
fend authority, to please the doctor, to offer advice to other patients,
to hide his own weaknesses, and generally to impress everyone with
his own excellence. This behavior springs from an idealization of
authority in general and a conviction that the way to win an author-
ity's good will is to demonstrate one's loyalty and excellence."
Research Findings Characteristic of the Managerial Personality
The Kaiser Foundation research has studied over 2,000 psychiatric
clinic patients and over 1,000 psychosomatic and normal subjects.
The managerial type (at Level I) comprises the largest percentage of
cases studied. Over 600 patients who employ these security operations
have been diagnosed. We shall now consider some of the current
research findings characteristic of this personality type.
1. Twenty-three per cent of patients with psychosomatic symp-
toms (i.e., ulcer or hypertensive) fall into the managerial sector at
Level L Only 8 to 13 per cent of nonpsychosomatic patients (i.e., pa-
tients with classic neurotic symptomatology) are given the diagnosis of
power-oriented personality. This tends to confirm the suggestion that
managerial patients do not tend to come to the clinic or enter psycho-
therapy with overt psychopathological symptoms.
2. Patients who consciously describe themselves as managerial have
a characteristic MMPI profile. They manifest high scores on the
hyperactivity scale (Ma) and the denial of symptoms scale (K), and
low scores on depression (D) and obsessive tendencies (Ft). They do
not stress emotional symptoms.
3. Managerial patients do not tend to enter or remain in psycho-
therapy. They are seen in treatment on the average of six sessions.
They rank lowest (tied with hypernormal and narcissists) on number
of times seen in the psychiatric clinic. They are, therefore, not initially
well motivated for psychotherapy.
4. Managerial patients tend to be closely identified (consciously)
with their parents. On one study they rank first in closeness of identi-
fication with mother; and on a second study they rank second on this
variable (being topped only by hypernormals).
330
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
5. They are closely identified with their marital partners. They
rank second in this variable. Only the hypernormal group claims a
closer connection with their spouses.
6. Managerial patients (along with narcissists) have a characteristic
misperception of the interpersonal behavior of others. They attribute
too much weakness to others with whom they interact. They seem to
look down on others and fail to perceive strength in others.
7. The managerial personality tends to appear in certain cultural
and institutional settings with varying frequencies. Table 26 presents
the percentage figures for Level I-M. The percentage expected by
TABLE 26
Percentage of Managerial-Autocratic Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Mavagerml-Aiitocratic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
537
15
College Undergraduates
415
45
University Psychiatric Clinic
15}
13
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
121
30
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
31
22
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
57
25
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
71
36
Group Psychotherapy Patients
109
13
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
49
8
Hypertensive Patients
49
18
Ulcer Patients
43
21
Medical Control Patients
37
35
University Counsebng Center
93
38
University Graduate Students (Male)
39
31
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
52
19
Hospitalized Psychotic Paaents
28
14
Officers in Military Service
39
46
Total
1903
chance for these groups is 12.5. It will be noted that all groups except
the two psychotherapy samples contain much more than the expected
frequency of managerial personalities. The norms on which these in-
terpersonal diagnoses are based were taken from a sample of 807
psychiatric clinic admissions. The results listed in Table 26 suggest
that more than three times as many military officers manifest power-
oriented operations than do clinic admission patients. Fifteen per
cent of admissions to the Kaiser Foundation psychiatric clinic exert
strong compulsive symptomatic pressure on the clinic. Only 8 per
cent of individual therapy patients utilize these overt operations, which
tends to confirm the statement that managerial compulsive patients
come to the clinic for diagnosis (and perhaps symptomatic relief) but
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH POWER 331
do not tend to enter psychotherapy. The larger percentage ( 1 3 per
cent) of managerial patients in group therapy is caused by the chnic's
policy of placing certain psychosomatic patients (e.g., ulcer patients)
in group treatment.
8. The frequency figures for the occurrence of the managerial per-
sonality at Level II-C are presented in Table 27. Three psychosomatic
groups (ulcer, hypertensive, and obese) claim to be stronger by a ratio
of over 4 to 1 than normal controls. A fairly large percentage of
psychotic patients attempt to maintain the conscious illusion of execu-
tive power. Patients who end up in individual psychotherapy are, as
noted before, docile and less managerial in their fagade operations.
TABLE 27
Percentage of Managerial-Autocratic Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
% of Managerial-Autocratic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample N Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions 207 12
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male) 46 17
Group Psychotherapy Patients 101 12
Individual Psychotherapy Patients 38 8
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients 31 10
Self -Inflicted Dermatitis Patients 56 13
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients 70 11
Medical Control Patients 41 7
Ulcer Patients 42 33
Hypertensive Patients 49 33
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female) 100 32
Total 781
9. Managerial patients tend to see their mothers as exceedingly
strong, independent people. They also describe their fathers as strong,
but not as powerful as their mothers. They describe their marital part-
ners as much more passive and agreeable than their parents.
10. Sixty-eight per cent of all managerial patients seen in the psychi-
atric clinic (over a one-year period) did not go into treatment. This
indicates that this personality type is not initially well motivated for
psychotherapy. (By contrast 46 per cent of distrustful patients did
not go into therapy.)
References
1. Fenichel, O. The psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. Nev/ York: Norton, 1945.
2. Freud, S. Character and anal eroticism. Collected papers. Vol. 2. London: Ho-
garth Press, 1948.
3. Mullahy, p. Oedipus myth and complex. New York: Hermitage Press, 1948.
4. Rosenthal, D., J. Frank, and C. Nash. The self-righteous moralist in early meet-
ings of therapeutic groups. Psychiat., 1954, 11, No. 3, 215-23.
21
Adjustment Through Competition:
The Narcissistic Personality
In this chapter we shall consider a way of life which is based on com-
petitive self-confident narcissism. This is the "22" mode of adjust-
ment. This personality type is of particular interest because it ap-
pears very rarely in the psychiatric clinic and has been given scant
theoretical attention in proportion to the frequency of its occurrence.
The "22" personality expresses at Level I a clear love and approval
of himself. He acts in a strong, arrogant manner. He communicates
the message that he feels superior to the "other one." He appears in-
dependent and confident.
In its adaptive intensity this interpersonal reflex is a most impres-
sive social maneuver. In its maladaptive extreme it becomes a smug,
cold, selfish, exploitive social role. In this case the adaptive self-confi-
dence and independence become exaggerated into a self-oriented rejec-
tion of others. The individual is so rigidly tied to his own self-enhance-
ment that he fails to sense the inappropriateness of his behavior.
Exhibitionism and proud self-display are often diagnostic of this
personality type. This competitive attitude may show itself in dress,
carriage, and gesture, or in the purposive meaning of verbalizations.
The kind of narcissistic expression varies from person to person. Some
narcissists stress their intellectual superiority. Others (more typically
women) center their overt narcissism on their appearance, dress, and
physical beauty. Conspicuous consumption is generally related to
this security operation as well as all forms of snobbishness.
The Purpose of Competitive Narcissism
Narcissistic displays of superiority are a means of warding off anx-
iety through ascendance and self-enhancement. These individuals
feel most secure when they are independent of other people and feel
they are triumphing over them.
332
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COMPETITION 333
These individuals depend for their self-esteem on the demonstra-
tion of weakness in others and competitive strength in themselves.
This security operation is close to the managerial-autocratic. The
difference lies in the amount of positive or affiliative affect involved.
The executive personality vi^ants loving respect and obedience. The
narcissist provokes defeated envy and inferiority feelings. The nar-
cissist puts more distance between himself and others — he wants to
be independent of and superior to the "other one." Dependence is
terrifying.
Another familiar variety of the competitive mode of adjustment is
seen in the case of the status-driven person. These individuals are un-
usually sensitive to issues of superiority-inferiority. They invest con-
siderable energy in protecting and increasing their prestige. This con-
cern with status is also typical of the managerial personality. The
latter, however, tends to provoke others to yield authority to him
willingly through recognition of his strength. The competitive person
is generally more ruthless and exploitive in his attempts to seize and
maintain superiority and pulls a less willing submission from others.
To put it in different terms — the managerial person trains others to
identify with his strength and gives the impression that his power will
be used either neutrally or to help the weaker. The narcissistic person
tends to emphasize his superior difference from the "other" and gives
the impression that his status and strength will be used to shame or hu-
miliate the "other."
Competitive persons are apparently made most anxious by the threat
of weakness or dependence. Weakness is generally sensed by these
individuals to be a dangerous or humiliating position. Often the experi-
ences of childhood have been so traumatic as to lead to a counteraction
in the direction of strength. In other cases dependence is associated
with crucial figures with whom the subject desires to disidentify.
Thus the counterphobic man equates docility with passivity. The
competitive woman may attempt to act the opposite of a submissive
parent whose passivity is consciously perceived as a negative trait.
The specific purpose of independent arrogance is to establish a
superior invidious relation with others. These subjects apparently
view passivity, cooperation, trust, or tenderness as dangerous. They
seem to fear the loss of proud individuality which is attached to these
other operations.
There are, of course, many rewards associated with self-confident
narcissism. Self-approval can be a pleasant experience. The person
who bases his security on overt independence is comforted by the
satisfaction in flexing his muscles, admiring his own strength or beauty
or wisdom, and reveling in his advantages over those whom he per-
334 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
ceives as inferior. Adaptively self-confident individuals receive con-
siderable admiration and social approval.
In the maladaptive extreme, the narcissist seems driven to inflate
himself compulsively at the expense of others. This brand of ab-
normality leads to destructive activities. The severe narcissist cannot
tolerate success or strength in others. He is driven to compete, to ex-
hibit, to exploit. He is consistently rejecting and selfish. His com-
pulsive and frantic attempts to boast lead to a most unrewarding circle
of activities. As the narcissism becomes more flagrant, it fails to win
respect; and this frustration leads to increased exhibitionistic maneu-
vers.
The maxim of this form of maladjustment is: "How can 1 establish
superiority over this person? How can I defeat him? How can I use
him for my selfish enhancement?"
The Effect of "22" Behavior
Competitive, self-enhancing behavior pulls envy, distrust, inferior-
ity feelings, and respectful admiration from others. In the language
of the interpersonal system, BC provokes GHIJ.
The adaptive person who uses this security operation in a sensitive
manner wins the admiration and flattering envy of others. They look
up to him and pay him the tribute of a grudging, envious approval. It
may be helpful to contrast the interpersonal world created by the
competitive person with the response which the executive, dominating
person provokes. The latter is more conventional and responsible in
his use of power. He tends to train others to obedience or loving
respect. The competitive person strives to impress others that he has
what they want. There is more disaffiliative motive in his approach
and he generally receives therefore a passively hostile, negative sub-
mission.
These generalizations are, of course, probability statements. The
response of the "other one" is determined partly by his own inter-
personal reflexes. Thus a rigidly docile, agreeable person may mani-
fest the most friendly responses to a narcissist's approach. An inflex-
ibly competitive person will react to another narcissist not with hum-
ble defeated envy but with an increase in his own independent re-
flexes. A fierce exhibitionistic competition between the two often re-
sults. Thus the principle of reciprocal relations (which in this case
reads BC pulls GHIJ) will be found to work in most cases but does not
hold where inappropriate narcissism characterizes the subject or other
rigid reflexes characterize the other.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COMPETITION 335
Clinical Manifestations of Co?npetitive Narcissism
Narcissistic patients rarely come to a psychiatric clinic for diag-
nosis or therapy. In one study of 537 routine admissions to a psychi-
atric clinic only 6 per cent were diagnosed competitive or narcissistic
at the level of symptomatic presentation. There are fewer narcissists
in clinic samples than any other diagnostic type.
The psychiatric clinic is thus not the natural habitat of the com-
petitive, independent person. The reason for this finding seems clear.
The emphasis on proud self-enhancement is quite incongruous with
seeking psychiatric help. The very essence of this mode of adjustment
is that "22's" ask help from no one, need no assistance, and are getting
along quite well on their own steam.
The "22" patients who do show up in the clinic generally come for
one of three reasons: (1) psychosomatic symptoms, (2) current in-
juries to their narcissism, (3) the desire to display their personalities
or to talk about themselves.
Patients who are referred to the clinic for ulcer or asthmatic
symptoms often present independent, narcissistic fa9ades. The diag-
nostic location for the average ulcer patient (at Level II-C) is in the
BC (narcissistic-competitive) octant. Many of these patients tend to
stress proud, hardboiled self-sufficiency. The same -is true of asthmatic
patients.
The second group of competitive patients seen in the clinic are
those whose self-regard has received a recent defeat. They often re-
port the most colorful and fearful symptomology. They often list
dozens of symptoms and may recount their eccentricities and life his-
tories in great detail. The superficial impression of depression or de-
pendence is deceptive. Psychological testing or perceptive interview-
ing will reveal that the patients are not as anxious or depressed as they
appear. What becomes evident is a narcissistic concern with their own
reactions, their own sensitivities. The precipitating cause for their
entrance to the clinic is usually a shift in their life situation, which
causes frustration or a blow to their pride. The birth of a child may
cause the narcissistic woman to become upset over the new demands
of responsibility, nurturance, and the loss of attention. Narcissistic
people in general react negatively to parenthood and intense conflicts
may appear in this connection. One way in which this conflict can
be handled is for the subject to incorporate the child into the circle
of his or her own narcissism and thus share attention with the child.
Occupational changes which lower public esteem or create de-
pendency or require a tender approach may produce tensions in com-
J 36 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
petitive men. Phallic, exhibitionistic men are often forced to retire to
more sedentary, conventional occupations with accompanying pain
and tension. This phenomenon was quite common after the last war
when aviators, combat soldiers, etc., were faced with the loss of the
grarificatiops of their positions.
The histrionic character of this personality type often leads such
individuals into activities which involve public display — modeling,
acting, and other forms of social exhibition. Any shift in their life
situation which involves the relinquishment of these rewards can
make tension and symptoms and lead to psychiatric referral.
Many competitive men are most comfortable when they are hold-
ing independent positions — running their businesses, etc. Failures in
those activities, which create a feeling of weakness or require them to
take subordinate posts, can lead to increased anxiety and possibly
physical symptoms.
Another very common reason which brings the narcissistic persons
into the psychiatric clinic is their intense interest in, concern for, and
love of themselves. Many people perceive therapy as a unique oppor-
tunity to talk about themselves, to spin theories about themselves,
and to engage the interest and attention of a respected person (the
therapist) in the subject that is dearest to the narcissist's heart.
These three factors — physical symptoms, narcissistic injury, and
self-fascination — seem to account for the motivation of those few com-
petitive characters who come to the clinic. They lead to the paradoxi-
cal situation of patients who are not really depressed or dependent
applying for psychiatric help.
Narcissists do not provide difficult problems for diagnosis if the
intake worker focuses on the purposive meaning of their communica-
tions and is not diverted by dramatic (but not deeply felt) symptomol-
ogy. These patients are trying to impress the "other one." They may
do this by muscle-flexing, boasting, seductive and colorful case
histories, flirtatious maneuvers, or outright competition with the clini-
cian.
There are certain psychometric signs characteristic of this personal-
ity type. On the MA4PI, the anxiety and passivity scales (D and Ft)
are low. The imperturbability scale (Ma) is high. Physical symptoms
may push the Hs scale up. The conventionality-isolation scales are
neither markedly high nor low. Thus F and Sc are not as high as in
the case of the psychopath and schizoid. The conventionality scales
K and Hy are not as pronounced as in the case of the psychosomatic
and hysteric.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COMPETITION 337
Standard Psychiatric Definition of the Narcissistic Maladjustment
In most of the preceding diagnostic chapters it has been possible to
relate the interpersonal type of maladjustment to a standard psychi-
atric category. Distrust defines the schizoid; docile dependency de-
fines the phobic, etc. This relationship between interpersonal and
psychiatric diagnosis does not hold in the case of the autocratic per-
son, who has received relatively little attention from clinical theorists.
These dominating, power-oriented persons do not tend to come for
help, and have thus been neglected in the psychiatric literature.
The same situation holds for the "22" personality. There is objec-
tive evidence indicating that this personality type does not often come
to the cHnic. There is, therefore, not a commonly agreed or Krae-
pelinian-type term for categorizing these persons.
This mode of maladjustment has, however, not been completely
neglected by psychiatric writers. The psychoanalytic theory tends to
focus not on the symptomatic factors (which are stressed by the pre-
analytic psychiatrists) but stresses the multilevel aspects of character
structure. This much more sophisticated approach considers character
traits as means of warding off anxiety or instincts. The psychoanalysts
have always recognized that self-love and independent narcissism form
a common and eifective way of warding off or counteracting under-
lying feelings of weakness.
The term counterphobic is often employed to describe the exhi-
bitionistic personality who compulsively attempts to demonstrate his
superiority.
Fromm has defined the exploitive character as one who attempts
to better himself at the expense of others.
Horney sees narcissism as one of the basic neurotic "trends." The
narcissistic person, as defined by Horney, inflates himself and ag-
grandizes himself at the expense of others.
Jerome Frank and his colleagues have described three behavior pat-
terns seen in psychotherapy groups which are very close to three of
the interpersonal types presented in this book. The help-rejecting
complainer and the doctor's assistant have been referred to in Chapter
15 and Chapter 21, respectively.
A third interpersonal type isolated by Rosenthal, Frank, and Nash
(1, pp. 217-18) is called the self-righteous moralist. This mode of be-
havior is quite similar to that being described in this chapter. These
authors describe this type as follows:
The most outstanding characteristic of the self-righteous moralist, as ex-
emplified by these patients, is the need to be right or to show up the other
fellow as wrong, particularly when some moral issue is involved which im-
pinges on his own system of values, . . .
338 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
In the very first group meeting, the self-righteous moralist tends to present
himself as one who is calm, controlled, and self-contained, indicating his su-
periority by a show of poise. He usually manages to become the focus of the
discussion by his intensity, by dramatizing whatever he has to say, and by
laboring his position indefinitely, refusing to concede any point, to admit any
error, or to make any modification of his original formulation. . . .
When symptoms, problems, and personal history are discussed, he talks of
these in such a way as to enhance his own status: for example, he says that he
has survived worse distress than others; that he has carried on in his duties
despite his illness; that others are sicker than he is; and that others can profit
from learning how he has handled his problems. . . .
Schafer (2) has given more attention to the narcissistic personality
than any other chnically oriented writer. As diagnostic cues he stresses
"striking egocentricity," a tendency to avoid anxiety-arousing situa-
tions (i.e., they do not like to exhibit behavior HI on the diagnostic
circle). Schafer also mentions exhibitionism and overdemonstrative-
ness, which he believes to be a cover-up of "basic coldness and dis-
tance." In general it appears that the character disorder defined by
Schafer is close to the narcissistic type of maladjustment described in
this chapter.
Research Findings Characteristic of the Narcissistic Personality
In the preceding discussion of the narcissistic personality we have
leaned upon and referred obliquely to research findings of the Kaiser
Foundation project. Some of these results will now be summarized.
TABLE 28
Percentage of Competitive-Narcissistic
Personalities
(Level I-M)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
%
of Comp
etttive-Narcissistic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admission
537
6
College Undergraduates
415
9
University Psychiatric Clinic
133
10
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
121
10
Overdy Neurotic Dermatids Patients
31
0
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
57
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
71
Group Psychotherapy Pauents
109
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
49
10
Hypenensive Patients
49
Ulcer Patients
43
Medical Control Pauents
37
University Counseling Center (Male)
93
University Graduate Smdents (Male)
39
21
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
52
13
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients
Officers in Military Service
28
11
39
0
Total
1903
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH COMPETITION 339
1. Patients who manifest competitive operations at Level I (MMPI)
and in the rated interpersonal reflexes (sociometrics) do not have
psychosomatic symptoms (except for the ulcer group).
2. Ulcer patients are the psychosomatic group who stress com-
petitive independence in their Level II self-descriptions.
3. Competitive patients have MMPI profiles with low scores on
depression (D) and obsessive rumination (Pt) and relatively higher
scores on manic imperturbability (Ma).
4. These patients do not tend to come to the psychiatric clinic.
This diagnostic group is the least likely to accept a psychiatric referral.
5. This personality type is found in other cultural samples more
frequently than in the psychiatric clinic. As indicated in Table 28
there are ten samples which contain more narcissists at Level I-M
than the Kaiser Foundation clinic admission group. University gradu-
ate students contain the most competitive personalities, followed by
stockade prisoners and university psychiatric clinic patients.^
6. The Level II-C self-diagnoses of several samples are listed in
Table 29. Comparison of Tables 28 and 29 is made difficult by the
fact that the two samples which contained the greatest number of
narcissists at Level I-M (graduate students and prisoners) were not
included in the Level II-C study. At the level of conscious self-
description, overtly neurotic dermatitis patients claim the most com-
petitive self-confidence and the group-therapy patients (who em-
phasize schizoid distrust) and self-inflicted dermatitis patients (who
stress conventionality) claim the least narcissism.
7. Narcissists are not especially motivated for psychotherapy. One
sample of these patients came on the average for six therapeutic inter-
views. This ties them for last place among diagnostic groups in terms
of length of treatment. Female narcissists, incidentally, seem to stay
in therapy longer than male narcissists.
8. Competitive patients tend to be consciously disidentified with
their parents. They are more identified than schizoids and psycho-
paths but clearly less identified than the managerial, psychosomatics,
hysterics, and phobics.
9. The same findings hold for conscious marital identifications.
10. Narcissistic patients tend to describe their parents as being
relatively sadistic.
* The fact that the military officer sample contains no narcissistic subjects would
seem to be a contradiction to the previous statements which claimed that exhibitionis-
tic characters are often located in military pursuits. The military officer group in-
cluded here was tested under assessment circumstances which probably influenced
their test-taking attitude and their resulting symptomatic scores. These officers were
assessed in a nonclinical, quasi-military situation where there would be little pressure
to stress narcissistic, unconventional feelings and some motivation to emphasize re-
sponsible executive traits, which they did.
% of Co?npetitive-Narctssisttc
N
Personalities
207
14
46
11
101
7
38
11
31
17
56
9
70
11
41
10
42
14
49
12
100
12
340 INTEEIPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
TABLE 29
Percentage of Competitive-Narcissistic Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
Instimtional or Sy?nptomatic Sample
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
Group Psychotherapy Patients
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
Self-inflicted Dermautis Patients
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
Medical Control Patients
Ulcer Patients
Hypertensive Patients
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
Total 781
11. They describe their marital partners as agreeable, admiring
people. This suggests that they tend to marry people whom they see
as weak, docile, and who will pay them respectful tribute.
12. On the Naboisek study of interpersonal misperception the com-
petitive-exploitive group (along with the managerials) reveals marked
misperceptions of weakness in others. They attribute too much passiv-
ity and too much hostility to weak people. This suggests that an un-
usually intense contemptuous superior attitude may exist in relation to
weakness in others.
References
1. Rosenthal, D., J. Frank, and E. Nash. The self-righteous moralist in early meet-
ings of therapeutic groups. Psychiat., 1954. 17, No. 3, 215-23.
2. Schafer, Roy. The clinical application of psychological tests: Diagnostic sum-
maries and case studies. New York: International Universities Press, 1948.
22
Adjustment Through Aggression:
The Sadistic Personality
The next sector of the diagnostic continuum is the area of critical hos-
tile aggression. We shall consider in this chapter those human beings
who manifest in their overt operations cold sternness, punitiveness, or
sadism. This is the "33" personality.
This way of life is traditionally one of the most fascinating and
disturbing. We are dealing here with the fearful and destructive as-
pects of human behavior. We shall attempt to understand why some
individuals select negative, hostile expressions as their means of ad-
justment.
Philosophers and psychologists have for centuries recognized that
many human beings are compulsively committed to aggression. Many
theories have been advanced to explain why some persons deUght in
combat, feel comfortable only when engaged in a threatening attack,
experience no qualms at punishing their fellows, and, indeed, feel
weakened and threatened by the prospect of collaborative or tender or
docile impulses.
An important point must be introduced at this early stage of the
discussion. We are referring in this chapter not just to actions of
criminal aggression, destructive violence, or socially disapproved
sadism. We include all those behaviors which inspire fear in others,
which threaten others by physical, moral, or verbal means.
Many antisocial individuals utilize this hostile mode of adjustment.
But the great majority of punitive sadistic characters are to be found
in the ranks of the socially approved. Those persons who consistently
maintain a punishing attitude towards others, or a disciplinary atti-
tude, or a sarcastic attitude, or a guilt-provoking attitude fall in this
diagnostic category. Stern toughness is frequently admired and en-
dorsed as a positive social adjustment.
34'
342 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
Those individuals who become repetitiously engaged in physical
violence would, of course, be given the interpersonal diagnosis of ag-
gressive personality. But a large percentage of the cases falling in this
diagnostic category do not go around punching others — they com-
municate their critical, hostUe messages in more subtle, but equally
effective means. We think here, for example, of the stern unforgiving
father, the bad-tempered wife, the moralistic guilt-provoking mother,
the sharp-tongued mocking husband, the grim-faced punitive official,
the truculent fiery-natured colleague, the disciplinarian. We include
all those law-abiding, often pious and self-righteous, individuals who
maintain a role of potential insult, derogation, or punishment.
As we shall see in the subsequent sections, this mode of adjustment
is far from being limited to the delinquent margins of society. It ap-
pears with frightening regularity in the ruling groups of most societies
— present and past — expressed in the philosophy of repressive legis-
lation and bellicose foreign policies.
In the next few pages we shall propose some speculations about the
purpose, the effect, the survival advantages and disadvantages of ag-
gressive security operations.
The Purpose of "33" Behavior
Those individuals who are overtly hostile and punitive have se-
lected these behaviors because they sense them to be the most effective
in minimizing anxiety. These interpersonal reflexes communicate a
message of hardboiled toughness: "I am a dangerous, fearful person."
The persons who rely on these operations for their emotional security
are least anxious when they are flexing their muscles or expressing
stern coldness. They are made most anxious in a situation which pulls
for tender, agreeable, or docile feelings.
These individuals have developed their involuntary interpersonal
reflexes because they have learned consciously or unwittingly that this
is, for them, the safest mode of adjustment. When they are acting
tough or stern, they feel protected. When they act unaggressive, they
feel unprotected and painfully uncomfortable.
Sadistic, tough human beings apparently find security and pleasure
in acting hardboiled; their self-respect seems to stem from the provoca-
tion of fear in others. Hurtful, mocking, destroying, threatening ac-
tions endow the actor with a fearful power. The threat of a temper
outburst or a savage attack is a forceful weapon for coercing and
managing others. Even the less violent aspects of this interpersonal
operation — critical, disciplinary behavior — carry an authoritative so-
cial weight.
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH AGGRESSION 343
Hostile, critical conduct is generally viewed as negative and ethi-
cally lamentable. Despite this moral censure this deportment is ac-
companied by feehngs of righteousness. The most bitter delinquent,
as well as the most punitive disciplinarian, often justifies his transac-
tions by pious reasons. Sadists thus do not always feel the pain of guilt
or the whip of social disapproval. In fact they often fit themselves into
contexts where harshness and coercion are admired or accepted. The
aggressive criminal gains respect in his own society. The martinet
wins esteem within his own sphere of activities. The common genus
of household sadist usually operates in reciprocal relationship to maso-
chistic marital partners, who respond submissively.
Another very important purpose of punitive or critical behavior is
the provocation of guilt. The generic function of the hostile way of
life is to destroy, to humiliate, to cow the "other one." This can be
done violently. It can also be done indirectly. The cold, stern, dis-
approving attitude has the aim of making the "other one" feel either
inferior or unworthy. The sense of righteousness and austere punitive-
ness is a most common and forceful attitude. Moral coercion is a most
effective and self-satisfying form of sadism since it allows the release
of destructive, hostile feelings along with the comforting support of
self-approval.
The Effect of "3 3" Behavior
We have seen that stern, hostile interpersonal reflexes serve several
important purposes. They can reduce anxiety and the feeling of de-
fenselessness. They express a feeling of armed protection, righteous
irritation, and physical or moral superiority and force.
This powerful social maneuver has quite a consistent effect on other
people in general and certain rebellious or masochistic people in par-
ticular. We shall consider first the general case.
Sadistic-critical behavior pulls resentment, distrust, fear, and guilt
from "others." In systematic language DE provokes FGH.
The punitive, hostile role is a most effective interpersonal instru-
ment. In the basic sense everyone fears destruction. Physical danger
is, of course, the most crude and direct threat to any living organism.
Social danger is, for the human being, a most fearful menace. This is
expressed generically as disapproval or derogation. Almost everyone
dreads and resents criticism and hostile laughter from others.^
Hostile coerciveness thus exerts a tremendous interpersonal lever-
age. It gains a fearful respect or a resentful submission. Moral deroga-
* An exception to this generalization is furnished by the overt masochistic charac-
ter, cf. the discussion of the hostihty-provoking buffoon m Chapter 16.
344 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
tion provokes guilt, and thus possesses a ruling force which can equal
or surpass the threat of physical violence.
In the moderate form, the critical role yields advantages to both
the actor and the "other." No institution exists which does not depend
to a certain extent upon social disapproval as a cementing and centrif-
ugal agent. The stern, judicial, punitive person thus becomes a hu-
man symbol of the rules and sanctions which exist either explicitly or
implicitly. The critic or disciplinarian serves a healthy function in the
economy of the group and gains respect and security for himself.
Flexibility and adaptive moderation again become the criteria which
differentiate the adjustive from the maladjustive.
In many famihes one of the parents generally pre-empts this role,
and thus gains the fearful respect and gives the reassurances of limits
to the others. The well-adjusted aggressive-punitive person does not
rely on these interpersonal reflexes rigidly. He can shift to other be-
haviors when they are appropriate and when the critical functioning
is not called for.
In the extreme form, the sadistic role becomes the nucleus of com-
plex neurotic phenomena. The maladjusted aggressive ; person is the
one who manifests this operation inflexibly and to an intense degree.
He operates as though anxiety is associated with the relaxing of tough-
ness and this anxiety he cannot tolerate.
Extreme or consistent sadism has a most electrifying effect on the
"other one." Most people are made uncomfortable and ill at ease in
the presence of an explosive or condemnatory or sarcastic person.
They tend to fear him and to avoid him when possible.
Most individuals can tolerate, and even appreciate, the function of
an adjusted critic. They cannot tolerate potential or actual hostile
coercion in others. This is to say that when extreme D behavior pulls
adaptive withdrawal and bitter disaffiliation from "others," the inter-
action terminates.
There are two general occasions when this pattern does not hold:
in the case of the reciprocal sado-masochistic relationship and in the
crime-punishment partnership. There exists a large number of indi-
viduals who are most comfortable (although not necessarily happy)
when they are tied to a hostile partner. A most common variety of this
is found in the masochists. An intense symbiotic relationship exists be-
tween those who are least anxious when hurting or derogating and
those who are least anxious when receiving these negative actions. In
this case DE pulls intense maladaptive and rigid GH.
Elaborate multilevel patterns exist in the sado-masochistic relation-
ship. A maladaptive rigid sadistic fagade usually covers underlying
feelings of fear and weakness. These are neutrahzed by the comfort-
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH AGGRESSION 345
ing protection of hardboiled operations. The overt hostility in turn
breeds guilt and a fear of retaliation which leads to an intensification
of the original reflex. Similarly the overt masochist inevitably pos-
sesses "preconscious" sadistic identifications. The masochist provokes
hostility from the "other" which is generally followed by the provoca-
tion of guilt in the aggressor. The anxiety associated with this hostile
or righteous maneuver usually results in a resumption of the maso-
chistic operations.
The multilevel interactions of couples who are involved in sado-
masochistic locks is one of the most interesting and complex human
relationships. The delicate interaction between the two forms of
sadism — physical and moral — are nicely illustrated in these not
atypical cases.
A second familiar symbiotic relationship exists in the intense recip-
rocal partnerships between rebels and punitive authorities, between
criminals and the agents of punishment. It is well known that irra-
tionally unconventional and antisocial individuals pull hostility from
others (cf. Chapter 15). The alienated schizophrenic, by means of his
purposive eccentricity, provokes society to incarcerate him. The re-
bellious student trains his teachers to discipline him. The professional
radical eagerly searches his atmosphere for evidence of repressive
cruelty (e.g., racial discrimination) and often succeeds, not in helping
his cause, but in gaining the condemnation of others. Brilliant crea-
tivity often reaches its peak in reaction to hostile, unsympathetic, re-
strictive regulations. The other (punitive) side of this crime-punish-
ment partnership works with equal purposiveness. Hostile punitive
people seek out rebellious and distrustful others and integrate durable
relationships with them. Policemen look for crime. The disapproving
moral sadist looks for sinners. The bully feels most comfortable in
receiving the resentful reactions of those he coerces.
Remarkably intense and lasting relationships develop between anti-
social rebels and the punitive figures whose anger they attempt to pro-
voke. The recidivist criminal is least anxious when he is deaUng with
the comforting consistency of prison custody. The punitive person
is most comfortable when he has targets for his hostility. The severely
maladjusted sadist thus gravitates towards bitter, guilty, and fearful
"others."
Clinical Manifestations of the "33" Personality
The sadistic type may be known by his symptoms. These pa-
tients do not manifest the depressive characteristics of schizoids, ob-
sessives, and phobics. They are not loaded with worries. They do
not complain of physical symptoms.
346 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
They come to the clinic usually under the pressure of unsatis-
factory interpersonal relationships. Alarital problems are very com-
mon. Discord and friction in their jobs frequently are mentioned.
Often they are in trouble caused by their hostility. In these respects
they appear much like the rebellious schizoid patients. Both diag-
nostic groups emphasize negative, angry interpersonal reflexes. The
schizoids are passively hostile, while the sadists are actively hostile.
The schizoids are mad and sad; the sadists are mad and not sad. They
are less concerned with their problems. As they describe their life
events, a note of contempt and disgust with others often develops.
It becomes clear that they are giving others in their life a bad time,
that they are looking down contemptuously upon others.
These patients often express unconventional ideas and admit to
unconventional feelings. They may, in fact, make a point of avoid-
ing conventional feelings and ideas, and when they do employ them
they are often used to derogate others, A sadistic wife may, for ex-
ample, admit to aggressiveness in herself and then criticize her hus-
band for not being easygoing, A punitive man may admit his own
sexual adventures with a certain hardboiled, sophisticated justification
and wax indignant at the misconduct of others.
In their demeanor during diagnostic interviews these patients gen-
erally manifest aggressiveness coupled with some other interpersonal
role. This is due to the fact that pure, unconflicted aggressive charac-
ters rarely come to a psychiatric clinic. Invariably the aggressive pa-
tient presents a conflicted fagade. His blunt, tough security opera-
tions have led to trouble, or else he would not be visiting the clinic.
A4any aggressive patients have intense covert feehngs of weakness or
guilt. These may be apparent in the clinical interview. The brutal
husband may express verbal guilt for beating his wife or children.
The aggressive woman may verbalize pious conventional feelings in
the effort to prove how contemptible her husband has become. The
guilt in the first case and the bland conventionality in the latter will
be seen to be superficial and verbal. These patients may sound guilty
but they are not depressed. They may sound cooperative and agree-
able but their contemptuous attitudes will be picked up by the Level
I symptomatic tests (MMPI) or by the alert interviewer. These feel-
ings often appear in the form of sarcastic or depreciatory references to
psychiatry or psychotherapy.
It has been pointed out that "33" characters come to the clinic
complaining of interpersonal problems rather than anxiety symptoms.
There are certain specific familial situations which are typical of this
personality type. The blunt, active, righteous, angry wife of the
delinquent husband is one such case. These patients often calmly
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH AGGRESSION 347
describe a long history of marital turmoil in which a weak, immature
spouse repeatedly offends the punitive wife with chronic alcoholism,
gambling, unemployment, etc. The wife often supports the family
and rules the spouse with a guilt-provoking disciplinary coldness to
which the husband reacts with alternating guilt and rebeUion. These
partnerships often are of long standing. The punitive member comes
to the psychiatric clinic in the wake of a current episode of inter-
rupted rebellion on the part of the spouse. The motive in coming may
be to seek help in dealing with the husband, rather than help in
changing her own behavior. The feeling of righteous indignation
communicated becomes diagnostic. Inevitably testing reveals that
masochistic trends underly these stern, punitive overt operations.
"Preconscious" guilt and self -punishment picked up by fantasy tests
often indicate that the patient is close to recognition of the underlying
feelings of weakness, and these may provide the push which causes
the patient to come to and stay in therapy. Another typical com-
plaint of the aggressive character involves disgust or concern over
symptoms in children. Delinquency, bed-wetting, and phobias often
characterize the offspring of these patients.
A third reason for coming to the clinic concerns authority prob-
lems. The aggressive person often finds himself in a jam and comes
for help under the pressure of disciplinary actions. These frictions
are usually due to overharshness with subordinates, quarrels with
equals, or insult to a superior. These patients do not manifest real
guilt or unhappiness about these interpersonal conflicts, and they make
it clear that the fault lies in the "other one."
There are psychometric signs diagnostic of the stern or sadistic
personality. Their MMPI profiles emphasize peaks on the hyper-
mania, psychopathic deviate, and F scales. The Sc score is usually
higher than Ft. The depression score is not pronounced. The Mf
(femininity score) is usually low for male patients and varies for
female patients depending on the amount of underlying masochism or
passivity.
Interpersonal Definition of the Psychopathic Maladjustment
Evidence has been presented (cf. Chapter 12) that certain inter-
personal maladjustive types were related to psychometric diagnostic
categories.
Hostile, sadistic security operations are characteristic of the psycho-
pathic personality. The essence of the psychopathic state is active
aggression. These patients avoid anxiety and maintain security by
avoiding dependent or tender feelings and by integrating critical,
punitive relations with others.
348
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
The classic generalization that psychopaths cannot love fits the
looric of the circular diagnostic continuum since the DE octant which
defines the psychopath is exactly opposite the affiliative sector of the
circle.
Again it must be stressed that we are employing a definition of the
kind and degree of abnormality which is based on personal, and not
cultural, values. The cultural definition of the psychopathic maladjust-
ment stresses the inability to conform to social norms. This is a poor
definition because schizoid characters (as defined by the interpersonal
system) seem to get into trouble as frequently as psychopaths. We
have already stressed the point that many sadistic individuals are
quite acceptant of punitive and repressive ethical values. The psycho-
pathic personality in the interpersonal system is defined by the afore-
mentioned typical security operations and not by delinquency. As
a matter of fact, sadistic people are perhaps more often unusually
identified with law and moral codes which they ruthlessly employ to
humiliate others. The more a person goes out of his way to claim an
ethical superiority and to attribute immorality to others, the greater
the probability that he manifests psychopathic, morally sadistic
operations.
The distrustful schizoid patient is acutely aware of moral hypocrisy
in others. Some psychopaths often show a radar-like sensitivity to
rebelliousness and guilt or weakness in the "other one."
Research Findings Characteristic of the Sadistic Personality
Some of the current research findings which concern the aggressive
personality can now be considered.
L Patients who manifest stern aggressiveness in their overt opera-
tions do not have psychosomatic symptoms.
2. Psychosomatic patients do not utilize these interpersonal opera-
tions at Levels I and IL
3. Aggression at Levels I and II is related to high MMPI scores on
nonconformity (F), schizoid distrust (Sc), and disidentification with
affiliative values (Pd).
4. If sadistic patients enter psychotherapy, they tend to remain
in treatment for long periods. They stay in therapy as long as any
other diagnostic type. Severely conflicted psychopaths (i.e., large
discrepancies between Level I and II) are, however, poorly moti-
vated for treatment, remaining on the average for only two sessions.
This indicates that the psychopath like the phobic presents a tricky
prognostic gamble. They either avoid therapy entirely or they enter
and remain for extended periods. Multilevel conflicts can lead both
of these groups to avoid intensive treatment. Schizoid and obsessive
ADJUSTMENT THROUGH AGGRESSION 349
patients on the contrary are more likely to stick in treatment regard-
less of the degree and kind of multilevel conflict.
5. The psychopaths, like the schizoids, are the most disidentified
(consciously) with their parents.
6. They tend as a group to be consciously disidentified with their
marital partners.
7. They (along with the schizoid group) tend to misperceive
the interpersonal behavior of others. They inaccurately attribute too
much hostility to others.
8. Patients who manifest aggressiveness in their Level I-M sympto-
matic behavior tend to appear in certain cultural samples much more
frequently than others. The percentage of sadistic persons in various
samples is presented in Table 30.
TABLE 30
Percentage of Aggressive-Sadistic Personalities (Level I-M)
Found in Several
Cultural Samples
%
of Aggressive-Sadistic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admission
537
11
College Undergraduates
415
3
University Psychiatric Clinic
133
11
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
121
4
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
31
10
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
57
2
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
71
3
Group Psychotherapy Patients
109
7
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
49
6
Hypertensive Patients
49
2
Ulcer Patients
43
8
Medical Control Patients
37
0
University Counseling Center
93
2
University Graduate Students (Male)
39
0
Stockade Prisoners (Male)
52
15
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients
28
11
Officers in Military Service
39
0
Total
1903
As might be expected, the stockade prison group contains the
largest percentage of psychopathic individuals. The psychiatric
clinic samples include about the number expected by chance. All the
other samples have a negligible number of this personality type.
It is of interest to note the discrepancy between psychopathic per-
sonalities reporting to the clinic and those going into group or indi-
vidual psychotherapy. Only half the expected percentage of sadistic
individuals go into treatment. This indicates that either those pa-
tients tend to avoid going into therapy or the clinic refrains from re-
350 INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY
ferring them to therapy. They come to the clinic in the expected
frequency but their reasons for coming (which often involves blam-
ing others) do not lead them to go into therapy. Once they do enter
treatment, they tend to stay a relatively long time. This means that
sadistic patients are poorly motivated but have long prognosis for
treatment.
9. The percentage of sadistic personalities at Level II-C is pre-
sented in Table 3L Ulcer patients claim the most aggressiveness.
Normal controls and psychiatric clinic admissions attribute more
sadism to themselves than expected by chance. The hypertensive and
obese samples (who stress hypernormal strength) have considerably
fewer self-diagnoses in the aggressive-sadistic octant.
TABLE 31
Percentage of Aggressive-Sadistic Personalities (Level II-C)
Found in Several Cultural Samples
%
oj Aggressive-Sadistic
Institutional or Symptomatic Sample
N
Personalities
Psychiatric Clinic Admissions
207
18
Hospitalized Psychotic Patients (Male)
46
11
Group Psychotherapy Patients
101
11
Individual Psychotherapy Patients
38
8
Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients
31
10
Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients
56
14
Unanxious Dermatitis Patients
70
11
Medical Control Patients
41
17
Ulcer Patients
42
24
Hypertensive Patients
49
4
Middle Class Obese Patients (Female)
100
4
Total
781
10. Sadistic patients describe their parents as weaker and more
neurotic than any other diagnostic group. They clearly look down
on their parents — seeing them as beaten, impotent, timid, unsuc-
cessful, and unloving people.
1 1 . Sadistic patients describe their spouses as rebellious and resent-
ful people. This indicates that their marital relations are loaded with
punitive affect. They are stern and disapproving in relation to resent-
ful, passively resistant spouses.
V
Some Applications of the Interpersonal System
Introduction
The aim of the Kaiser Foundation research has been to develop a
system of personality which is functionally useful in the psychiatric
clinic. The norms have been based on clinic samples. The empirical
investigations have attempted to build up probability statistics which
allow us to predict what the patient will do in the clinic setting.
The system has, for the first six years of research, been deliberately
restricted for the most part to that narrow range of interpersonal be-
havior which is relevant at the time of intake evaluation and plan-
ning for psychotherapy. The major appUcation of the system is to
problems of diagnosis and prognosis faced in the psychiatric clinic.
While the main focus has been on cUnical diagnosis, there have
been some side explorations to determine the efficacy of the inter-
personal system in predicting behavior outside of the psychiatric
clinic.
In the next four chapters we shall report on some applications of
the interpersonal system in these nonclinical situations.
Chapter 23 will report on the use of these diagnostic methods in
a psychiatric hospital. The interpersonal pressures faced by the staff
of an inpatient service are clearly different from the outpatient fa-
cility. Our experience in using the interpersonal methodology in
this situation is very limited. The results of our pilot study are strik-
ingly different from the outpatient studies and are partially con-
firmed, moreover, by our measurements on outpatients who have had
psychotic breaks and required hospitalization. Some suggestions and
impHcations concerning the apphcation of interpersonal diagnosis in
the psychiatric hospital will be tentatively advanced.
Chapter 24 takes us to a different environmental setting — the phy-
sician's office. We shall study the application of the system to psycho-
somatic problems faced by the internist and the dermatologist. Four
samples of patients manifesting symptoms which are sometimes be-
lieved to be psychosomatic have been studied by the Kaiser Founda-
tion research. The diagnostic system suggests that there are some
personality correlates of psychosomatic conditions. The results of
these studies and their clinical implications for the physician will be
reviewed.
352
INTRODUCTION
353
Chapter 25 describes some interpersonal dynamic factors observed
in administrative, discussion, and management groups. The inter-
personal measurement methods are easily converted into sociometric
instruments. Patterns of reciprocal interpersonal relations and mis-
perceptions of self and others are measured by very straightforward
techniques. They provide a direct method for diagnosing an industrial
management group and outlining the network of dynamic activities
which occur in the group situation.
In Chapter 26 this survey of the application of the diagnostic sys-
tem concludes with a consideration of interpersonal dynamics as they
occur in group therapy. Methods for predicting and measuring group
resistance and group personality will be described. This chapter also
discusses the complex issue of multilevel interaction patterns as they
evolve in group psychotherapy.
23
Interpersonal Diagnosis of
Hospitalized Psychotics
The emotional atmosphere in any psychiatric hospital is inevitably
different from that of the outpatient clinic. Implicit interpersonal
forces are at play which affect the patient's behavior. One task of a
diagnostic system employed in the hospital setting is to measure the
patient's reactions to the social pressures of the hospital environment.
The standard questions to be answered by a multilevel measurement
apparatus are: What overt social role is the patient attempting to
maintain (i.e., what are his interpersonal security operations)? How
does he diagnose himself? What are his underlying feelings?
The interpersonal diagnostic system has been used in some limited,
exploratory studies in a hospital setting. Some of the results will be
reported in this chapter. These findings are preliminary and sug-
gestive. They do contain several implications about the use of per-
sonality tests in the hospital and about the nature of the psychotic state.
Factors Unique to the Psychiatric Hospital
In assessing the interpersonal behavior of hospitalized patients it is
clear that certain factors peculiar to institutional commitment are
involved. The patients are certainly involved in a different relation-
ship with the therapist than are patients in the outpatient clinic. The
latter come mainly on their own volition. The clinic does not play
such a vital 24-hour-a-day role in their lives. The outpatient is much
more free to sever his relationship with the clinic.
The hospitalized patient is inextricably caught in a web of inter-
personal assumptions which affect his behavior and his conception
of self. He is legally committed; he has been rejected by society, and
often by his family. He is not as free to govern his actions. He is de-
pendent on the institution for sustenance, both material and emotional.
354
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS
355
The interpretation of test results must take into account the emo-
tional context of the hospital scene. We can never be sure how much
the patient's behavior is directed towards the therapist-as-therapist and
how much it is determined by his attitudes and interpersonal purposes
towards the custodial institution and the rejecting outer world to
which the hospital is related.
There is another factor which limits the application of the inter-
personal system to hospital diagnosis. The system was developed to
meet the needs of patients in a clinic. It is geared to patients who are
of average intelligence and who are able to manage their affairs by
themselves. Individuals who are severely psychotic (i.e., out of touch
with reality, which usually means wildly rebellious against conven-
tional standards) may not be able to meet the intellectual demands of
our check lists and questionnaires.
For this reason we are very cautious in recommending the inter-
personal system for general use in the psychiatric hospital. For many
patients it seems to work with adequate success — that is, it success-
fully answers the question: what are the patient's interpersonal ac-
tions, beUefs, and underlying feelings?
The Psychotic Samples
Three samples of psychotic patients were studied by the inter-
personal diagnostic system.
The State Hospital Sample ^ comprises 100 patients tested at Level
I-M and 6 patients who were referred for group psychotherapy and
were administered the multilevel interpersonal test battery before be-
ginning treatment. The 100 patients were a random sample of patients
who received the MMPI during diagnostic work-ups.
The criteria for selecting the six other patients were as follows:
Seven patients were assigned to the therapy group. Six of them took
the tests and received interpersonal diagnoses. The seventh patient
was too disturbed to respond to the testing situation. All group mem-
bers came from the same unit, a convalescent cottage. Five had re-
ceived diagnoses of schizophrenia; one was diagnosed as a depressive
psychotic. None were currently receiving any somatic treatment.
The cottage is a semi-open ward and does not contain acutely dis-
turbed patients. While the rate of discharge of patients in this unit is
relatively high, patients selected for this therapy group were not ex-
pected to be leaving the hospital within the next four months.
* The sample of six hospitalized patients was collected by Richard V. Wolton of
the Stockton State Hospital, Stockton, California. Gratitude is expressed to Mr. Wol-
ton for his cooperation in administering the tests and for writing the clinical sum-
maries included in this chapter.
356 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
A second sample of hospitalized patients has been studied by the
interpersonal diagnostic system. These comprise patients who were
evaluated in an outpatient clinic, diagnosed either as psychotic or
anxiety-panic types and then hospitalized. This group of patients is
called the Clinic Psychotic Sample.
There are 22 subjects in this "panic-psychotic" sample, 4 men and
18 women. Only 13 of these patients completed the tests at all three
levels so that the N's vary from level to level.
The Private Hospital Sample includes 20 patients who were in
psychotherapy at the Pinel Foundation Hospital, Seattle, Washing-
ton.^ There are obvious cultural and clinical factors which might dif-
ferentiate private hospital patients from those seen in a state hospital
or a health-plan chnic, but all three samples share the common ex-
perience of having been institutionalized because of this emotional
symptom.
Level I Behavior in the Three Psychotic Samples
Level I-M scores are available for the state hospital and clinic
psychotic sample. Level I-S ratings of each patient by professional ob-
servers (pooled ratings of doctors, nurses, and therapist) are available
for the private hospital sample. Table 32 presents the number of pa-
tients falling in each diagnostic category at Level L
TABLE 32
Level I Diagnoses Assigned to 148 Patients in the Three Psychotic Samples
Sample
N
Level I Diagnosis
12 3 4 5 6 7 8
Strong
Loving
1678
HostUe
Bitter
2345
State Hospital Sample .
Clinic Sample
Private Hospital Sample *
Total Sample
106
22
20
148
22 17 15 6 6 10 6 24
2 2 3 4 3 3 14
12 3 0 5 7 2 0
25 21 21 10 14 20 9 28
60
10
10
80
46
12
10
68
* The figures presented for the private hospital sample are based on Level I-S
(raters' sociometric checks). The other two samples were studied at Level I-M— the
symptomatic level.
No clear-cut trend is evident in these results. The findings sug-
gest that hospitalized patients present a mixed picture at the sympto-
matic or overt interpersonal level. When the diagnostic continuum
^ Gratitude is expressed to the administration of the Pinel Foundation Hospital and
to Dr. Arthur Kobler of the Pinel Staff for permission to use the results obtained in
their diagnostic studies.
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS
357
is summarized in terms of positive conventional types (1678) as com-
pared with hostile alienated types (2345), there are slightly more
psychotic patients in the former category. In light of the nature of
this sample this becomes a most interesting result. A4ore than half of
these patients who have been rejected by society and institutionalized
for emotional disturbance present themselves as responsible, hyper-
normal, or conforming people. The implication is that many psy-
chotics strive to maintain a Level I fagade of conventionality and con-
formity.
The findings listed in Table 32 tend to duplicate the census of pa-
tients in the Kaiser Foundation outpatient cUnic. These results sug-
gest that the interpersonal pressure of the symptoms of psychotic pa-
tients does not differ from that manifested by the average outpatient
visitor, and (as we shall see in the next chapter) the Level I fagade
of psychotics is significantly more hypernormal than that of out-
patients who go into psychotherapy.
Level II-C Behavior in Three Psychotic Samples
The Level II-C self-diagnoses of the hospitalized patients which
are presented in Table 33 present an even more interesting pattern.
TABLE 33
Level II-C Diagnoses of 46 Patients in the Three Psychotic Samples
Sample
N
Level II-C Diagnosis
12 3 4 5 6 7 8
Strong
Loving
1678
Hostile
Bitter
2345
State Hospital Sample . .
Clinic Sample
Private Hospital Sample .
Total Sample
6
20
20
46
2 3 0 0 0 10 0
2 13 4 2 2 3 3
4 12 116 14
8 5 5 5 3 9 4 7
3
10
15
28
3
10
5
18
There is a definite tendency for institutionalized patients to see
themselves as sweet, hypernormal, executive individuals! They tend
as a group to deny hostile or weak traits. This strongly suggests that
many psychotics cling to a conscious self-perception of strength, re-
sponsibility, and conventionality. They are significantly less ahenated
and guilty (at Level II-C) than outpatients in psychotherapy.
Level lll-T Behavior in Three Psychotic Samples
The TAT "hero" indices were calculated for 38 patients in these
studies and then plotted on the diagnostic grid. Table 34 presents
the Level III-T diagnoses for the three samples.
358 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
TABLE 34
Level III-T Diagnoses of 38 Patients in the Three Psychotic Samples
Sample
N
Level III-T Diagnosis
12 3 4 5 6 7 8
Strong
Loving
1678
HostUe
Bitter
2345
State Hospital Sample . .
20
6
12
38
0 0 2 0 12 0 1
3 0 2 3 10 2 1
3 3 5 3 2 2 0 2
6 3 9 6 4 4 2 4
3
6
7
16
3
6
Private Hospital Sample .
Total Sample
13
22
At the "preconscious" level these patients manifest interpersonal
themes which are somewhat different from their overt and conscious
presentations. Sadistic themes are the most common; power and dis-
trust are the two next most frequent. Whereas the psychotics were
significantly more bland and hypernormal than psychotherapy out-
patients in conscious self-description, in fantasy they are significantly
more hostile.
Multilevel Personality Patterns of the Hospitalized Samples
It is now possible to weave together the results from the three levels
of personality and to make multilevel summary statements.
At the symptomatic level (Level I-M) the psychotics equal
psychiatric clinic outpatients in the presentation of symptoms. At
the level of conscious self-diagnosis a larger percentage of psychotics
claim strength and conventional normality than do outpatients. At the
level of "preconscious" fantasy, however, the psychotics are more
bitter and hostile than the outpatients.
These data have suggested the following hypothesis. Many psy-
chotics show highly conflicted personality patterns. Their overt se-
curity operations emphasize strength and normality, while their under-
lying feelings involve sadism and bitterness. Many psychotics cling
desperately to a conscious fa9ade of conventionality and self-confi-
dence in the teeth of their underlying feelings of rage and frustration.
The presenting operations of many neurotics, on the contrary,
stress overt passivity and bitterness, while their underlying feelings
involve stronger and more affiliative feelings.
The over-all impression obtained from these studies is that the
process of hospitalization involves different factors. In looking over
the multilevel diagnostic codes for the individual patients, it is apparent
that many patients are institutionalized because they are immobilized
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS
359
by anxiety, distrust, guilt, and helplessness at all three levels. These
would be clinically labeled anxiety-panic states, schizoid conditions,
psychotic conditions, or psychotic depressions. Another larger group
of hospitalized patients try to maintain a fa9ade of strength and to
cover up intense underlying feelings of rage and bitterness. The for-
mer group probably includes suicidal risks, w^ithdraw^n and apathetic
operations. The latter group are usually called paranoid. Different
therapeutic implications exist for these two broad groups of insti-
tutionalized cases.
Implications of the Multilevel Patterns of Psychotic Patients
A multilevel system of personality throws into clear relief the con-
flicts which exist in a patient's character structure. We have just re-
viewed two sets of evidence suggesting that many psychotics and pre-
psychotics present a two-layer facade of strength and normality
covering intense feelings of rage and despair. There are several im-
plications.
The first concerns the therapeutic handling of psychotics. Most
hospitalized patients are institutionalized because they have exhibited
unconventional behavior which frightens or alienates others. They
are seen by others as crazy, psychotic, disturbed.
Many of these patients, however, see themselves quite differently
— they strive to present themselves as confident and responsible. It
seems clear that anyone who attempts to establish constructive com-
munication with this kind of psychotic must pay respect to the fa9ade
of normality. The overt operations must always be understood and
classified before therapy can deal with underlying feelings. Patients
(in the cUnic or in the hospital) who present a fagade of strength
tend to be poorly motivated for psychotherapy — since treatment
threatens their security operations. Extended and painstaking pre-
liminary procedures (educational talks, discussions in which the
therapist stays on the side of the ego) may be necessary to prepare
such patients for conventional psychotherapy. If these are short-
circuited and an attempt is made to plunge the patient into therapy a
disastrous communication situation develops — in which the therapist
acts as though the patient needs treatment and the patient thinks and
acts on the premise that he does not.
This multilevel psychotic profile has implications for the use of
psychological tests. Many psychologists have used Level I and II
instruments in testing institutionahzed psychotics and have been dis-
appointed in finding that the patients appear normal. The allegation
has been made that the MMPI is invahd because it often reveals psy-
360 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
chotics as having normal profiles. Much confusion and damage has
been caused by researchers who have administered tests to patients
with a unilevel point of view.
If test responses are viewed as interpersonal communications be-
tween the patient and the psychologist and if a multilevel approach is
maintained, then the issue of validity becomes clarified. If a psychotic
produces a low MMPI profile and describes himself on questionnaires
as nonsymptomatic, this does not invalidate the tests. On the con-
trary, these results provide most useful information. They tell the
tester that the patient is attempting to maintain a fa9ade of normality,
that he wants to be seen as healthy and nonneurotic. The conception
of levels enters here. The sophisticated diagnostician will proceed to
administer tests which tap other levels. He will compare the overt
and conscious "normal" operations with Level I reports from observ-
ers that the patient acts hostile, or with Level III materials indicating
that intense private feelings of distrust exist. The bland fagade is
seen to cover paranoid hostility or psychotic despair.
The same unilevel error has been made by research psychologists
who have attempted to demonstrate that the TAT fantasy story test
is invalid because it does not differentiate between neurotics and
psychotics. It is very possible that a sample of psychotics will show
no more hostility and weakness in their TAT stories than neurotics.
If these investigators had gone on to collect measures at the overt
levels, they would have been surprised to discover that more psy-
chotics covered their fantasy behavior with a fa9ade of normality
than did neurotics. The comparison between any two clinical groups
cannot be made at a single level of personality without confusion or
incomplete results.
The multilevel pattern which we have found to characterize many
psychotics has implications for evaluating outpatients for psycho-
therapy. Ad any patients are seen for intake evaluation in the Kaiser
Foundation clinic who manifest the multilevel pattern of overt con-
ventionality with underlying sadism or distrust. There are dozens of
such multilevel diagnoses, e.g., 773, 884, 173, etc. This is a prepsy-
chotic pattern. These patients, many of whom are presenting psycho-
somatic symptoms, are never assigned routinely to therapy or analysis.
In many cases they are given the opportunity to "repress out" of
therapy or are seen in supportive counseling. If a patient with a pre-
psychotic multilevel diagnosis is assigned to treatment, the therapist
is warned to watch for signs of anxiety. The question is posed: can
this patient tolerate conscious awareness of his underlying feelings?
Reactions to the earliest interpretations should be observed to see if
psychotic trends or "flights into health" are developing.
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS 361
Case Illustrations of Six Psychotic Patients
In order to illustrate the use of the interpersonal diagnostic sys-
tem in the psychiatric hospital, we shall now present the test results
and clinical histories of the six patients from the state hospital sample.
In each illustration we shall consider first a brief case history and a
description of the patient's behavior in the group. The interpersonal
diagnostic report will follow. It will be possible to compare the test
results with the way the patient behaved both outside the hospital
and in his therapy group.
THE WANDERER: DIAGNOSIS 616 3
(1) Clinical Data. This 42-year-old male patient was born in a
rural Midwestern state. His history is one of marginal social adjust-
ment, marked by many arrests for drunkenness, molesting children,
vagrancy, and nomadism. He was committed to this hospital shortly
after his arrival in the community by freight train. At the time of his
hospitalization the patient heard voices directed by the church, felt
that the cabin in which he resided was wired with microphones to
find out his thoughts, felt that medicine was poisoned. He impressed
the examining physician as "friendly but shy." The diagnosis ad-
vanced was schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type, in a constitution-
ally inadequate individual associated with chronic alcoholism. Electro-
shock therapy was initiated shortly after the patient's admission to the
hospital, and during this course of treatment the patient was involved
in numerous "special incident" reports and as a consequence was fre-
quently placed in seclusion and restraint. After twenty-four electro-
shock treatments, the patient was transferred to an open ward where
he had ground privileges. He was a member of the therapy group
for four months. Four months after the group terminated the pa-
tient's paranoid symptoms returned, and he was transferred to a
closed ward where a second series of electro-shock treatments was be-
gun. After four such treatments there was a moderate improvement
and electro-shock therapy was discontinued. At last report the patient
was doing well and has had his ground privileges restored.
(2) Group Behavior. The patient missed a few of the early meet-
ings of the group because of his inability to remember days of the
week. He knew, for example, that meetings were held each Wednes-
day at 9:00 a.m., but did not know when it was Wednesday. The
^^ Certain changes in peripheral details have been made in these case histories in
order to insure anonymity. An attempt to preserve the essential quahty of the case
history has been made. The descriptive titles for each patient were supplied by the
clinician who conducted the psychotherapy group.
362 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
patient's speech, especially in early meetings, was circumstantial and
rambling; his manner was vague, nebulous, and cloudy. He seemed
uncertain of his identity and seemed to have very few resources in the
way of stable and enduring personaUty characteristics. His adjust-
ment appeared to be on a day to day and even on a minute to minute
basis.
At about the seventh meeting of the group the patient began to
change. He took a more active part in group discussions, no longer
missed meetings, and displayed obvious interest in the responses and
reactions of the others in the group. Although profoundly amnesic
to many episodes in his past, the patient seemed to be trying to put
the pieces together and re-establish and redefine his personality out-
lines. In early sessions the patient's verbal responses were character-
istically platitudinous, while in later sessions his comments seemed
honest, direct, and at times, poignant. When the group terminated,
it was noted that while the patient was considerably improved, no
change in his hospital status was recommended.
(3) Interpersonal Diagnostic Report. This patient at Level I-M
presents as mildly depressed — somewhat despondent. He does not
stress his symptoms, does not attempt to make an extremely sick or
neurotic impression. He is diagnosed as a moderate phobic or de-
pendent personality at this level. This seems to fit the clinician's im-
pression of his "friendly but shy" approach.
In his conscious self-description he presents a mixed picture. He
denies hostility. He admits to some passivity but also claims inde-
pendence and strength. He is very close to his ego ideal — indicating
that he is self-satisfied, pleased with his personality, and not motivated
for psychotherapy.
His "preconscious" hero themes stress inordinate passivity and feel-
ings of weakness.
The multilevel pattern thus reveals a strong, independent fa9ade
with some feehngs of depression — and underlying feelings of helpless-
ness. His basic feelings of despair and weakness are expressed in-
directly in his symptoms but are not consciously recognized. These
underlying feelings apparently did reach expression in the poignancy
noted in later sessions of the group.
(4) Clinical Implications, (a) Motivation. This patient would
not be considered as well-motivated because he is not under great
symptomatic pressure (Level I-M = moderate 6) and is self-satisfied
(Level II-C = i).
(b) Prognosis. Prognosis is complicated by the underlying feel-
ings of helplessness and dependence (Level III-T = 6). Male pa-
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS 363
rients whose "preconscious" themes locate in this octant are more
difficult to treat because therapy will lead to the expression of passive
(and usually feminine) emotions.
(c) Predicted interpersonal behavior. The Level I-M and Level
II-C measures tend to predict accurately to the platitudinous approach.
THE POIGNANT ROMANTIC: DIAGNOSIS 613
(1) Clinical Data. At the time of his admission to the hospital
this patient was a 42-year-old white married male who spoke in an
irrelevant, illogical manner much of the time. He showed many re-
ligious delusions and was depressed and agitated. The patient had
been married for the past fourteen years, and throughout this period
showed an abnormally strong attachment to his father. He has fre-
quently expressed a desire to help his father at the expense of his wife
and two children, who were often in dire financial straits. He would
become violently angry if thwarted in his desire to aid his father,
and on one occasion knocked out several of his wife's teeth when she
expostulated with him. He frequently expressed ideas that he should
make his living as a writer, although he has had nothing published.
In the two months immediately prior to his commitment the patient
became much more disturbed and confused. He would preach con-
stantly and incoherently, stating that God had directly communi-
cated with him.
The patient was given electro-shock therapy and made an im-
mediate and favorable response to it. After six treatments the patient
was much improved. He became a member of the therapy group, and
after the group terminated the patient was given an indefinite leave
of absence to his family. On subsequent examinations at the hospital
the patient was described as "sullen and aggressive" by the examining
physician, but there had been no relapse of sufficient degree to war-
rant hospitalization.
(2) Group Behavior. The patient's behavior in the group was
characterized chiefly by his sober, earnest manner. He rarely smiled,
and was by far the most reflective member of the group. From the
beginning, the patient's contributions to the group discussion M^ere
relevant, pertinent, and coherent, with no evidence of the psychotic
manifestations contained in the commitment report. The patient was
quite self-punitive in presenting his problems to the others in the
group. He described himself as a failure as a father, as a husband, as a
person, as a writer. He had much to say about how he always felt
he should be a writer; how he always admired the use of language
364 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
and, especially, "big words." On one occasion he brought a collec-
tion of his writings to the group. These were all written when the
patient was in late adolescence, and the papers on which they were
typed were crinkled and abused by age. In substance, they contained
a very ponderous philosophy in poetic forms, reminiscent of the duller
works of the Victorian period.
The patient revealed a concern for the problems of the others in
the group. He was supportive to an indiscriminate degree, and seemed
to be asking for support when he chastised himself as a failure before
the others. Such support was not reciprocated by the other patients,
however.
(3) Interpersonal Diagnostic Report. This patient presents at
Level I-M a mildly depressed, essentially normal picture. (All MMPI
scales are below 70.) He is definitely not attempting to impress
others as a sick, nervous person. He is diagnosed at this level as a do-
cile personality.
In his conscious self-descriptions he stresses strength and hyper-
normal responsibility. He is quite close to his ego ideal — indicating
self-satisfaction and no awareness of any need to change his personal-
ity- . ^
The top two levels thus indicate a normal, conventional self-conn-
dent facade.
At the level of fantasy a different picture develops. Intense feel-
ings of bitter distrust and aggressive power are expressed.
The three-level pattern involves two layers of normality (he is a
strong man, mildly depressed) covering intense sadistic feelings.
When this multilevel pattern is compared with that of the preced-
ing patient, we observe that they are quite similar in their facades
(both 61) but very different at Level III-T. The first patient ex-
pressed helpless fantasies, which we related to his poignancy. The
second patient manifests bitter, angry feelings, which are reflected in
the sadistic violence reported in his chnical history and, perhaps, in
the fact that the group responded negatively to him.
Once again we see a common psychotic pattern of a frail fa9ade
of normality conflicting with underlying pathology.
(4) Clinical Implications, (a) Motivation. This patient would be
considered unmotivated because of the symptom-free, self-satisfied
fagade.
(b) Prognosis. The prognosis is complicated because of the in-
tense "preconscious" feelings of hostility. The conflict between a
bland fagade and underlying bitterness (61^) is always a potentially
explosive one and difficult to treat by psychotherapy.
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS 365
(c) Predicted interpersonal behavior. The three-level diagnostic
code predicts the earnestness, the pedantry, and the sullen outbursts.
It does not pick up the masochistic self-derogation — unless this is
interpreted as complaining hostility.
THE NICE GUY: DIAGNOSIS 665
( 1 ) Clinical Data. The patient was committed at the age of thirty-
three by his wife and his mother following a suicide attempt (sleeping
pills). The patient had asked his wife to join him in a suicide pact
and had expressed feelings of hopelessness and profound despair for
the few weeks immediately preceding his hospitalization. The cUni-
cal decision was that his primary diagnosis was a reactive depression,
but of such a severe nature that it approached psychotic manifesta-
tions. The patient adjusted quite well to the hospital milieu from the
beginning. He was assigned to an open ward and worked days in
the same type of work in which he was employed before hospitali-
zation. No somatic therapy was deemed necessary or advisable. The
patient entered the therapy group and remained in it for six sessions.
Then he left the hospital without permission. The patient's elope-
ment was sudden and unexpected, since he had always been reluctant
to discuss being discharged from the hospital. The patient frequently
stated that he was rather afraid to leave the hospital to return to a
world in which all sorts of terrible things could happen to him. Since
the patient's unauthorized departure, no word has been received by
the hospital regarding him.
(2) Group Behavior. Until the time of his abrupt departure from
the hospital the patient was an active participant in the therapy group.
A quiet man by inclination, he was very attentive to topics of discus-
sion, listening with alertness and active interest. He encouraged other
patients to discuss their problems in the group setting, but found it dif-
ficult to lead the way by using his own case as an example, although
this was his expressed intention. The patient was probably in a better
state of mental health than any other group member, and his partici-
pation directly reflected this. When another patient would express
delusional material, he would try to steer the conversation into more
comfortable channels. He was well liked by the other members of
the group, who would refer to him as a "nice guy." The patient was
discussed more freely by the others following his elopement than he
was during the period in which he was an active group member.
Resentment against his blandness and manner of departure emerged,
was discussed, and was related to the patient's attempts to control
group discussions and keep them on a "polite" level.
366 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
(3) Interpersonal Diagnostic Report. This patient presents a pas-
sive, dependent picture at Level I-M. He is much more depressed,
worried, and anxious than the two preceding patients; that is to say,
he is much more neurotic at the symptomatic level.
His conscious self-perceptions center around weakness, docility,
and agreeability. He tends to be hard on himself. He completely de-
nies any strong, generous feelings (which were claimed by the two
preceding "sicker" cases) .
A two-layer fa9ade of extreme passivity and docile helplessness is
indicated.
The underlying tests emphasize weakness, guilt, and feelings of re-
bellious bitterness.
The over-all personality structure involves three layers of weak-
ness. There is much less conflict than in the two preceding cases.
This patient is much more like the chronic severe neurotic seen (inter-
minably) in the outpatient clinic. He is definitely different from the
rest of the group. He is the only patient of the six who diagnoses him-
self (at Level II-C) as weak and needing help. He is the only mem-
ber who stresses neurotic symptoms — depression and anxiety. When
we recall the therapist's statement that this patient was in a "better
state of mental health than any other group member," it becomes
clear that internalization and expression of anxiety is a salutary security
operation — a protection against psychosis.
(4) Clinical Implications, (a) Motivation. This patient is well-
motivated for psychotherapy. He experiences symptomatic pressure.
He is dissatisfied with his personality (c.f. the self versus ideal dis-
crepancy).
(b) Prognosis. A rigid and deep-seated commitment to passive,
masochistic security operations (665) suggests a slow prognosis. This
patient tends to avoid (at all levels) strong, responsible behavior.
Negative identifications and underlying guilt will make therapy a very
long-term proposition.
(c) Predicted interpersonal behavior. The top level scores (66)
predict a docile, conforming, placating fagade and an avoidance of
hostile relations. They correlate with the clinician's impression of a
"nice guy." The tests ignominiously fail to predict his going AWOL.
We should expect masochistic self-effacement. The TAT does pick
up some rebelliousness but does not forecast an active disaffiliation.
There is an interesting side issue which develops from this case
history. This patient is the only member of the group who was not
diagnosed as schizophrenic. He was given the label severe reactive
depression. This patient manifests the "weakest" multilevel pattern.
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS 367
He is the only patient in the group who is dependent or masochistic
at all three levels (665), the only patient who does not claim or ex-
press strength at some level.
This patient was hospitaUzed not for psychotic symptoms, but for
suicidal depression. No delusional or paranoid material was elicited.
This patient does not fit the multilevel pattern of the paranoid
group of five patients who claim normality or self-confidence and
repress hostility. He stands as the representative of a second multi-
level type which is often seen in psychiatric hospitals — patients who
are crippled and incapacitated by a solid three-layer structure of
despair, helplessness, and masochism.
CYNIC AND TOUGH GUY: DIAGNOSIS 126
( 1 ) Clinical Data. This 42 -year-old patient was born in Texas, the
youngest of fourteen children. He has resided in California since
1937, and his present hospitalization began in 1953. The patient was
previously committed to this hospital in 1940, when he was diagnosed
as schizophrenic reaction, simple type. He was discharged early in
1945 as "recovered," but was recommitted in 1953 upon the petition
of his mother and sibhngs as: "confused . . . mumbles to himself
. . . frightens neighbors . . . loud screaming . . . abusive." The
patient was brought to the hospital with a black eye by pohce, who
said that he had incurred it while resisting arrest. The patient has had
many altercations with the law, usually occurring on occasions when
he was intoxicated and/or driving. The patient has never married
and disclaims any close attachments. In appearance he is lanky, dour,
undernourished. Throughout his hospitalization the patient received
no somatic or psychotherapy until becoming a member of the therapy
group. In May, 1954, the patient was granted a town pass to get a
job with leave-to-self recommended when he found employment.
The patient would leave the grounds early in the morning and come
back to the hospital to sleep. This continued until July, 1954, when
the patient returned to the hospital in an intoxicated condition and
abusive manner. He was transferred to a closed unit, where he cur-
rently receives electro-shock therapy.
(2) Group Behavior. The patient attended all the group therapy
sessions and maintained a forthright and consistent position through-
out their course, to wit, that he should not have been put in the hos-
pital, that there was nothing whatever the matter with him, that hos-
pitalization was more suitable to the needs of those members of his
family who had him committed. The patient frequently stated that if
368 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
the state wanted to support him and provide him with an easy life he
had no objections to such a program. He was an active member of
the group, but formed no close attachments within it. He often
scoffed at the remarks of the other group members, and on several
occasions shocked the other patients by making casual and crude ob-
servations on sexual topics. His personality defenses seemed well-
organized at all times, and he was able to maintain his equilibrium
when pressured by other patients as to why he found it necessary to
be such a "tough guy" at all times. The patient responded to this by
saying that if feelings were put out in the open "somebody would
stomp on them." This type of stomping was frequently demonstrated
by him on the feelings of other group members. At the termination
of the group self-leave was recommended, since he was functioning
on a nonpsychotic level.
(3) Interpersonal Diagnostic Report. This patient at Level I-M
manifests a strong, unworried front. There is no attempt to present
as a sick person — neurotic symptoms are denied. His interpersonal
diagnosis at this level is — autocratic personality.
The underlying tests reveal intense feelings of weakness, helpless-
ness, and dependence.
A fierce conflict exists between overt toughness and "preconscious"
passivity. He cannot tolerate awareness of his" underlying fear and
impotence. He attempts to maintain strong counterphobic operations.
This multilevel pattern (126) seems to fit the clinical picture. He
was able to express in group therapy his need to be strong and his
anxieties about being seen as weak. He apparently was willing to stay
in a protected, dependent situation in the hospital (thus satisfying his
underlying passivity) , while stoutly maintaining the verbal picture of
strength.
(4) Clinical Implications, (a) Motivation. This patient is not a
candidate for psychotherapy. His counterphobic operations would be
threatened by the implications of treatment. He has no conscious
feehngs of anxiety or depression. He is satisfied with his adjustment
(no discrepancy between Level II-C and Level V-C).
(b) Prognosis. The therapeutic outlook for the 126 personality
type is guarded. The conflict is intense, the fagade is brittle (the un-
derlying passivity does not leak through in the form of symptoms and
is completely avoided at Level II-C). There is the additional factor
that underlying passivity often leads to a poor prognosis. The patient
is warding off feelings of impotence and, in many cases, feminine
identification. Unless ego strength is pronounced (which is not the
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS 369
case with this patient), recognition of the underlying feelings will be
accompanied by intense anxiety.
(c) Predicted interpersonal behavior. The test pattern (12) pre-
dicts fairly well the therapist's descriptive title of "cynic and tough
guy."
THE COMMENTATOR: DIAGNOSIS 228
(1) Clinical Data. This patient is a 35-year-old divorced white
male who was committed from a county hospital. For about two
weeks prior to commitment the patient complained of a dust which
kept falling from the ceiling and choking him. He was told this was
"psycho dust" by voices which he was unable to identify, except that
he thought doctors might be attempting to treat him from "long dis-
tance." He was well oriented to time, place, and person. He dis-
played no gross personality disorganization. For this reason electro-
shock therapy was not selected as a proper treatment method, and
psychotherapy was recommended. The patient was transferred to
an open ward and became a member of the therapy group.
The patient was born in Alabama and resided in the southern re-
gion of the United States until he entered the army during World
War II. Since his youth the patient has been a heavy drinker and was
frequently arrested when intoxicated. On several occasions he ex-
perienced delirium tremens and was admitted to an Alabama state
hospital until they subsided. He performed quite well in the armed
forces and was a technical sergeant at the time of his discharge. Since
leaving the service, the patient has adjusted on quite a marginal basis,
shifting from job to job and town to town, drinking heavily and work-
ing as a seasonal unskilled laborer.
Following group therapy the patient was being considered for self-
leave and eventual discharge when he was transferred to a Veterans
Administration hospital.
( 2 ) Group Behavior. The patient attended all group sessions, and
although he never presented any problems of his own for group dis-
cussion, he was a very active participant. He speaks in a rather drawl-
ing Southern accent with a dry humor which was especially effective
because of the apt sense of timing that he displayed. He was liked
and respected by the other group members, who referred to him as
"intelligent." He never put forth any facts about himself or any prob-
lems except for some very superficial facts regarding past education,
vocational background, etc. His chief role in the group setting was
370
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
to act as a sort of commentator, interpreting the remarks of the others
in a humorous and sometimes penetrating manner, reminiscent of Will
Rogers. In private conversations with the psychotherapist the patient
expressed some anxiety about being deported to a state hospital in
Alabama where his family lived, but he did not discuss this or any
other area of insecurity in the group. He offered general comments
and advice to other patients in the group, but discouraged any in-
quiries that they might have regarding his own feelings.
(3) Interpersonal Diagnostic Report. This patient presents a very
mixed picture at Level I-M. He feels depressed, worried, isolated, and
alienated. He thus internalizes his problems and recognizes emotional
symptomology. On the other hand, he tends to emphasize physical
symptoms and bland activity. There is, moreover, some tendency to
maintain a conventional denial of psychopathology. An intense am-
bivalence at this level is apparent. The tendencies to minimize emo-
tions and to maintain strength are stronger than the admission of
weakness. He is diagnosed at Level I-M as a narcissistic personality.
In his self-perception he presents himself as normal and self-confi-
dent. His diagnosis at Level II-C is competitive personality.
His underlying tests are also conflicted, expressing strength and
conformity.
The indices from all five interpersonal tests administered to this
patient fall in a narrow sector of the diagnostic grid — reflecting self-
confidence and strength. There is some emotional symptomology, but
this is minimized by the effort (apparent at Levels II and III) to act
as a conventional, executive person.
(4) Clinical Implications, (a) Motivation. His overt security op-
erations tend to make him an unmotivated patient. He sees himself as
close to his ego ideal. He admits to some emotional symptomology
but the repressive externalizing tendencies are considerably stronger.
He denies wanting or needing help.
(b) Prognosis. This patient exerts a rigid control over his inter-
personal behavior. Although he is riddled with symptoms and rele-
gated by society to a psychiatric hospital, he still maintains a four-
level structure of strength and conventional leadership. This rigidity
may give him a certain stability and make it possible for him to
function more adequately than the other group members — but the
inflexibihty means that any major change is not to be expected.
(c) Predicted interpersonal behavior. The solid multilevel com-
mitment to self-confident, managerial operations (228) predicts ac-
curately his role in the group.
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PSYCHOTICS 371
THE AVENGER: DIAGNOSIS 123
(1) Clinical Data. This parient is a 41-year-old white male who
was born in Nevada but lived most of his life in California, where he
obtained a university degree in business administration. He then en-
tered the employ of a major oil company and traveled extensively in
its service. In 1941 while on foreign duty he attempted suicide and
was returned to the United States but not hospitalized. In 1951 he
was briefly hospitalized because of a schizophrenic episode. He re-
sponded rapidly to electro-shock therapy and insulin and was dis-
charged.
At the time of his commitment the patient was married and the
father of two children. He was extremely bitter about his hospitaliza-
tion and very grandiose in his rationalizations. He was persecuted,
drugged, perhaps poisoned, spied upon; the victim of greedy relatives
and incompetent doctors. He made numerous threats and promises
of revenge and retribution. Electro-shock therapy had no noticeable
effect and was discontinued. The patient became a member of the
therapy group when it was organized, but refused to continue after
the second week. Shortly afterwards electro-shock therapy was re-
sumed, and this time he showed improvement. He was transferred
to the hospital annex, where his recovery progressed rapidly. He was
described as a willing, cheerful, cooperative worker at the time of his
release on indefinite leave of absence.
( 2 ) Group Behavior. The patient came to the first meeting of the
group and was by far its most active member. He assumed leadership
of the group, questioned other patients, and steered the topics of con-
versation to world affairs such as A-bomb strategy, etc. The other pa-
tients in the group offered no overt objections to his taking charge,
but the patient felt that the therapist should have asserted himself
more than he did. During the second meeting of the group the pa-
tient announced that he was "resigning" from it. He gave as his
reasons the incompetence of the therapist, the poor quality of the
hospital staff, the fact that he had been receiving poisoned cigarettes,
etc. The therapist encouraged him to remain in the group, but could
only elicit from him a promise to defer his decision until the next
week. The patient never came to any subsequent meeting, although he
was told that he was welcome to do so.
(3) Interpersonal Diagnostic Report. This patient presents him-
self at Level I-M as a forceful, executive, active person completely
free from any psychological symptoms. He does not want to be seen
372 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
as sick or isolated but, on the contrary, stresses his mental health and
his conventional success. His diagnosis at this level is autocratic per-
sonality.
His self-perception duplicates almost exactly his symptomatic im-
pact— although there is more emphasis on independence. His diag-
nosis at Level II-C is narcissistic personality.
His "preconscious" themes are loaded with superiority, rage, and
bitterness. He is diagnosed at Level III-T as a sadistic personality.
(4) Clinical Implications, (a) Motivation, This patient is com-
pletely unmotivated for psychotherapy. He cannot stand any close or
dependent relationships and maintains strong, defiant behavior at all
levels. He is, of course, very self-satisfied and has no apparent desire
to change himself.
(b) Prognosis. The test pattern predicts that he will not change.
This disagrees with the clinical history which describes his cheerful
cooperative recovery. This discrepancy may be a test miss. There
is some possibility that his later conforming behavior is a deliberate
repressive maneuver to obtain discharge.
(c) Predicted interpersonal behavior. The multilevel diagnosis
(123) perfectly predicts the sequence of his behavior in the group —
bossiness followed by an angry departure. It does not predict his re-
covery— but there is some possibility that he has temporarily and de-
liberately changed his tactics, not his personality structure.
24
Interpersonal Diagnosis in Medical
Practice: Psychosomatic Personality Types
The interpersonal system of diagnosis has been developed and vali-
dated by an outpatient psychiatric clinic. In the last chapter we have
reported some applications of the diagnostic systems in an inpatient
setting — the psychiatric hospital. The locale of investigation now
moves again — this time to the office of the medical practitioner. Are
there typical multilevel personality patterns characteristic of the dif-
ferent psychosomatic conditions? If so, what are the functional im-
plications of these personaUty factors? What do they mean to the
internist who deals with these patients for treatment?
Several intensive empirical studies have been made which provide
tentative answers to these questions. Several hundred psychosomatic
patients have been diagnosed by the interpersonal system. The re-
sults indicate that the psychosomatic conditions investigated have
typical personality correlates. The psychosomatic symptom groups
with which we have been mainly concerned are: duodenal ulcer, es-
sential hypertension, obesity, and dermatitis conditions (of unknown
physical etiology). Samples of medical controls have been collected
to compare with the psychosomatic groups. We have also followed
the practice of comparing the behavior of psychosomatic patients with
neurotic and psychotic patients and a psychiatric clinic admission sam-
ple. These studies have two purposes: (1) to throw light on the
factors which differentiate among the four major symptom types: nor-
mals, psychosomatics, neurotics, and psychotics; (2) to test the va-
lidity of the interpersonal system, i.e., to see if the system differen-
tiates these groups at the several levels of personality.
This chapter reviews the psychosomatic research which has been
executed by the Kaiser Foundation project. At this point the results
are far from definitive. They are being presented here not to prove
373
374 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
anything about the psychosomatic groups or to claim that psychoso-
matic patients can be diagnosed by means of personality tests. The
study of any personality or symptom type is an enormously com-
plex task involving multilevel patterns on large samples. In the case of
psychosomatic groups, the external criteria themselves present taxing
medical diagnostic problems.
The following studies are, therefore, an attempt to illustrate the
interpersonal diagnostic system in action on research questions. The
multilevel analysis clarifies certain issues and raises new hypotheses.
This chapter is outlined as follows: First, the ten samples are de-
scribed; then, the behavior of each symptom group at Level I-M is
presented and the results discussed; then, the same ten groups are
compared at Level II-C. This is followed by the results at Level III-T.
With the multilevel pattern of each group in hand, it will then be
possible to present the typical personality structure and the nuclear
conflicts of each of the ten important symptom groups.
The implications for medical and psychiatric handHng of these
cases will be included in these discussions.
Descrii
mon of Samples
The
ten symptom groups to be described in this chapter are:
Code
N
Sample^
U
41
1. Duodenal ulcer
H
49
2. Essential hypertension
O
98
3. Obesity
ND
31
4. Overtly neurotic dermatitis
SID
57
5. Self-inflicted dermatitis
UD
73
6. Unanxious dermatitis
C
38
7. Normals (medical controls who were not seeking
help for emotional or psychosomatic symptoms)
N
67
8. Neurotics (in psychotherapy)
P
28
9. Psychotics (committed to state hospitals)
A
207
689
10. Random sample of psychiatric clinic admissions
The Duodenal Ulcer Sample^
There are 41 patients in the Duodenal Ulcer Sample. Of these, 32
are males and 9 females. These patients were referred from the gastro-
intestinal clinic by internists using these criteria: (1) positive X-ray
diagnosis of either gastric or duodenal ulcer, (2) the absence of any
* These N's refer to the total sample. The A7's for any level are slightly different
because some patients failed to take tests at all three levels.
^The author is grateful to P. Raimondi, M.D., for providing the criteria and se-
lecting the patients for the ulcer sample.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 375
other explanation for the finding, and (3) typical pain-food-relief
sequence of symptoms.
These patients had not requested a psychiatric referral; they were
selected on the basis of their symptoms for research investigation.
These selection factors must be taken into account. The fact that
these patients were not involved in a psychiatric clinic referral may
subtly influence their test responses. In all the findings reported be-
low, it should be remembered that the ulcer sample was tested under
circumstances different from the psychiatric clinic samples.
The Essential Hypertension Sample^
There are 49 hypertensive patients in this study. Of these, 27 are
men and 22 women. These patients were referred from the cardio-
vascular clinic with the diagnosis of essential hypertension based on
elaborate criteria being used for a simultaneous study of hypertensive
diseases. In general, they are patients below the age of forty-five,
with blood pressure consistently in excess of 145 mm Hg systolic and
90 mm Hg diastolic, who, by means of kidney function tests, ephine-
phrin neutralization tests, etc., were found to have no discernible cause
for their elevated blood pressure.
The hypertensive patients were selected for a research study and
were not self -referred for psychiatric evaluation. These selective fac-
tors may have influenced their attitude toward testing and therefore
the findings should be interpreted with this possibiUty in mind.
The Obesity Sample'^
The 98 female subjects who comprised the Obesity Sample were
part of a large-scale study of obesity. The tests were administered
before and after participation in discussion groups which lasted for
about four months. These subjects were self-referred for weight re-
duction and did not come for a psychiatric evaluation. The fact that
they were not seen in a psychiatric setting may have influenced their
responses. The fact that the entire sample is comprised of women is
another serious limitation. In all other samples studied, males are
stronger (but not to a significant degree) at the fa9ade levels than
females. This factor should be taken into account when the data are
considered.
^ The author is grateful to A. A. Bolomey, M.D., for defining the cnteria and se-
lecting the patients for the hypertensive sample.
* The MMPI and interaction data for the obesity sample were taken from the
Herrick Hospital Research Project on obesity. This research, supported by Public
Health funds, has studied several factors— dietary, physiological, and psychological—
w^hich may be related to obesity. The psychological factors in the Herrick study
have been investigated by Robert Suczek, Ph.D., whose theoretical and practical con-
tributions to our work have been most valuable.
376 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
The Three Dermatitis Samples^
The dermatitis samples comprise 161 subjects of which 67 are males
and 94 females. These patients were taken from the private practice
of a dermatologist and were tested in his office by a secretary who
was trained in the necessary psychometric methods.
The criterion used to select patients for the dermatitis sample was
the presence of a skin symptom for which there exists no established
physiological etiology. The specific symptomatic categories which
made up the dermatitis sample were the following:
Acne Hyperhidrotic eczema
Psoriasis Alopecia areata
Seborrheic dermatitis Urticaria
Atopic dermatitis Acne rosacea
Eczematous dermatitis Lupus erythematosus
Pruritis Herpes simplex
Otitis externa Warts
Neurotic excoriations
This sample was selected under circumstances somewhat different
from any other sample. Subtle additudinal factors may have partially
determined the results; consequently, the findings should be con-
sidered with this caution in mind.
Examination of the multilevel patterns of the dermatitis patients
revealed that considerable differences exist among the different symp-
tomatic groups. For example, the acne sample presents differently at
all levels from the pruritis sample. It seems clear that skin symptoms
do not manifest one personality syndrome. The skin is, of course,
mediated by a complex set of physiological systems and is, in addi-
tion, vulnerable to more external stimuli (e.g., self-inflicted excoria-
tions) than any other organ system.
For these reasons it seemed advisable to divide the dermatitis sample
into three relatively homogeneous subgroups. These are tentatively
labeled the Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Sample, the Self-inflicted
Dermatitis Sample, and the Unanxious Dermatitis Sample,
The symptomatic subgroups which comprise the Overtly Neurotic
Dermatitis Sample are acne, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis. The
psychological characteristics defining this group are: anxiety and de-
pression. The physiological criteria are not well defined, but there
' The dermatitis and neurodermatitis studies reported in this chapter are part of a
large-scale study of emotional factors in dermatologic patients being conducted by
Herbert Lawrence, M.D., Edward Weinshel, M.D., and the author. The criteria for
defining these conditions were supplied and the selection of cases was accomplished by
Dr. Lawrence.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 377
seems to be a greater involvement of the sweat or oil apparatus. There
are 3 1 patients in this subsample: 20 females and 1 1 males.
The Self-inflicted Dermatitis Sample includes the following symp-
tomatic subgroups: atopic dermatitis, eczematous dermatitis, pruritis,
otitis externa, and neurotic excoriations. This group is characterized
psychologically by less anxiety and depression and considerably more
underlying sado-masochism than the Overtly Neurotic Sample. The
dermatological criteria which define this group are vague but would
include itching, scratching, and more self-inflicted damage to the skin.
This subsample includes 57 patients: 33 females and 24 males.
The Unanxious Dermatitis Sample contains the following symptom
groups: hyperhydrotic eczema, alopecia areata, urticaria, acne rosacea,
lupus erythematous, herpes simplex, and warts. The subsample is
characterized (psychologically) by a hypernormal facade with under-
lying sado-masochistic trends. The physiological criteria defining this
group are quite vague but would include circulatory and virus factors.
This sample contains 73 subjects: 41 females and 32 males.
The following code designations have been assigned to the derm-
atitis samples:
ND = 3 1 Overtly neurotic skin patients
SID = 57 Self-inflicted skin patients
UD = 73 Unanxious skin patients
The scores for each of these subgroups will be presented in the
dermatitis section of this chapter.
The Normal Control Sample
A group of 38 subjects, 21 male and 17 female, made up the medi-
cal control sample. These subjects were patients seen in the derma-
tologist's office for skin lesions for which a definite physiological
(nonpsychosomatic) cause existed — industrial dermatitis, infections,
skin carcinomas, etc. These patients were tested in the same manner
as the dermatitis sample and were used as a direct control. This group
stands as the only sample for which there is no apparent psychiatric
or psychosomatic involvement and is, therefore, designated medical
or "normal" control.
The Neurotic Sample
A group of 67 patients, 23 male and 44 female, who had entered
and remained in psychotherapy at an outpatient psychiatric clinic
comprise the Neurotic Sample. Of all the patients seen for intake
valuation at the Kaiser Foundation Clinic, less than 40 per cent go
into treatment. These tend to be patients who recognize and ac-
378 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
cept the need for treatment. They tend to manifest openly the symp-
toms of anxiety, fear, depression, isolation, etc. They present as neu-
rotics and do not deny emotional symptoms as do the psychosomatic
samples. For this reason, they have been labeled the neurotic or ther-
apy sample.
Motivational factors may have influenced their test results. It is
likely that many of these patients were strongly desirous of therapy.
They may have slanted their test responses in the direction of ad-
mitting a greater number of neurotic symptoms. The findings should
be studied with these factors in mind.
The Psychotic Sample
The Psychotic Sample is composed of patients who were com-
mitted to a psychiatric hospital for inpatient custody and treatment.
Six of these subjects (male) were studied while in group therapy at
a state hospital. This group was combined with a sample of 22 pa-
tients, 4 male and 18 female, who were evaluated in an outpatient
clinic — diagnosed as psychotic and hospitalized. A third sample of
20 patients from a private hospital was also included. The total psy-
chotic sample is, therefore, comprised of 48 patients, 20 male and 28
female.
This sample is a heterogeneous mixture of cases. No claim is made
that they are representative of psychotics in general. The sample is
composed of at least two different types of psychotic patients. More
than half are paranoid, i.e., underlying sadism or distrust covered by
a fagade of pious hypernormality. The other group includes suicidal
or depressed patients who have a double- or triple-level structure of
despair, resentment, and/or withdrawal. The statistics of the Psy-
chotic Sample combine the results from both these dissimilar groups.
This unquestionably blurs the results.
The Psychiatric Clinic Admission Sample
A group of 207 patients, 73 male and 134 female, comprise the
Clinic Admission Sample.^ This represents all the patients who ap-
plied for diagnostic evaluation and were tested in the Kaiser Founda-
tion Psychiatric CUnic over a six months' period. This sample is quite
heterogeneous. It includes some severely disturbed patients, some self-
referred persons seeking psychotherapy; but the largest majority of
patients in the clinic admission sample were referred by physicians and
came under the pressure of somatic or psychosomatic symptoms or
suffering from anxiety which was not internalized or attributed to
^ This N does not apply to Level III. At the "preconscious" level a sample of 100
routine clinic patients was studied.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
379
their emorional functioning. These patients are not motivated for
therapy and this is reflected in their test responses.
The norms for the interpersonal diagnostic system are based on
larger samples of clinic admissions. Thus, it is to be expected that the
admission samples to be studied in this chapter will fall close to the
center of the diagnostic circle (i.e., the mean). These selective and
normative factors are important in considering the results to follow.
Behavior of the Ten Samples and the Three Dermatitis
Subsamples at Level l-M
The average scores for each symptomatic group on the horizontal
and vertical indices were obtained and plotted on a master diagnostic
grid. Figure 33 presents the mean diagnostic placement for each
of the eight samples at Level I-M.
This diagram indicates that five of the groups fall in the extreme
perimeter of the upper right-hand quadrant, thus expressing in their
symptomatic behavior strength and conventional normality. These in-
clude the ulcer (U), hypertensive (H), obesity (O), the unanxious
dermatitis (UD), and normal control (C) samples. The self-inflicted
dermatitis sample (SID) falls in the same quadrant but expresses
slightly more passivity and weakness.
The clinic admission sample (A) and the psychotic sample (P)
fall close to the center of the circle. This is because both of these
groups are composed of two types of people — those who are denying
symptoms and stressing normality and those who are admitting weak-
ness. The overtly neurotic dermatitis sample (ND) locates in the
same area.
The neurotic group (N) manifests an extreme amount of guilt and
passivity.
Table 35 presents the statistical tests which indicate the significance
of these differences among the symptomatic groups.
The results presented in Table 35 have considerable interest. They
indicate that the neurotic group who openly accept and express anx-
iety are significantly different (statistically) from every other group
at Level I-M.
No distinction can be made at this level between the ulcer, hyper-
tensive, obese, unanxious dermatitis, self-inflicted dermatitis, and
normal control samples. This means that these six groups tend to
present the same symptomless, unanxious fa9ade and cannot be dif-
ferentially diagnosed at this level.
The overtly neurotic dermatitis sample (ND) is significantly more
depressed and alienated than the six hypernormal samples. The neu-
rotic dermatitis group is stronger and more conventional on the aver-
38o
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
vS^^"
!£!^[^S0CHIST1C
^ (Hi)
Figure 33. Behavior of Ten Samples at Level I-M.
Code: U = Ulcer
H = Hypertensive
O = Obese
C = Dermatitis Control
A = Psychiatric Clinic Admission
P = Psychotic
N = Neurotic
ND = Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis
SID = Self-inflicted Dermatitis
UD = Unanxious Dermatitis
Key: The summary placement of each symptomatic group is determined by the
intersection of the vertical and horizontal indices. The indices for each sample were
calculated by (1) determining the number of cases in the sample falling in each of the
eight diagnostic types (at Level I-M) and (2) feeding these numbers into the formulas
[Vertical Index = l — 5 + .7(2 -(- 8 — 4 — 6) and Horizontal Index = 7 — 3 + -7(6 +
8 — 4 — 2), where 1 = the number of subjects falling in the ^P-autocratic sector of
the circle at this level of personality, etc.] The resulting indices express the central
trend of each sample in comparison with the other seven samples. These group
indices are not used m statistical tests.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
38.
TABLE 35
The Significance of Differences Among Ten Symptomatic Groups at Level I-M
SID UD
Number
of
Symptom
Cases
Group
U
H
0
c
A
p
N
ND
39
U
_
41
H
NS
_
100
0
NS
NS
-
40
C
NS
NS
NS
_
207
A
.001
.001
.001
.001
_
28
P
.001
.001
.001
.001
NS
_
67
N
.001
.001
.001
.001
.001
.20
-
31
ND
.01
.01
.001
.01
NS
NS
.02
_
57
SID
NS
NS
NS
NS
.001
.001
.001
.01
73
UD
NS
NS
NS
NS
.001
.001
.001
.001
NS -
Key: These significance tests are based on chi-squares— the separation being be-
tween the number of patients falling (at this level) in the strong conventional sectors
(2,178) and the number of patients falling in the weak-hostile half of the circle (3,456).
This is a crude over-aU measure which fails to pick up specific octant differences.
More detailed splits (i.e., between pairs of octants) would increase the significance
indices.
age than the neurotic group. It does not differ from the psychotic and
clinic admission samples.
These similarities and differences allow us to combine the groups
(at Level I-M) into four categories:
,^ J , , f Ulcer, hypersensitive, obesity, nor-
Very strong and hypernormal |^^j ^^J/^^^ unanxious dermatitis
Fairly strong Self-inflicted dermatitis
Fairly weak, somewhat f Psychiatric admissions, psychotics,
depressed and dependent Ineurotic dermatitis
Very weak and dependent Patients in psychotherapy
Behavior of the Ten Samples at Level II-C
The mean Level II-C indices of the ten symptomatic groups were
plotted on the diagnostic grid. These results are diagramed in Figure
34.
We observe that these results are somewhat different from the
Level I scores. The neurotic sample (N) again falls in the passive,
weak sector of the diagnostic circle. The chnic admission sample (A)
and the overtly neurotic dermatitis sample (ND) again fall near the
center. The self-inflicted dermatitis sample again falls in the upper
right-hand quadrant indicating a moderate claiming of strong, re-
sponsible behavior.
382 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
V^^N^
.^^^"
^c,^\C
MANAGERMt-
X4p;
.N^
xAV
•u
^^V
%:
UO/
\
/
0 V. .
■ ^ >4sio
^ , . l?l 1 . .
, ■ 'r M ,
r\
1 1 1 1 M 1 . 1
_
;\ -^^^
l^ir.
^rn
•N
#
^2^S0CHIST\C
FiGxniE 34. Behavior of Ten Samples at Level II-C. Code and Key: Same as for
Figure 33.
The normal control group (C) shifts. At Level I they manifest
the strongest and most symptomless fa9ade. In their conscious self-
descriptions, they do not emphasize strength, they admit to some
hostile and weak behavior and almost duplicate the sm sample.
The ulcer group (U) also shifts. In their symptomatic presenta-
tion (Level I-M), they stress strength and conventionality. They
consciously claim to be tougher and more aggressive. They are (at
Level II-C) the most independent and hardboiled of any symptom
group.
The hypertensives (H) stay (at Level II-C) in the responsible,
hypernormal octant, although there is a greater emphasis on their
strength.
The obesity group (O) remains power-oriented and produces a
double-level fa9ade of executive strength. The unanxious dermatitis
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 383
(UD) is the third most hypernormal managerial group at the level of
self-diagnosis.
The psychotic group (P) shows a decided shift. At Level I-M they
are scattered between passivity and hypernormality. At the level of
conscious self-description they become overwhelmingly hypernormal.
This severely disturbed group thus diagnoses itself as responsible and
executive!
Table 36 presents the statistical tests which indicate the significance
of these differences. These results are worth comment. The ulcer
TABLE 36
The Significance of Differences Among Ten Symptomatic Groups at the
Level of Conscious Self-Description (Level II-C)
SID UD
of
Symptom
Cases
Group
U
H
0
c
A
p
N
ND
42
u
_
49
H
.01
_
100
0
.001
NS
_
41
C
NS
.01
.001
_
207
A
.20
.001
.001
.20
_
26
P
NS
.01
.001
NS
NS
_
67
N
.02
.001
.001
.02
.10
.20
_
31
ND
NS
.001
.001
NS
NS
NS
.10
_
56
SID
NS
.001
.001
NS
NS
NS
.05
NS
70
UD
NS
.05
.01
NS
.001
.10
.001
.10
.05
Key: These significance tests are based on chi-squares— the separation being be-
tween the number of patients falling (at this level) in the strong conventional sectors
(2,178) and the number of patients failing in the weak-hostile half of the circle (3,456).
This is a crude over-all measure which fails to pick up specific octant differences.
More detailed splits (i.e., between pairs of octants) would increase the significance
indices.
sample is extremely different from the obese and hypertensive samples.
The latter claim more conventional hypernormal traits. The ulcer
sample is also different from the neurotics who admit to considerably
more passivity.
The obesity and hypertensive groups are very similar to each
other and are significantly different from every other sample. No
other group approaches their strength.
The neurotic sample is unique — no other group approaches the
weakness they manifest.
The panic-psychotic sample is significantly more "normal" in its
self-diagnosis than the neurotics — and shows no difference from the
normal dermatitis and ulcer samples.
The similarities and differences allow us to combine the groups
at Level II-C into the following general categories:
384 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
,. , , , /Hypertensive, obesity, unanxious
Very strong and hypernormal ijer^atitis
, , J , J , , /Normals, psychotics, self-inflicted
Moderately strong and hypernormal i, • • ^ ^
Very strong and aggressive Ulcer
Very weak Neurotic
No commitment to any modal fClinic admission, overtly neurotic
security operation Idermatitis
Behavior of the Ten Samples at Level III-T
The average scores (at Level III-T Hero) for each sample were
plotted on the diagnostic grid. Figure 35 indicates that dramatic
^^"-
i^"-
:!^[^S0CHIST1C
^ (HI)
Figure 35. Behavior of Ten Samples at Level III-T (Hero). Code and Key: Same as
for Figure 33.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 385
shifts in behavior occur when this underlying level is brought into
play.
The sample, which at the underlying level manifests the most
strength, is the normal control (C). They fall in the competitive,
narcissistic sector of the circle. The obesity sample (O) also locates
in this sector, but they are not as power-oriented as the controls. At
the level of conscious self-description, it will be recalled that the
obese sample claimed to be much stronger than the controls. While
they do not maintain this dominance in relation to the controls, they
remain in "preconscious" behavior the second most confident and
independent of all the samples.
The unanxious dermatitis sample (UD) expresses underlying
themes of strength and hostility. This group is significantly weaker
than the controls and significantly more hostile than psychiatric
clinic (A) sample. The self-inflicted dermatitis sample expresses more
underlying sadism than any other group.
The hypertensive (H) sample is the next most hostile. This symp-
tom group is more committed to underlying sadistic feelings than the
neurotic and clinic samples.
The ulcer (U) sample clearly differs significantly from all other
psychosomatic groups (at Level III-T). This group expresses more
passivity and more positive trustful themes than any other psychoso-
matic group. The ulcer sample is considerably more passive than the
neurotic group, for example. The psychotic group (P) presents more
underlying submissiveness and weakness than any other sample.
TABLE 37
The Significance of Differences Among Ten Symptomatic Groups at the
Level of "Preconscious" Expression (Level III-T [Hero])
SID UD
of
Symptom
Cases
Group
U
H
0
C
A
P
N
ND
19
U
_
27
H
NS
_
97
0
.05
.10
-
41
C
.001
.001
.05
_
103
A
NS
NS
.05
.001
_
18
P
NS
NS
.05
.001
NS
_
67
N
.20
NS
NS
.01
NS
.20
_
33
ND
.20
NS
NS
.01
NS
.20
NS
_
57
SID
NS
NS
.10
.001
NS
NS
NS
NS
71
UD
.02
.05
NS
.05
.02
.05
NS
NS
.05
Key: These significance tests are based on chi-squares— the separation being be-
tween the number of patients falling (at this level) in the strong conventional sectors
(2,178) and the number of patients falling in the weak-hostile half of the circle (3,456).
This is a crude over-all measure which fails to pick up specific octant differences.
More detailed splits (i.e., between pairs of octants) would increase the significance
indices.
386 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
Table 37 presents the significance tests for the differences among
these ten samples. The most interesting aspect of this table is the
large number of significant differences among the psychosomatic and
normal control groups. The Level III-T (Hero) score is clearly the
most sensitive and powerful instrument for discriminating among
these symptom groups. The normal control group, for example, is
significantly different from every other sample — neurotic, psychotic,
and psychosomatic.
These results lead us to conclude that several psychosomatic groups
cannot be differentiated from each other or from normal, psychotic,
or psychiatric samples at the two overt levels, but they can be sepa-
rated with statistical significance by the use of a Level III measuring
device. The importance of a multilevel approach is underlined by
these findings.
The "preconscious" expressions of the ten samples can be sum-
marized as follows:
, r 11 1 rNormal, obesity, unanxious
Very strong and independent jdermatitis
Mildly independent Neurotic
T^ , ... rHvpertensive, self-inflicted
Extremely sadistic id rr'
Most dependent and masochistic Ulcer and psychotic
No trend (normative group) Clinic admission
In the last few pages we have studied three levels of personality,
discussing, in turn, the behavior of the ten samples at each level. We
shall now focus, not on the levels, but on the symptomatic groups,
pulling together the multilevel pattern for each sample.
Multilevel Personality Pattern of Norwal Controls
When the average scores of the normal group at Level I-M, Level
II-C, and Level III-T (Hero) are plotted on the same diagnostic grid,
we obtain the multilevel picture for this sample. Figure 36 presents
these plottings. At the symptomatic level, the normals are, as expected,
strong and generate no dependent or helpless pressure. In their con-
scious self-descriptions, they are much less oriented towards power.
Whereas they all have the same symptom-free fa9ade at Level I,
they are quite heterogeneous at Level II-C. This also seems to make
sense. It indicates that normals differ in their perception of their own
interpersonal roles. Some claim independence, some docile conform-
ity, some responsibility, etc.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
387
managerml-
3'
^
^-^
/ i?
Q
'^V
•I
/•n
"^s:
/
V^/-^'
V
"^z
^^__Jr
"^ , , , 1 , , , ,',°, , , ,
/\
X
/
\
^^^r^^ \
\ /
A
\
N '
\ /
■ \
-^
\
'^/^
/^^/
/^^><,
£!^(^SOCHISTlC
#
^^'^i^
Figure 36. The Mean Scores of 38 Normal Controls at Levels I-M, II-C, and III-T
(Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based on the indices em-
ployed in Figures 33, 34, and 35.
In their underlying feelings, they return to their Level I strength
and independence. Their "preconscious" themes are more self-confi-
dent and narcissistic than any other sample.
The total pattern stresses executive, autonomous operations. No
typical conflict exists for this group. A triple level solidity and com-
petence is suggested.
Clinical Implications
The multilevel pattern we have just sketched represents the group
tendency of a sample of normal subjects. Needless to say, the indi-
vidual patients in the normal sample do not all manifest this personal-
ity pattern. No generalizations about this pattern hold for individual
subjects. It may be suggestive, however, to point out the clinical im-
388 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
plication of this generic pattern — which would hold for many normal
subjects.
Patients with this record would be considered as unmotivated for
psychotherapy. The strong, symptom-free Level I-M, the moderately
conventional self-perception, and the self-confident, independent,
"preconscious" feelings all point to a lack of desire for help or per-
sonality change.
The three layers of strength suggest a durable character structure
with little interlevel conflict. The prognosis points to little change.
They will tend to maintain their strong security operations.
Multilevel Personality Pattern of Ulcer Patients
The average scores at three levels for the ulcer sample are plotted
in Figure 37. At the symptomatic level, the ulcer group stresses re-
^^^f
HANAGERUi
•TL
mocfi^
Ar,^
Mf
^^F,
\
:!£(^^S0CHIST1C
Figure 37. The Mean Scores of 41 Ulcer Patients at Levels I-M, II-C, and III-T
(Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based on the indices em-
ployed in Figures 33, 34, and 35,
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 389
sponsibility and conventional strength. They do not admit to emo-
tional symptoms. They manifest bland, hypernormal behavior, more
so than do the normals.
In their conscious self-descriptions, they emphasize tough, inde-
pendent self-confidence; they claim to be more aggressive than any
other group.
In their "preconscious" imagery, a marked conflict appears. They
express passivity and dependence.
The total personality pattern reveals a tremendous interlevel
variability. This conflict between overt responsible independence
and covert passivity is in general agreement w^ith the findings of other
research workers who have studied the ulcer personality. Internists,
analytic, and nonpsychoanalytic writers alike (1, 2, 3, 4) have stressed
the energetic, success-oriented traits overtly claimed by ulcer pa-
tients. Psychoanalytic authorities have further indicated that passivity
and dependence underlie this strong fa9ade. (1, 2) Our results offer
objective evidence in support of these earlier clinical studies.
Clinical Implications
Patients with this profile would present a tricky diagnostic prob-
lem, and motivation for therapy is mixed. They present a responsible,
aggressive, independent fagade. This generally indicates a low moti-
vation for treatment. These security operations accompany a denial
of the need for help.
The underlying hostile passivity tends to work in the opposite
direction. Strong "preconscious" dependence is suggested. This is
often manifested indirectly. These patients are often too proud to ask
for help, but their underlying feelings of helplessness may appear
obliquely. A nurturant, poised behavior on the part of the therapist
may link up with the patient's covert passivity.
The prognosis for patients with this extreme conflict is also mixed.
These patients will inevitably become "sicker" during therapy. The
sturdy, symptom-free facade wilts, and depressive, fearful, depend-
ent feelings develop.
The prognostic issue is this: Can a patient with this severe conflict
tolerate the emergence of the underlying feelings of helplessness?
Two layers of overt operations are committed to maintaining strength.
In some cases, the pressure of treatment (which inevitably involves
tapping the "preconscious dependence") may cause unbearable
anxiety. This may lead to a "flight-into-health" or depressive episodes,
or long-term obsessive solutions.
The clinical course of a patient with a conflict between overt
strength and underlying weakness is always complicated and un-
390
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
certain. The task of the therapist is to be sensitive to the patient's re-
action to emerging passivity and to the signs of intensified anxiety.
Multilevel Personality Pattern of Hypertensive Patients
The average indices at three levels for the hypertensive sample is
plotted in Figure 38. At the symptomatic level, the hypertensive
group falls in the responsible-generous sector of the circle — close to
the ulcer sample. In conscious self-description, they emphasize power
^;^<
l*^NAG£fiM^
U^)
^ (HI)
Figure 38. The Mean Scores of 49 Hypertensive Patients at Levels I-M, II-C, and
III-T (Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based on the indices
employed in Figures 33, 34, and 35.
and independence. On the "preconscious" measures they manifest
more sadism than any other symptomatic group.
A severe conflict is indicated. The fa9ade of conventional re-
sponsible strength covers intense feelings of rage.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 391
These findings tend to support the chnical folklore about hyper-
tensive patients, which describes them as denying hostility. The
psychosomatic literature is less specific in its discussions of hyper-
tensive patients. Saul points out that "on the surface these indi-
viduals were non-hostile and even overly gentle, but did not lack
energy. They worked — in fact overworked — and succeeded, while
protesting against doing so" (5, p. 159). Our objective data support
this statement.
Clinical Implications
It is not possible, on the basis of these data, to generalize about all
hypertensive patients. We can, however, suggest the clinical impli-
cations for an individual who manifests this particular multilevel pat-
tern.
This profile does not indicate motivation for therapy. The self-
satisfied, responsible fa9ade does not lead the person to seek or accept
the role of a patient. In their overt operations they are, thus, similar
to the ulcer sample.
The underlying material is also mobilized against psychotherapy.
The underlying hostility could be expected to be a barrier between
the patient and the therapist. The ulcer patient's covert passivity
functions to pull the patient (against his conscious desire) into a de-
pendent relationship. The hypertensive patient is pushed (against his
conscious desire) in the direction of angry irritation.
Patients with this pattern have a poor prognosis for psycho-
therapy. They overtly say that they do not need help and they
covertly offer a thorny, violent picture.
These patients are made very anxious by the prospect of treatment.
They generally try to "repress" out of therapy and to deny any
unconventional feelings. If they do get involved in treatment, they
often become paralyzed with anxiety and/or suffused with righteous
anger against the therapist.
In the Kaiser Foundation Clinic, we have found hypertensives to
be among the most difficult candidates for psychotherapy. They are
considered to have a poor prognosis for therapy.
Multilevel Pattern of Obesity Sample
The generalizations made in this section about the obesity group are
even more tentative than those made about the other samples — first,
because of different selection procedures and secondly, because only
female subjects are involved.
The average scores at three levels for the obesity sample are plotted
in Figure 39.
392
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
•HT
MANAGERMl-
I4P;
q/
moc,
''^>.
s<9
&L^.
f^r.
o^"-
^^.
,^^'
^^e^^'
Figure 39. The Mean Scores of 98 Obese Females at Levels I-M, II-C, and III-T
(Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based on the mdices em-
ployed in Figiires 33, 34, and 35.
Power and narcissistic pride are emphasized at all levels. This sam-
ple is, along with the normals, the least conflicted. A rigid clinging
to the same security operations at each level is indicated.
Clinical Implications
These findings suggest that obese women are extremely power-
oriented. They tend to duplicate the pattern of the normal controls
except that they are significantly stronger than the normals at Level
II. They claim inordinate strength.
There are several theoretical implications. The need to be "big,"
to occupy space, to swing one's weight may be motivated by and
correlated with this personality pattern. The refusal of many obese
patients to accept and obey dietary regimes may be tied to the stub-
born, narcissistic security operations which our instruments measure.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES 393
To the extent that this triple-level pattern holds for other obese
groups, it seems clear that any therapeutic approach (medical or
psychological) is doomed to failure if it does not take into account
these power strivings.
These patients are not motivated for psychotherapy. They are
free from the classic emotional symptoms. They are not at all self-
critical or dependent. Their independence and autonomy would be
threatened by the prospect of treatment. Giving up their weight or
their narcissistic strength would obviously run counter to their triple-
level security operations and would be attended with considerable
anxiety.
Patients with this personality pattern rarely enter treatment. If
they do, an intense power struggle with the therapist usually results.
A three layer commitment to the same security operation indicates
a rigid personality — with little change expected.
Multilevel Pattern of the Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Sample
The mean indices at three levels of the overtly neurotic dermatitis
sample are profiled in Figure 40. At the symptomatic level, this sam-
ple locates in the same sector of the diagnostic grid as the psychiatric
clinic admission group. They are not as strong as the psychosomatic
groups and not as weak as the neurotic sample.
At the level of conscious self-description, the neurotic dermatitis
group again falls close to the psychiatric clinic sample. They are mid-
way between the psychosomatics and neurotic samples.
In their "preconscious" expressions, the neurotic dermatitis sam-
ple is mildly aggressive.
This sample manifests a multilevel personality pattern which is
very close at all three levels to the psychiatric clinic admission sample.
They are also much closer to the psychotic and neurotic samples (at
the fa9ade levels, I and II) than the other psychosomatic groups.
These findings make it seem reasonable to label the acne, psoriasis,
and seborrheic dermatitis samples as the overtly neurotic dermatitis
subcluster.
Clinical Implications
The neurotic dermatitis group manifests more depression, guilt, and
alienation than any other psychosomatic sample. It might be as-
sumed that they recognize their problems and anxieties whereas the
other psychosomatic groups clearly deny these emotions. For this
reason it seems that acne, psoriasis, and seborrheic patients would be
more likely to accept psychotherapy. They would tend to be more
394
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
^^f''
57/77T
Figure 40. The Mean Scores of 3 1 Overtly Neurotic Dermatitis Patients at Levels
I-M, II-C, and III-T (Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based
on the indices employed m Figures 33, 34, and 35.
morivated for self-exploration. They are clearly less self-satisfied
and bland in their overt operations.
This is not to say that all acne patients, for example, are depressed
and eager for treatment. A higher percentage is likely to be found in
this group than in the other psychosomatic samples.
Multilevel Pattern of the Self-inflicted Dermatitis Sample
The average scores of the self-inflicted dermatitis sample are pre-
sented in Figure 41. These patients are hypernormal at the fagade
levels (I and II). Although they do not manifest as much conven-
tional strength as the controls or the other psychosomatics they are
not significantly different from these hypernormal samples.
At Level III-T these patients present more sadism than any other
sample. The multilevel pattern is that of a sweet, responsible fa9ade
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
395
MANAGffiMi-.
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Figure 41. The Mean Scores of 57 Self-inflicted Dermatitis Patients at Levels I-M,
II-C, and III-T (Hero).
with underlying rage and bitterness. In light of the self-destructive
nature of their self-inflicted (or self -exacerbated) symptoms the find-
ing of intense underlying hostility is of some interest.
Clinical Implications
There are definite clinical correlates of the modal personality type
exhibited by the group of dermatitis patients which comprise the ex-
coriation sample. In the first place the fa9ade of righteous responsibil-
ity suggests that they would not be well motivated for psychotherapy.
They tend to present themselves as conventional people and to mani-
fest the emotional symptoms of the hysterical or hypemormal per-
sonality types. They might be quite threatened by the attempt to
steer them towards a psychiatric clinic. The typical case would ex-
hibit an intense conflict between this bland exterior and underlying
396 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
sadistic rage. The hostility is apparently expressed indirectly through
self -mutilation. Self-exploration would tend to disturb their equilib-
rium and might produce a severe anxiety reaction. This might be re-
solved by an increase in the fagade operations (i.e., further intensifi-
cation of the hypernormal response) or by a break through of the
internal anger which, at the minimum, would rupture the doctor-
patient relationship and, at the worst, result in psychotic aggression.
The following clinical implication suggests itself: patients with
the dermatological symptoms of atopic dermatitis, otitis externa,
pruritis, neurotic excoriations should not be rushed into a psychiatric
referral. Any exploration of emotional factors should proceed with
cautious tentativeness and avoid crashing headlong into a strongly de-
fended, bland, self-satisfied fagade. These patients may appear to be
nervous. They may admit to "tension" or to being "high-strung," but
they still tend to cling to a repressive, hypernormal self-image
and to resist psychotherapeutic procedures. In some cases it might be
expected that psychotic episodes would follow a breakdown in the
precarious defenses.
Multilevel Pattern of the Unanxious Dermatitis Sample
The modal scores of the unanxious dermatitis sample are profiled
in Figure 42. This group is, at all levels, stronger and more self-
confident than the other dermatitis groups. They tend to be much
more like the normal controls. They express much less anxiety and
self-effacement than the other dermatitis groups.
The fact that this group falls so close to the controls tends to throw
doubt on the presence of emotional factors. These data suggest that
hyperhydrotic eczema, alopecia areata, urticaria, acne rosacea, lupus
erythematous, herpes simplex, and warts are not psychosomatic dis-
orders and that organic, physiological factors may play a more de-
cisive role in the development of these symptoms.
The unanxious subgroup is significantly different from the neurotic
dermatitis and the self-inflicted dermatitis samples. The evidence pre-
sented in this chapter suggests the hypothesis that the symptomatic
groups which comprise the neurotic and self-inflicted dermatitis sam-
ples are definitely psychosomatic while the unanxious sample is not.
Clinical Implications
The multilevel picture in the case of the unanxious dermatitis sam-
ple involves three layers of strength and narcissistic self-confidence.
The clinical implications are obvious. These patients are not emo-
tionally upset. They are not motivated for psychotherapy. They
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
397
'IE
>C V
/^
^_-^
^^'^1
0 . 20
JO
Jo \sA
'0
90 9
^^
^'
^Vt^.
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-J
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^^^:i%t;^
Figure 42. The Mean Scores of 73 Unanxious Dermatitis Patients at Levels I-M,
II-C, and III-T (Hero).
will tend to maintain self-confident, independent operations and to
resist psychotherapy or a psychiatric referral.
There does not seem to be as much danger of provoking anxiety in
these patients. The self-inflicted dermatitis cases might be threatened
by the prospect of self-exploration. The average unanxious derma-
titis patient would not be disturbed by a referral to psychotherapy —
he probably would actively and independently refuse it.
Multilevel Pattern of the Psychiatric Clinic Admission Sample
The average scores of the clinic admission sample at three levels
are diagramed in Figure 43. This sample is composed of all patients
tested during a six-month period at Kaiser Foundation Psychiatric
Clinic. A very heterogeneous group of patients is included in this
398
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
MANAGERIAL
^!£!^!£;^SOCHlST\C
^(Hl)
Figure 43. The Mean Scores of 207 Psychiatric Chnic Admission Patients at Levels
I-M and II-C, and 100 Clinic Admission Patients at Level III-T (Hero). Key: The
summary placements for each level are based on the indices employed in Figures 33,
34, and 35.
sample (i.e., severe neurotics, psychosomatics, patients wanting ther-
apy, and patients strongly mobilized against treatment). For this
reason we should not expect a definite trend towards any particular
interpersonal operations.
The norms used for diagnosis are based on approximately 800 clinic
admissions. The present group of 207 was included in the normative
sample.
This is a second and more convincing reason to expect that the
means of the admission sample will fall close to the center of the diag-
nostic grid.
The plottings presented in Figure 43 therefore, have little diag-
nostic meaning but they do sen^e as a reference point to which the
other samples can be related.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
399
Multilevel Pattern of the Neurotic Sample
Figure 44 presents the three-level mean scores for the neurotic
(psychotherapy) sample. This group comprises patients who were
seen in group or individual psychotherapy. This group is, by defini-
tion, heterogeneous, since patients M'ith several psychiatric diagnoses
are assigned to therapy. The majority of these patients fall in the
schizoid, obsessive, phobic, and hysteric categories. The mean scores
at each level are, therefore, the resultant of different interpersonal
pressures. The generalizations to follow are limited by this qualifica-
tion.
At Level I the therapy sample averages out to be submissive, pas-
sive, dependent. Some of the neurotics were bitter and some conven-
:i^[^SOCHlSTlC
^ (HI)
Figure 44. The Mean Scores of 67 "Neurotic" Patients at Levels I-M, II-C, and III-T
(Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based on the indices em-
ployed in Figures 33, 34, and 35.
400 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
tionally agreeable so that the horizontal (love-hate) factor balances
out. The large majority of the neurotics were depressed, anxious, and
fearful which results in a Level I-M score which is considerably
weaker than any other sample.
At Level II-C they see themselves in the same way.
In their "preconscious" expressions, a drastic change occurs. Feel-
ings of narcissism and independence appear. At the facade levels, the
neurotics were, by far, the weakest group. They use passivity as their
security operation at these levels. In their fantasies they are stronger
than four other samples. The psychotherapy patients tend to use
overt weakness to cover underlying feelings of narcissism and self-
enhancement. They are, at the preconscious level, not as docile, de-
pendent, and timid as they claim to be or as they overtly appear to be.
Clinical Implications
This sample is so diverse that specific generalizations are limited.
We can say that the neurotic sample is initially well motivated for
therapy in that they present an anxious, worried, dependent fagade.
They are consciously dissatisfied with themselves and eager for help.
The underlying scores tell us that a typical conflict exists and that
they are not as weak as they claim to be. The "preconscious" narcis-
sism might predict, in some cases, to power struggles and feelings of
superiority which may be used against the therapist or which may
point to potential self-confidence and self-acceptance.
Multilevel Pattern of the Psychotic Sample
The average indices of the hospitalized psychotic sample at Levels
I, II, and III are presented in Figure 45. In their symptomatic be-
havior, this group falls close to the clinic admission sample. This is
because of the diversity within the sample. Some psychotics manifest
symptoms of passivity and depression; but more of them, however,
tend to deny symptoms and present as strong, healthy persons. The
mean falls close to the center. It is interesting to note that the psy-
chotics are considerably stronger and more self-possessed (at Level
I-M) than the neurotics who are willing to internalize and admit to
symptoms.
In their conscious self-descriptions, the psychotic group takes a
unique position. In their own perceptions they are conventionally
normal! They claim pious sweetness and cooperative sociability.
The results of the underlying tests tend to shatter this two-layer
fa9ade. Intense feelings of deprivation and masochistic helplessness
saturate their "preconscious" fantasies.
PSYCHOSOMATIC PERSONALITY TYPES
401
•MASOCHISTl
^ThT)
Figure 45. The Mean Scores of Psychotic Patients at Levels I-M, II-C, and III-T
(Hero). Key: The summary placements for each level are based on the indices em-
ployed in Figures 33, 34, and 35.
Psychosis (according to the results from this small sample) is re-
lated in many cases to a desperate attempt to maintain a normal, con-
ventional, innocent fagade in the teeth of deeper feelings of weakness
and worthlessness. In other cases psychosis is characterized by a solid
multilevel structure of despair and distrust. The former are usually
called paranoids, the latter catatonics or depressives.
Clinical Implications
The tentative implications to be drawn from these results are as
follows: First, psychosis cannot be determined by the symptomatic
pattern of the MMPI. Psychotics often present themselves as hyper-
normal at this level. Neither can psychotic diagnosis be determined
by the patient's self-descriptions. This group is outstanding in its
402 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
tendency to claim sweet, congenial innocence. Level III (i.e., the
TAT) seems to be a useful instrument, since it statistically separates
the psychotics from other groups (e.g., controls and dermatitis pa-
tients) who have a similar conventional fa9ade.
Whenever a patient presents a multilevel pattern which involves
claimed conventional friendliness contrasted with a distrustful or a
masochistic Level III score, the danger flag should be flown. This is
the paranoid phenomenon.
This pattern indicates poor motivation for therapy. The patient
claims to be a normal person and probably does not want his per-
sonality investigated or changed.
This pattern invariably involves projection of hostility and blame
onto others. The symptoms and the underlying pathology are not
consciously accepted or internalized. Negative feelings are attributed
to external forces. At best, this forecasts a difficult prognosis. The pa-
tient disclaims responsibility for his troubles. It often predicts to a
prepsychotic picture.
A second pattern typical of many hospitalized patients involves no
conflict and is characterized by solid, three-level distrust and isola-
tion. The clinical implications for this subgroup are quite different.
These patients are well motivated for treatment. They will be willing
to admit and display their guilt and passivity. They have a very slow
prognosis for change because of the severity and deep-seated nature
of the self-punitive feehngs. They are often interminable cases.
References
1. Ale.kander, F. Fsychosovwtic medicme. New York: Norton, 1950.
2. Alexander, F. The influence of psychologic factors upon gastro-intestinal dis-
turbances: a symposium. I. General principles, objectives and preliminary results.
Psychoanal. Quart., 1934, 3, 501.
J. Alvarez, W. C. Ways in which emotion can affect the digestive tract. J. A.M. A.,
1929, 92, 1231.
4. Hartman, H. R. Neurogenic factors in peptic ulcer. M. Clm. North America,
1933, 16, 1357.
5. Saul, L. J. Hostility in cases of essential hypertension. Psychosom. Med., 1939, I.
153.
25
Analysis of Group Dynamics in an
Industrial Management Group
The social behavior manifested by any individual represents his
method for warding off anxiety. Interpersonal security operations
make the individual more comfortable. They also tend to create the
social world in which the individual exists by means of mutual train-
ing processes. Reciprocal interpersonal relationships develop in which
each partner trains the other to respond in a consistent way. The
sado-masochistic relationship is a common symbiotic pairing. Weak-
ness and fear on the part of one pulls impatience and contempt from
the other — which in turn increases the fear of the masochist.
These symbiotic relationships are extremely difficult to change.
The involuntary, automatic nature of interpersonal reflexes makes
them almost impossible to control. The reinforcing factor makes
them resistant to alter because both partners are exerting pressure in
the same direction. A tight symbiotic lock often develops from which
neither partner can extricate himself.
These relationships occur whenever human beings are in con-
sistent contact with each other. Marital and familial interpersonal
linkage are the most common subject matters for psychological study.
Most of the time and energy expended in psychotherapy is devoted
to understanding and loosening familial locks.
Another most common setting for rigid interpersonal relationships
is the occupational. Persons who work regularly together inevitably
develop patterns of interaction which can make for a comfortable
and productive job situation or which can lead to pain, anxiety, and
disorganization.
One of the tasks of the psychological consultant for industry is to
diagnose and help correct pathological interpersonal patterns which
often exist in management groups. Before World War II, the indus-
403
404 SOME APPUCATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
trial psychologist typically concentrated on the noninterpersonal fac-
tors relating to productivity — time-and-motion studies, intelligence
and aptitude testing, employee morale, etc. More recently, psycho-
logical consultants have discovered that personality characteristics of
employees and executives and group dynamics factors play a crucial
role in productivity and job satisfaction. This shift to a clinical ap-
proach to industrial problems has been accompanied by a shift in the
status level of the subjects studied. It has become increasingly clear
that emotional maladjustment or a rigid interpersonal operation in
the case of a top-level executive can initiate a pattern of destructive
events which can affect hundreds of people. In the clinic we work
from the standpoint of the individual, and we assume that the mal-
adjustment and suffering of the individual is to be treated regardless of
the status and power level of the patient. The psychologist who ac-
cepts the job as consultant to an industrial firm or a labor organiza-
tion often devotes most of his energies to the top-management execu-
tives. Increased insight and decreased anxiety at the top level usually
bring about a greater social gain. If a union shop steward is narcissistic
and dictatorial, he takes away a fraction of the union's over-all effi-
ciency. If the regional director of the union is narcissistic and dicta-
torial, he may cause crippHng reverses to his organization and involve
hundreds of subordinates in painful experiences.
Similarly if a store-to-store salesman is sadistic and exploitive, he
may cut the firm's dollar volume by a few hundred dollars. Sadistic
and exploitive operations on the part of the vice-president in charge
of sales may cost a corporation millions of dollars and set up a cycle
of sado-masochistic behavior in scores of people who work under him.
In many cases interpersonal diagnosis can assist the psychological
consultant to understand the misperceptions of self and others, the
rigid patterns of interpersonal reactions which lock group members
in destructive relationships. This chapter presents a case-history il-
lustration of the use of the interpersonal system in analyzing group
dynamics in a top-level executive group.
The Top-Management Groups
The group to be discussed comprised four executives who were
responsible for the management of a manufacturing and distributing
plant of a nation-wide corporation. Personality evaluations were
made of the top level executives of this plant — and during the assess-
ment process each person took the interpersonal checklist four times
— rating himself and his perceptions of the other three executives with
' Certain changes in the descriptions of this industrial organization were made in
order to preserve anonymity.
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP 405
whom he worked closely. The consulting psychologist, after com-
pleting his diagnostic interviews rated each subject on the interper-
sonal adjective check list.
The four executives tested were:
The General Manager (coded GM)
The Production A4anager (coded PM)
The Sales Manager (coded SM)
The Personnel Manager (coded LM)
Interpersonal tests provided several kinds of data useful in under-
standing the network of relationships existing in this management
group. The Level II-C scores provide a picture of how each person
sees himself. The pooled ratings of the other three executives (plus
the psychologist) provide for each person a Level I-S measure of his
general social stimulus value. When the ratings that each person
made of each specific "other" are inspected, the patterns of misper-
ception and the reciprocal relationships linking each pair to each
other become obvious.
Interpersonal diagnosis of the network of interpersonal relation-
ships existing in groups is facilitated by the use of a printed booklet.
This form, entitled "Record Booklet for Interpersonal Analysis of
Group Dynamics," was used in the diagnosis of this management
group. The booklet of one member (the Sales Manager) of the
group is presented as Figure 48 in this chapter. This reproduction of
the booklet outlines the exact operations for measuring the dynamics
of the subject's relationships with his colleagues. The booklets of
the other three executives are not reproduced, but the summary dia-
grams of their perceptions of self and others are presented where
appropriate to illustrate the text.
The Level II-C Perceptions of Self by Four Executives
Figure 46 presents the Level II-C self-perceptions of the four ex-
ecutives. All of them see themselves as strong, hypernormal, and
responsible. All four scores fall in the upper right-hand quadrant.
We note that the Production Manager (PM) attributes more strength
to himself, while the Personnel Manager (LM) claims the most
friendliness. All of them deny hostihty and weakness.
The Level I-S Ratings by Four Executives
When the ratings of each subject by his three colleagues (plus the
psychologist) were pooled and plotted, a measure of public stimulus
value was obtained. Figure 47 presents these Level I-S scores for
each subject. This diagram also includes arrows linking the Level I-S
4o6
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
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• PM
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Figure 46. Self-Descriptions of Four Executives.
Key: GM = General Manager PM = Production Manager
SM = Sales Manager LM = Personnel Manager
scores to the Level II-C self-descriptions. The linear distance between
these two scores defines the index of self-deception. The longer the
arrow the larger the misperception, i.e., the greater the discrepancy
between the self-descriptions and the self-as-seen-by-others. The di-
rection of the arrow indicates what the subject misperceives.
Figure 47 tells us that the General Manager (GM) has the most ac-
curate self-perceptions. He is probably the most effectively function-
ing member of this group. His colleagues (and the psychologist) see
him as a strong forceful, nonhostile person. They clearly admire and
respect him. There is a minor misperception in that he claims to be
more sympathetic and friendly than he acts, and he fails to perceive
some of his bossy tendencies. On the whole, he can (from the psy-
chological standpoint) be considered a successful general manager.
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP
407
PM
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Figure 47. Social Stimulus Value of Four Executives, Plotted Indices of Self-De-
ception. Key: The labeled points (e.g., PM) represent the pooled Level I-S behavior
of the subject as rated by others. The arrows link the Level I-S score to the subject's
self-perception. The length of the arrow indicates how much self-deception exists.
The direction of the arrow indicates what the subject misperceives.
The Production Manager (PM) manifests a much larger misper-
ception. He is seen by others as an extremely cold, hard, unfriendly,
selfish person. They fear him. They do not like him. Not one
friendly or sympathetic trait was attributed to him. When we com-
pare his Level I-S social stimulus value with his self-report a grave
misperception exists. He claims to be strong and somewhat friendly.
He completely denies the hostility and coldness which others see in
him. This discrepancy is always diagnostic of unsuccessful inter-
personal relations and poor emotional communications. The Person-
nel Manager believes he operates on the basis of an impersonal, re-
spected strength. He is probably puzzled and frustrated when others
react to him as a conceited and sadistic person. Harmonious and
40 8 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
accurate relationships cannot exist in this group until this mispercep-
tion is corrected.
The Sales Manager (SM) is even more self- deceived. He is seen
by others as a bitter, suspicious, nonconventional member of the ex-
ecutive group. He, on the other hand, thinks of himself as a friendly,
affiliative tolerant person. It is very easy to deduce the confusion and
dissatisfaction vi^hich occurs when he communicates with the others.
He sees his ideas coming from a tolerant, respected person. The others
see his ideas coming from a sour, rebellious, unfriendly person. This
discrepancy is strong evidence for (1) a severe personality maladjust-
ment and (2) a chaotic and confused set of interpersonal interactions.
The Personnel Manager (LM) is also an inaccurate judge of his
own interpersonal stimulus value. He prides himself (at Level II-C) as
being a friendly, likable, cooperative person. He is seen by his col-
leagues and the psychologist as a weak, dependent conformist. It is
clear that what he sees as agreeability is actually registered by others
as slavish docility. The personnel manager is clearly looked down
upon by the others. They show little respect for him.
Analysis of Group Dynamics
In studying the over-all pattern of the group's interrelationships,
the first point to be noted is that all members see themselves as re-
sponsible or hypernormal (octant 8). This is a consciously self-
satisfied group.
So far as the public observed behavior is concerned this group is
extremely centrifugal. A wide variety of intense maladaptive be-
havior is revealed. No member is diagnosed by others as responsible
or hypernormal. Their Level I-S diagnoses are: autocratic, narcissistic,
distrustful, and dependent. Two members are seen as being quite
hostile. One is seen as extremely weak. A pathological network of
interpersonal relations invariably accompanies extreme left-hand and
bottom scores. It is possible to diagnose this as a fairly "sick" group.
It is moreover a most misperceptive group. Three of the members
fail by a wide margin to perceive accurately their own interpersonal
roles. The mean discrepancy score (the linear distance in centimeters
between Level I-S and Level II-C) can be used as an index of the
group's over-all tendency to misperceive. This mean self-description
score can be compared with the mean discrepancy distance of other
groups and a relative index of group misperception is obtained. This
top-level management group has a self-deception score of 8L^ This
is considerably larger than the mean of psychotherapy groups com-
* The methods for measuring variability indices such as self-deception are described
in Chapter 13.
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP 409
prised, for the most part, of self-referred severe neurotics. Not enough
data on management groups has accumulated to develop norms, but
it is safe to say that this group of executives is considerably more
self-deceived than the average.
The three estimates of group dynamics thus lead us to diagnose this
group as disturbed: (1) they exhibit an extreme amount of hostility
or weakness; (2) each person sees himself as hypernormal or respon-
sible; and (3) they are markedly self-deceived. Some form of psy-
chological counseling is clearly in order.
The Network of Relationships
In addition to the generalized analysis of the dynamics of the total
group (just presented) the sociometric tests make possible a detailed
analysis of the network of relationships. This is accomplished by
studying in turn how each person rates each other person in the group.
In discussing human relations factors with these men or in under-
standing their interactions it is most useful to consider the pairings
which occur.
The Sales Manager
The Sales Manager was a brilhant, aggressive, colorful man — who
had been extremely successful in the company before his transfer to
the present location. His originality and nonconforming creativeness
which had worked well in the previous office situation (where his in-
dividuality was sympathetically encouraged) had degenerated into a
bitter rebellion. His job frustration led to heavy drinking, outbursts of
resentment, and a suspicious distrust of his colleagues.
The perceptions by the Sales Manager of his colleagues and their
perceptions of him were entered in the "Record Booklet for Inter-
personal Analysis of Group Dynamics." This form provides a syste-
matic procedure for plotting the network of relationships in which
the subject is engaged. Figure 48 is a reproduction of this booklet
presenting the detailed operations for interpersonal diagnosis.
The upper diagnostic circle in this figure indicates that all observers
see the Sales Manager as a hostile, bitter person. All his Level I-S
scores fall in the DE and FG octants. The Personnel Manager at-
tributes more strength to him than do the rest. This is a misperception
and represents the Personnel Manager's fearful, masochistic tenden-
cies. The Production Manager sees the Sales A4anager as defeated and
weak — anything which is unconventional is seen as weakness by the
Production Manager. Note the complete misperception of his own
behavior — i.e., the difference between his own and the others' views
of him.
4IO SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
The lower diagnostic circle in Figure 48 presents his perceptions
of the other executives. He despises the Personnel Manager whom
he sees as weak. He lumps the Production Manager and the General
Manager together as unsympathetic, autocratic people. His failure to
differentiate the two represents a pessimistic and suspicious feeling of
persecution. He attributes no friendliness to any of them (they are all
on the left of the vertical line). He lives in a cold, unloving environ-
ment. The lower diagnostic circle in Figure 48 also contains the
consensual diagnosis of each group member. These are the lower-case
letter codes (e.g., "gm"). The perceptions of the Sales Manager can
now be compared with the consensual or pooled diagnosis. The differ-
ence between the two scores is an index of misperception. The Sales
Manager's perceptions (capital letters) are linked by lines with the
pooled summary perception of each other member by the remaining
group members (lower-case letters). This illustrates the variability
index of misperception — i.e., the difference between the Sales Man-
ager's view and the consensual view by the group of each member.
His view of the Production Manager is extremely accurate. His view
of the other two members is quite inaccurate. He attributes more
hostility to both members than the consensus.
Figure 48 reveals the following relationships.
(1) The Sales Manager erroneously sees the General Manager as
being as hardboiled as the Production Manager. This is unfortunate
because he cuts himself off from a potential source of support. The
General Manager, we remember, prides himself (Level Il-C) on his
benevolence. The pressure of the Sales Manager's bitter distrust in-
evitably wounds the General Manager's picture of himself. He is
made anxious when he is not being obeyed and respected. The Sales
iManager's rebelliousness thus isolates him further.
(2) The Production Manager looks down on the Sales Manager,
seeing him as an extremely resentful, complaining person. A loaded
relationship exists. The Production Manager is perfectly placed (on
the interpersonal grid) to bring out in exaggerated form the Sales
Manager's distrust. A vicious reverberating circuit is set up between
the two. The Production Manager feels justified because the Sales
Manager flies off on bitter, complaining, suspicious harangues. The
latter feels justified because the Personnel Manager's superior scorn
inevitably infuriates him. Both men are pushing each other further in
the direction of their pathological reflexes. Outside intervention by
the psychologist or the General Manager is clearly necessary to break
up this destructive lock.
(3) The Sales Manager's relationship with the Personnel Manager
is also destructive. He is a rebellious person — made anxious by con-
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP 41 1
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Interpersonal Analysis of Group Dynamics
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412 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP
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formity and blind obedience. The Personnel Manager, who epitomizes
these docile interpersonal reflexes, stands as a continual annoyance and
threat to him. He responds to the Personnel Manager with contempt
and sarcasm. The Personnel Manager is obviously afraid of the Sales
Manager, describing him as aggressive and sadistic.
The General Manager
The General Manager is a relatively young executive, well-trained
in both the technical and managerial aspects of his job. He had made
a rapid advance in the corporation and is about ten years younger than
the Production and Personnel managers.
Figure 49 presents his perceptions of his colleagues. He shares the
consensus view of the Production Manager, seeing him as cold and
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Figure 49. The Perceptions by the General Manager of His Three CoUeagues.
Key: PM = The General Manager's description of the Production Manager
SM = The General Manager's description of the Sales Manager
LM = The General Manager's description of the Personnel Manager
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP 419
self-centered. He respected his technical abilities but disapproved of
(and somewhat feared) his cold, impersonal, conceited approach.
He has mixed feelings towards the Sales Manager. He attributes
less hostility to him than do any of the other raters (see Figure 48)
and bends over backwards to understand and tolerate the Sales
Manager's rebelliousness.
The General Manager clearly likes the Personnel Manager. He
sees him as cooperative and agreeable. This is a misperception. The
rest of the raters see the Personnel Manager as a docile, weak person.
The Personnel Manager placates and submits and flatters the General
Manager, winning the latter's approval.
The General Manager tends to "stress the positive" in his approach
to the Sales Manager and the Personnel Manager — failing to see the
bitterness of the former and the weakness of the latter.
Figure 50 summarizes the perceptions of the General Manager by
his colleagues and the psychologist. This diagram indicates that the
Production Manager attributes the least amount of strength to the
General Manager. He views him as too easygoing. We suspect that
the Production Manager feels somewhat superior to his boss and
thinks he is too soft. The Personnel Manager tends to idolize his boss.
He attributes strength and responsibility to him. The Sales Manager
assigns more hostility to the General Manager than any other rater.
This indicates that he feels somewhat resentful and misunderstood
by his boss. The psychologist emphasizes the executive autocratic
traits of the General Manager.
The data from Figures 49 and 50 can now be combined in a series
of statements summarizing the General Manager's interpersonal re-
lationships.
(1) He is involved in an uneasy truce with the Production Man-
ager. He respects but disapproves of the latter's coldness. The Pro-
duction Manager respects but looks down on the General Manager
and feels he is too soft and tolerant.
(2) He is involved in an authority problem with the Sales Man-
ager. He strives to be sympathetic and benign in his approach to his
touchy, rebeUious subordinate, but this does not prevent the latter
from distrustfully projecting coldness on him. These two need to be
helped to clarify their mutual misperceptions. The General Manager
is not as self-centered and exploitive as the Sales Manager fears.
( 3 ) He is locked in a tight and mutually self-deceptive relationship
with the Personnel Manager. They both try to believe that they have
a collaborative, friendly union of equals. Actually an intense leader-
follower association exists. The Personnel Manager fails to see how
passive and placating he is with his boss, although all three of the other
420
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
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Figure 50. The Perceptions o^ the General Manager by His Three Colleagues and
the Consulting Psychologist. Key; The General Manager as seen by:
PM = Production Manager
SM — Sales Manager
LM = Personnel Manager
C = Psychological Consultant
T = Pooled scores of all four
observers are aware of this (see Figure 54). The General Manager
fails to perceive how autocratic and paternalistic he is towards the
Personnel Manager. A symbiotic, mutually self-deceptive relation-
ship of this sort can proceed indefinitely in harmony — except for the
impact it has on others. The Production Manager was contemptuous
of both of them — and the Sales Manager was jealous of the approval
obtained by the Personnel Manager (whom he saw as a mollycoddle)
and resentful that the General Manager did not approve of him.
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP
421
The Production Manager
The Production Manager is a firm, rigid, self-confident, self-made
man of the old school. He had no understanding or patience for the
soft-headed management policies which were developing in his com-
pany. Human relations bored and irritated him. He expected people
to behave with the efficiency of his machinery and despised any
deviations from custom or rule.
Figure 51 reflects the superiority he felt over his colleagues. He
rates all of them below the horizontal line — which means he sees none
of them as strong. He is particularly contemptuous of the Sales Man-
ager and Personnel Manager. He saw the former's unconventional,
MANAGEfiMt-
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Key: SM
The Perceptions by the Production Manager of His Three Colleagues.
The Production Manager's description of the Sales Manager
LM =The Production Manager's description of the Personnel Manager
GM = The Production Manager's description of the General Manager
42 2
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
creative rebelliousness as a woolly-headed complaining. He saw the
latter's docility as abject slavishness.
Figure 52 tells us that everyone agrees in labeling the Production
Manager as a cold, stubborn, hardboiled person. Even the psychol-
ogist feared him — which is perhaps due to the Production Manager's
outspoken disdain for psychological consultation.
Summarizing the data from Figures 51 and 52 we can see that the
Production Manager is involved in the following relationships:
( 1 ) He looks down somewhat on the General Manager, but likes
him and recognizes his warmth. His rigid commitment to order and
^^'''-
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SM
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Figure 52. The Perceptions of the Production Manager by His Three Colleagues
and the Consulting Psychologist. Key: The Production Manager as seen by:
SM = Sales Manager
LM = Personnel Manager
GM = General Manager
C = Psychological Consultant
T = Pooled scores of all four
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP
423
hierarchy lead him to accept the General Manager as boss. Thus an
uneasy but effective relationship was maintained. It i^ clear that the
best relationship the Production Manager has is with the General Man-
ager. If anyone is going to get close to the Production Manager and
relax his tough, hard-headed approach, it is going to be the General
Manager — and not the other two men.
(2) The Production Manager is involved in a sadistic relationship
with both the other two executives. They both fear and hate him.
The Sales Manager rebelliously fights back but can be provoked to ir-
rational resentment by the Production Manager's calm, punitive scorn.
(3) The Personnel Manager masochistically submits to the Pro-
duction Manager. The latter's unsympathetic hardness made him
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Figure 53. The Perceptions by the Personnel Manager of His Three Colleagues.
Key: GAl = The Personnel Manager's description of the General Manager
PM = The Personnel Manager's description of the Production Manager
SM = The Personnel Manager's description of the Sales Manager
424
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
more self-effacing and timid. The Personnel Manager was comforted,
however, by his slavish devotion to the General Manager — who pro-
tected him. The Sales Manager was isolated in impotent rebellion,
having no positive relationship in the group.
The Fersormel Manager
The Personnel Manager was a cheerful, bland, rather dull person.
Placating conformity to strength and friendly sympathy to subordi-
nates were his major security operations. He was fairly successful in
his work because of his popularity, and good humor. His relationships
►SM
.^^^?
^^^^A
J--0
•PM
2!^S0CH1ST1C
C»
^9
Figure 54. The Perceptions oj the Personnel Manager by His Three Colleagues
and the Consulting Psychologist. Key: The Personnel Manager as seen by:
SM = Sales Manager
GM = General Manager
PM = Production Manager
C = Psychological Consultant
T = Pooled scores of all four
GROUP DYNAMICS IN A MANAGEMENT GROUP 425
with union officials were good because he was patient, agreeable and
smiled when frustrated.
Figure 5 3 presents his perceptions of others. He admires the Gen-
eral Manager. He is in fearful awe of the two other men.
Figure 54 indicates that all raters see him as weak. The General
Manager clearly likes him and an aura of good feehng blinds him to
the Personnel Manager's submissiveness. The Production and Sales
executives perceive him as weak, and sado-masochistic relationships
exist with both.
The specific network of interactions involving the Personnel Man-
ager has been presented in the previous discussions and need not be
repeated.
Summary
Sociometric analysis of a top-level management group revealed that
considerable psychopathology complicated and hampered relation-
ships. The misperceptions and the rigid destructive symbiotic interac-
tions prevented these men from clarifying or improving their rela-
tionships.
The psychologist was called in initially by the General Manager
to consult about the Sales Manager's drinking. Sociometric analysis of
the group dynamics quickly revealed that the drinking and rebellious-
ness of the Sales Manager was not an isolated symptom but intimately
interwoven into the interpersonal fabric of the top-level group.
26
Predicting and Measuring Interpersonal
Dynamics in Group Psychotherapy
The prediction of the individual's behavior in group psychotherapy
was one of the first tasks approached by the interpersonal system ( 1 ) .
In Chapter 7 and in Appendix 1 the use of Level I-P indices as a fore-
cast of the patient's future role is discussed.
Predicting the Resistance of the Group
These measures which forecast individual behavior have a further
use in predicting the behavior to be expected from the group as a
group. It has long been recognized that any group is more than an
additive assemblage of its parts. When the Level I-Predictor scores
of the constituent members are plotted on the same diagnostic grid,
a network of interactions is apparent. It is possible to predict from
this master grid what interpersonal operations will characterize this
group.
After working with therapy groups for several years, the staff of
the Kaiser Foundation clinic found that it was possible to describe
the "personality" of a group; or to designate the group resistance. One
group, for example, was anecdotally described as "slow and soggy";
another was labeled "bitter and resistive"; and another was called
"centrifugal and lively."
Development of the Level I-S sociometric indices made it possible
to objectify these clinical intuitions. In the "soggy" group, for ex-
ample, five out of six patients were rated below the mean on domi-
nance. Their passivity and lethargy were clearly defined by plotting
all the Level 1-S scores on the same group-diagnostic grid.
Development of the MMPI predictor indices made it possible to
plot the expected role behavior of each member of a prospective
group on a master grid. The therapist then could anticipate the type
426
PREDICTING BEHAVIOR IN GROUP THERAPY 427
of group resistance. If a large majority of the Level I-P scores fell on
the left side of the circle, then a hostile, defiant, bitter group with
plenty of interpersonal fireworks was forecast. If most of the scores
fell on the right side, a friendly, sweet, repressive resistance to treat-
ment could be expected.
Selecting Patients To Balance the Group Resistance
The introduction of the predictive indices and the methods for
measuring group resistance made it possible to plot on group grids
the members of some fort)^- psychotherapy groups studied by the inter-
personal system. The therapists of these groups were often able to
detect from these charts the group resistance and to observe where
imbalances in the group put intense pressure on the therapist which
increased tension and lowered effectiveness.
Several large-scale studies of interpersonal behavior and changes
during psychotherapy have been accomplished by the Kaiser Founda-
tion research project. One conclusion reached is that the more im-
balanced or homogeneous the group the less easy (and probably the
less effective) the therapy. By this we mean that if a majority of the
members of a group utilize the same interpersonal security operations,
the task of the therapist is considerably compHcated. If five members
of a group are bland hysterics, they will tend to reinforce each
other's reflexes; they will all like each other; they will all collaborate
in denying and avoiding unpleasant emotions. The task of the therapist
in facing a solid wall of group repression can be discouraging. The
group joins together to put the same interpersonal pressure on the
therapist. If, however, a wise-cracking psychopath, a colorful exhi-
bitionistic narcissist, and a self-immolating masochist should be added,
the pressure on the therapist is relieved. Intense interactions develop
between the latter three and the hysterics. The therapist can sit back
and observe, or intervene with technical activities without bearing
the brunt of a unified resistance.
For these reasons the Kaiser Foundation clinic has initiated a pro-
cedure for selecting the members of a therapy group so as to provide
a balanced combination of Level I security operations. Patients re-
ferred to groups by the weekly clinic intake conferences are placed
on a waiting list. When eight to ten names are obtained the selection
procedure begins. The Level I-P indices for all the patients on the
waiting list are plotted on one diagnostic grid. The therapist can de-
termine at a glance whether the candidates pile up in one sector or
scatter around the circle. If the latter is the case, he selects two pa-
tients from each quadrant and these eight patients are assigned to the
group. If the waiting list population is overweighted in one direc-
42 8 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
tion, the therapist postpones the group until more patients are referred
to group therapy who fit the absent "slots." For example, if six out of
the eight candidates fall below the horizontal line, a passive, dependent
group is forecast. The therapist would immediately select the two
strong candidates — then he would pick out four of the six passive pa-
tients and postpone the group until two more strong patients had en-
tered the waiting list.
Selecting patients for group therapy thus becomes similar to the
casting of characters in a play. The therapist by use of predictive
indices attempts to set up a heterogeneous group in which interaction
will be maximized.
Illustration of the Prediction of Group Resistance
Here is an illustration of the predictive indices employed to fore-
cast group resistance. There were six members of this psychotherapy
group. The Level I-P index of each patient before therapy was plotted
on a master grid (see Figure 55). This group is well-balanced in
respect to conventional versus unconventional operations — three
members falling on either side of the vertical mid-line. The group is
overweighted, however, on the dominance axis. Only one member
is going to be passive — five are above the mean in dominance.
A noisy, power-oriented, self-confident set of reflexes can be an-
ticipated. The group resistance is through strength and self-assurance.
There will be a pronounced tendency for the members to lecture each
other, debate, solve each other's problems, and compete for the role
of group leader.
We can expect that patients "B" and "S" will bluntly press the
others to express unconventional feelings. Patients "C," "P," and "U"
will maintain a fagade of "hypernormal" control and reasonability.
Patient "M" will be isolated in his passivity and sit on the side lines.
She is the only member to fall below the center line.
This group will not emphasize (in the early sessions) the presenta-
tion of problems. There will be a minimum of dependent, helpless be-
havior. If the therapist attempts to intervene, he will find himself in
a power struggle. The one area of potential interaction is the differ-
ence in conventionality. Patients "B" and "S" will attack and chal-
lenge the others to produce negative feelings (with which they feel
comfortable). Patients "P" and "U" will take on strong, executive
roles. Patient "C will stress hypernormal activities and blandly resist
the colorful maneuvers of "B" and "S." But all five of these patients
will act decisively and strongly as though they know how the therapy
should be run — two by blunt uncovering of feelings, one by re-
pressive denial of feelings, two by a mixture of both.
PREDICTING BEHAVIOR IN GROUP THERAPY
429
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Figure 55. Predictions of Interpersonal Roles for Six Members of a Therapy
Group.
Illustration of the Measurement of Group Resistance
After this therapy group had met for seven sessions, a sociometric
was administered. Each patient rated himself and every other patient
on the interpersonal check Hst. The ratings by the group of Patient
"P" were pooled, the indices calculated, divided by five (N-1), con-
verted to standard scores, and plotted on the diagnostic grid. The
same procedure was applied to the group's pooled perceptions of each
other patient. This is the Level I-S score — a summary of the social
impact of each patient on his fellow members. These scores tell us
how the patient acted in the group and can be compared with our
original predictions of how the Level I-P indices predicted he would
act.
Figure 56 presents the Level I-S scores for the six patients in this
group. The Level I-P predictor scores are also plotted and hnked to
430
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
.e5>;a^^^^
LX4P;
^^"^
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'^^r
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<?K%^
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Figure 56. Measurements of Interpersonal Roles for Six Members of a Therapy
Group. Key: Letter placements refer to Level I-S ratings of interpersonal behavior.
The nonlabeled points to which they are joined designate the predictions of their
role (Level I-P).
the Level I-S scores to indicate the amount of error in the prediction.
When we consider the over-all pattern of the Level I-S scores, it
is clear that the original prediction of group resistance was fairly ac-
curate. Four of the patients are rated to the left of the vertical mid-
line, indicating that they were seen as more hostile than friendly. The
prediction of group resistance was thus slightly in error on the love-
hate axis. The forecast was more effective as regards to dominance-
submission — since all six patients were rated on the side of the hori-
zontal mid-line which matches the prediction.
Multilevel Reciprocal Interpersonal Relationships
Whenever a sociometric employing the interpersonal adjective
check list has been given to the members of a group, it is possible to
PREDICTING BEHAVIOR IN GROUP THERAPY
431
plot the person-to-person network of relationships. There are two
group-dynamics diagrams drawn up for each member using the
printed booklet which was introduced in the preceding chapter. One
of these indicates the subject's perceptions of every other member.
The second indicates how the subject is seen by each other group
member. Misperceptions, reciprocal role relationships, pairings, and
isolates become easily apparent on these grids. This procedure for
analyzing group dynamics was followed for the therapy group being
described in this chapter. The use of these diagrams in understanding
blocks and projections which compUcate interpersonal relations has
been illustrated in Chapter 23 (the management group) and need not
be repeated in the case of this therapy group.
There is, however, an additional technique for analyzing group
dynamics which involves the use of multilevel personality indices.
These methods are more applicable in studying therapy groups (rather
than industrial management groups) because measurements of under-
lying feelings are available for the psychotherapy patients and because
the group therapy situation is more suitable for discussion of deeper
motivations.
This more complex analysis of multilevel interaction patterns is ac-
complished by plotting the patient's scores for Level L and II Self,
Mother, Father, and Ideal and Level III Hero and Other on the same
diagnostic grid with his perceptions of his fellow group members,
With these data available, it is possible to determine what meaning the
perceptions of any specific group member has in relation to the eight
scores from the subject's personality structure.
If the subject sees a fellow group member as being close to his own
self-perception he is consciously identified with him.
If he sees a fellow group member as close to his ideal, he is con-
sidered to idealize him.
If he sees the other as close to his mother — the process of maternal
equation is indicated. The proximity to father or spouse scores is
similarly interpreted.
If the subject perceives a fellow group member as being close to
his own Level III Hero — a cross-level identification is defined. That
is, he projects onto or attributes to the other member his own "pre-
conscious" feelings.
The relationship pattern of the group is thus related to the famihal
pattern and to the patient's preconscious imagery.
To illustrate this technique for analyzing multilevel reciprocal re-
lationships we shall consider two patients in the sample therapy group
who became locked together in a complex network. Figure 57 pre-
sents diagnostic grids for two patients "M" and "P." On each diagram
43^
SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
S>^^'^'\
HANAGERML-
v^>:2n^^^.
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/ i?
o
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'I
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^!f!j^SOCHISllC
PATIENT "p"
Figure 57. Illustrative Diagram of Five Measures of Personality for Two Group-
Therapy Patients. Key: For both patients I = Level I-S; II = Level II-C Self; III =
Level III-T Hero. For Patient "P," Sp = Husband; "M" = "P's" perception of "M."
For Patient "M," Mo = Mother, "P" = Pauent "M's" description of "P."
we have plotted five indices: four personality scores for the patient
and his perceptions of the other one. For didactic purposes, we have
omitted the other four personality scores and the patient's perceptions
of the other group members. For Patient "P" we have tallied the
scores for Level I-S Self, Level II-C Self, Level II-C Spouse, the Level
III-T (Hero) and the perception by "P" of her partner "M." For
Patient "M" five scores are plotted: Level I-S Self, Level II-C Self,
Level II-C Mother, Level III-T (Hero) and Patient "M's" view of
"P."
Consider the diagram for Patient "P." She sees herself (II) as in-
dependent and forceful. She is seen by the group (I) somewhat the
PREDICTING BEHAVIOR IN GROUP THERAPY
433
^X P^ Mo
HE
ISap)
MANAGERMt-T^
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PATIENT M
same way, although they see more competitive narcissism. She main-
tained an aloof, cool, poised superiority in the group — never admit-
ting any faults or weaknesses. She continually patronized the other
patients, looked down on their problems and smugly beat off any at-
tempt to prove she was not "right, wise, and capable."
She described her husband (Sp) as being a rebellious, bitter man.
Actually she was in the group because of a marital problem. Her hus-
band drank, gambled, and beat her in drunken rages. Her stated rea-
son for accepting group therapy was to understand herself, her role
in the marriage, and to learn how "to handle" her husband more ef-
fectively.
The deeper reasons for her marital problems are suggested by her
Level III-T score. Masochism and guilt saturate her "preconscious"
fantasies. Her smug, righteous, superior fagade pushed her husband
to bitter, delinquent rebellion and to wild retahating rages. The pun-
434 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
ishment she took from him seemed related to her underlying self-
punitive, guilty feelings.
We are particularly interested in Patient "P's" relations with Pa-
tient "M." Figure 57 indicates that she perceives "A4" as being re-
sentful, complaining and rebellious. She consciously equates "M"
with her husband.
Consider now the diagnostic grid for Patient "M." She sees her-
self (II) as a docile, weak, self-punitive person. She is seen by the
group (I) as exhibiting a similar slightly more masochistic role. Actu-
ally this summary score for Level I is the resultant of two somewhat
different perceptions the group members had of her. Some members
saw her as helpless, weak and dependent. Two members saw "M" as
resentful and complaining. We recall that Patient "P" was one of
these. Patient "M" spent most of her time in the group describing
her failures and shortcomings — as a wife, mother, neighbor, house-
keeper, etc. She continually blamed herself for not meeting her own
inordinately high standards. In responding to other group members
(except "P"), she tended to be a silent listener — never advising or
attacking. Her relationship to "P," however, was quite different. She
continually nagged "P" to present her problems, accused *'P" of being
smug, challenged "P's" bland denial of problems. Considerable elec-
tricity was in evidence when these two interacted. Most of the other
members were admiring or abashed or helplessly overwhelmed by
"P's" superior role — in contrast to "M's" irritated needling of "P."
This relationship is objectified in "M's" perception of "P" in Fig-
ure 57. She describes "P" as cold, arrogant and narcissistic.
Patient "M" sees her mother in the same way as she describes "P."
As her case history unfolded in the group it became clear that "M"
was bitterly entangled with her mother. She described her mother as
a bossy, righteous person with fanatic standards of virtue and obedi-
ence who never admitted to any failure. Her mother's punitive cold-
ness had intimidated "M" for many years and she was still loaded with
fear, guilt and resentment towards her mother.
Patient "M's" Level III also falls in the narcissistic sector of the
circle. This indicates that she was "preconsciously" identified with
her mother's strength and hostility.
It is now possible to fit together the multilevel of the two patients
and to observe the neat dovetailing of narcissistic and masochistic con-
flicts.
Patient "P" was an overt narcissist with underlying guilt and
masochism. Her overt smugness provoked angry rebellion from her
husband and from "M." Her original question which led to her ther-
apy was: "Why does my husband resent me?" It was answered in
PREDICTING BEHAVIOR IN GROUP THERAPY
435
part by her effect on Patient "M." The latter expended considerable
energy in battering away at "P's" facade and eventually stimulated
and led a revolt of the group against "P." A second answer to "P's"
question is supplied by her own "preconscious" feelings. It eventu-
ally became clear that "P" had deep feelings of shame, guilt, and in-
feriority. She had remained in a most unhappy marriage for over two
years, supporting her husband, accepting his beatings, paying his
gambling debts, nursing him through hangovers because of her un-
derlying feeling that she deserved no better.
Patient "M" was on the other hand an overt masochist with under-
lying feelings of moral superiority and narcissism. She had always
identified herself ("preconsciously") with her mother's cold, harsh
righteousness and overtly suffered in order to maintain the inner
commitment to these standards. The original question which led her
to seek treatment was: "Why do I feel depressed, guilty, and weak?"
This was answered in part by her reaction to "P." Patient *'M," we
recall, was the first group member to spot "P's" superiority and re-
luctance to act like a patient with problems. Therapists who work
from the interpersonal viewpoint are always alert to pick up and focus
on relationships of this sort. It became clear that "M" was extremely
sensitive to "P's" behavior because most of her energies were tied up in
her ambivalence towards her mother. A second answer to "M's" ques-
tion is furnished by her own underlying feelings — which indicated
an identification with her mother's superior standards.
Patient "P" served as a most therapeutic figure for "M." "P"
served as a magnet pulling from "M" the intensely conflicted feelings
which created her neurosis. "M" transferred to "P" her perception of
her mother and relived in the group the crucial, embattled relation-
ship.
Patient "M" was an extremely valuable figure for Patient "P."
"M's" sensitive radar picked up "P's" irritating, patronizing superior-
ity and made it clear to the other members and eventually to "P" her-
self. When "M" attacked and complained about "P," she reproduced
in the experimental subsociety of the group the problem which was
destroying "P's" marriage and wrecking her life.
This paired pattern of multilevel projection, misperception, iden-
tification, and role-reciprocity locked these two patients in a complex
relationship. The analysis of this relationship reached close to the
roots of both patients' conflicts.
Other patients in this group became entangled in multilevel rela-
tionships which were equally complicated. Another naive, ultracon-
ventional member ("C") became engaged in an intense conflict with
a rebellious psychopath ("S"). The friction between these two pro-
436 SOME APPLICATIONS OF THE INTERPERSONAL SYSTEM
vided clues and an observable experimental repetition of the multi-
level conformity-rebellion problems that both shared.
In these illustrations we have attempted to demonstrate the useful-
ness of the interpersonal diagnostic system in understanding multilevel
reciprocal relationships as they occur in group psychotherapy. Two
of the four major applications of the interpersonal system have been
brought to bear on this problem — its use as a multilevel diagnostic
instrument and its use as a tool for analyzing group dynamics. The
group psychotherapy situation serves as a unique testing ground for
the rudimentary techniques of the present and as a developing ground
for the improved techniques which we know must follow.
This volume is concluded with no sense of completion or closure,
but with an impatient dissatisfaction resulting from the many limita-
tions of these shaky initial steps. It is fitting that we terminate — per-
haps abruptly — in a discussion of the complexity of multilevel rela-
tionships in psychotherapy. This serves, at least, to point the course
towards the two problems which are currently engaging the energies
of the Kaiser Foundation research project: a study of the interlevel
mechanisms of personality organization and the measurement of
changes in personality during psychotherapy.
Reference
1. Leary, T., and H. S. Coffey. The prediction of interpersonal behavior in
group psychotherapy. Psychodrama gp. psychother. Monogr., 1955, No. 28.
Appendices
Illustrations of the Measurement of
Interpersonal Behavior at Level I
This chapter presents the detailed methodology for obtaining four dif-
ferent Level I scores. First we shall illustrate the derivation of MMPI
symptomatic indices (Level I-M). Next we shall consider the Level
I-P indices which forecast interpersonal behavior to be anticipated.
Then we shall follow two sample patients (a typical ulcer patient and
a severe neurotic) in the initial minutes of a recorded group therapy
session. This will illustrate the technique for obtaining Level I-R
ratings. This will be followed by a description of the Level I-S indices
for one of these patients and an illustration of the method for calcu-
lating these sociometric indices.
Illustration of the Level I-M Predictive Indices
During the initial diagnostic and evaluation period every new pa-
tient reporting to the Kaiser Foundation psychiatric clinic is ad-
ministered the complete interpersonal test battery, including the
MMPI. The intake conference uses all the available clinical informa-
tion, in addition to the test material, to make recommendations for
type of treatment.
In this section we shall describe a method for making interpersonal
predictions from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.^
These procedures are part of a larger study in interpersonal diagnosis
in which we are attempting to develop MMPI indices which predict
' The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory comprises nine clinical, psychi-
atric scales and four validating scales. These are entitled as follows: Hs = hypo-
chondriasis; D = depression; Hy = hysteria; Pd zr psychopathic deviate; Mf refers
to masculinity-femininity tendencies; Pa = paranoia; Pt = psychasthenia or obsessive
tendencies; Sc = schizoid tendencies; Ma = mania. F = a tendency to answer items
in a statistically deviant manner; K = a tendency towards a defensive denial of psy-
chopathology;? = items questioned or unanswered; L = a tendency to falsify or to
answer in a socially acceptable way.
439
^o APPENDICES
to different levels of interpersonal behavior. Other MMPI indices
are being developed which predict to conscious, "preconscious," and
value levels of personality.
We have seen in Chapter 6 that the interpersonal diagnostic circle
can be viewed as a two-dimensional surface in which points are lo-
cated in reference to the vertical (i.e., dominance-submission) and
horizontal (hostihty-affiliation) axes. The interactions of any subject
can be converted into the horizontal and vertical tendencies, thus pro-
viding a single summary point.
In attempting to convert the MMPI into an instrument for pre-
dicting interpersonal behavior, the same procedure was followed.
Two years' experience in comparing MMPI profiles with interpersonal
profiles provided many clinical cues as to the relationship between the
two. These cues were tested in a series of pilot studies sortings on
several hundred cases (1). These exploratory procedures suggested
that eight of the MMPI scales were related to the role behavior of
patients seen in the clinic. Four of the MMPI scales — Ma, D, Hs, and
Pt — seem to be correlated with dominant-submissive behavior. Four
other scales seemed to be related to friendly-hostile behavior. These
are Hy, Sc, K, and F. The absolute height of these scales then taken
by themselves has a varying prognostic value; some have low correla-
tions with interpersonal behavior; others are surprisingly high. When
the general pattern of their interrelationship was studied, significant
predictions resulted.
The first set of indices for predicting dominant or submissive inter-
personal behavior are:
Ma — D: If Ma > D, a -f- score results. This indicates that inter-
personal strength, assertion, and confidence are empha-
sized. If Ma < D, the opposite is indicated. Weakness, im-
mobilization, and lack of confidence are suggested.
Hs — Pt: If Hs > Pt, a -f score results. The subject seems to be in-
dicating that his physical health concerns him more than
emotional worries. This is the wounded-warrior theme
often expressed by psychosomatic patients. The subject
admits to some bodily weakness, but emotional strength
is by comparison stronger. If Hs < Pt, the opposite is
true. The subject is more concerned with his emotional
problems and is emphasizing fears, worries, or immobili-
zation.
For predicting affiliative or hostile behavior four MMPI scales are
combined as follows:
K — F: If K > F, the subject tends to present himself as a helpful,
friendly, outgoing person. If K < F, the patient tends to
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR
441
be judged as alienated, disaffiliatdve, rebellious, unfriendly.
A positive score on this index thus pulls toward the right
or friendly side of the circle; a negative score in the hostile
direction.
Hy — Sc: In this index the same trends appear. High Hy scores
correlated with bland, naive, superficially agreeable be-
havior; high Sc scores with isolated hostile roles. Thus a
positive score on this index pulls to the right and a nega-
tive score to the left of the circle.
In this manner eight MMPI scores ^ can be converted into vertical
and horizontal indices and translated into the language of the inter-
personal system. Four scales — Ma, Hs, D, and Pt — when pooled yield
a vertical (dominance-submission) factor, and four other scales — K,
Hy, F, and Sc — yield a horizontal (love-hate) factor. When the
vertical and horizontal factors are plotted on the two-dimensional sur-
face of the interpersonal circle, a summary point is obtained which
becomes the prediction of future role interactions. Later correlational
studies, which are presented elsewhere ( 1 ) , have suggested that other
combinations of MMPI scores may yield more effective predictions.
Cross-validation studies on the new formulas have not been accom-
plished at present. The current findings (clinical and correlational)
have demonstrated that the eight scales described above with certain
qualifications perform adequately in assessing the interpersonal mean-
ing of the patient's symptoms. The formulas which have just been
presented yield scores which are designated Level I-M.
After these MMPI symptomatic indices were obtained, the next
step was to standardize them. The standardization sample chosen was
the entire intake population of a psychiatric clinic over a two-year
period. The 787 cases which comprise this sample may be divided into
two clinical groups roughly equal in size — those referred by physi-
cians for psychosomatic symptoms, and self-referrals. The MMPI
was routinely administered to all the patients who were evaluated by
intake procedures.
The two MMPI indices (horizontal and vertical) were standardized
so that the indices for each patient can be expressed in terms of their
distance from the mean of the total sample.
It is thus possible to plot each patient's Level I-M scores on the
interpersonal diagnostic grid and to indicate the intensity and type of
the predicted behavior. The center of the circle was determined by
the means of the horizontal and vertical distributions. The distance
and direction from the center of the circle automatically "types" the
Level I symptomatic behavior in terms of the sixteen variables.
^ In all of the MMPI indices the K-corrected standard scores are employed.
442
APPENDICES
By way of illustration, let us consider two MMPI profiles of male
patients. The solid line in Figure 58 indicates the MMPI pattern of a
patient who came to the clinic complaining of neurotic symptoms —
immobilization, depression, and marital discord. The dotted line in-
dicates the record of an ulcer patient referred by his physician for
psychological evaluation. Table 38 shows interpersonal conversions
of the MMPI profiles. The standard scores used in the formulae are
located on the extreme left and right hand sides of the profile sheet,
labeled "T or Tc."
H3t.5K D Hy Pdt 4K Ml Pa Pi tlK Sc41KMa<.2K Si ToiTc
Hy Pd+.4K Mf
Figure 58. MMPI Profiles on a "Classic Neurotic" Patient (Solid Line) and an
Ulcer Patient (Dotted Line).
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR 443
TABLE 38
Illustrative Calculation of MMPI Indices for
Measuring Symptomatic Behavior (Level I-M)
MMPI Index "Neurotic" Patient (Male) Ulcer Patient (Male)
Ma-D 58 -84 = -26 58 -46 = +12
Hs-Pt 59 -75 = -16 82 -66 = +16
Vertical total —42 +28
Vertical total
converted to standard score 43 72
K-F 44 -70 = -32 70 - 53 = +17
Hy-Sc 65 -84 = -19 67 - 63 = + 4
Horizontal total —51 +21
Horizontal total
converted to standard score ... 33 60
The horizontal and vertical scores for these two patients were then
plotted on the standardized diagnostic grid.^ (See Figure 59) The
resulting summary points indicate that entirely different interpersonal
behavior can be expected from these two patients. The neurotic's
MMPI predictive indices for Level I place him in the octant FG. To
the extent that the MMPI conversions hold good, we should anticipate
sullen, rebellious, and passively hostile behavior. The ulcer patient
falls into the octant NO — thus we can expect that responsible, strong,
and helpful behavior will develop. The neurotic patient will com-
plain of symptoms in a passively coercive manner. The ulcer patient
will probably manifest no overt hostile, dependent, or weak behavior.
These symptomatic indices have become the standard Level I diag-
nostic tool for the psychiatric clinic. At the time of intake evaluation,
the symptomatic pressure exerted by the patient is of crucial impor-
tance in planning a therapeutic program. All of the diagnostic studies
reported in Chapters 15-22 employ Level I-M measures.
These indices do not work as well in other functional settings.
They would not be used, for example, to predict behavior in an in-
dustrial office or in group discussion situations. The subject's emo-
tional symptoms are not the crucial factors determining behavior in
these environments.
When Level I-M indices are correlated with sociometric ratings of
group behavior (Level I-S), the relationships, while significantly posi-
tive, are not high enough for use in predicting roles in group psycho-
^The standard score conversions of Level I-M which are employed in the diag-
nostic grid of Figure 58 are based on a sample of 787 psychiatric clinic patients. The
mean of the vertical distribution (i.e.. Ma — D + Hs — Pt) is —24.4, and the sigma is
24.1. The mean of the horizontal distribution (i.e., K — F + Hy — Sc) is —6.13, and
the sigma is 27.1. A table for converting Level I-M dominance and hostility indices
into standard scores is presented in Appendix 5.
444
APPENDICES
^f^«4S0CHISTlC
Figure 59. Diagnostic Grid for Locating Level I-M Diagnosis. Key: The center of
the circle represents the mean score of the horizontal and vertical distribution (stand-
ard score of 50). Each cahbrated line on the grid equals one standard deviation. To
locate the predicted interpersonal role on the circular grid: (1) Determine the hori-
zontal and veracal indices, from the MMPI formulas. (2) Locate the horizontal co-
ordinate and the vertical coordinate on the major axes of the diagnostic circle. The
major axes are calibrated so as to convert the raw MMPI indices into standard scores.
(3) The posiuon where these intersect determines the predicted interpersonal role.
The farther from the center, the more extreme and maladjustive the symptomatic
pressure exerted by the subject. The two illustrative cases whose indices were calcu-
lated in Table 38 are plotted on this grid. Ulcer patient = U, and the patient with
classic neurotic symptoms = N.
therapy. This means that Level I-M indices which work well at the
intake diagnostic level are less useful in predicting how the patient
will behave in group therapy.
Level I-P Indices for Predicting Behavior in Group Therapy
The limitations of the Level I-M indices made it necessary to de^
velop improved methods for predicting behavior in group therapy.
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR 445
Two criterion-specific MMPI scales (one for dominance and one
for love) have been developed which predict role behavior in groups.
These provide the Level I-P diagnosis. Each of the 550 MMPI items
was studied to determine its relationship to I-S dominance-submission
and love-hate. The items which discriminated the Level I-S vertical
factor (at a level of statistical significance) were combined into a Level
I-P index for dominance. A scale was also constructed which relates
to the horizontal (hostility) factor. These scales are in the process of
cross-validation.
Illustration of the Scoring of Interpersonal Reflexes from
Group Therapy Interactions
The most straightforward method of coding interpersonal reflexes
is to rate the blow-by-blow interaction sequence — either observed
directly or followed on electric recordings or typed transcripts.
The two sample patients (ulcer and severe neurotic) whose pre-
dictive indices were calculated in the previous section were assigned
to the same therapy group.
We shall now present a transcription of the first few minutes of
the initial group therapy session. The severe neurotic patient de-
scribed above is coded "SN" and the classic ulcer patient, "ULC."
In this passage the interpersonal reflexes are scored at the right.
The scoring of each mechanism consists of three ratings: the code let-
ter representing the location of the action along the circular con-
tinuum of interpersonal mechanisms, the verb conside»-ed most closely
descriptive of the action, and the rating of intensity of the mechanism
along the four-point scale. In practice, the scoring of the descriptive
verb may be omitted.
GROUP THERAPY PROTOCOL
Six male patients file into a room and seat themselves expectantly. One pa-
tient, SN, glances at a picture on the wall of the therapist's office and begins
the group therapy process by remarking:
Mechanism or
Reflex Code
1 SN Is that suppose to be art on the wall. Ridicules D-3
or is that something somebody drew
in the hospital?
2 Th Now, the purpose of our meeting in Teaches P-2
general is to help each of you to come
to a better understanding of yourself,
a deeper understanding of yourself.
The meetings will last about an hour
and a half, we'll meet for at least four
446
3 Th
4 SN
5 Th
6 SN
7 EE
8 AA
9 SN
10 Th
11 EE
12 Th
months, at least 15 or 16 times. [Ther-
apist continues structuring for two
minutes.]
. . . I'm going to throw the burden of
the conversation now to the group.
I'd like to have you tell yourself and
tell us, today and for the next few
days, who you are, why you see your-
self coming here and what you might
want to get from the group.
What if you don't know? What if
you haven't the slightest idea what
you want?
Well, that's a good place to start. You
have already told us something inter-
esting about yourself.
How can you talk about something
you don't know anything about?
We could have a sympathizers' club
here.
A friend of mine suggested that, as a
matter of fact.
Is that it? Are we supposed to cry on
each other's shoulders? Is that the ob-
ject of it? Crocodile tears and sympa-
thetic ears, is that the idea?
(smiles) I hope we can help each
other more than just by groaning to-
gether.
Mr. SN has said ... I felt that way
too about knowing what I want, but I
think that's more a problem of just
...?... or you've just gotten so
darn discouraged about things you
just don't . . . well, there's a feeling,
I know with myself . . . feeling that
what a lot of people want just aren't
worth a candle, that's all . . . it seems
to take too much out of me in the way
of effort and emotional drive or some-
thing.
You don't just want the things that
any other people want?
APPENDICES
Mechanism or
Reflex Code
Directs
Supports
Summarizes
A-l
Passively resists f-3
N-2
Passively resists F-l
Ridicules self
and others
H-l
D-1
Agrees
L-l
Passively resists
f-3
Ridicules
D-2
1-2
Takes weak
position
P-2
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR
447
15 EE Yes, about a lot of things . . . like, for
example, a good deal of my problems
center about my work. I kind of ra-
tionalize that by saying, "Oh, to hell
with it! Most things people do aren't
worth doing anyway." I repair air
conditioners for a living, for example.
I have a very bad attitude about the
sets. Firstly, I can't sympathize with
my customers. I don't see why they
want to keep the damn things going,
(laughs) And, they hound me to get
the work. Of course, with my atti-
tude, one could make a virtue of it.
You could say that I have infinite pa-
tience. Frankly, I don't care. I'm not
anxious to get paid, I'm not anxious to
get started, I'm not anxious to finish.
In fact, I feel a good deal of anxiety
frequently about getting started and I
think that's part of Mr. SN's . . . that
there's something there— a counter
Mechanism or
Reflex
Condemns self
13 EE Yeah, I seem to have gotten into an
attitude of what you might call emo-
tional dumbness where I don't just
seem to have the emotional level that
some people have. Some people get
enthused about going to a picnic, ball
game or this, that and the other thing
... I mean, speaking for myself, I'll
say, "Ah, just let me alone." If some-
body's going to a picnic, I don't give
a damn whether they go to Milpitas,
San Francisco or what not. I don't ex-
pect to enjoy myself at a picnic. I'd
rather stay home and sit on my butt
and thumb through a magazine or
something . . . keep comfortable and
not bother with anything.
14 ULC You're speaking generally now— not Explains
just about a picnic? About many
things . . . Because I was going to
say, there are a lot of people who take
that attitude about certain things. You
can never get them to work up en-
thusiasms to get them to do anything,
and yet they have other outlets, or are
enthusiastic about . . .
Code
H-3
P-3
Depreciates self H-}
Pulls for
sympathy
;-3
448
16 EE
17 Th
18 EE
19 Th
20 EE
21 Th
22 SN
23 Th
24 SN
That's right.
Now let's stop for a moment. Have
these themes made anything click as
you've listened to EE describe them?
The idea of the annoyance of being
pressed is common. That's common
to everybody, isn't it? When you get
somebody on your tail and you know
that they are right and they have justi-
fication in their claims and that you
can't satisfy them or . . . and then
you feel a negative attitude . . . you
would like to take their work and
throw it out.
What do you usually do when you
feel that ... do you throw their
work out?
No, you just smile, and say, "Oh,
that's too bad."
APPENDICES
Mechanism or
Reflex Code
Accuses, de-
scribes self
as exploited
force. It isn't that a person doesn't
know what they want to do, really. 1
mean that there's some counter force
that makes anything that you want to
do not worth the price. (He con-
tinues at length in this vein.)
. . . they feel that I don't have a damn
bit of interest in their particular prob-
lems and even though my proposition
is reasonable ... in many cases I've
gotten turned down. I had an example
of that recently. By the way, am I
taking up too much of the time?
Let's stop a minute because you have
raised several interesting themes, the
feeling of obligation, the feeling of
being pressed in on by forces that . . .
Like when I rest . . . like last night
when my wife says "Well, do you
want to go out tonight?" I have al-
ready complained about being tired
and I did feel tired. It was about
eight-thirty that I started out.
Somewhat against your will, but you Reflects
did go.
Directs
Summarizes
Therapeutic
question
G-3
Mildly criticizes H-1
self
A-2
P-1
Accuses others G-3
Passively resists F-3
therapist's
direction
0-2
Participates L-\
Directs A-2
Gives opinion P-2
0-2
Depreciates self ^-2
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR
449
25 Th Is that what you usually do?
26 SN Well, sometimes I sort of digress a lit-
tle bit and I carry on a little campaign
trying to impress people that there is a
lot more to it . . . that they are ex-
pecting more. . . .
27 Th But you've never been in that position.
28 SN Never been in that position. Some-
times I've wanted things and the next
day I got them and it seems as though
when I got them it wasn't what I
wanted after all.
29 Th What have your thoughts been as you
have listened?
30 ULC Well, first of all, Mr. SN's statement
of enthusiasm, followed by a period of
less enthusiasm or depression, accord-
ing to my understanding is more or
less normal to a certain degree, now if
that goes to a greater degree, maybe
that's not normal. All of us have per-
iods where we work easily and enjoy
our work. Now whether it is during
that period you also suffer some of
that anxiety you said you worried
about the periods that are coming. . . .
3 1 Th How do you compare with SN or EE
as they have presented their situation?
32 ULC Well, it didn't quite fit in exactly. My
work is a little different and I don't
have to meet the public. I'm a . . .
and as such I work under the director-
ship of the department head, the group
leader, so that, while we have pressure
on us at times to do work, it isn't the
idea you're worrying about the busi-
ness ahead, or discouraging customers.
33 BB Do you worry about your work com-
ing out right? Does that give you
anxiety feelings?
34 ULC I think ... is very frustrating in one
respect and that is that it seems like
ninety percent of the time or greater
Mechanis?n or
Reflex
Therapeutic
question
Mildly praises
self
Summarizes
Feels
disappointed
Calls
Pedantically
teaches
Code
0-2
B-l
P-2
G-2
A-2
P-3
Therapeutic 0-2
question
Denies problem B-2
Therapeutic
question
Describes
frustration
0-2
G-2
450
APPENDICES
Mechanism or
Reflex Code
your . . . what you do does not come
out in a favorable manner. In other
words you are only looking for the
few successful experiments. That's
what makes the money for the com-
pany. You have volumes and volumes
of papers describing work you did
that no one will ever look at again.
35 BB Does that worry you— your relation-
ship with your immediate superiors?
Do you feel that maybe you haven't
done things right or fast enough or
careful enough?
36 ULC Yes, you do have those feelings too,
that's true.
37 EE Well, I think there's a sort of tie in
that basically it is simply probably you
don't meet the general public so much
as that your problems center maybe
on one or two individuals.
38 Th Have you had this feeling of pressure
that SN or EE have described?
39 ULC No, not too much. No.
Therapeutic 0-2
question
Accepts L-2
Gives opinion P-2
Therapeutic 0-2
question
Denies problem B-2
This passage serves as a nice illustration of the development of in-
terpersonal reflex patterns. The opening moments of a psychotherapy
group are always most dramatic and important. Six strangers come
together, meet for the first time, and begin automatically to train each
other. The network of interaction, perception and misperception be-
gins to weave itself. Consider Patient "SN" in the above passage. In
the first five seconds of the group he has launched a critical and skep-
tical arrow. He challenges the therapist sarcastically, asking about a
Picasso print on the wall. We may suspect that through these com-
ments he is telHng not just the therapist but the group in general, "I'm
a negative, uncooperative person; you're going to have trouble with
me." We have no record of what the five other patients were doing
while Patient "SN" was making his opening gambit. A motion pic-
ture record might have revealed that the others were, in their own
way, beginning to develop their roles. Patient "ULC" who later ex-
presses himself verbally as a self-satisfied, executive person might very
well have been using non-verbal means to communicate his detached
competence — crossing his legs briskly and shooting alert glances
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR 451
around the room. Patient "EE," who is soon to begin building a
facade of self-critical weakness may, in these opening seconds, have
been sending sheepish, apprehensive glances towards the others.
As we follow the subsequent moves of the grumpy Patient "SN"
we see the same reflex pattern unfolding quite consistently. Interac-
tions #6 and #9 continue to communicate the theme of uncoopera-
tive and passive resistance.
As Patient "EE" enters the action (remarks #11 and #13) a dif-
ferent set of reflexes appear. Patient "EE" begins a sequence of pas-
sive self-effacement. His self-depreciatory remarks are continued at
length in #15 and we sense that by #16 that they have developed
into a repetitious circle of pessimistic ruminations. He apologizes for
monopolizing the discussion. Interactions #17 and #18 focus on a
most interesting transaction. The therapist (#17) attempts to check
the flow of anxiety-driven words, but "EE" (in #18) continues his
reflex laments. In ignoring the therapist's intervention, "EE" provides
us with a nice illustration of the involuntary nature of Level I com-
munication. We may safely guess that this patient did not deliberately
or consciously interrupt and disregard the therapist. He has just ex-
pressed conscious anxiety about talking too much, but automatically
goes on to produce a rather flagrant example of insensitive, anxiety-
driven complaint.
At this point, it will be seen that Mr. "EE" has engaged in seven
interactions (#'s 7, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, and 20). What impression can
we surmise he has made on his fellow group members? On the thera-
pist? These sLx communications provide the data for a small experi-
ment in interpersonal relations in which the reader may participate.
Glance back over Mr. "EE's" statements, imagining that you are a
member of this therapy group. What feelings do you sense in re-
sponse to his comments? Some readers have reported a feeling of
sympathy, mixed with superiority, and irritable impatience. To the
extent that these feelings have been aroused in the reader then to that
extent "EE" has in seven easy steps taught or trained the reader to
respond to him in a typical and consistent way. Mr. "EE" had an
unusually rigid and inappropriate set of reflexes — apologetic, self-
critical, and complaining. He trained the group members and the
therapist just as he had trained everyone in his life to respond to him
with tolerant and/or irritable superiority.
This set of reflex responses seemed to operate as a defensive ma-
neuver. Occasionally he was able to show other responses. But the
more anxious he became, the less able he was to respond appropriately
and the more driven he was to continue his interpersonal defenses (as
illustrated clearly in the sequence #17 and #18).
452
APPENDICES
It is possible to summarize the interactions during any given time
period in a diagram. We simply count up the interactions for each
subject and chart them on the diagnostic circle. The intensity of the
interaction can be graphically illustrated by using different colors in
the diagram (green for intensity 1, black for intensity 2, etc.), or by
multiplying each score by the intensity (so that one F-3 would equal
three F-l's). Using the latter technique, we have included a diagram-
matic summary of the interactions of three of these patients in
Figure 60.
During the first five minutes of this session, we see that Patient
"SN" is rated as skeptical and passively resistant; Patient "EE" as
«^h77
Figure 60. Summary of Interpersonal Behavior of Three Parients During First Five
Minutes of Group Psychotherapy.
MEASUREMENT OF LEVEL I BEHAVIOR 453
weak, self-derogatory, and passively resistant; while Patient "ULC"
is rated as executive, strong, and self-satisfied.
Illustration of the Level IS Index of Interpersonal Behavior
The preceding sections have followed two sample patients through
two different measurement processes. The Level I-M scores sum-
marize the interpersonal meaning of their symptoms. The Level
I-R scores summarize how they actually did behave in the first min-
utes of therapy. We shall now describe another estimate of inter-
personal role based on sociometric ratings.
After six sessions of therapy, each patient in the group was ad-
ministered the Interpersonal Adjective Check List. Each subject rated
his impression of every other patient in the group and was in the same
way rated by all the members of the group.
The total number of items for each octant attributed to each mem-
ber of the group by every other member was then tabulated. Table
39 presents these data for the severe neurotic patient whom we have
followed in the previous discussions.
These figures have many uses. It is possible to diagram separately
(either in raw octant totals or by means of trigonometric indices) the
perception which each group patient has about Patient "SN." Inter-
esting patterns of misperception become obvious. In this case it is
possible to determine (from Table 39) that Patient "ULC" views
Patient "SN" differently from the consensual perception of the group.
He attributes more docility (JK) and tenderness (NO) to Patient
"SN."
TABLE 39
Illustration
OF •
FHE Calculations for
DETERMINfNG
THE Level I Profile for a
"Neurotic"
Patient, SN
Fellow Group Member Making Ratings
of Patient SN
Raw Total of Words
Assigned b\ OroiH)
Octant
AA
BB
ULC
EE
FF
toSN
AP
4
4
3
2
2
15
BC
3
2
1
1
4
11
DE
10
4
2
4
10
30
FG
13
10
4
8
IS
50
HI
14
8
13
11
14
61
JK
10
4
10
4
7
35
LM
4
1
6
2
3
16
NO
3
0
11
4
0
18
Total No.
61
33
50
36
55
235
When the raw octant totals are placed in the trigonometric formulas: Dom =
— 85.2; Lov = — 19.6. When these indices are divided by the total number of words
(235): Dom = -.363; Lov = -.083.
454 APPENDICES
At this point we are concerned with the derivation of the summary-
Level I-S score. This is obtained from the calculations in the right-
hand column of Table 39. Vertical and horizontal indices were calcu-
lated using the total number of words per octant assigned by the group
to Patient "SN."
These horizontal and vertical indices are converted into standard
scores by means of norms derived from large samples of group ther-
apy patients. The horizontal and vertical standard scores become the
Level I-S indices.
These can then be plotted on a diagnostic grid to determine the
Level L-S diagnosis. The summary point for Patient "SN" locates
in the extreme sector of the FG octant. The Level I-S diagnosis based
on a consensual sociometric impression of fellow group members thus
duplicates the Level I-R score.
Reference
1. Leary, T., and H. Coffey. The prediction of interpersonal behavior in group
psychotherapy. Psychodr. and gp. psychother. Monogr., 1955, No. 28.
The Interpersonal Adjective Check List
The instrument routinely employed to measure interpersonal behavior
at Level II-C, Level V-C, and Level I-S is the Interpersonal Adjective
Check List. This measuring device has been designed by Robert
Suczek, Ph.D., Rolfe LaForge, Ph.D., and the other members of the
Kaiser Foundation psychology staff ( 1 ) . It has been subjected to in-
tensive empirical study over a period of five years and has gone
through three major revisions.
The present form of the check list (Form IV) comprises 128 items
— eight for each of the sixteen interpersonal variables. An intensity
dimension has been built into the check list such that each of the six-
teen variables is represented by a four-point scale. For each variable
there is one intensity / item which reflects "a mild or necessary
amount of the trait." Three items refer to intensity 2, "a moderate or
appropriate amount of the trait." Three words reflect intensity 3, "a
marked or inappropriate amount of the trait." And one word ex-
presses intensity 4, an "extreme amount of the trait." The Form IV
check list arranged by variable and intensity is presented in Table 40.
The checklist items are arranged in circular form in Figure 6, page 135.
In actual use, the check list is given in approximate alphabetical
order and the subject indicates on an IBM answer sheet the items
which are descriptive of himself or of the person he is rating. The
check list has also been administered by means of IBM cards. Each
item was printed on a separate card and the subject was requested to
sort the cards into "true" and "false" piles. These cards were then
machine-punched and provide a card file for IBM research studies.
The methodology for IBM administration and analysis of the check
list is described by LaForge in a separate paper (2).
* This chapter is a summary of a paper written by Rolfe LaForge, Ph.D., and
Robert Suczek, Ph.D., the designers of the Interpersonal Adjective Check List. Grati-
tude is expressed to Drs. LaForge and Suczek for permitting the extended quotation
from their manuscript. Table and footnote numbers of the original paper have been
altered to conform to the series of such numbers in the present volume.
455
456
APPENDICES
TABLE 40
Interpersonal Check List, Form 4,
Words Arranged by Octant and Intensity
Octant 1: A?
A: 1 Able to give orders
2 Forceful
Good leader
Likes responsibility
3 Bossy
Dominating
Manages others
4 Dictatorial
Octant 2: BC
B: 1 Self-respecting
2 Independent
Self-confident
Self-reliant and assertive
3 Boastful
Proud and self-satisfied
Somewhat snobbish
4 Egotistical and conceited
Octant 3: DE
D: 1 Can be strict if necessary
2 Firm but just
Hardboiled when necessary
Stern but fair
3 Impatient with others' mistakes
Self-seeking
Sarcastic
4 Cruel and unkind
Octant 4: FG
F: I Can complain if necessary
2 Often gloomy
Resents being bossed
Skeptical
3 Bitter
Complaining
Resentful
4 Rebels against everything
Octant $: HI
H: 1 Able to criticize self
2 Apologetic
Easily embarrassed
Lacks self-confidence
3 Self-punishing
Shy
Timid
4 Always ashamed of self
P: 1 Well thought of
2 Makes a good impression
Often admired
Respected by others
3 Always giving advice
Acts important
Tries to be too successful
4 Expects everyone to admire him
C: 1 Able to take care of self
2 Can be indifferent to others
Businesslike
Likes to compete with others
3 Thinks only of himself
Shrewd and calculating
Selfish
4 Cold and unfeeling
E: 1 Can be frank and honest
2 Critical of others
Irritable
Straightforward and direct
3 Outspoken
Often unfriendly
Frequently angry
4 Hard-hearted
G: 1 Able to doubt others
2 Frequently disappointed
Hard to impress
Touchy and easily hun
3 Jealous
Slow to forgive a wrong
Stubborn
4 Distrusts everybody
/; I Can be obedient
2 Usually gives in
Easily led
Modest
3 Passive and unaggressive
Meek
Obeys too willingly
4 Spineless
THE INTERPERSONAL ADJECTIVE CHECK LIST
457
Octant 6: JK
J: 1 Grateful
2 Admires and imitates others
Often helped by others
Very respectful to authority
3 Dependent
Wants to be led
Hardly ever talks back
4 Clinging vine
Octant 7: LM
L: 1 Cooperative
2 Eager to get along with others
Always pleasant and agreeable
Wants everyone to like him
3 Too easily influenced by friends
Will confide in anyone
Wants everyone's love
4 Agrees with everyone
Octant 8: NO
N: I Considerate
2 Encouraging others
Kind and reassuring
Tender and soft-hearted
3 Forgives anything
Oversympathetic
Too lenient with others
4 Tries to comfort everyone
1 Appreciative
2 Very anxious to be approved of
Accepts advice readily
Trusting and eager to please
3 Lets others make decisions
Easily fooled
Likes to be taken care of
4 Will believe anyone
M: 1 Friendly
2 Affectionate and understanding
Sociable and neighborly
Warm
3 Fond of everyone
Likes everybody
Friendly all the time
4 Loves everyone
1 Helpful
2 Big-hearted and unselfish
Enjoys taking care of others
Gives freely of self
3 Generous to a fault
Overprotective of others
Too willing to give to others
4 Spoils people with kindness
Derivation of the Interpersonal Adjective Check List
An attempt was made to develop a stimulus situation which would be
a balanced representation, at various intensities, of each of the sixteen
hypothesized varieties of interpersonal behavior. In assigning scores to the
test responses, the "unit" assumed to be invariant became, not the standard
deviation computed for a certain sample under certain scaling assump-
tions, but an event from a defined set of events; the subject's selection or
rejection of any word in the list. The advantage of such an approach is
that direct numerical comparison of raw scores (number of words in a
given category checked by a subject) is possible and meaningful as a set
of communications from the patient, so that a model for statistical in-
ference need involve no untestable scaling assumptions. As a result,
idiographic procedures, similar to Stephenson's Q-technique, became
applicable. The disadvantage is that the selection of each item becomes of
crucial importance.
Because the interpersonal system is at present typically more a method
than a set of entities or measurements, any process of criterion item selec-
tion seemed likely to be premature and limiting. Instead, a priori selection
of words by a conference of from four to six psychologists was followed
4j8 APPENDICES
by a posteriori analysis of the way in which these words were actually
used by the patients. Both the intuitive judgments and the empirical
check were essential aspects of the developmental process.
Development and Revision of the Interpersonal Check List
General Background. The development of the Interpersonal Check
List has taken place over a period of four y fears. Four major forms have
been developed successively, the third having been twice revised.
The initial source of items was a 334 adjective check list prepared by
Suczek to be representative of trait lists extant in psychological literature
up to 1950. Form I was a selection of 106 interpersonal words made from
this list on the basis of the pooled judgments of five psychologists. . . .
The goals of the first revision were to obtain a fuller and more even rep-
resentation of the varieties of interpersonal behavior. Balance among the
sixteen categories in the frequency of "yes" responses obtained has been
improved with each successive form, but in later revisions attention was
concentrated on the meaning of the text items for each patient. . . .
Samples Tested. During the three year period of revision, the check
list has been administered to several thousand subjects in a variety of ways.
The principal use has been as part of the evaluation procedure for incom-
ing patients to the psychiatric clinic. Other samples include several hun-
dred students at the University of California, Berkeley; 100 students at
San Francisco State College, San Francisco; a group of dermatitis patients
from the practice of Dr. Herbert Lawrence, in San Francisco; and a group
of 200 overweight women. The most frequent administration has called
for a description of self. The majority of subjects have also been asked
to describe their mother, father, spouse, and (for Forms lib and IV) their
ideal self. In addition, some subjects have been asked to use the list to
describe people in general, to describe the characters in their TAT stories,
and to describe the other members of their therapy group, i.e., as a form
of sociometric. The statistical data used for revision of the check list
have been derived from these samples.
Problems and Methods of Revision. Once the decision to discard
standard scores and other scaling devices had been made, it was necessary
to manipulate item content in order to develop comparability among
variables. One difficulty was the variation in the frequency of "yes" re-
sponses among the sixteen categories. After a study of both the frequen-
cies with which individual words on Form I were checked and the average
raw scores obtained in the various sixteenth and octant categories, it was
decided that the introduction of an explicit "intensity" dimension would
simplify the attainment of approximately comparable raw scores. For
Form II, words were rated either 2 or 5 on a four-point scale from / "A
mild or necessary amount of a trait" to 4, "An extreme or highly inap-
propriate amount." Three words in each interpersonal category were of
intensity 2, "Moderate or appropriate," while three were of intensity 5,
"Marked or inappropriate." In Forms III and IV, words or phrases fitting
all four degrees of intensity were used.
THE INTERPERSONAL ADJECTIVE CHECK LIST 459
A second and related task was to minimize the effect of certain ex-
traneous determinants of the test scores. Among these are the misunder-
standing or failure to recognize the meaning of a word, the selection of
an alternate meaning differing from our usage, the general tendency to
mark more or fewer words, and the tendency to check more or fewer
"good" (positive valued) words. The latter tendency could be considered
an error if it reflected a misapprehension of the testing situation rather
than a habit of looking at oneself and others with such a bias. We con-
sidered all these effects to be special cases of the larger problem of dif-
ferences in set, which unquestionably affect test performance, producing
superficially derived effects often attributed directly to underlying per-
sonality structures. Our thought was that interviews following the test
sessions would be the most fruitful method of evaluating the effect of
differing sets on performance in the clinic setting, and such interviews
were begun with the construction of Form IIL
However, even without such interviews, it was clear from the evidence
at hand that certain general shifts with respect to intensity and value were
necessary. For one thing, although tallies of the octant scores showed
marked differences depending on application, intensity and sample, . . .
it was clear that all subjects were checking more words on the right-hand
(friendly) side of the circle than on the left (hostile). To some extent
this was a valid representation reflecting the inhibition of hostile expres-
sion in our culture, but largely it seemed to reflect a difference in set
between patients who were using the words to describe themselves and
psychologists who were judging the words from a vantage of psycho-
pathological theory.
To correct this bias, words were rated with respect to their value in the
patient culture.^ Then new intensity ratings were given the words with
an eye to their rated value and to the frequency with which they had been
checked by the patients. For example, appreciative and cooperative had
been checked by nearly everyone, and so were scaled down in intensity
from 2 to 1. Opposite adjustments were necessary on the left side of the
circle. The empirical relation between the intensity assigned to an item
and the frequency of patients' "yes" responses to the item was used in
later forms to correct mis-scored items. Considerable scatter within an
intensity occurred, but the rough rule was set up that intensity 1 words
should be answered "yes" by about 90% of the population, intensity 2 by
about 67%, intensity 3 by about 33%, and intensity 4 by about 10%.
Boundaries were set between these points, and items deviating too greatly
were eliminated or moved to a more appropriate intensity.
Many words, like discriminating, conciliatory, although agreed upon
by raters and patients, had to be discarded because they were unintelligible
to a sizable proportion of patients. Others, like demanding, were suscep-
tible of differences in interpretation which made ambiguous their inter-
* Ratings of value were done on a three-point scale according as the typical pa-
tient would consider the word in question as describing a "good," "neutral," or "bad"
trait.
46o APPENDICES
personal score. Our evidence in these cases was the tallies of words which
patients had complained about or marked as ones not understood and the
intercorrelations of a word with the other words in the list. Some words
were simply annoying to patients for other reasons and were discarded.
An example is pollyanna. To develop adequate item clarity and precision,
brief phrases were introduced if no single adjective could be found, al-
though items were kept as brief as possible in the interests of speed and
ease of test-taking.
In the revision of Form Illb, the pattern of intercorrelations of each
item with all other iteTm of the same frequency was the most important
source of information.^ A good item was characterized by high correla-
tions with neighboring items and low correlations with items more distant
on the circle of variables. It is customary in validating items to use the
score on a set of items as a criterion. We were able to go directly to the
item-intercorrelations themselves because we were comparing items of
the same relative frequency and because the whole pattern of intercorrela-
tions had meaning. Since a poor item was associated not only with a poor
pattern on its own graph, but also with a misplaced point on the graphs
of other items, the effect of poor items could be discounted in our con-
siderations as soon as one had been identified. Such adjustment is not pos-
sible if a score is used as an item criterion. In some cases, the majority of
items in a category were found to be poor. For these cases, the criterion
itself would have selected poor items. Approximately 6,000 item inter-
correlations were examined in the revision of Form Illb, and replacements
were made for items having poor patterns.
Our fairly standard procedure at each revision was to collect statistical
data on the previous form: the frequencies with which the individual
words in each octant, 16th and intensity were being checked by the var-
ious samples in the several situations, the average test scores for each sam-
ple, the tally of words which the patients had marked as ones not under-
stood, together with a summary of their verbal complaints, the octant
intercorrelations, and, for Form Illb, the item intercorrelations. To these
data were added the five psychologists' ratings of each word with respect
to interpersonal category and intensity. Psychologists' opinions as to the
understandability and over-all desirability of each word were also re-
corded. Each word was then considered by a conference of from four
to six psychologists. Changes in the list were of several types: the dis-
carding of a word or phrase, assignment of a new intensity of 16th desig-
nation, or a modification in wording. The remaining list of satisfactory or
modified words was used as a core for the new form of the check list. To
this were added new words or phrases as required. Thesauri, as well as the
2 It was possible to examine such a quantity of data because the test responses
were already punched into IBM cards. Actually, an approximation to the inter-
correlations was used, namely * „ , for a given ;.
For roughly constant marginal frequencies, this approximation is good.
THE INTERPERSONAL ADJECTIVE CHECK LIST 461
individual and collective inspiration of the staff, were used as sources of
words which would be meaningful to all patients in the exact sense desired.
Experimental forms were now drawn up and administered to patients
for two or three weeks of normal clinic intake. During this time, inter-
views about the test items were conducted. Patients who had just taken
the test were asked to point out words which seemed unclear, ambiguous,
or in any way bothersome. They were also asked to define specific words
about which we had some uncertainties. Finally, a general evaluation of
and reaction to the test was requested. On the basis of the data gathered
with the experimental form a revision was given definitive form.
As is suggested by the above, the process of development of the ICL is
a continuing one, but it was felt that sufficient progress has been made to
justify publication of the present Form IV.
Results
Internal Consistency. Test-retest reliability correlations are avail-
able on 77 of the obesity sample who were retested after an interval of
TABLE 41
Test-Retest Correlations, Form IIIa, by
(Obesity Sample, N =
Octant and Sixteenth
77)
Octanti
AP BC
DE
FG HI JK
LM NO
.76 .76
.81
.73 .78 .83
Average = .78
Sixteenths
.15 .80
A
B C D E
F
G H I J
K L M N 0
P
.75
.68 .74 .83 .76
.64
.77 .65 .76 .73
Average = .73
.76 .66 .73 .75 .74
.69
two weeks. Because this sample is a somewhat homogeneous all-female
group, these correlations are not likely to be larger than ones obtainable
with other groups. On the other hand, obese women may have more
stable self pictures than many individuals. The sort of unreliability which
results from changes in one's view of self is not of course undesirable in
a test designed to depict view of self. Therefore the correlations in
Table 41, which average .73 for I6th reliability and .78 for octant relia-
bility, may be thought of as suggesting that ICL scores can have suffi-
cient stability to be useful in personality research and clinical evaluation.
Perhaps more important than reliabilities are the intervariable correla-
tions. As in most theories, certain relationships among variables are postu-
lated, but in the Interpersonal System these relationships are particularly
accessible to the psychometrician. For example, adjacent variables on the
circular continuum are more closely related than non-adjacent, and the
relationship between two variables is a monotonic decreasing function of
462 APPENDICES
their separation. Empirical measures of relationship, such as the correla-
tion coefficient, offer an opportunity to check how well the postulated
order holds. Interoctant and intersixteenth correlations have been ob-
tained on several samples, and these correlations are summarized in Table
42. In Table 42, the averages of the correlations for variables one step apart,
two steps apart, etc., are shown. It is evident that these averages decrease
as more distant variables are correlated. Thus observations made with the
check list confirm that a roughly circular arrangement of the variables
can be used to describe their degree of relationship to one another.
TABLE 42
Average Intervariable Correlation as a Function of Their Separation
Around the Circle
Data Recorded in Sixteenths (Raw Scores)
i
^ntervariable Distance
Sample
Form
N 1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
Obesity females
111
77 .46 .37
.34 .28
.24 .21
.19 .12
Psychiatric outpatient
males
Ilia
76 .56 .48
.36 .26
.13 .11
.06 .06
Psychiatric outpatient
females
Ilia
122 .51 .39
.25 .13
.03 -.06
-.14 -.19
Data Recorded in Octants
Intervariable Distance
Sample
Form
Type of Score
N
1 2
3 4
Obesity females
III
Raw Scores
77
.51 .37
.22 .12
Psychiauic
outpatient males
and females
II
Raw Scores
83
.60 .35
.24 .11
Psychiatric
outpatient males
and females
II
Divided by
number of
words checked
85
.28 -.08
-.44 —.48
One might ask why no appreciable negative correlations are reported
among raw scores, even though variables opposite in meaning are corre-
lated. The answer is to be found in the fact that all variables are con-
taminated by a common factor, the over-all likelihood of a "yes" response,
regardless of item content. When this factor is removed by dividing each
raw score by the total number of "yes" responses made by a subject, nega-
tive correlations do in fact appear whenever variables with opposite com-
ponents of meaning are correlated. (Compare the last two lines of Table
42.) There does not seem to be any particular advantage to the division
of scores by number of words used if the effect of this over-all "yes"
tendency is kept in mind. For example, the correlations of raw or divided
scores with MMPI variables have the same average absolute value, although
in individual situations one or the other type of score may yield a higher
correlation.
THE INTERPERSONAL ADJECTIVE CHECK LIST
463
Tentative Clinic Norms. No adequate normative data on a variety of
samples are yet available. The means and standard deviations presented in
Table 43 can be used as approximate norms for clinical samples. They rep-
resent the performance of all patients tested during six months' routine
intake at the Permanente Psychiatric Clinic. (1, pp. 98-107)
TABLE 43
ICL Means and Standard Deviations for Psychiatric Outpatients
Form Illb
(144 items)
Form IV (128 items)
Octant
Means Standard Deviations
Means Standard Deviations
Males
Females
Males
Females
Males
Females
Males
Females
N = 75 N = 137
N = 75 N = 137
N = 86 N = 152
N = 86 N = 152
AP
8.5
7.7
2.6
3.4
6.2
6.2
3.0
3.1
BC
8.3
6.9
2.5
2.9
6.3
5.7
2.8
2.5
DE
8.6
7.6
2.9
3.4
7.4
7.1
3.2
2.9
FG
8.7
9.4
3.6
3.7
7.3
7.7
3.2
3.4
HI
9.6
9.6
3.1
3.5
7.0
7.8
3.3
3.3
JK
9.2
8.8
2.7
2.3
7.2
8.1
2.6
3.0
LM
U.O
10.6
3.2
3.1
7.1
8.2
3.0
3.1
NO
9.3
9.4
4.3
3.4
6.4
7.7
3.0
3.8
Vector Sum
DOM
-1.3
-3.2
7.0
8.5
-2.0
-3.4
7.9
7.8
LOV
3.5
4.4
9.0
9.1
-0.4
2.8
8.5
8.9
References
1. LaForge, R., and R. Suczek. The interpersonal dimension of personality: III. An
interpersonal check list. /. Pers., 1955, 24, No. 1, 94-112.
2. LaForge, R. Notes on the application of I. B. M. techniques to the analysis of
psychological data. Unpublished paper at Oakland, CaHf.: Kaiser Foundation
Psychology Research, 1954.
The Administration, Scoring, and
Validation of the Level III-TAT
The instrument employed routinely by the Kaiser Foundation clinical
and research studies for measuring Level III behavior is the Thematic
Apperception Test (2). This appendix presents some pertinent tech-
nical and research information relating to the Level III-TAT. The
details of administration will be presented. The scoring of the TAT
protocols in terms of the sixteen-variable system vi^ill then be dis-
cussed. A guide for assigning interpersonal ratings to the stories most
commonly eUcited is included. The basic research study which dem-
onstrates the ability of Level III-TAT to predict future changes in
overt behavior will then be reviewed.
Ten TAT stimulus cards are routinely employed. These cards
were selected on the basis of their interpersonal connotations. Cards
used for males and females are:
Males Females
1 1
2 2
3BA/I 3GF
4 4
6BM 6BM
6GF 6GF
7BM 7GF
12M 12M
13MF 13MF
18BM 18GF
Administration
The TAT is administered in a group testing situation. The patients
are given ten TAT cards (face down) and several sheets of blank
464
THE LEVEL III-TAT 465
paper. They are instructed to make up a story about the people in the
TAT stimulus picture. They are told that there should be interaction
among the people in their stories. They are to state what the situation
is, how the figures feel about each other, and how the situation is re-
solved.
While the subjects are writing their stories, the tester checks their
responses to the first cards to make sure that the instructions are being
followed. The average psychiatric clinic patient (mean years of
schooling for women = 12.4, men = 13.2) completes the ten card
TAT in forty-five minutes.
Scoring of Interpersonal Themes from TAT Stories
The TAT protocols are then rated by three independent judges
who assign one or more interpersonal themes to the hero of each story
and to the "other" personages.
The first step in the scoring process is the determination of the
hero figure. The TAT personage who is the central figure in the
story is designated the hero. There are criteria used to make this
decision.
( 1 ) The figure with whom the subject is most involved is the hero.
(2) The figure receiving the most descriptive space is the hero.
(3) The figure who parallels the subject's age and sex is the hero.
These criteria are listed in descending order of importance. In most
cases it is not necessary to apply these criteria — the hero is obvious.
Only where the issue of centrality is in doubt are these three criteria
applied. In some cases both characters or all characters mentioned can
be considered the hero if no distinction or separation between figures
is made by the patient.
The second step in scoring a TAT story is to assign the appropriate
interpersonal ratings to the hero. If the "other" figures are attributed
interpersonal feelings or actions these are then scored. Two raters
and a judge are used to score the TAT protocols which are being used
for research purposes. For routine clinical diagnosis it is often neces-
sary to rely on single ratings.
There are two methods for rating TAT themes. The first employs
the sixteen-variable lettered code (B = narcissism, C = exploitation,
etc.). The second employs the numerical octant codes (2 = narcis-
sism-B or exploitation-C, etc.). Since the octant scores are employed
in the trigonometric summary formulas, the numerical system is now
routinely used by the Kaiser Foundation system.
A strict legislative procedure has been developed for the judging
process. The first two raters make their scoring decisions independ-
466 APPENDICES
ently. The judge then inspects these ratings and makes a third and de-
cisive rating only in the case where the first two independent raters
are in disagreement. The judge cannot change a rating if the first two
raters agree on the same octant score. If the first two raters disagree
on the octant score the judge then has the authority to agree with
either of the raters or to substitute a third rating. The judge's ruling
is final.
In some cases the first two raters assign more than one score to any
TAT figure. They may agree on one score but disagree on the second
score. A rule has been developed to handle this eventuality. If there
is any disagreement in scores assigned to a TAT figure, the judge has
the right to change all the scores assigned to that figure.
A manual has been prepared to assist in the training of TAT raters.
Table 44 presents the most typical themes assigned to the figure in the
ten-card TAT employed by the Kaiser Foundation project. Percent-
age figures indicating the relative frequency of appearance of these
themes are included in Table 44.^ These percentages are sometimes
reflections of the figure chosen as Hero. They are included for didactic
purposes only.
TABLE 44
Guide to Assigning Interpersonal Ratings to Ten
TAT Stories (Level III-T)
CARD 1
Hero (Little Boy)
(a) The boy feels rebellious and passively resists his parents
wishes that he play the violin.
(b) He experiences success in later life.
(c) He is daydreaming.
[The score / is also assigned when the boy is conform-
ing to his parents wishes. If he is dreaming about suc-
cess, he gets the double score for passivity and
achievement.]
(d) He feels left out and unhappy.
(e) He has feelings of failure or impotence.
(f) He asserts his will actively, often against his parents.
Other (Parents or Parent Figures)
(a) The parents are forcing the boy to play the violin.
(b) They give the boy the violin or suppon him in his efforts.
(c) They are punitive or unsympathetic.
1 The percentage scores contained in Table 44 were derived by John Enright of
the University of California and Joan S. Harvey of the Kaiser Foundation staff.
Hero
Letter
Numerical
%
Code
Code
F
4
39
P
1
27
J
6
11
} and P
61
H
1
n
21
B
2
Other
3
Rating
%
A
47
»rts.
NotO
19
DotE
14
Rating
%
B
28
ForG
21
J
11
L
7
O
15
B2ndH
Other
Rating
%
BotC
29
NotO
19
D
13
J
4
THE LEVEL III-TAT 467
CARD 2
Hero (Girl with Books)
(a) Tlie girl feels or acts independently.
(b) She feels rebellious, resentful, or deprived.
(c) She conforms and gives up her independent strivings.
(d) She adjusts herself agreeably, and a happy ending results.
(e) She gives things to or supports her parents.
(f) She asserts independence but regrets decision in later life.
Other (Usually Family Members)
(a) The family members are selfish or rejecting [most common score
for neurotic groups].
(b) They are generous and sympathetic.
(c) They are angry because the girl is rebellious.
(d) They are docile, conforming people.
Comments: If the family members are mentioned in a descriptive sense they are
not scored (e.g., man plowing, woman is pregnant). If their activities put inter-
personal pressure on the girl they are given the appropriate score (e.g., the man's
conformity contrasted to the heroine's desire for independence, etc.).
BM
CARD 3 GF
Hero (Solitary Figure)
[Since there are no differences in the percentages of scores assigned to Cards 3 GF
and 3 BM, they are considered together.]
(a) The Hero is depressed, defeated, suicidal, etc.
(b) The Hero is bitter, disappointed, exploited.
(c) The Hero resolves the problem through conformity or trust.
(d) A happy ending.
[The last two scores involve generally subsidiary or outcome themes.]
Others
(a) The world is rejecting.
(b) The world is punitive or sadistic.
(c) The world is sympathetic and helpful.
CARD 4
Hero (Man or Woman*)
(a) The man is striving for independence or rejecting the woman.
(b) Feelings of despair, indecisiveness, guilt, and immobility.
(c) The woman dependently pleads with the man.
(d) The man has angry or punitive feelings.
(e) The man is involved in rebellious or criminal activities.
(f) The woman forcibly (or in a wise manner) pleads with the man
not to engage in impulsive or rash activity. ^ or P
• Comment: The "Hero-Other" distinction varies according to sex. We have there-
fore designated the most common themes without "Hero" and "Other." For this rea-
son no per cent figures can be cited.
Hero
Rating
%
H
46
ForG
23
/orK
4
L
1
3
Other
Rating
%
c
31
DotE
38
NoiO
23
Rating
BoiC
H(l)
JotK
DotE
ForG
H 27
C 18
.gg APPENDICES
CARD 6 BM
Hero (Man)
Hero
Rating %
(a) The man (son) strives for independence (e.g., towards marriage,
career, etc.). ^ 35
(b) The man feels guilt and unhappiness (often accompanying the
separation from the mother).
(c) The man is bitter, rebellious, engaged in crime, etc. ForG 11
Other (VN'^oman)
Other
Rating %
(a) The mother is unhappy because of the son's departure or wrong-
doing (or because of bad news). H 26
<b) The mother attempts directly or indirectly to prevent the son from
leaving her.
(c) The mother is hurt or bitter. ForG 17
(d) The mother gives blessing. N
(e) The mother eventually accepts situation. /
(f ) She learns to love daughter-in-law, and all are happy. L
[(e) and (f ) scores assigned to outcome themes.]
CARD 6 OF
[The Hero on this card generally varies according to the sex of the subject.
The most typical responses for females will therefore be listed separately from the
males.]
Females
Hero
Rating %
(a) The woman is fearfully surprised by the man. H 17
(b) She is rejecting or refusing the man. BorC 23
(c) She is pleasantly surprised by the man's offer. JorK 10
(d) She has committed a rebellious or deceitful act. Feels bitter or dis-
satisfied. F or G 14
Males
(a) The man is surprising the woman for exploitive or seductive pur-
poses. C 28
(b) He is surprising the woman with an offer of tenderness or generos- N orO 28
ity or love. M
(c) He is accusing her of crimes of omission or commission. D 15
CARD 7 GF
Hero (Daughter)
Hero
Rating %
(a) The girl is docilely listening to the older woman (or depending on
her). JotK 28
(b) She feels rebellious, bitter, hurt, or passively resistant. ForG 16
(c) She is unhappy or fearful. H or I 22
(d) She grows up and attains success and motherhood. P 12
THE LEVEL in-TAT
469
Other (Older Woman)
(a) She is reading to or advising the girl.
(b) She is comforting or helping the girl.
Other
Rating %
P 37
O 33
CARD 7 BM
Hero (Young Man)
(a) Young man is listening to or asking advice from the older man.
(b) He is bitter or rebelling against unsought-for advice.
(c) He feels helpless or guUty.
(d) He is actively resisting, establishing independence, or is involved in
an exploitative maneuver.
Other (Older Man)
(a) He is advising the young man.
(b) Themes of arrogance or exploitation are attributed to the older
man.
(c) He is helping or supporting the young man.
Hero
Rating
JotK
F
Horl
BotC 19
Other
Rating %
AotP 48
BorC 19
O 10
CARD 12 M
Hero (Boy)
(a) The boy is sick, unconscious, hypnotized, or asleep.
(b) He docilely or dependently pulls help from the other.
Other (Man)
(a) The man is hypnotizing or exerting power.
(b) He is helping, curing, praying over, or tenderly ministering.
(c) He is selfishly exploiting the other.
Hero
Rating
%
I
36
JotK
12
Other
Rating
%
AorP
20
NorO
29
BorC
15
CARD 13 MF
Hero (Man)
(a) The man is unhappy, despairing, guilty, immobilized.
(b) An unconventional or immoral act has occurred.
(c) A murderous or sadistic act.
(d) An exploitive or selfish action (e.g., rape, seduction, taking by force
from the other).
Other (Woman)
(a) The woman is sick or exhausted.
(b) She is unconcerned or satisfied (usually in contrast to the man's
sexual guilt).
Hero
Rating
%
HOTI
37
F
15
DotE
10
BorC 16
Other
Rating %
I 36
BorC 17
470
CARD 18 BM
Hero (Man)
(a) The man is unconscious, drunk, passive, defenseless, etc.
(b) He has committed a criminal or rebellious act.
(c) He is struggling with outside forces.
(d) He is dependent upon others.
Other (Hands)
(a) Others are punishing, attacking, or arresting the Hero.
(b) Othfxs are exploiting or manipulating the Hero for their own pur-
poses.
(c) Others are helping, protecting, or rescuing the Hero.
(d) Others are restraining or exerting power over the Hero (where the
power is neither clearly hostile nor helpful). AotP 11
CARD 18 GF
[Both figures in this card can play the Hero role. The typical themes attributed
to each figure are as follows:]
APPENDICES
Hero
Rating
%
HotI
57
F
6
B
20
JorK
9
Other
Rating
%
DorE
32
pur-
BorC
29
NorO
25
Top Figure
Rating
(a) The woman is unhappy because of the illness (or injury) of the
other. H
(b) The woman is angry or punitive toward the other. D or £
(c) She is helping the injured or ill other. O
(d) She is suspicious or bitter about the other's behavior. F or G
Lower Figure
Rating
(a) The lower figure is injured or iU. /
(b) She is hostile to or fighting with the other. D or £
(c) She has done something rebellious, "wrong," or sneaky. F
Management of TAT Scores. The TAT ratings are entered by
the three raters on a scoring form. This form (see Table 45) contains
boxes for the two raters and the judge to record their decisions and
additional space for performing the calculations necessary to convert
the scores into summary indices.
After the rating and judging, the judge's scores (columns on the
right of Table 45) are then tallied by octant (bottom right of Table
45). The octant scores are then fed into the trigonometric formulas
(see Chapter 6), and the horizontal and vertical indices for both
"hero" and "other" are calculated.
Subtotals for the themes attributed to males, females, and maternal
and paternal figures can also be entered in the appropriate boxes of
the scoring sheet. The lO-card TAT does not yield enough scores to
diagnose these fantasy figures reliably.
THE LEVEL III-TAT
Subject.
47
TABLE 45
Molar Rating Sheet
Group No TAT No.
«
Hero
Hero
Role
Other
Other
Role
Hero
Hero
Role
Other
?^/ —
Hero
Role
Other
Other
Role
1
2
4
6BM
6GF
7BM
'gf
12 M
13 MF
,„BM
"gf
Maternal Id.
Paternal Id.
Parental Id.
Cros
-Sex
Hero
Other
Total
Hero
Mother
Hero
Father
Hero
Parents
Hero
Other
AP
EC
DE
FG
HI
JK
LM
NO
Total
Dom
Dom
Lov
Lov
Other
X
a
DOM
-0.04
2.41
LOV
-0.26
2.59
472 APPENDICES
The horizontal and vertical indices for "hero" and for "other" are
then converted into standard scores and plotted on the diagnostic
grid to determine the Level III-T diagnostic categories.
Norms for the TAT. The vertical and horizontal indices for Level
III-T are converted into standard scores derived from a sample of 100
consecutive patients tested at the Permanente Psychiatric clinic. The
means and sigmas of the normative group are presented in Table 46.
TABLE 46
Means and Sigmas of Normative Group for Level III-T Hero and "Other"
(N = 100)
Hero
X a-
DOM —5.67 3.37
LOV +0.09 2.98
The Basic Validation Study Demonstrating That Level lll-TAT
(Hero) Predicts Changes in Future Overt Behavior
In Chapter 8 (and in the subsequent chnical chapters) it was sug-
gested that fantasy expressions predict personality changes which
can be expected in the future. A research study designed to test this
hypothesis has been executed and will now be reported. The subjects
in these investigations were given tests of conscious self-description
and the TAT before psychotherapy (or a control period). Six months
later the test of conscious self-description was repeated. The issue is
this: did the TAT's given before the experimental period forecast the
amount and kind of change which took place over time?
Subjects. Two samples of subjects were employed in this research.
The first comprised 42 psychiatric clinic patients who were tested be-
fore and after six months of psychotherapy.
There were no apparent extraneous selective factors which might
artificially influence the results.
A second control sample was also studied: 81 are female subjects
who were participating in a weight-reduction program ^ and were
tested before and after a six-month period in which they attended dis-
cussion groups on dietary problems. These groups did not have a
psychotherapeutic orientation. Although less change in personality oc-
curred in these groups, it was believed that an important test of the
predictive hypothesis would be furnished if it could be demonstrated
that the TAT's (before the experimental period) would predict what-
ever changes in personality did take place in these subjects.
^ Volunteers for a group weight-reduction study at Hernck Alemorial Hospital,
Berkeley, California.
THE LEVEL III-TAT 473
Method of Procedure. All subjects in the study were initially ad-
ministered two tests — the TAT and the Interpersonal Check List on
which they rated their conscious perceptions of self. The construction
and validation of this check list has been described in Appendix 2.
The check list scores were converted into the sixteen (eight moderate,
eight intense) summary interpersonal diagnostic categories.
Every subject in this study thus received a two-level interpersonal
diagnosis — one for his conscious self-description derived from the
check list and one for his private, "preconscious" behavior derived
from the TAT. A subject, for example, on the basis of his initial test-
ing might receive the following diagnoses: Level II = 5; Level III = L
This indicates that his self-descriptions were masochistic and self-
eflFacing while his TAT heroes were autocratic and power-oriented.
The method presented in Chapter 1 3 for expressing in numerical
indices interlevel differences was employed. These indices denote the
kind and amount of discrepancy between the two levels of personality
being compared. The discrepancy index for the illustrative subject just
considered is: Dominance-Submission = +112; Love-Hate = +22;
d = 114 (see Table 58, Appendix 5). These figures indicate that
the subject's TAT hero is considerably more dominating ( + 112)
and slightly less hostile (+22) than his conscious self-description.
The over-all discrepancy between the two levels is the highest pos-
sible (114). This means that his TAT expresses themes which are
most different from his conscious self-perceptions.
Each subject in the study was administered the Interpersonal Check
List after approximately six months. A diagnostic code was then
derived for each post-test. The illustrative case was self-diagnosed
(after six months of therapy) as a narcissistic personality, code = 2.
The preresearch score for each subject at Level II was then compared
with the post-Level II score by means of the same "discrepancy"
methodology. This yields a numerical index of change at the level of
conscious self-description. For the illustrative case the Level II diag-
nosis changed from 5 to 2. The indices for this change are: Domi-
nance-Submission = +103; Love-Hate == —21; d = 105. These fig-
ures mean that the subject became (in his self-regard) much stronger
and more dominant ( + 103) and slightly more hostile (—21). His
over-all amount of change was considerable (105 in a possible range
of Oto 114).
For each patient in the psychotherapy sample and for each subject
in the control sample the two sets of discrepancy indices were ob-
tained: the preresearch discrepancy between the Interpersonal Check
List and the TAT and the discrepancy between the pre- and post-
check lists.
474
APPENDICES
Two hypotheses were then stated: the discrepancies between the
conscious self-description and the TAT from the initial testing would
predict (1) the kind of pre-post change in self-description and (2)
the amount of pre-post change at this level. In the illustrative case
the TAT did predict quite closely the increased dominance in the
post- check list (H-112 versus H-103); the TAT did not predict the
shift on the Love-Hate axis (-f-22 versus —21). The discrepancy be-
tween the initial check list and TAT did predict quite accurately the
amount of over-all change in Level II over time (114 versus 105).
Results. There are two sets of results: those which reflect the abil-
ity of the TAT to predict the kind of change to be expected over time
and those which test the TAT's accuracy in predicting the amount of
change. In the former study two measures are involved, the Domi-
nance-Submission discrepancy and the Love-Hostility. If the TAT
expressed more dominance than the initial self-description a plus (-f)
score is obtained. If the pre-post discrepancy in the self-description
yielded a plus score on dominance, then the TAT was considered to
have predicted accurately the kind of change. The same type of plus
and minus (— ) measures for the Love-Hostility axis were similarly
compared.
The results for the psychotherapy and control samples are pre-
sented in Tables 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, and 52. For the psychotherapy
sample the TAT does not predict change in Level II Dominance-Sub-
mission (Table 47), but it does forecast change in hostility attributed
TABLE 47
Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Dominance-Submission
Between Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind of Change
in Self-Diagnosis of Dominance-Submission on Pre-Post Tests for 23 Psycho-
therapy Patients
TAT More Dominant Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
TAT More Submissive
Than Initial Conscious
Self-Description
+
-
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Dominant Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
10
5
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Submissive Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
6
2
X^ IS not significant.
THE LEVEL III-TAT
475
TABLE 48
Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Disc3iepancy on Dominance-Submission
Between Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind of Change in
Self-Diagnosis of Dominance-Submission on Pre-Post Tests for 40 Discussion
Group Controls
TAT More Dominant Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
TAT More Submissive
Than Initial Conscious
Self-Description
+
-
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Dominant Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
+
16
7
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Submissive Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
5
12
X =6 32; p = .02.
to self (Table 50). For the control sample of obese discussion group
members, the TAT does predict both the change in Dominance-Sub-
mission (Table 48, p = .02) and in Love-Hostility (Table 51, p =
.05). When the therapy and control groups are combined, the TAT
predicts change in Dominance (Table 49, p = .10) and in Love
(Table 52, p = .01).
TABLE 49
Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Dominance-Submission
Between Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind of Change in
Self-Diagnosis of Dominance-Submission on Pre-Post Tests for Combined Samples
OF 23 Psychotherapy Patients and 40 Obesity Patients
TAT More Dominant Than
Imtial Conscious Self-
Description
TAT More Submissive
Than Initial Conscious
Self-Description
-
-
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Dominant Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
26
12
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Submissive Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
11
14
X^ =3.71:
47<5
APPENDICES
TABLE 50
Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Love-Hostility Between
Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind of Change in Self-
Diagnosis OF Love-Hostility on Pre-Post Tests for 23 Psychotherapy Patients
TAT Less Hostile Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
TAT More Hostile Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
+
-
Post Self-Diagnosis
Less Hostile Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
5
1
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Hostile Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
5
12
X = 5.06; p = .05.
Several comments can be made about these results. The N's cited
are smaller than those given for the original samples because in the
"direction-of-change" study those patients who had no initial Level
II versus III discrepancy or no Level II pre-post discrepancies were
omitted, since plus or minus signs were not available. They are in-
cluded below in the "amount-of-change" study where "no-change"
becomes a most significant statistic.
TABLE 51
Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Love-Hostility Between
Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind of Change in Self-
Diagnosis of Love-Hostility on Pre-Post Tests for 40 Discussion Group Controls
TAT Less Hostile Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
TAT More HosUle Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Descnption
+
Post Self-Diagnosis
Less Hostile Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
11
10
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Hostile Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
4
15
X* =4.18; p = .05.
THE LEVEL III-TAT
477
TABLE 52
Chi-Square Relating the Kind of Initial Discrepancy on Love-Hostility Between
Conscious Self-Diagnosis and TAT Diagnosis to the Kind of Change in Self-
Diagnosis OF Love-Hostility on Pre-Post Tests for Combined Samples of 23
Psychotherapy Patients and 40 Obesity Patients
TAT Less Hostile Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
TAT More Hostile Than
Initial Conscious Self-
Description
-
-
Post Self-Diagnosis
Less Hostile Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
16
11
Post Self-Diagnosis
More Hostile Than
Initial Self-Diagnosis
-
9
27
X = 7 57; p = .01
The fact that the TAT works better as a predictive instrument for
the control group than the psychotherapy group is somewhat puzzling.
It may be explained by the fact that the psychotherapy patients were
retested during a period of greater personality change (1). Our re-
search has demonstrated that therapy patients go through more pro-
nounced and varied cycles of change depending on the kind and dura-
tion of psychotherapy.
Another important consideration in evaluating these results is the
possible existence of extraneous or artificial factors pushing the find-
ings in a falsely positive direction. One possibility is that the change
in pre-to-post testing could be the result of a regression to the mean.
If the second tests yielded less intense or less extreme scores or if the
initial TATs were less extreme than the initial self-descriptions, then
the results would be due to a statistical artifact. An examination of the
data revealed that neither of these situations existed. At this point it
seems possible to accept the hypothesis that there is a general and sig-
nificant tendency for private, ''pre conscious^'' fantasy material {as
tapped by the TAT) to predict the kind of future changes in con-
scious self-perception.
The second hypothesis concerned the ability of the TAT to predict
the amount of change. It will be recalled that the third discrepancy
score (d) mentioned above reflects the linear distance on the diag-
nostic grid between the initial self-description score and the TAT, or
the distance between any pre-versus-post comparison. If the second
478
APPENDICES
hypothesis is correct, the greater the conflict or discrepancy within
the pretest personality, the greater the change over time. Conversely,
the more rigid and tightly organized the pretest personality the
smaller the change to be expected. Defined operationally: a large "d"
score between Level II and Level III in the pretesting predicts to a
large "d" score between the pre- and posttesting at Level II.
This comparison was made for the psychotherapy sample and the
discussion group controls. The hypothesis did not hold for the therapy
sample. A large conflict between self-diagnosis and TAT was not
related to a large pre-post therapy change. It did hold for the discus-
sion group sample. As will be seen in Table 53, the greater the dis-
crepancy between the self-diagnosis and the TAT in the pretesting,
the more likely a large change in self -diagnosis over time. For the
discussion group controls it can be said that structural (interlevel)
variability predicts to temporal variability.
TABLE 53
Chi-Square Relating the Amount of Discrepancy Between Conscious Self-Diag-
nosis AND TAT Diagnosis to Amount of Temporal Change in Self-Diagnosis for
81 Discussion Group Contpols
Small Discrepancy (d)
Between Self-Diagnosis
and TAT in Initial Testing
Large Discrepancy (d)
Between Self-Diagnosis and
TAT in Initial TesUng
Small Discrepancy (d)
Between Pre and Post
Self- Diagnosis
27
IS
Large Discrepancy (d)
Between Pre and Post
Self-Diagnosis
16
23
4.40; p = .05.
The question as to why the hypothesis holds for one sample and
not the other cannot be answered satisfactorily at this point. It
may be due to the complexities and peculiarities of either sample. One
answer may lie in the fact that the psychotherapy sample tends to be
loaded with individuals who manifested severe interlevel conflict be-
fore therapy and relatively less change during therapy. The typical
therapy patient, as described in another publication ( 1 ) , is guilty, de-
pressed, and passive in self-diagnosis and expresses underlying themes
of power and narcissism. Although some change does occur in therapy
patients, this intense conflict does not get resolved during the six-
month period covered by the pre-post testing. Further research into
THE LEVEL III-TAT 479
the nature and sequence of change in psychotherapy may provide the
solution to this issue.
SuTnmary
This paper has presented a theory of and measurement method for
deahng with imaginative, "preconscious" behavior. Some functions
of imaginative expressions were presented. These included reduction
of anxiety and internal tension, maintenance of the feeling of self-
esteem and uniqueness, the time-binding postponement of impulse.
The implication of these theories is that imaginative productions can
be used by the psychologist to determine the amount of and inter-
personal sources of anxiety and to predict future behavior. The Kaiser
Foundation method for rating the interpersonal aspects of imagina-
tive expressions was described and employed for illustration purposes
to a dream of Sigmund Freud, This method was then applied to two
sets of data to test the hypothesis that fantasy expressions predict the
amount and kind of change to be expected in future conscious self-
descriptive behavior. The results tended to support the notion that the
kind of structural (interlevel) variability between levels in pretesting
predicts the kind of variabihty to occur in the future. The hypothesis
that the amount of structural variability is related to the amount of
temporal variability was found to hold for one sample and not the
second.
References
1. Leary, T., and Joan Harvey. A methodology for measuring personality changes
in psychotherapy. /. din. Psychol., 1956, 12, No. 3, 123-32.
2. Murray, H. A. Thematic Apperception Test. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1943.
4
The Interpersonal Diagnostic Report
The multilevel pattern of scores provided by the interpersonal system
is employed to make diagnostic and prognostic statements about pa-
tients who are being evaluated for psychotherapy. The scores can be
converted into predictions about the interpersonal behavior to be ex-
pected in the subsequent clinical contacts.
The diagnostic report focuses on the functional aspects of the pa-
tient's personality in terms of five areas:
1. Motivation for psychotherapy
2. "Preconscious" conflicts and the associated defensive processes
3. Summary of conscious and "preconscious" identification patterns
and the predicted transference possibilities
4. Analysis of the ego-structure, ego strength, potential psychotic
tendencies
5. Prognosis of response to psychotherapy
In developing these clinical implications of the interpersonal pro-
file, we have been influenced by the concepts of Merton Gill et al.
In the book The Initial Intervieiu in Psychiatric Practice (1) Gill,
Newman, and Redlich outline a theory and technique for assessing
the variables which are crucial to prognosis.
A sample diagnostic report will now be presented. First the multi-
level personality pattern and the family relationships (as measured by
the interpersonal system) are described; then the clinical implications
of the profile are listed.
Multilevel diagnosis is accomplished most efficiently by using the
"Record Booklet for Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality." A copy
of this printed booklet is presented in Figure 61. The raw scores,
standard scores, diagnostic profiles, and calculations of variability
indices for the sample case are included for illustrative purposes in this
figure. The data listed in the diagnostic booklet will allow the reader
to follow the step-by-step derivation of the multilevel diagnosis. The
480
THE INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSTIC REPORT 481
norms for converting raw scores at Levels I-M, II-C, III-TAT
(Hero), and III-TAT (Other), and the weighted scores for variabil-
ity indices are listed in Appendix 5.
In this illustrative case the patient was retested after psychotherapy.
The personality profile after therapy will be examined to check on
the accuracy of the original predictions and to illustrate the use of
the interpersonal system in measuring personality change. The post-
therapy (second testing) Level I-M and II-C diagnoses of this sample
patient are not presented in the pretherapy diagnostic booklet. In
order to illustrate the diagrammatic measurement of change in per-
sonality, Figure 62 presents the pretherapy multilevel pattern and the
posttherapy scores at Levels I and II.
Personality Evaluation of Case 6618
Multilevel Personality Profile. This 40-year-old man mani-
fests extreme depression and helpless dependence in his symptoms (see
Figure 61). His MMPI can be seen as a plea for help and an ex-
pression of weakness, fear, and impotence.
In his conscious self-description he presents a similar picture. He
tells us he is passive, self-effacing, and timid. He denies hostility or
strength.
His "preconscious" expressions (Level III-T Hero) present a dif-
ferent picture. Moderate strength and independence appear at this
underlying level. His deeper fantasy descriptions of "others" involve
agreeability and nurturance.
The pattern of these four scores (6618) defines a conflict between
two levels of overt passivity and underlying feelings of power. The
strength which is consciously denied appears close to the surface in
his imaginative productions.
Interpersonal Diagnosis. Dependent-masochistic personality with
underlying feelings of power and nurturance.
Psychiatric Diagnostic Impression. Phobic personality.
Family Dynamics. This patient sees his father as a weak, self-
effacing person. His mother is assigned extraordinary power and pres-
tige (being more than two sigmas above the mean dominance score).
His wife is seen as a strong, responsible person.
A definite compartmentalization of sex roles is revealed. Females
are strong and nurturant. Males are weak and docile.
His ego ideal falls very close to his pictures of wife and mother.
This indicates he idealizes the female relatives and devaluates his own
and his father's weakness. An insecure grasp on a masculine identifica-
tion is suggested.
482
APPENDICES
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THE INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSTIC REPORT 489
His own view of self is far removed from his ego ideal. He is,
therefore, dissatisfied with himself and desires to be a stronger and
mor'C executive person.
His "preconscious" scores fall close to his perceptions of mother
and wife. This means that there is a "preconscious" identification
with the idealized female figures. Consciously he is, of course, more
identified with the weaker father and disidentified with mother and
wife.
It will be noted that all seven interpersonal scores fall on the right
(conventional) side of the diagnostic circle and none on the left
(rebellious) side. The conflict axis lies between power and docility.
This indicates that any "movement" or change in therapy will take
place vertically on the right side of the diagnostic circle.
Clinical Implications
1 . Motivation. The patient is initially well motivated for psycho-
therapy. He is pushed by symptoms of anxiety and depression. He is
consciously dissatisfied with himself. His overt security operations
are dependent, which makes it easy and natural for him to play the
part of a patient.
2. Preconscious Conflicts AND Defense Mechanisms. A conflict
exists between overt docility-masochism and "preconscious" power.
To be strong is to be feminine — i.e., like mother and wife. To be
masculine (like father) means to be passive. Figure 61 includes the
variability indices of interlevel conflict ^ and verbal summaries of these
indices.
It will be seen that this patient represses power and nurturance,
that he is consciously identified with his father and disidentified with
his mother and his wife, and that he is "preconsciously" identified with
these female relatives.
* The variability index figures cited in Figure 61 are based on the methodology de-
scribed in Chapter 13. The indices of discrepancy on Dominance and Love are cal-
culated separately and indicate what is repressed or misperceived. These two orthog-
onal linear indices (vertical and horizontal) are the sides of a right triangle the
hypotenuse of which is the linear discrepancy distance. The hypotenuse of this
triangle is the variability index (d); the two sides of the triangle indicate whether
dominance (-f-) or passivity (— ) and love ( + ) or hostility ( — ) are involved in the
discrepancy. The weighted scores are based on mathematical procedures outlined
in Chapter 13. In Appendix 5 will be found a complete listing of the weighted scores
for every possible combination of scores (i.e., interlevel discrepancies or changes in
the same level over time).
Figure 61 contains a column for entering the standard scores for discrepancies.
At the present time the normative studies have not been completed and tables of
standard scores are not available. For this reason this column is left blank. The
plotting of variability indices on the diagram is based on an arbitrary (and tentative^
scaling and included for illustrative purposes.
490 APPENDICES
3. Predicted Interpersonal Reactions to Psychotherapy. This
patient will present himself as docile and helpless. He will exert tre-
mendous dependent pressure on the therapist, attempting to provoke
reassurance, sympathy, and approval.
The underlying feelings of power will, however, lead the patient
to private reservations and covert feelings of stubborn superiority.
The patient pulls for sympathy but privately does not want to be seen
as passive. A power struggle could develop unless the therapist avoids
these powerful reflexes.
The underlying power motivation suggests that the patient will
not remain passive and will try to end therapy through becoming
normal and responsible.
The sequence to be expected is therefore: docility followed by
dominance.
He will initially attempt to provoke maternal strength from the
therapist. He will then tend (if the therapist is a male) to assume
power and to derogate and master the therapist.
4. Prognosis. The prognosis for psychotherapy is in general posi-
tive. There are no indications of psychotic processes. The under-
lying feelings of responsibility forecast a healthy resolution of the
symptomatic pressures. He is considered a good candidate for brief
symptom-oriented psychotherapy.
The tangled nature of the sexual identification suggests that basic
changes in the personality would not be expected short of psycho-
analysis. He is therefore considered a good bet only for brief counsel-
ing. He will probably repress out of therapy and move towards a
closer identification with his family members.
He cannot be expected to move towards masculine independence
or rebellion from the close family ties.
Case History
The cUnician who handled this case provided a case history which
was written without knowledge of the test results.
Clinical Summary. A 40-year-old auto mechanic, self-referred
with complaints of insomnia, hypertension, dizzy spells, blurry vision,
prostate trouble, etc. These symptoms had begun six months ago,
when a friend of the patient's who had many similar symptoms died of
a heart attack following a prostate operation. The patient's physical
condition was aggravated by business developments he did not feel
competent to handle. The patient's home situation was apparently
satisfactory ("wife and I get along nicely"), though in the last year
or so he hadn't been quite the man he used to be; he had less sexual
THE INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSTIC REPORT
491
desire than he used to have. He came from a Jewish family who lived
in a Catholic, anti-Semitic neighborhood; the parents fought con-
stantly. Patient was the second of six children. He had worked at
various jobs, suffered much in the depression, finally took up auto
mechanics which had been his hobby.
Impression: very nice guy — long history of hypochondriasis — feel-
ings of inadequacy which he is very aware of. Passivity problems.
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Figure 62. Multilevel Profile of Illustrative Patient Before Psychotherapy and
Level I-M and II-C Scores After Psychotherapy.
Key: Before therapy: 6618-1S8-1
After Therapy: 71
I = Level I-M before therapy
S = Conscious view of self
H = Level IIl-T Hero
O = Level HI-T Other
M = Conscious view of mother
F = Conscious view of father
Sp = Conscious view of spouse
Id = Level V-Ego Ideal
S= Level I-M after therapy
= Level II-C— Conscious view
of self after therapy
4^2 APPENDICES
Prior to the second interview the patient called to say his private M.D.
had kicked him out since he was getting psychiatric care, he had no
more sleeping pills, and what to do. It was suggested he go to the
medical clinic for a work up, which he did. He was looking and feel-
ing much better at the second interview after having stopped medi-
cation even though he still couldn't sleep. Therapy was discussed
and the patient showed some resistance as to cost and daytime hours
but accepted it as inevitable. He was seen in individual therapy fif-
teen times. Close-out report states "patient is a severe phobic . . . ;
motivation was always a problem — he wanted answers. We both
agree that his symptoms are the price he pays for his satisfactory (to
hun) way of life." There was some symptomatic improvement.
Closing Diagnosis. Obsessive neurosis with phobic features.
PosTTHERAPY Test Profile. This patient was administered the In-
terpersonal Check List and the MMPI after fifteen sessions of indi-
vidual psychotherapy. The pre- and posttherapy scores are presented
in Figure 62. A dramatic symptomatic improvement was recorded.
His Level I-M index (\) moves in the direction of increased power
and decreased passivity. He ends up (at Level I) with the diagnosis of
overconventional (hysteric) personality. He no longer admits to fears,
worries, and depression but claims conventional adjustment.
In his self-description the same direction of change occurs. He
sees himself after therapy as a confident, executive person. This re-
vision, it will be noted, brings him into a much closer identification
with his female relatives. He is utilizing (at this level) the security
operations that characterize his mother and wife. The permanence
or basic efficiency of this adjustment may be questioned but it is clear
that considerable symptomatic relief has occurred through this repres-
sive process and that the patient is currently happy with this resolu-
tion.
Reference
1. Gill, M., R. Newman, and F. Redlich. The initial interview in psychiatric prac-
tice. New York: International Universities Press, 1954.
5
NormSj Conversion Tables, and Weighted
Scores Used in Interpersonal Diagnosis
In the interpersonal system the diagnosis at each level is assigned
automatically and objectively by locating the intersection of the verti-
cal (Dominance-Submission) and horizontal (Love-Hostility) indices
on the diagnostic grid. This procedure is described in Chapter 12.
The center of the diagnostic grid is determined by the intersection of
the means of the horizontal and vertical distribution of a normative
psychiatric cHnic admission sample. In order to arrive at the inter-
personal diagnosis, it is necessary to convert the raw scores (Domi-
nance and Love) to standard scores at each level.
Table 54 presents the norms used for converting raw scores at
Level I-M to standard scores.^ Table SS lists the norms for Level
II-C. Tables 56 and 57 present the norms for Level III TAT (Hero)
and (Other) respectively.
The system for measuring discrepancies between levels or between
two tests at the same level administered at different times is presented
in Chapter 13. Three indices of variability are derived from each pair
of diagnostic codes to be compared. The Dom index indicates the
amount of discrepancy between the two levels on the dominance-
submission axis. The Lov index indicates the amount of discrepancy
on the love-hostility axis. The Dom and the Lov indices thus define
the kind of discrepancy. The amount of discrepancy is indicated by
the "d" value.
The weighted scores assigned to the discrepancy between each
pair of interlevel scores (or between scores at the same level obtained
at different times) are presented in Table 58. It will be noted that
* Templates and diagnostic grids used for interpersonal diagnosis have been pub-
lished by the Psychological Consultation Service, 1230 Queens Road, Berkeley 8,
California.
493
TABLE 54
Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard Scores at Level
I-M (Standardized on Kaiser Foundation Psychology Research
Samples B, Cl-1, Cl-2)
Dom
Standard
Score
Lov
Dom
Standard
Score
Lov
447, 48, 49
80
+74. 75. 76
445, 46
79
+72. 73
-26, 27
49
- 8, 9, 10
442, 43. 44
78
469, 70, 71
-28, 29, 30
48
-11, 12
440,41
77
4^6, 67, 68
-31, 32
47
-13, 14. 15
438,39
76
4^4, 65
-33, 34, 35
46
-16, 17, 18
+35, 36, 37
75
461, 62. 63
-36, 37
45
-19, 20, 21
433.34
74
458. 59. 60
-38, 39, 40
44
-22, 23
430, 31, 32
73
+55, 56, 57
-41, 42
43
-24, 25, 26
+28, 29
72
+53, 54
-43,44
42
-27, 28, 29
+25, 26, 27
71
+50, 51, 52
-45, 46, 47
41
-30, 31
+23. 24
70
447, 48, 49
-48, 49
40
-32. 33, 34
+21. 22
«9
445,46
-50, 51, 52
39
-35, 36
+18, 19, 20
68
442, 43, 44
-53, 54
38
-37, 38, 39
+16. 17
67
+39, 40, 41
-55, 56
37
-40, 41, 42
+13, 14, 15
66
+37, 38
-57, 58, 59
36
-43, 44, 45
+11, 12
65
+34. 35, 36
-60. 61
35
-46, 47, 48
+ 9, 10
64
+31. 32, 33
-62, 63, 64
34
-49, 50
+ 6, 7. 8
63
+28, 29, 30
-65, 66
33
-51, 52. S3
+ 4, 5
62
+26, 27
-67, 68
32
-54, 55, 56
+ 1. 2, 3
61
+23, 24, 25
-69, 70, 71
31
-57, 58
- 1. 0
60
+20, 21, 22
-72, 73
30
-59, 60, 61
- 2, 3
59
+17, 18, 19
-74, 75, 76
29
-62, 63. 64
- 4. 5, 6
58
+15, 16
-77, 78
28
-65, 66, 67
- 7, 8
57
+12, 13, 14
-79, 80. 81
27
-68, 69
- 9, 10, 11
56
+ 9, 10, 11
-82, 83
26
-70, 71, 72
-12. 13
55
+ 7, 8
-84, 85
25
-73, 74, 75
-14. 15
54
+ 4, 5, 6
-86, 87, 88
24
-76, 77
-16, 17. 18
S3
+ 1, 2, 3
-89, 90
23
-78, 79, 80
-19, 20
52
0,-1, 2
-91, 92, 93
22
-81, 82, 83
-21, 22, 23
51
- 3, 4
-94,95
21
-84, 85, 86
-24, 25
50
- 5, 6, 7
-96, 97, 98
20
-87, 88
494
TABLE 55
Norms for CohJVERTmc Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard Scores at Level
II-C (For Use with Interpersonal Check List, Form 4) (Standardized on Kaiser
Foundation Research Sample G)
Std. Std. Std. StO.
Dom Score Lov Score Dom Score Lov Score
+37.8
+38.4
102
+37.0
+37.7
101
+36.2
+36.9
100
- 2.5
- 3.2
50
+ 1.2
+ 2.0
SO
+35.4
+36.1
99
- 3.3
- 4.0
49
+ 0.3
+ 1.1
49
+34.6
+35.3
98
- 4.1
- 4.8
48
+ 0.2
- 0.6
48
+33.8
+34.5
97
-'4.9
- 5.6
47
- 0.7
- 1.4
47
+33.0
+33.7
96
- 5.7
- 6.4
46
- 1.5
- 2.3
46
+32.2
+32.9
95
- 6.5
- 7.2
45
- 2.4
- 3.2
45
+31.5
+32.1
94
- 7.3
- 8.0
44
- 3.3
- 4.1
44
+30.7
+31.4
93
- 8.1
- 8.7
43
- 4.2
- 5.0
43
+29.9
+30.6
92
- 8.8
- 9.5
42
- 5.1
- 5.9
42
+29.1
+29.8
91
+37.6
+38.4
91
- 9.6
-10.3
41
- 6.0
- 6.8
41
+28.3
+29.0
90
+36.7
+37.5
90
-10.4
-11.1
40
- 6.9
- 7.7
40
+27.5
+28.2
89
+35.9
+36.6
89
-11.2
-11.9
39
- 7.8
- 8.3
39
+26.7
+27.4
88
+35.0
+35.8
88
-12.0
-12.7
38
- 8.6
- 9.4
38
+25.9
+26.6
87
+34.1
+34.9
87
-12.8
-13.5
37
- 9.5
-10.3
37
+25.2
+25.8
U
+33.2
+34.0
86
-13.6
-14.3
36
-10.4
-11.2
36
+24.4
+25.1
85
+32.3
+33.1
85
-14.4
-15.0
35
-11.3
-12.1
35
+23.6
+24.3
84
+31.4
+32.2
84
-15.1
-15.8
34
-12.2
-13.0
34
+22.8
+23.5
83
+30.5
+31.3
83
-15.9
-16.6
33
-13.1
-13.9
33
+22.0
+22.7
82
+29.6
+30.4
82
-16.7
-17.4
32
-14.0
-14.8
32
+21.2
+21.9
81
+28.8
+29.5
81
-17.5
-18.2
31
-14.9
-15.6
31
+20.4
+21.1
80
+27.9
+28.7
80
-18.3
-19.0
30
-15.7
-16.5
30
+19.6
+20.3
79
+27.0
+27.8
79
-19.1
-19.8
29
-16.6
-17.4
29
+18.9
+19 5
78
+26.1
+26.9
78
-19.9
-20.6
28
-17.5
-18.3
28
+18.1
+18 8
77
+25.2
+26.0
77
-20.7
-21.3
27
-18.4
-19.2
27
+17.3
+18.0
76
+24.3
+25.1
76
-21.4
-22.1
26
-19.3
-20.1
26
+16.5
+17.2
75
+23.4
+24.2
75
-22.2
-22.9
25
-20.2
-21.0
25
+15.7
+16.4
74
+22.5
+23.3
74
-23.0
-23.7
24
-21.1
-21.9
24
+14.9
+15.6
73
+21.7
+22.4
73
-23.8
-24.5
23
-22.0
-22.8
23
+14.1
+14.8
72
+20.8
+21.6
72
-24.6
-25.3
22
-22.9
-23.6
22
+13.3
+14.0
71
+19.9
+20.7
71
-25.4
-26.1
21
-23.7
-24.5
21
+12.5
+13.2
70
+19.0
+19.8
70
-26.2
-26.9
20
-24.6
-25.4
20
+11.7
+12.4
69
+18.1
+18.9
69
-27.0
-27.6
19
-25.5
-26.3
19
+11.0
+11.6
68
+17.2
+18.0
68
-27.7
-28.4
18
-26.4
-27.2
18
+10.2
+10.9
67
+16.3
+17.1
67
-28.5
-29.2
17
-27.3
-28.1
17
+ 9.4
+10.1
66
+15.4
+16.2
66
-29.3
-30.0
16
-28.2
-29.0
16
+ 8.6
+ 9.3
65
+14.5
+15.3
65
-30.1
-30.8
IS
-29.1
-29.9
15
+ 7.8
+ 8.5
64
+13.7
+14.4
64
-30.9
-31.6
14
-30.0
-30 7
14
+ 7.0
+ 7.7
63
+12.8
+13.6
63
-31.7
-32.4
13
-30.8
-31.6
13
+ 6.2
+ 6.9
62
+11.9
+12.7
62
-32.5
-33.2
12
-31.7
-32.5
12
+ 5.4
+ 6.1
61
+11.0
+11.8
61
-33.3
-33.9
11
-32.6
-33 4
11
+ 4.7
+ 5.3
60
+10.1
+10.9
60
-34.0
-34.7
10
-33.5
-34.3
10
+ 3.9
+ 4.6
59
+ 9.2
+10.0
59
-34.8
-35.5
9
-34.4
-35.2
9
+ 3.1
+ 3.8
58
+ 8.3
+ 9.1
58
-35.6
-36.3
8
-35.3
-36.1
8
+ 2.3
+ 3.0
57
+ 7.4
+ 8.2
57
-36.4
-37.1
7
-36.2
-37.0
7
+ 1.5
+ 2.2
56
+ 6.6
+ 7.3
56
-37.2
-37.9
6
-37.1
-37.9
6
+ 0.7
+ 1.4
55
+ 5.7
+ 6.5
55
-38.0
-38.4
5
-38.0
-38.4
5
- 0.1
+ 0.6
54
+ 4.8
+ 5.6
54
- 0.2
- 0.9
53
+ 3.9
+ 4.7
53
- 1.0
- 1.6
52
+ 3.0
+ 3.8
52
- 1.7
- 2.4
51
+ 2.1
+ 2.9
51
495
TABLE 56
Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard Scores at Level
UI-TAT (Hero) (Standardized on Kaiser Foundation Psychology Research
Sample 100)
Std.
Std.
Std.
Sic
Dom Score
Lov Score
Dom Score
Lov
Score
+7.7 +7.9
90
+11.9
+12.1
90
+7.4 +7.6
89
+11.6
+11.8
89
-
5.9
- 6.1
49
- 0.1
- 0.3
49
+7.0 +7.3
88
+11.3
+11.5
88
.
6.2
- 6.5
48
- 0.4
- 0.6
48
+6 7 +6.9
87
+11.0
+11.2
87
.
6.6
-68
47
- 0.7
- 0.9
47
+63 +6.6
8<
+10.7
+10.9
86
-
6.9
- 7.1
46
- LO
- 1.2
46
+€.0 +6.2
85
+10.4
+10.6
85
_
7.2
- 7.5
45
- 1.3
- 1.5
45
+5.7 +5.9
84
+10.1
+10.3
84
-
7.6
- 7.8
44
- 1.6
- 1.8
44
+5.3 +5.6
83
+ 98
+10.0
83
-
7.9
- 8.1
43
- 1.9
- 2.1
43
+5.0 +5.2
82
+ 9.5
+ 9.7
82
-
8.2
- 8.5
42
- 2.2
- 2.4
42
+4.7 +4.9
81
+ 9.2
+ 9.4
81
-
8.6
-88
41
- 2.5
- 2.7
41
44.3 +4.6
80
+ 8.9
+ 9.1
80
-
8.9
- 9.2
40
- 2.8
- 3.0
40
+4.0
+4.2
79
+ 8.6
+ 8.8
79
- 9.3
- 9.5
39
- 3.1
- 3.3
39
+3.6
+3.9
78
+ 8.3
+ 8.5
78
- 9.6
- 9.8
38
- 3.4
- 3.6
38
+3.3
+3.5
77
+ 8.0
+ 8.2
77
- 9.9
-10.2
37
- 3.7
- 3.9
37
+3.0
+3.2
76
+ 7.7
+ 7.9
76
-10.3
-10.5
36
- 4.0
- 4.2
36
+2.6
+2.9
75
+ 7.4
+ 7.6
75
-10.6
-10.8
35
- 4.3
- 4.5
35
+2.3
+2.5
74
+ 7.1
+ 7.3
74
-10.9
-11.2
34
- 4.6
- 4.8
34
+2.0
+2.2
73
+ 6.8
+ 7.0
73
-11.3
-11.5
33
- 4.9
- 5.1
33
+1.6
+1.9
72
+ 6.5
+ 6.7
72
-11.6
-11.9
32
- 5.2
- 5.4
32
+1.3
+1.5
71
+ 6.2
+ 6.4
71
-12.0
-12.2
31
- 5.5
- 5.7
31
+1.0
+1.2
70
+ 6.0
+ 6.1
70
-12.3
-12.5
30
- 5.8
- 6.0
30
+0.6
+0.9
69
+ 5.7
+ 5.9
69
-12.6
-12.9
29
- 6.1
- 6.3
29
+0.3
+0.5
68
+ 5.4
+ 5.6
68
-13.0
-13.2
28
- 6.4
- 6.6
28
-0.1
+0.2
67
+ 5.1
+ 5.3
67
-13.3
-13.5
27
- 6.7
- 6.9
27
-0.2
-0.4
66
+ 4.8
+ 5.0
66
-13.6
-13.9
26
- 7.0
- 7.2
26
-0.5
-0.7
65
+ 4.5
+ 4.7
65
-14.0
-14.2
25
- 7.3
- 7.5
25
-0.8
-1.1
64
+ 4.2
+ 4.4
64
-14.3
-14.6
24
- 7.6
- 7.8
24
-1.2
-1.4
63
+ 3.9
+ 4.1
63
-14.7
-14.9
23
- 7.9
- 8.1
23
-1.5
-1.7
62
+ 3.6
+ 3.8
62
-15.0
-15.2
22
- 8.2
- 8.4
22
-1.8
-2.1
61
+ 3.3
+ 3.5
61
-15.3
-15.6
21
- 8.5
- 8.7
21
-2.2
-2.4
60
+ 3.0
+ 3.2
60
-15.7
-15.9
20
- 8.8
- 8.9
20
-2.5
-2.8
59
+ 2.7
+ 2.9
59
-2.9
-3.1
58
+ 2.4
+ 2.6
58
-3.2
-3.4
57
+ 2.1
+ 2.3
57
-3.5
-3.8
56
+ 1.8
+ 2.0
56
-3.9
-4.1
55
+ 1.5
+ 1.7
55
-4.2
-4.4
54
+ 1.2
+ 1.4
54
-4.5
-4.8
53
+ 0.9
+ 1.1
53
-4.9
-5.1
52
+ 0.6
+ 0.8
52
-5.2
-5.5
51
+ 0.3
+ 0.5
51
-5.6
-5 8
50
0.0
+ 0.2
50
-16.0
-16.2
19
-16.3
-16.6
18
-16.7
-16.9
17
-17.0
-17.2
16
-17.3
-17.6
15
-17.7
-17.9
14
-18.0
-18.3
13
-18.4
-18.6
12
-18.5
-18.9
11
-19 0
-19.3
10
- 9.0 - 9.2 19
9.3
- 9.5
18
• 9.6
- 9.8
17
■ 9.9
-10.1
16
•10.2
-10 4
15
•10.5
-10.7
14
•10 8
-11.0
13
•11.1
-113
12
•11.4
-11.6
11
■11.7
-119
10
496
TABLE 57
Norms for Converting Raw Scores (Dom and Lov) to Standard Scores at Level
III-TAT (Other) (Standardized on Kaiser Foundation Psychology Research
Sample 1(X))
Std. Std. Std. Std.
Lov Score Dom Score Lov Score
Dom Score
49.5
+9.7
90
+9.3
+9.4
89
+9.0
+9.2
88
+8.8
+8.9
87
+8.6
+8.7
86
+8.3
+8.5
85
+8.1
+8.2
84
+7.8
+8.0
83
+7.6
+7.7
82
+7.4
+7.5
81
+6.9
+7.0
79
+€.6
+6.8
78
+€.4
+6.5
77
+6.2
+6.3
76
+5.9
+6.1
75
+5.7
+5.8
74
+5.4
+5.6
73
+5.2
+5.3
72
+5.0
+5.1
71
+4.7
+4,9
70
+4.5
+4.6
«9
+4.2
+4.4
68
+4.0
+4.1
67
+3.7
+3,9
66
+3.5
+3.6
65
+3.3
+3.4
64
+3.0
+3.2
63
+2.8
+2.9
62
+2.5
+2.7
61
+2.3
+2.4
60
+2.1
+2.2
59
+1.8
+2.0
58
+1.6
+1.7
57
+1.3
+1.5
56
+1.1
+1 2
55
+0.9
+1.0
54
+0.6
+0.8
53
+0.4
+05
52
+0.1
+0.3
51
-0 1
0 0
50
+10.0
+10.2
90
+ 9.8
+ 9.9
89
+ 9.5
+ 9.7
88
+ 9.2
+ 9.4
87
+ 9.0
+ 9.1
86
+ 8.7
+ 8.9
85
+ 8.5
+ 8.6
84
+ 8.2
+ 8.4
83
+ 7.9
+ 8.1
82
+ 7.7
+ 7.8
81
+ 7.2
+ 7.3
79
+ 6.9
+ 7.1
78
+ 6.7
+ 6.8
77
+ 6.4
+ 6.6
76
+ 6.1
+ 6.3
75
+ 5.9
+ 6.0
74
+ 5.6
+ 5.8
73
+ 5.4
+ 5.5
72
+ 5.1
+ 5.3
71
+ 4.8
+ 5.0
70
+ 4.6 + 4.7 69
+ 4.3
+ 4.5
68
+ 4.1
+ 4.2
67
+ 3.8
+ 4.0
66
+ 3.5
+ 3.7
65
+ 3.3
+ 3.4
64
+ 3.0
+ 3.2
63
+ 2.8
+ 2.9
62
+ 2.5
+ 2.7
61
+ 2.3
+ 2.4
60
+ 2.0
+ 2.2
59
+ 1.7
+ 1.9
58
+ 1.5
+ 1.6
57
+ 1.2
+ 1.4
56
+ 1.0
+ 1.1
55
+ 0.7
+ 0.9
54
+ 0.4
+ 0.6
53
+ 0.2
+ 0.3
52
- 0.1
+ 0.1
51
- 0.2
- 0.3
50
-0.5
-0.4
49
-0.5
-0.6
48
-0.7
-0.8
47
-0.9
-1.1
46
-1.2
-1.3
45
-1.4
-1.6
44
-1.7
-1.8
43
-1.9
-2.0
42
-2.1
-2.3
41
+7.1 +7.3 80 + 7.4 + 7.6 80 -2.4 -2.5 40
-2.6
-2.8
39
-2.9
-3.0
38
-3.1
-3.2
37
-3.3
-3.5
36
-3.6
-3.7
35
-3.8
-4.0
34
-4.1
-4.2
33
-4.3
-4.4
32
-4.5
-4.7
31
-4,8
-4.9
30
-5.0
-5.2
29
-5.3
-5.4
28
-5.5
-5.7
27
-5.8
-5.9
26
-6,0
-6.1
25
-6.2
-6.4
24
-6.5
-6.6
23
-6.7
-6.9
22
-7.0
-7.1
21
-7.2
-7.3
20
-7.4
-7.6
19
-7.7
-7.8
18
-7.9
-8.1
17
-8.2
-8.3
16
-8.4
-8.5
15
-8.6
-8.8
14
-8.9
-9.0
13
-9.1
-9.3
12
-9.4
-9.5
11
-9 6
-9.8
10
- 0.4
-
0.6
49
- 0.7
_
0.9
48
- 0.1
-
1.1
47
- L2
-
1.4
46
- 1.5
-
1.6
45
- 1.7
_
1.9
44
- 2.0
-
2.2
43
- 2.3
-
2.4
42
- 2.5
-
2.7
41
- 2.8
-
2.9
40
- 3.0
3.2
39
- 3.3
-
3.4
38
- 3.5
-
3.7
37
- 3.8
-
4.0
36
- 4.1
-
4.2
35
- 4.3
-
4.5
34
- 4.6
-
4.7
33
- 4.8
-
5.0
32
-51
-
5.3
31
- 5.4 - 5.5 30
- 5.6
- 5.8
29
- 5.9
- 6.0
28
- 6.1
- 6.3
27
- 6.4
- 6.6
26
- 6.7
- 6.8
25
- 6.9
- 7.1
24
- 7.2
- 7.3
23
■ 7.4
- 7.6
22
- 7.7
- 7.9
21
- 8.0
- 8.1
20
■ 8.2
- 8.4
• 8.5
- 8.6
• 8.7
- 8.9
■ 9.0
- 9.1
• 9.2
- 9.4
• 9.5
- 9.7
• 9.8
- 9.9
10.0
-10.2
10.3
-10.4
10.5
-10.7
497
TABLE 58
Weighted Scores for Measuring Discrepancy Between Two Diagnostic Codes
Indicating Kind and Amount of Difference Between Levels or Tests
Weighted Scores Used to Compare
Diagnostic Codes of Extreme
Intenfilty (Both Roman Codes)
Weighted Scores Used to Compare
Diagnostic Codes of Moderate
Intensity (Both Italic Codes)
o2
v3
"^^
«S
111
III
i
ll
266
2^1
til
D
L
d
D
L
d
D
L
d
D
L
d
11
00
00
00
21
+ 9
+ 43
44
11
00
00
00
27
+ 5
+25
26
12
- 9
- 43
44
22
00
00
00
u
- 5
-25
26
22
00
00
00
13
- 45
- 67
81
23
- 36
- 24
44
13
-27
-39
48
23
-22
-14
26
14
- 88
- 58
105
24
- 79
- 15
81
14
-52
-34
62
24
-47
- 9
48
15
-112
- 22
114
25
-103
+ 21
105
15
-66
-12
68
25
-61
+13
62
16
-103
+ 21
105
26
- 94
+ 64
114
76
-61
+13
62
26
-56
+38
68
17
- 67
+ 45
81
27
- 58
+ 88
105
17
-39
+27
48
27
-34
+52
62
18
- 24
+ 36
44
28
- 15
+ 79
81
18
-14
+22
26
28
- 9
+47
48
31
+ 45
+ 67
81
41
+ 88
+ 58
105
31
+27
+39
48
47
+52
+34
62
32
+ 36
+ 24
44
42
+ 79
+ 15
81
32
+22
+14
26
42
447
+ 9
48
33
00
00
00
43
+ 43
- 9
44
33
00
00
00
43
+25
- 5
26
34
- 43
+ 9
44
44
00
00
00
34
-25
+ 5
26
44
00
00
00
35
- 67
+ 45
81
45
- 24
+ 36
44
35
-39
+27
48
45
-14
+22
26
36
- 58
+ 88
105
46
- 15
+ 79
81
36
-34
+52
62
46
- 9
+47
48
37
- 22
+112
114
47
+ 21
+103
105
37
-12
+€6
68
47
+13
+61
62
38
+ 21
+103
105
48
+ 64
+ 94
114
38
+13
+61
62
48
+38
+56
68
51
+112
+ 22
114
61
+103
- 21
105
51
+66
+12
68
61
+61
-13
62
52
+103
- 21
105
62
+ 94
- 64
114
52
+61
-13
62
62
+56
-38
68
53
+ 67
- 45
81
63
+ 58
- 88
105
53
+39
-27
48
63
+34
-52
62
54
+ 24
- 36
44
64
+ 15
- 79
81
54
+14
-22
26
64
+ 9
-47
48
55
00
00
00
65
- 9
- 43
44
55
00
00
00
65
- 5
-25
26
56
+ 9
+ 43
44
66
00
00
00
56
+ 5
+25
26
66
00
00
GO
57
+ 45
+ 67
81
67
+ 36
+ 24
44
57
+27
+39
48
67
+22
+14
26
58
+ 88
+ 58
105
68
+ 79
+ 15
81
58
+52
+34
62
68
+47
+ 9
48
71
+ 67
- 45
81
81
+ 24
- 36
44
71
+39
-27
48
81
+14
-22
26
72
+ 58
- 88
105
82
+ 15
- 79
81
72
+34
-52
62
82
+ 9
-47
48
73
+ 22
-112
114
83
- 21
-103
105
73
+12
-66
68
83
-13
-61
62
74
- 21
-103
105
84
- 64
- 94
114
74
-13
-61
62
84
-38
-56
68
75
- 45
- 67
81
85
- 88
- 58
105
75
-27
-39
48
85
-52
-34
62
76
- 36
-24
44
86
- 79
- 15
81
76
-22
-14
26
86
-47
- 9
48
77
00
00
00
87
- 43
+ 9
44
77
00
00
00
87
-25
+ 5
26
78
+ 43
- 9
44
88
00
00
00
78
+25
- 5
26
88
00
00
00
498
TABLE 58 (.Continued)
Weighted Scores Used To Compare Diagnostic Codes Where One Diagnostic Code
Is of Extreme and the Other Is of Moderate Intensity
'%\ h h h
%i \i ii \i
II II if If
Qo QCD aa oa
IT -23 - 5 23
12 -28 -30 41
13 -50 -44 66
14 -75 -39 84
15 -89 -17 91
16 -84 + 8 84
17 -62 +22 66
18 -37 +17 41
3T +22 +62 66
32 +17 +37 41
33 - 5 +23 23
34 -30 +28 41
27
-14
+38
41
n
+23
+ 5
23
21
+28
+30
41
22
-19
+13
23
72
+14
-38
41
22
+19
-13
23
23
-41
- 1
41
73
-22
-62
66
23
-17
-37
41
24
-66
+ 4
66
74
-65
-53
84
24
-60
-28
66
25
-80
+26
84
75
-89
-17
91
25
-84
+ 8
84
26
-75
+51
91
76
-80
+26
84
26
-75
+51
91
27
-53
+65
84
77
-44
+50
66
27
-39
+75
84
28
-28
+€0
66
78
- 1
+41
41
28
+ 4
+66
66
41
+65
+53
84
31
+50
+44
66
41
+75
+39
84
42
+60
+28
66
32
+41
+ 1
41
42
+66
- 4
66
43
+38
+14
41
33
+ 5
-23
23
43
+30
-28
41
44
+13
+19
23
34
-38
-14
41
44
-13
-19
23
35 -44 +50 66 45-1 +41 41 35 -62 +22 66 45 -37 +17 41
36 -39 +75 84 46+4 +66 66 36 -53 +65 84 46 -28 +60 66
37 -17 +89 91 47 +26 +80 84 37 -17 +89 91 47+8 +«4 84
38 +8 +84 84 48 +51 +75 91 38 +26 +80 84 48 +51 +75 91
57 +89 +17 91 67 +80 -26 84 51 +89 +17 91 61 +84 - 8 84
52 +84 - 8 84 62 +75 -51 91 52 +80 -26 84 62 +75 -51 91
53 +62 -22 66 63 +53 -65 84 53 +44 -50 66 63 +39 -75 84
54 +37 -17 41 64 +28 -60 66 54+1 -41 41 54-4 -66 66
55 +23 + 5 23 65 +14 -38 41 55 -23 - 5 23 65 -28 -30 41
56 +28 +30 41 66 +19 -13 23 56 -14 +38 41 66 -19 +13 23
57 +50 +44 66 67 +41+1 41 57 +22 +62 66 67 +17 +37 41
58 +75 +39 84 68 +66 - 4 66 58 +«5 +53 84 68 +60 +28 66
77 +44 -50 66 87 +1 -41 41 71 +62 -22 66 81 +37 -17 41
72 +39 -75 84 82-4 -66 66 72 +53 -65 84 82 +28 -60 6<>
73 +17 -89 91 83 -26 -80 84 73 +17 -89 91 83-8 -84 84
74 - 8 -84 84 84 -51 -75 91 74 -26 -80 84 84 -51 -75 91
75
-22
-62
66
85
-65
-53
84
75
-50
-44
66
85
-75 -39
84
76
-17
-37
41
86
-60
-28
66
76
-41
- 1
41
86
-66 + 4
66
77
+ 5
-23
23
87
-38
-14
41
77
- 5
+23
23
87
-30 +28
41
78
+30
-28
41
88
-13
-19
23
78
+38
+14
41
88
+13 +19
23
499
^oo APPENDICES
Table 58 is divided into two sections. The first part lists the weighted
scores used to compare diagnostic codes of the same intensity — i.e.,
both extreme (indicated by arabic numerals) or both moderate (in-
dicated by italicized numerals) . If the diagnosis at one level is intense
and the diagnosis at the other level moderate (or vice versa) the sec-
ond section of Table 58 is used.
Index of Names
Alexander, F., 402
Alvarez, W. C, 402
Aristotle, 32
Asch, P., 238
Bales, R. F., 102, 103, 131
Bateson, G^ 21, 32
Bendix, R., 93, 163, 191
Bion, W. R., 102, 103, 131
Blum, G. S., 87, 191
Bolles, Marjorie, 314
Bolomey, A. A., 375
Breuer, J., 154
Bridgman, P. W., 47
Brunswick, Egon, 121, 131, 252
Carmichael, H. T., 238
Carnap, R., 35
Cassirer, E., 99, 131
Charcot, J. M., 310
Coffey, H. S., 240, 291, 436, 454
Cutler, Richard, 144, 153
Darwin, Charles, 102
Doering, C. R., 238
Dollard, J., 102
Elkin, F., 238
Erikson, Erik H., 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 20,
26, 127
Fenichel, O., 16, 297, 302, 314, 328, 331
Frank, Jerome, 275, 276, 281, 329, 331, 337,
338
Freedman, M., 240
Freud, Sigmund, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 19, 20, 22,
37, 40, 71, 72, 75, 76, 87, 154, 165, 171,
172, 173, 191, 302, 328, 331
Fromm, Erich, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 22, 23, 24,
26, 27, 30, 32, 102, 231, 337
Gilbert, G. M., 184, 191
Gill, M., 492
Grotjohn, M., 284, 291
Harris, Robert E., 208, 236, 238
Hartman, H. R., 402
Harvey, Joan, 257 ff ., 478; see also La-
Forge, Joan Harvey
Haskell, Edward F., 74
Heath, Robert G., 3
Hecht, Shirley, 291
Henderson, Joseph, 22
Henry, William E., 198, 199
Hippocrates, 71
Homey, Karen, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 22, 26,
30, 102, 231, 337
Iflund, Boris, 87, 191, 198, 199
Joyce, James, 271
Jung, Cari, 3, 20, 92
Klein, Melanie, 13
Kluckhohn, C, 164, 165, 191, 201, 203, 206
Kobler, Arthur, 277, 289, 356
Kris, E. 154, 191
LaForge, Joan, 257 ff., 478; see also Har-
vey, Joan
LaForge, Rolfe, 74, 87, 138, 240, 455, 463
Landis, C, 314
Langer, Suzanne, 156, 191
Lawrence D. H., 116, 131, 273, 281
Lawrence, Herbert, 376, 458
Leary, T., 131, 240, 281, 291, 436, 454, 479
Lichtenberg, G. C, 72
Lindner, Robert, 271, 281
Lodge, George T., 74, 87
Malamud, W,, 296-97, 302, 314
Masserman, J. H., 24, 32, 238
Mead, George H., 92, 99-101, 102, 131
Menaker, Esther, 283, 291
Merton, R. K., 74
Miller, Arthur, 104
Miller, Milton L., 87
Moreno, J, L., 102
Morris, C. W., 35-36, 37
Mowrer, O. H., 247
Mullahy, P., 32, 48, 49, 328, 331
501
502
Murray, Heniy, 39, 44, 164-65, 191, 198,
201, 203, 206, 479
Naboisek, H^ 87, 299, 340
Nash, E., 281, 331, 337-38, 340
Newman, R., 492
Parsons, Talcott, 73, 74, 87
Plato, 72
Powdemiaker, Florence, 278-79, 281
Powelson, D. H., 14, 93, 131, 163, 191
Proust, Marcel, 19, 32
Raimondi, P., 374
Redlich F., 492
Reich, Wilhelm, 92
Reichenbach, H. R., 60-61, 87
Ribble, Margaretha, 13
Rosenthal, D., 281, 331, 337-38, 340
Russell, Bertrand, 35
Sapir, Edward, 101-2, 131
Sarvis, Maiy, 148, 153
INDEX OF NAMES
Siul, L. J., 391, 402
Shafer, Roy, 310, 314, 338, 340
Shakespeare, William, 18
Sophocles, 21, 23, 117
Spitz, R. A., 13
Stagner, Ross, 73, 87
Suczek, Robert, 138, 375, 455, 458, 463
SulUvan, Harry Stack, 4, 7, 8-10, 12, 13,
16, 23, 26, 30, 32, 102, 119, 231, 270,
272, 281
Sweet, Blanche, 97, 131
Symonds, P., 202, 206
Thelen, H. A., 102, 131
Thomas, W. I., 102
Thurber, James, 173-75, 191
Tomkins, S. S., 191
Weinshel, E., 376
Wheelwright, Joseph, 22
Whitehead, A. N., 120, 131
Wittgenstein, L., 35
Wolton, R. v., 355
Wundt, W., 102
Index of Subjects
Page numbers in italics indicate illustrations.
Abnormality, see Adjustment-maladjust-
ment
Acne; see Dermatitis, overtly neurotic
Acne rosacea; see Dermatitis, unanxious
Adaptive, see Adjustment-maladjustment
Adjustment-maladjustment, 26, 30-31, <J5,
755-36, 197, 247-48
adaptive-maladaptive behavior, 6S, 66-
67, 130, 220; see also Psychotic
AP "11" managerial, 323-24
AP "11" autocratic, 324-26
BC "22" competitive, 333-34
BC "22" narcissistic, 334
DE "33" aggressive, 341^2, 344
DE "33" sadistic, 341-42, 344, 345
FG "44" rebelhous, 270
FG "44" distrustful, 276-78
HI "55" self-effacing, 282
HI "55" masochistic, 282
JK "66" docile, 292
JK "66" dependent, 292
LM "77" cooperative, 303-4
LM "77" overconventional, 304-6
NO "88" responsible, 315-16
NO "88" hypemormal, 315-17
and diagnosis, 219-20, 228, 231-33, 235,
386-88, 492
continuum in relativity of, 20-23, 26, 38
factors in personality theory, 17-32
measurement of, 217-28
pathology error, 17, 25
principle of, 26
psychopathic, 347-48
qualitative, 28-29
quantitative, 27
theories of
eff'ect of cultural values on, 26-27
Freudian, 19-20, 22
Fromm's, 22-23, 24, 30
Homey's, 22, 30
Jung's, 20
religious, 18
social, 27, 29
Sullivan's, 23, 30
Affiliation
vocabulary for, 29
Aggressive behavior; see Sadistic "33" DE
behavior
Alcoholism, 326, 361
Alopecia areata; see Dermatitis, unanx-
ious
Anxiety, 17, 22, 23, 93, 94, 183, 188, 203,
235, 271, 303, 307-8, 326, 336, 344; see
also Security operations
and postponement of impulse, 165
and psychotics, 360
and symbols, 162-64
basis of, 15
hysteria, 297
in interpersonal reflexes, 451
motivates behavior, 19
neurosis, 296-97
-panic, 180, 356; see also Samples, clinic
psychotic
Sullivan's theory of, 8, 119
survival, 14, 120-22, 202-3, 209
AP; see Autocratic "11" AP behavior;
Variables, interpersonal
Atopic dermatitis; see Dermatitis, self-
inflicted
Autocratic "11" AP behavior, 6S, 117,
120, 130, 755, 139, 142, 149, 198, 218-
20, 233, 235-38, 323-31
adaptive, 323-24
and compulsivity, 327-29
and narcissistic behavior compared,
333, 337
and obsession, 328-29
and psychosomatic research, 380 ff.
and psychotics, 368, 372
and standard psychiatric diagnosis, 327-
29
and therapy group, 428-2P, 430, 432
and top management, 407, 420
at Level I, 104, 372, 380
at Level II, 137, 382
at Level III, 170 ff., 384, 481 ff.
check-list items, 456
503
504
Autocratic "11" AP hehzvior-C ontinued
clinical manifestations, 325-27
in Death of a Salemtan, 104
in Freud's "Irma" dream, 172
in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"
173-74
in typical TAT themes, 466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 350-51
maladaptive, 324-26, 345
purpose of, 325
Automaton conformity, neurotic mech-
anism, 8
Avenger, the, 371-72
BC; see Narcissistic "22" BC behavior;
Variables, interpersonal
Blacky projective test; see Level III-B
Buffoon, 284
Catatonia, 55, 127, 236-37
Character
and symptom, 24, 25, 26
moral, 29-30
theories of
Freud's, 8
Fromm's, 8
Horney's, 8
Child guidance, 145-48
Class statements, 241
Codes
and interpersonal reflexes, 445-52
diagnostic, 211, 225-26, 257 ff., 265 ff.,
473, 493-500
numerical, 227-28
of interpersonal group dynamics, 410
of interpersonal mechanisms, 103-5
of Levels of interpersonal behavior, 78-
81
of MMPI scales, 439
of typical TAT themes, 170-71, 466-70
of variability indices, 252, 254-56
key to, 256
psychosomatic samples, 374
top-management executives, 405
Commentator, the, 369-70
Communication
conscious; see Level II
interpersonal, 99-103
linguistic; see Language
public; see Level I
Compass of motives, 73
Compulsive behavior, 327-28
Conflict axis, 181
Conflict, interlevel; see Variability, in-
dices
Conscious communication, description;
see Level II
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
Conscious disidentification, 489
maternal, 140, 254
paternal, 254
spouse, 254
therapist, 142-43, 254
Conscious fusion, 252
Conscious idealization, 252, 431
Conscious identification, 140, 251, 252,
284, 431, 434, 489
maternal, 254
paternal, 140, 254
spouse, 254
therapist, 254
Conscious-"Preconscious" fusion; see Dif-
fusion; Fusion
Consciousness, sublevels of, 148-51
Consensual validation, 9, 35-38, 48, 61
Control sample; see Samples, normal
control, obese middle-class females
Cooperative behavior; see Overconven-
tional "77" LM behavior
Counterphobic behavior, 181, 337
compensatory, 179
Countertransference, 143, 144
Cross-level diffusion, 255
Cross-level disidentification, cross-sex,
maternal, other, paternal, spouse,
therapist, 254
Cross-level identification, 252, 431
cross-sex, maternal, other, paternal,
spouse, therapist, 254
Cultural samples, 129, 130, 152, 190, 280-
81, 290-91, 299-300, 312-13, 321-22,
330-31, 33&-40, 349-50
Cynic and Tough Guy, the, 367-h59
DE; see Sadistic "33" DE behavior; Vari-
ables, interpersonal
Defense mechanisms, 247-48, 252
Dependent "66" JK behavior, 6S, 68, 1 17,
J3S, 139, 143, 145, 204, 219-20, 225-
26, 231, 233, 235-38, 292-302
and anxiety hysteria, 297-98
and anxiety neurosis, 296-97
and hypochondriasis, 297-98
and neurasthenia, 297
and phobia, 294-98
and psychosomatic research, 382 ff.
and psychotics, 362, 364, 366-67, 368
and standard psychiatric diagnosis, 296-
98
and therapy group, 433
and top management, 407, 413, 424
at Level I, 92-93, 104, 362, 364, 366,
481 ff.
at Level II, 137, 382
at Level III, 170 ff.
check-list items, 457
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
505
clinical definition of, 294-96
effect of, 293-94
in Death of a Salesman, 104
in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"
174
in typical TAT themes, 466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 299-300
purpose of, 292-93
research findings, 298-300
therapeutic handling of, 300-2
Wanderer, the, 361-63
Dermatitis
and psychosomatic research, 374-77,
379 ff.
industrial, 377
neuro-, 290
overtly neurotic, 376-77
acne, 376
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
clinical implications, 393-94
multilevel pattern, 393
psoriasis, 376
seborrheic, 376
samples, 129, 130, 152, 190, 280-81, 290-
91, 299-300, 312-13, 330-31, 338, 349-
50, 374, 376-77, 379 ff.
self-inflicted, 377
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
atopic, 376-77
clinical implications, 395-96
eczematous, 376-77
multilevel pattern, 394-95
neurotic excoriations, 376-77
otitis externa, 376-77
pruritis, 376-77
unanxious, 377
acne rosacea, 376-77
alopecia areata, 376-77
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level 111, 384-86
clinical implications, 396-97
herpes simplex, 376-77
hyperhydrotic eczema, 376-77
lupus erythematosus, 376-77
multilevel pattern, 396
urticaria, 376-77
warts, 376-77
Destructiveness, neurotic mechanism, 8,
72
Devaluation; see also Conscious ideali-
zation; "Preconscious" devaluation;
"Preconscious" idealization
maternal, 255
paternal, 255
spouse, 255
therapist, 255
Diagnosis, 439-500, see also Levels
and adjustment, 219-20, 228, 231-33,
235, 492
and psychiatric nosology, 207-8, 229-38,
274-76, 286-87, 294-98, 306-10, 317-
20, 325-27, 327-29, 335-38, 345, 347^8
and therapeutically relevant variables,
208
differential, 208
double-level, 266-67, 473
family, 139-42, 145-50
four-level, 228, 267-68
functional, 53-56, 214 ff.
aim of, 216
in TAT validation study, 473 ff.
interpersonal, 207-38
and psychiatric, 230-37, 274-76, 286-
87, 294-98, 306-10, 317-19, 325-27,
335-36, 345
norms for, 493-500
of psychotics, 354-72
use of, 210 ff.
multilevel, 107, 225-28, 265-68, 360, 368-
400, 429-36, 480-89
of clinic admission patients, 397-98
of dermatitis patients, 393-96
of hypertensives, 390
of interpersonal types, 265-350, 481
of neurotic patients, 399
of normality, 219-20, 386-88
of obese women, 391-92
of others, 139-40
of presenting operations, 217-21
of symptoms, 235-37; see also Symptom
of ulcer patients, 388
of underlying operations, 222-24
"other," 139-42; see also Relationships,
reciprocal
purpose of, 207-9
record booklet for interpersonal, 482-
88
self, 138-39, 152
single-level, 106, 266
therapist, 145
triple-level, 267
verbal, 226-27
Diagnostic code, 211, 225-26, 257 ff., 265
ff., 473, 493-500
numerical, 227-28
Diagnostic continuum, 237-38
Diagnostic language, 56-58, 229-38, 304
Diagnostic profile, 211-12, 214-15
Diagnostic report, 212-15, 362, 364, 366,
368, 370, 371-72, 480-92
5o6
Diagnostic repon-Continued
and motivation for psychotherapy, 480,
489, 492
and "preconscious" conflicts, 480, 489
and prognosis of response to psycho-
therapy, 480, 490
Diagnostic types, listed, 220
Diffusion; see also Cross-level diffusion;
Displacement; Fusion
cross-sex, 255
maternal, 254
paternal, 255
Disequation
maternal-paternal, 254
maternal-spouse, 254
maternal-therapist, 254
paternal-spouse, 254
paternal-therapist, 254
spouse-therapist, 254
Disidentification; see Conscious disiden-
tification; Cross-level disidentifica-
tion; "Preconscious" disidentification
Displacement, 252, 253, 255; see also Dif-
fusion
Distrustful "44" FG behavior, 65, 110,
116-17, 130, 13S, 139, 150, 194, 219-20,
225-26, 231, 233, 235-38, 268-81, 289
and psychosomatic research, 384 ff.
and psychotics, 360 ff.
and schizoid, 235, 238
maladjustment, 276-77
psychosis, 277-78
and therapy group, 432
and top management, 407, 412, 418, 421
at Level I, 93, 95-96, 104-5
at Level III, 170 ff., 384
check-list items, 456
clinical manifestation of, 274-76
effect of, 272-73
in Death of a Salesman, 104
in Freud's "Irma" dream, 172
in nursery school situation, 105
in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"
173-74
in typical TAT themes, 175-76, 466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 280-81
purpose of, 269
research findings, 279-81
Distrustful personality, 270, 272
Docile behavior; see Dependent "66" JK
behavior
Doctor-patient relationship, 93-94, 354
Doctor's assistant, 329, 337
Dominance-submission, 107, 430, 489, 493-
500
formula, 68h59
predictive indices, 440-43, 445, 473-74
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
Dreams; see Level III-D
Eczema, hyperhydrotic; see Dermatitis,
unanxious
Eczematous dermatitis; see Dermatitis,
self-inflicted
Ego
factors, 216
ideal, 80-81, 84, 200-6, 303, 362, 481,
484~8S, 489, 491
coding of, 256
psychology, 193
Equation, 252, 431
maternal-paternal, 254
maternal-spouse, 254
matemal-therapist, 254
paternal-spouse, 254
paternal-therapist, 254
spouse-therapist, 254
Exploitive character, 8, 337
Familial equation, 253, 481, 489-92; see
also Disequation; Equation
FamUy dynamics, 481, 485, 488-92
Fantasy; see also Level III-F
and overconventional behavior, 311
classification of materials, 167
classification of person, 169
FG; see Distrustful "44" FG behavior;
Variables, interpersonal
Flat affect, 274
Formulae
diagnostic, 228
MMPI predictive, 107, 440-41
summarizing interpersonal behavior, 68-
69
Freudian, 7, 42, 71, 158, 186, 252
defense mechanisms, 86
bbido theory, 12
psychosexual theory, 9-11
theory of normality, 19
Frigidity, 308, 319
Fusion; see also Diffusion; "Preconscious"
fusion
conscious-"preconscious," 252
cross-sex, 255
maternal, 254
paternal, 255
General Manager, the, 405, 406, 418-20
seen by Personnel Manager, 419-20
seen by Production Manager, 419-20
seen by psychologist, 419-20
seen by Sales Manager, 410, 413,
419-20
sees Personnel Manager, 418-20
sees Production Manager, 418-19
sees Sales Manager, 418-19
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
507
Group behavior
distrustful, 275-76, 277-78
psychotic, 361 S.
Group personality, 353, 426-27
Group top management; see Management
group
Group dynamics
analysis of, 408-9, 432-36
and psychotherapy group, 426-36
and top management, 403-25
indices, 414
record booklet, 411-17
verbal summaries, 415
Group resistance, 353
and multilevel personality indices, 431-
36
balancing of, 427-28
measurement of, 429-30
prediction of, 426-27, 428-30
Group therapy
at Level I-R, 445-53
at Level I-S, 453-54
prediction of behavior; see Level I-P
samples, 129, 130, 152, 190, 280-81, 291,
299-300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338,
340, 349-50, 426-36
selection of patients, 427-28
Hate; see Love-hate
Hebephrenic, 55
"Help-rejecting complainer," 275-76,
337
Hero
generic, 323
Level III, 80, 82, 167-68, 177-80, 193-95,
222-28, 254, 357, 431-52, 465, 466 ff.,
481
norms, 497
predicts change in overt behavior,
472 S.
Herpes simplex; see Dermatitis, unanxious
HI; see Masochistic "55" HI behavior;
Variables, interpersonal
Hoarding character type, 8
Hoess, Colonel, 184
Hostility, 199, 275
and psychotics, 357 ff.
and sadistic behavior, 341-50
vocabulary for, 29
Hypernormal "88" NO behavior, 65, 117,
130, 135, 139, 149-50, 219-20, 231-33,
235-38, 315-22
adaptive, 315
and psychosomatic research, 380 ff.
and psychotics, 356 ff.
and standard psychiatric diagnosis, 319-
20
and therapy group, 428-2P, 430
and top management, 406, 401, 412,
413, 420, 423
at Level I, 105, 380
at Level II, 382
at Level III, 171 ff.
check-list items, 457
clinical manifestations of, 317-19
effect of, 317
in typical TAT themes, 466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 321-22
maladaptive, 315-16
research findings, 320-22
Hypertension
and psychosomatic research, 374 ff.
at Level I, 41, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
clinical implication, 391
multilevel pattern, 390-91
samples, 129, 152, 190, 280-81, 291, 299-
300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338, 340,
349-50, 374, 375
Hypochondriasis, 295, 297-98
Hysterical personality, 185, 189, 235, 238
Hysterics, 108, 207, 209, 229, 233, 235, 295,
300-1, 308, 310-14
Ideal ego, 80, 81, 84, 200-<5, 303, 362, 481,
484-8S, 489, 491
coding of, 256
Ideal self, 201
Idealization; see Conscious idealization;
Devaluation; "Preconscious" idealiza-
tion
Identification, 145
conscious; see Conscious identification
cross-level; see Cross-level identifica-
tion
maternal, 255
paternal, 255
"preconscious"; see "Preconscious"
identification
spouse, 255
tnerapist, 255
Iflund projective test, 198-99
Impotence, 319-27
Inadequate personality, 207
Indices
of discrepancy, 493, 498-99
qualitative, 473 flF.; see also Diagnostic
code
quantitative, 473 ff.; see also Varia-
bility indices, measurement of
predictive, 440-52, 473 ff.
sociometric, 453-54
Instinct, 12, 23-24, 72
Erikson's theory of, 10-11
5o8
Instinct— Cow tinuei
Freudian theory of personality, 7-9, 19-
20
Intensity; see Measurement, of intensity
Interpersonal behavior, 4, 90-238, 240; see
also Levels; Measurement
and reciprocal relationship; see Rela-
tionships, reciprocal
classification (16 mechanisms), 64-66,
219-20
diagnosis of; see Diagnosis, interper-
sonal
functional diagnosis of, 53-56, 58
importance of, 12-13
logic of interaction, 39
prediction of; see Prediction
principle of, 15-16
purpose of, 15
stability vs. flexibihty, 121-22
Sullivan's theories of, 8-9
summarization of, 67, 228
circular grid, 69, 493
formulae, 68-69
variability of, 75
vocabulary of, 29
Interpersonal check list, 29, 30, 138, 197,
205-6, 455-63, 492; see also Level I-S;
Level II-C; Level V-C
and group dynamics, 405, 430, 453
and TAT validation study, 473 ff.
derivation of, 457-58
development and revision of, 458-61
formulae, 69
intensity of items, 455, 458
internal consistency of, 461-63
intervariable correlation, 462
items listed, 456-57
norms, 463, 495
samples, 458 ff.
Interpersonal communication, history of,
99-103
Interpersonal dimension, compared with
variability dimension, 244-46
Interpersonal Fantasy Test; see Level
III-IFT
Interpersonal mechanism; see Interper-
sonal reflex
Interpersonal perception, 252
ana interpersonal reflex, 450
Interpersonal reflex, 91, 96, 110, 123, 130
and physiological reflexes, 97-99
and self-determination, 115-18
cause of, 118-22
doctor-patient relationship, 93-SH
listing of, 65, 103
measurement, 105 flF., 445-53
need not be conscious, 98-99
routine patterns, 109
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
scoring, 104-5, 137-38
teaching reflex, 94
Interpersonal role, 109-10
Interpersonal theorists, 5, 6, 7, 102-3
Bales, 102-3
Bion, 102-3
Dollard, 102
Erikson, 10-12
Fromm, 7
Homey, 7
Mead, 99-101
Moreno, 102
Sapir, 101-2
Sullivan, 8-10, 102, 119
Thelen, 102
Thomas, 102
Interpersonal typology, 220, 265 ff .; see
also Autocratic "11" AP behavior;
Dependent "66" JK behavior; Diag-
nosis, multilevel; Distrustful "44" FG
behavior; Hypemormal "88" NO
behavior; Masochistic "55" HI be-
havior; Narcissistic "22" EC be-
havior; Overconventional "77" LM
behavior; Sadistic "33" DE behavior
organization of, 268
presenting operations, 217-21, 237
underlying operations, 217, 222-28,
237
Interpersonal variables; see Variability;
Variables
Intrapersonal variables; see Variability;
Variables
Introjection, 201
IQ tests, 5
JK; see Dependent "66" JK behavior;
Variables, interpersonal
Jungian, 23
theories, 20-22, 156, 158
Kraepelinian diagnosis, 229-38
Kraepelinian psychiatry, 10, 159
Kraepelinian terms, 209, 236-37, 337
Language
of behavior, 99-102, 207-8
and variability, 34-35, 38-39, 241 ff.
attributive nature of, 133-34
class statements, 139, 241-46
diagnostic, 56-58, 229-38, 304
functional, 56
operational definitions of terms, 47-
48, 76-77, 81-82, 234
protocol, 34-35
reflexive, 100-1
relationship statements, 139, 241-46
selection of variables. 38-39
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
selection of words for Interpersonal
Check List, 29-30, 457 ff.
significant symbol, 100-1
symbols as, 161-62
scientific, 35-38
empirical propositions, 35-37, 245
formal propositions, 35-37, 245
pragmatics, 36
semantic rules, 36
semantics, 36
syntactics, 36
Level I (Public Communication), 76-80,
81, 83-84, 91-131, 211-12, 242, 244,
247, 254, 266, 272, 279, 284, 287, 290,
298, 308, 310-11, 319, 320, 348, 439-
54, 455, 481, 484
and Level II, 95, 98-99, 115, 117, 134,
136, 144-45, 149, 251, 254, 256, 266-
68, 348, 431-33
and Level IH, 160-61, 163, 168, 169-71,
177, 183-84, 188, 223-28
and Level IV, 194-98
and Level V, 203
and psycho tics, 356 ff.
avoidance of themes, 196-99
diagnosis of, 217-21, 441-44
Level I-M, 78, 81, 105-8, 205, 218, 220-21,
224, 234, 237, 269, 289-90, 311,
491
and psychosomatic research
all samples, 379-81
clinic admissions, 398
dermatitis
overtly neurotic, 394
self-inflicted, 394-95
unanxious, 397
hypertensive, 390
neurotic, 399-400
normal controls, 386-87
norms, 494
obesity, 392
psychotic, 400-1
ulcer, 388-89
and psychotics, 355 ff.
estimates of symptomatic behavior,
106-7, 439-44, 453
formulae, 107, 440-41
mcidence in cultural samples, 129-30,
279^0, 290-91, 299, 312-13, 321, 330,
338-39, 349
Level I-P, 78, 106, 426-30
prediction indices, 108-9, 444-45
Level I-R, 78, 81, 82, 95-96, 105-7, 445-53,
454
Level I-S, 78, 81, 106-8, 179, 194, 287
and Level I-M, 443-44
and Level I-P, 445
and management group, 405 ff.
509
and psychotherapy group, 426, 429-30,
432
and psychotic samples, 356
indices, 453-54
Level I-T, 78, 81, 106
Level II (Conscious Communication,
Description), 76, 78, 81, 83-85, 132-
53, 171-73, 205, 211-12, 242, 244, 248,
253-54, 256, 266-68, 272, 279, 287, 289-
90, 298, 308, 310, 348, 455-63, 481,
484-85
and Level \, 95, 98-99, 115, 117, 134,
136, 144-45, 149, 251, 254, 256, 348,
431-33
and Level III, 151, 161, 164, 168, 170-
71, 173, 177, 183-90, 223-28, 246-47,
254-56, 473 ff.
and Level IV, 194-98
and Level V, 202, 255
and psychotics, 357 ff.
avoidance of themes, 196-99
diagnosis of 217-21
Level II-A, 78, 81, 136-37
Level II-C, 78, 81, 82, 136-39, 148, 151,
176-77, 182, 194, 204, 218, 220-21, 224,
234, 237, 269, 334, 481, 485, 491
and management group, 405, 406, 410
and psychosomatic research
all samples, 381-84
chnic admissions, 398
dermatitis
overtly neurotic, 394
self-inflicted, 394-95
unanxious, 391
hypertensive, 390
neurotic, 399-400
normal controls, 386-87
obesity, 392
psychotic, 400-1
ulcer, 388-89
and psychotics, 357 ff.
and therapy group, 432
incidence in cultural samples, 151-52,
280-81, 291, 300, 313, 321-22, 331, 339-
40, 350
norms, 495
scoring of interpersonal traits, 137-40
Level II-Di, 78, 81, 136
Level II-Ti, 78, 81, 136-37, 151
Level III (Private Symbolization, Per-
ception), 76-77, 79, 81-82, 83-85, 154-
91, 212, 244, 253, 431, 464-79, 481,
484-85; see also Thematic Appercep-
tion Test
and Level I, 95, 114, 160-61, 163, 168,
169^71, 177, 183-84, 188
and Level II, 151, 164, 168, 170-71, 173,
177, 183-90, 246-47, 254-56, 473 ff.
5IO
Level III— Continued
and Level IV, 186, 194-98
and Level V, 200, 256
and psychotics, 357 flF.
avoidance of themes, 196-99
classification of fantasy person, 169
clinical use of, 189-91
depth of symbol instrument, 184-88
diagnosis of, 222-28
Hero, 80, 82, 167-68, 177-80, 193-95,
222-28, 254, 357, 431-32, 465, 466 ff.,
481
norms, 496
predicts change in overt behavior,
472 ff.
meaning of, 177
Other, 80, 82, 167-68, 177-80, 193-95,
222-28, 254, 431-32, 465, 466-70
norms, 497
relationship principle, 176
symbols, 155-57, 169-70
Level III-B, 79, 82, 166
Level III-D, 79, 82, 166
Freud's "Irma" dream, 171-73
Level III-F, 79, 82, 166, 224
in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"
173-75
Level m-i, 79, 82, 166
Level III-IFT, 79, 82, 167
Level III-M, 79, 82, 166
Level III-T, 79, 82, 167, 182-84, 223, 224,
464-79, 485, 491; see also Level III,
Hero and Other; Thematic Apper-
ception Test
and psychosomatic research
all samples, 384-86
clinic admissions, 398
dermatitis
overdy neurotic, 394
self-inflicted, 394-95
unanxious, 391
hypertensive, 390
neurotic, 399-400
normal controls, 386-87
obesity, 392
psychotic, 400-2
ulcer, 388-89
and psychotics, 357 ff.
and therapy group, 432-34
guide for rating, 466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 190-91
norms, 496-97
prediction of change, 472 ff.
scoring, 175-79
validation study, 472 ff.
Level IV (Unexpressed Unconscious),
76, 80, 82, 83-84, 192-99, 212, 224, 252
and Level I, 194-98 .
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
and Level II, 194-98
and Level III, 186, 195-98
criteria for defining, 192
Level V (Level of Values), 76, 80-81,
82, 84-85, 200-6, 212, 224
and Level I, 203
and Level II, 202, 255
and Level III, 200, 256
functional value of, 205
ideal self, 201
interpersonal ideals, 203-4
limitations of score, 205-6
Level V-C, 81, 83, 204
Level V-Di, 81, 82, 204
Level V-Ti, 81, 82, 204
Level of values; see Level V
Levels; see also Diagnosis, multilevel
described, 75 ff.
logic of, 42-43
LM; see Overconventional "77" LM be-
havior; Variables, interpersonal
Locus of responsibility, 18-24
Love-hate, 107, 430, 489, 493
formula, 68-69
predictive indices, 440-43, 445, 473-74
Lupus erythematosus; see Dermatitis, un-
anxious
Maladaptive; see Adjustment-maladjust-
ment, adaprive-maladaptive behavior
Maladjustment; see Adjustment-malad-
justment
Management group, 403-25
analysis of dynamics, 408-9
Level I-S, 405-8
Level II-C perceptions of self, 405, 406,
408
network of relationships, 409-25
Manic behavior, 324
Manic-depressive, 236-37
Marketing character type, 8
Masochism
and obsessive neurosis, 287
and sadism, 130, 288-89
neurotic mechanism, 8, 433-34
Masochistic "55" HI behavior, 65, 91,
117, 119, 130, 135, 139, 143, 197, 219-
20, 225-26, 231-33, 235-39, 282
and psychosomatic research 380 ff.
and psychotics, 365, 366-67
and therapy group, 428-2P, 430, 432,
433
and top management, 413, 421, 424
at Level I, 95-96, 104-5, 380
at Level II, 137
at Level III, 170 ff.
check-list items, 456
clinical definition of, 286-87
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
51
in Death of a Salesman, 104
in Freud's "Irma" dream, 172
in nursery school situation, 105
in "The Secret Life of Walter Alitty,"
173-74
in typical TAT themes, 175-76, 466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 290-91
purpose of, 282
research findings, 290-91
Measurement, 39, 45, 67 ff., 240, 439-500,
see also Diagnosis, Diagnostic code,
etc.; Variability
and clinicians, 114-15
and psychologists, 112-13
and technicians, 114-15
and variables, 39
conflict axis, 178
depth of instrument, 186-88
Level I, 77-78, 81, 103-6, 107, 108-9,
217-28, 439-54
Level I-M, 439-44, 494
Level I-P, 444-45
Level 1-R, 444-53
Level I-S, 453-54
Level n, 78, 81, 136-38, 151-52,
217-28
Level III, 79, 81-82, 166-91, 222-28, 464-
79
Level III-C, 495
Level III-D, 171-73
Level III-F, 173-75
Level III-T, 175-76, 496-97
Level IV, 80, 82, 193-99
omission scores, 195
Level V, 80, 82, 203^
molar scoring, 176
molecular scoring, 175
multilevel, 41-44, 81 ff, 241 ff.
of adjustment, 217-28
of check-list reliability, 460-63
of conscious identification, 140-42
of discrepancy between the diagnostic
codes, 498-99
of discrepancy vi^ith the interpersonal
system, 257-60
of dominance-submission, 68-69, 440-
43
of group behavior, 444-45
of group dynainics, 403-36
of group resistance, 429-30
of ideal-self discrepancy, 205
of intensity, 66, 104-5, 224-25, 228,
260-61, 455, 458, 498-500
of interpersonal attributes, 134 ff.
of interpersonal reflexes
at Level I, 105 ff.
scoring, 104-5, 137-38, 445-53
of love-hate, 68-69, 440-43
of "Other," 39
of self-other, 83-84, 136-^2, 144-45
of significant avoidance of interper-
sonal themes, 195-99
of symbols, 167
of therapist's misperceptions, 143-45
of transference, 142^3, 149-50
of unexpressed themes, 193-95
of variability indices, 85-86, 257-61
on a continuum, 20-21, 23, 26, 38, 241
patient as instrument of, 112-13
power-passivity axis, 178
psychologist as instrument of, 112-15
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality In-
ventory, 234, 276, 279, 286-87, 290,
294, 298, 306, 311-12, 329, 336, 339,
347, 348, 359-60, 439^5, 481, 492; see
also Level I-M; Level I-P; Level
III-M
norms, 494
predictive formulae, 107, 440-41
scales, 439
standardization sample, 441
Misperception, 248-49, 489; see also Self-
deception
and management group, 406 ff .
and therapy group, 431, 435
Multilevel interpersonal diagnosis, 107,
225-28, 265-68, 360, 429-36, 480-89
Naboisek study, 299, 340
Narcissistic "22" BC behavior, 55, 68, 111,
117, 119-20, 135, 139, 149-50, 219-20,
225-26, 233, 235-38, 322, 332-40, 433-
35
and autocratic behavior, compared, 333,
337
and psychosomatic research, 382 ff .
and psychotics, 370, 372
and standard psychiatric definition,
337-38
and therapy group, 428-25), 430, 432,
433
and top management, 401, 413, 418,
420, 422, 423
at Level I, 93, 95-96, 103-5, 370
at Level II, 137, 372, 382
at Level III, 170 ff., 384
check-list items, 456
clinical manifestation of, 335-36
effect of, 334
in Death of a SalesTnan, 104
in Freud's "Irma" dream, 172
in nursery school situation, 105
in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,"
173-74
in typical TAT themes, 175, 466-70
512
Narcissistic "22" BC hehzvior-C ontinued
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 338-40
purpose of, 332-34
research findings, 338-40
Neurasthenia, 297
Neurasthenic, 180, 233
Neurosis, 25; see also Ad)ustment-mal-
adjustment
and autocratic behavior, 325-26
organ, 298, 318
Neurotic excoriations; see Dermatitis,
self-inflicted
Neurotic personality
Homey's theory of, 7
interpersonal reflexes, 444-53
MMPI profile, 442^3
rated by therapy group, 453-54
Neurotic sample, 374, 377-78
Neurotics, and psychosomatics, 373 ff.
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
clinical implications, 400
multilevel pattern, 399-400
Newtonian physics, 48
Nice Guy, the 365-67
NO; see Hypemormal "88" NO behavior;
Variables, interpersonal
Noninterpersonal behavior, 4, 159
Noninterpersonal systems of psychology,
4-6
Noninterpersonal variables, 159-60
Normal (medical) controls
and psychosomatic research, 373 ff .
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-^4
at Level III, 384-86
clinical implications, 387-88
multilevel pattern, 386-87
samples, 129, 152, 190, 280-81, 291, 299-
300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338, 340,
349-50, 374, 377
Normality; see Adjustment-maladjust-
ment
Norms
for interpersonal diagnosis, 493-500
for variability diagnosis, 493-500
Interpersonal Check List (Level II-C),
463, 495
MMPI (Level I-M), 494
TAT (Level III-T), 472
Hero, 496
Other, 497
Nuclear conflicts, Erikson, 11
Obesity
and psychosomatics, 374 ff.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
clinical implications, 392-93
multilevel pattern, 391-92
samples, 129, 152, 190, 280-81, 290-91,
299-300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338,
340, 349-50, 374, 375
Obsessive, 229, 235, 295, 298, 301
and autocratic behavior, 326
and schizoid behavior, 278-79
compulsive phenomenon, 207, 288-89
neurosis and masochism, 287
personality, 238, 267
Organ neurosis, 298, 318
Other; see Level III, Other
Other-misperception, 254
Other-perception, 254
Otitis externa; see Dermatitis, self-inflicted
Overconventional "77" LM behavior, 55,
117, 120, 13S, 139, 149-50, 218, 219-20,
231, 233, 235-38, 303-14
adaptive 303-4
and psychotics, 356 ff.
and standard psychiatric diagnosis, 310-
11
and top management, 418, 420, 421, 424
at Level I, 104
at Level II, 137
at Level III, 171 ff.
check-list items, 457
clinical manifestation of, 306-10
effect of, 305-6
in typical TAT themes, 467-68
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 312-13
maladaptive, 304-6
purpose of, 305
research findings, 311
Paradigm of motivational process, 73, 74
Paranoia, 236-37, 319-20
Paranoid, 236
Parataxic experience, 9
Pathology error, 17, 23, 25
clinical error, 30
of Freud, 20
Personality, 15, 156
"11"; see Autocratic "11" AP behavior
"22"; see Narcissistic "22" BC behavior
"33"; see Sadistic "33" DE behavior
"44"; see Distrustful "44" FG behavior
"55"; see Masochistic "55" HI behavior
"66"; see Dependent "66" JK behavior
"77"; see Overconventional "77" LM
behavior
"88"; see Hypemormal "88" NO be-
havior
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
513
autocratic; see Autocratic "11" AP be-
havior
"buffoon," 284
classification of traits
compass of motives, 73
fourfold, 71
paradigm of motivational process, 73
two-dimensional, 73-74
conceptual unit of, 33 ff.
cultural factors of, 22
dependent; see Dependent "'66" JK be-
havior
diagnosis, see Diagnosis
dimension of
interpersonal, 90-238
variability, 240-61
distrustful; see Distrustful "44" FG
behavior
docile; see Dependent "66" JK behavior
Freudian concept of, 7-12, 71-72, 86
functional theory of, 52
group, 353, 426-27
nypemormal; see Hypemormal "88"
NO behavior
levels of, 75 ff., 177, 486-81; see also
Levels
masochistic; see Masochistic "55" HI
behavior
multilevel nature of, 40 ff., 241 ff., 265
narcissistic; see Narcissistic "22" BC be-
havior
neurotic, 7, 442-54
overconventional; see Overconventional
"77" LM behavior
profiles, 212-13, 481, 485-86, 492
psychology, 13
sadisuc; see Sadistic "33" DE behavior
schizoid, 268-81
selection of variables, 38-39; see also
Variables
structure, 84-86
Sulhvan's definition of, 8-9
Personnel Manager, the, 405, 408,
424-25
seen by General Manager, 424
seen by Production Manager, 424
seen by Sales Manager, 410, 413, 418,
424
sees General Manager, 423
sees Production Manager, 423
sees Sales Manager, 409, 423
Phobia, 294; see also Dependent "66" JK
behavior
Phobic, 180, 181, 229, 233, 235
personality, 238, 293, 297, 300-2, 481
Plasticity of human being, 13
Poignant Romantic, the, 363-65
Power-passivity axis, 178
"Preconscious," 154-55, 161 ff., 216, 224,
248, 306, 358, 362, 363
and Level IV, 192
and Levels, 166, 186
and prediction, 167, 362 ff., 472 ff.
and psychosomatic research, 386, 387,
389, 390, 393, 400
and symbolic themes, 183-84
and therapy group, 431, 433-35
measurement of, 464-79
"Preconscious" devaluation, 256
cross-sex, 256
hero, 256
maternal, 256
other, 256
paternal, 256
"Preconscious" disidendfication
cross-sex, 255
maternal, 255
paternal, 255
total, 255
"Preconscious" duplication, 254
"Preconscious" fusion, 252
"Preconscious" idealization, 252
cross-sex, 256
hero, 256
maternal, 256
other, 256
paternal, 256
"Preconscious" identification, 252, 284,
431, 489
cross-sex, 255
maternal, 255
paternal, 255
total, 255
"Preconscious" repression, 254
Prediction; see also Probability
and "preconscious," 167, 362 ff., 472 ff.
and symbols, \65-66
at Level I-M, 108-9, 439-44
at Level I-P, 106, 108-9, 426-30,
444—45
at Level III-T, 472 ff.
dominance-submission, indices of, 440-
43, 445
love-hate, indices of, 440-43, 445
of behavior, 37, 45, 52 ff., 108-9, 159,
165-66, 211-16, 490
psychotic, 362 ff.
of group resistance, 426-27, 428-29
Presenting operations, 217-21, 228
Private symbolization; see Level III
Probabilistic knowledge, 46
Probability; see also Predictioa
and overconventional behavior, 305
in interpersonal reflexes, 123, 125
laws in conscious communication, 139,
141, 142
5H
Vrohihihty— Continued
of predictive accuracy, 48, 145
statements, 45, 50 ff., 210, 212-13, 284
Production Manager, the, 405, 407-8, 410,
421-24
seen by Sales Manager, 410, 413
sees General Manager, 421-22
sees Personnel Manager, 421-22
sees Sales Manager, 409, 410, 421-22
Productive character type, 8
Projection, 143, 145, 431
Protocol statements, 4, 34 ff ., 63
Prototaxic experience, 9
Pruritis; see Dermatitis, self-inflicted
Psoriasis; see Dermatitis, overtly neu-
rotic
Psychasthenic, 232
Psychiatric
clinic admissions sample, 129, 152, 190,
280-81, 290-91, 299-300, 312-13,
321-22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 374,
378-79
and psychosomatic research, 374 ff.
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
multilevel pattern, 397-98
clinic diagnosis, 443
diagnosis and terms, 207-8, 229-38, 274-
76. 286-87, 294-98, 306-10, 317-20,
325-27, 327-29, 335-38, 345, 347-48
hospital, 354-55
theory, 17
Psychologist, in top-management group,
410, 419, 420
Psychology
ego, 193
industrial, 403-4
Psychopathic, 238, 279, 300
behavior, 348, 349-50; see also Sadistic
"33" DE behavior
personality, 56, 298
Psychosomatic, 209, 233, 272, 290, 298
description of samples, 374-78
at Level I-M, 379-81
at Level II-C, 381-84
at Level III-T, 384-86
clinical implications, 386 ff.
multilevel, 386 ff.
diagnosis, 54
disease, 289, 319
medicine, 376
organ neurosis, 298, 318
research, 373 ff.
Psychotic group behavior, 361 flf.
Psychotic pattern, 358-60
implications, 359-60
multilevel, 35&-90
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
Psychotic samples
at Level I, 356-57, 359-60, 379-81, 400-1
at Level H, 357, 381-84, 400-1
at Level III, 357-58, 384-86, 400-1
clinic, 356
private and State hospital, 129, 152,
190, 280-81, 291, 299-300, 312-13, 321-
22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 374, 378
private hospital, 356
State hospital, 355
Psychotics, 300, 320, 378, 400-2
and psychosomatic research, 374 ff.
clinical implications, 401-2
multilevel pattern, 400-1
case histories of, 361
Avenger, the, 371-72
Commentator, the, 369-70
Cynic and Tough Guy, the, 367h59
Nice Guy, the, 365-67
Poignant Romantic, the, 363-65
Wanderer, the, 361
interpersonal diagnosis of, 354-57
severe, 355
Public communicauon; see Level I
Raters; see also Level I-S
clinicians as, 113-15, 212-15
of Thematic Apperception Test, 465-66
guide for, 466-70
psychologists as, 112-13, 214-16
technicians as, 114-15, 211-12, 214
Rebellious behavior; see Distrustful "44"
FG behavior
Receptive character type, 8
Record booklet
for interpersonal analysis of group dy-
namics, 411-17
for interpersonal diagnosis of person-
ality, 482-88
Relationship principle, 176 ff.
Relationship statements, 139, 241-46
Relationships
interlevel, 241, 249 ff.
network of, 409-25
reciprocal, 120 ff., 252-56, see also Inter-
personal reflex
and autocratic behavior, 65, 325
and dependent behavior, 65, 293-94
and distrustful behavior, 65, 270, 272-
73
and hypemormal behavior, 65, 315,
317
and masochistic behavior, 65, 284-86
and narcissistic behavior, 65, 334
and overconventional behavior, 65,
304-6
and probability, 123, 125, 284
and sadistic behavior, 65, 343-45
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
515
and sado-masochistic, 344
effect of "other," 126
individual variation, 127-28
multilevel, 128-30
multilevel patterns, 128-30, 431-36
principle of, 123
qualifications of, 128
self-determination, 123
symbiotic, 325, 344-45, 403, 420
marriage partnership, 95, 110, 126,
128, 130
Repression, 248-49, 252, 489
"preconscious," 254
Responsible behavior; see Hypernormal
"88" NO behavior
Reversal theory of symbols, 156-57, 192
Role coincidence, 252, 254
Role reciprocity, 254, 405-25, 427-28,
431-36
Rorschach test, 158-60, 276
Sadism, neurotic mechanism, 8,128, 130
Sadistic "33" DE behavior, 50, 65, 111,
117, 120, 130, 135, 139, 142, 194, 197,
219-20, 231, 233, 235-38, 341; see also
Psychopathic
and psychosomatic research 384 ff.
and psychotics, 360 ff.
and therapy group, 428-2P, 430, 432
and top management, 412, 422, 423
at Level I, 93, 95-96, 104-5
at Level III, 170 ff., 372, 384
check-list items, 456
clinical manifestations of, 345
effect of, 343^5
in Death of a Salesman, 104
in Freud's "Irma" dream, 172
in nursery school situation, 105
in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,
173-74
in typical TAT themes, 175-76,
466-70
incidence in cultural samples, 129, 152,
190, 349-50
psychopathic behavior, 347-48
purpose of, 342-43
Sado-masochism, 130, 288-89, 344-45, 403
Sado-masochistic conflict, 181
Sales Manager, the, 405, 408, 409-18
sees General Manager, 410, 412
sees Personnel Manager, 410, 412
sees Production Manager, 410, 412
Samples
clinic psychotic, 356
college undergraduate, 129, 280, 290,
299, 312, 321, 330, 338, 349
dermatitis, 376-77, 458
neuro-, 290
overtly neurotic, 129, 130, 152, 190,
280-81, 290-91, 299-300, 312-13, 321-
22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 374,
379 ff.
self-inflicted, and unanxious, 129, 130,
152, 190, 280-81, 291, 299-300, 312-
13, 321-22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50,
374, 379 ff.
group psychotherapy, 129, 130, 152, 190,
280-81, 291, 299-300, 312-13, 321-22,
330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 426-36
hospitalized psychotic, 129, 152, 190,
280-81, 291, 299-300, 312-13, 321-
22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 374 ff.
private-, 356
State-, 355
hypertensive, 129, 152, 190, 280-81, 291,
299-300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338,
340, 349-50, 374, 375, 379 ff.
individual psychotherapy, 129, 130, 152,
190, 280-81, 291, 299-300, 312-13, 321-
22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50
Interpersonal Check List correlation,
462
MMPI standardization 441
neurotic, 374, 379 ff.
normal (medical) control, 129, 152, 190,
280-81, 291, 299-300, 312-13, 321-
22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 374,
377, 379 ff.
multilevel diagnosis of, 381
normative, 494-99
obese middle-class females, 129, 152,
190, 280-81, 290-91, 299-300, 312-13,
321-22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50,
374, 375, 379ff., 458, 461-62
as control, 472 ff.
officers in military service, 129, 130,
280, 291, 299, 312, 321, 330, 338,
349
psychiatric clinic admissions, 129, 152,
190, 280-81, 290-91, 299-300, 312-13,
321-22, 330-31, 338, 340, 349-50, 374,
379 ff., 463, 493
stockade prisoners, 129, 130, 280, 291,
299, 312, 321, 330, 338, 349
TAT standardization, 472-78
top-management group, 403-25
ulcer, 129, 152, 190, 280-81, 291, 299-
300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338, 340,
349-50, 374-75, 379 ff.
university, 458
counseling center, males, 129, 280,
291, 299, 312, 321, 330, 338, 349
graduate students, males, 129, 280,
291, 299, 312, 321, 330, 338, 349
psychiatric clinic, 129, 280, 290, 299,
312, 321, 330, 338, 349
5i6
Schizoid, 48, 56, 57, 124, 138-J9. 229, 233,
235, 238, 267-68, 276-77; see also Dis-
trustful "44" FG behavior
and obsessive behavior, 278-79, 280-81,
289, 298, 308, 310-11
Schizophrenia, 55, 278, 355; see also Dis-
trustful "44" FG behavior
Schizophrenic, 207
Science, general
aims, of, 50-52
language of, 35-38
operational definitions of terms, 47-48
probabilistic knowledge, 46
social criterion of knowledge, 45
validity of empirical knowledge, 48-49
Seborrheic dermatitis; see Dermatitis,
overtly neurotic
Security operations, 10, 15; see also Anx-
iety; Interpersonal reflex
at Level I, 91-131
at Level 11, 132-53, 492
at Level III, 154-91
at Level IV, 192-99
at Level V, 200-6
autocratic, 323-31
dependent, 292-302
distrustful, 269-81
group, 427
hypemormal, 315-22
masochistic, 282-91
effect of, 284-86
narcissistic, 332-40
overconventional, 303-14
sadistic, 341-50
Self-acceptance, 205, 252, 255; see also
Self-rejection
Self-deception, 254, 4S6; see also Misper-
ception
and management group, 406 ff.
Self -depreciation; see Masochistic "55" HI
behavior
Self-determination
locus of responsibility, 18-24
principle of, 115-118, 122
Self-effacement; see Masochistic "55" HI
behavior
Self-inflicted dermatitis, see Dermatitis,
self-inflicted
Self-perception, 254, 431; see also Self-
deception
Self-rejection, 255
"Self-righteous moralist," 337-38
Social behaviorism, 99
Social criterion of knowledge, 45; see also
Language, scientific, empirical prop-
ositions
Sociometrics, 403-25, 429 ff., see also
Level I-S
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
and Interpersonal Check List, 112, 458
Level I, 78, 81, 85, 102, 106, 443-54
record booklet, 409
Standard scores, 489, 493-99
Submission; see Dominance-submission
Superego, 201
Symbiotic relationships; see Relation-
ships
Symbolic expressions, 154
Symbolic function, 155, 156
Symbolic hero, 166, 119
Symbolic life, 155
Symbolic others, 119
Symbolic self, 168
Symbolic themes and "preconscious,"
183-84
Symbolic world, 166
Symptom, 24, 142, 490-92
and character, 24-26
autocratic, 324 ff.
alcoholism, 326
compulsive, 327-29
impotence, 327
manic, 324
obsessive, 328-29
dependent, 294-300
anxiety hysteria, 297-98
anxiety neurosis, 296-97
hypochondriacal, 295, 297-98
neurasthenic, 297
phobic, 294-98
physical, 295-96
psychosomatic, 298
dermatological, 376-77
diagnosis of, 235-37, 443
distrustful, 274 ff.
flat affect, 274
schizoid psychosis, 277-78
hypemormal, 3 16 ff .
frigidity and, 319
impotence and, 319
organ neurosis, 318
paranoia, 319
masochistic, 286 ff.
compulsive, 287
obsessive, 287
sado-, 130, 181, 288-89, 344-45, 403
narcissistic, 332 ff.
psychosomatic, 335-36
overconventional, 306 ff.
anxiety and, 307
complaints of others' behavior and,
307-10
frigidity and, 308
hysterical, 310-14
physical, 307-8
psychosomatic, 298, 374 ff.
psychotic, 356 ff.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
sadistic, 345-50
ulcer, 375
Symptomatic behavior, 106
Symptomatic conditions, 159
Symptomatic indices, 439-44
Symptomatic pressure, 443
Syntaxic experience, 9, 30
Teaching
interpersonal mechanism, 323-24
reflex, 94
Temporal variabihty, 75
Tests, 276; see also Iflund projective test;
Interpersonal Check List; Level I-M,
I-P, I-R, I-S, I-T; Level II-C; III-B,
Ill-i, III-IFT, III-M; Level III-T,
Level V-C; TAT; etc.
and psychotics, 359-60
development of Interpersonal Check
List, 457-63
interpersonal battery, 115, 210, 439
projective, 158-60, 167
situation, 106
Thematic Apperception Test, 114-15, 158,
171, 184-86, 197-98, 464-79; see also
Level III-T; Level III, Hero, Other
and psychotics, 360
cards used in interpersonal system,
464
content interpretauon, 198
designating the hero, 465
guide for rating, 466-70
interpersonal formulae, 69
norms, 472, 496-97
scoring, 175-79, 465-72
molar, 176, 470-71
molecular, 175
validation sample, 472-78
Therapy group; see Group therapy
Time-binding, 164-65
Top management; see Management group
"Transference," 142-43, 171
Two-dimensional behavior, representa-
tion of, 73
Two-dimensional surface, 74
Ulcer patient
and psychosomatic research, 374 ff.
at Level I, 379-81
at Level II, 381-84
at Level III, 384-86
clinical implications, 389-90
multilevel pattern, 388-89
interpersonal reflexes of, 445-53
MMPI profile of, 442-43
samples, 129, 152, 190, 280-81, 291, 299-
300, 312-13, 321-22, 330-31, 338, 340,
349-50, 374-75
Unconscious
Freud, 10
Jung, 20, 22
Sulbvan, 9
unexpressed; see Level IV
Underlying operations, 217-27
Unexpressed unconscious, see Level IV
Urticaria; see Dermatitis, unanxious
Value systems
function of, 201
universality of, 201
Variability; see also Variables
and sublevels of consciousness,
148-51
diagnosis norms, 494-99
dimension, 242-43
compared with interpersonal.
244-46
indices, 85-86, 241-61, 246, 248, 486-81,
489, 494-99, see also Conscious
disidentification, -fusion, -idealiza-
tion, -identification, Cross-level dif-
fusion, -disidentification, -identifi-
cation; Devaluation; Diffusion; Dis-
equation; Equation; Fusion, Identi-
tihcation; Interpersonal perception;
Misperception; Other-mispercep-
tion; Other-perception; "Precon-
scious" devaluation, -disidentifica-
tion, -duplication, -fusion, -ideali-
zation, -identification, -repression;
Repression; Role coincidence, -rec-
iprocity; Self-acceptance; Self-
deception; Self-perception; Self-
rejection
and interlevel conflict, 241
codes, 253-56
key to, 256
listed, 252, 254-56
function of, 247-48
in group dynamics, 414-15
measurement of, 257-61
misperception illustrated, 410
operational definition of, 257
generic, 251-53
specific, 253-56
schematized, 250
structural, 251
temporal, 257
verbal summaries, of, 488
interpretations of, 248-49
of interpersonal behavior, 75
of symbols, 157
profiles, 212
situational, 75, 243-44
structural, 75, 243, 479
temporal, 243-44, 479
5i8
Variables, 26
interpersonal, 127-28, 220, 241-46
adaptive, 220, 247-48
at Level I, 441-43
at Level III, 157, 170-71
classification of, 65, 13S
defensive, 247-48
development of, 62 ff ., 245-46
intensity of, 66
maladaptive, 220
selection of, 38-39, 103 ff.
systematic relatedness, 39, 64-66
intervariable correlation, 461-62
intrapersonal, 127-28, 244-46, see also
Variability, indices
and projection, 244
and suppression, 244
multilevel relatedness of, 43
INDEX OF SUBJECTS
noninterpersonal, 159-60
personality, selection of, 38-39
"therapeutically relevant," 208
Wanderer, the, 361-63
Warts; see Dermatitis, unanxious
Working Principles
I, 15-6
II, 26
III, 39
IV, 39
V, 40
VI, 42
VII, 43
VIII, 45
IX, 58
I through IX, 59-60
In the decade before he became the highly controversial director of
psychedelic drug research at Harvard, Timothy Leary was one of the
leading clinical psychologists practicing in the U.S., heading the
prestigious Kaiser Foundation Psychological Research Center in Oakland.
INTERPERSONAL DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY (1957), his first
full-length book, summarizes the innovative experimental studies in
interpersonal behavior performed by the author and his associates at the
Kaiser Foundation and in private practice between 1950 and 1957.
". . . perhaps the most important clinical book to appear this year.... Rarely has
psychology found a way of placing so many different data into the same schematic
system, and the implications of this are potentially breathtaking "
- ANNUAL REVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGY (1958)
"Leary 's enduring contribution to psychodiagnosis, or, more generally, to the typology
of personality, is embodied in his honored 1957 volume, INTERPERSONAL
DIAGNOSIS OF PERSONALITY. . . The concept of levels was implicit in
sophisticated personality descriptions, and degrees of consciousness were recognized in
all the psychodynamically based systems, but none were connected systematically
through the concept of interpersonal behavior as in the Leary system. "
- Frank Barron
author of numerous books on the psychology of creativity
Dr. Timothy Leary, PhD (1920-1996) Psychologist, philosopher, explorer,
teacher, optimist, author and revolutionary avatar of the mind. Often called the
Galileo of Consciousness, he went public with his observations of the mind
made with psychedelic mindscopes and helped initiate a renaissance which is
still only beginning to elaborate itself
ISBN l-S12MM-77b-7
Cover Design by Matthew Stock
Resource Publications
An imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
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