THE INITIAL CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF THE INTERPERSONAL INFLUENCE TACTICS CIRCUMPLEX (IIT-C)
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Graduate Program:
- Psychology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- October 26, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Aaron Lee Pincus, Thesis Advisor
- Michelle Gayle Newman, Committee Member
- David E Conroy, Committee Member
- Keywords:
- Influence
- Interpersonal Theory
- Interpersonal Circumplex
- Influence Tactics
- Abstract:
- Assessment of interpersonal dispositions (e.g., traits, problems, values, sensitivities, etc.) commonly employs self-report and informant-report measures that conform to the 2-dimensional interpersonal circumplex (IPC) structure. A major component of interpersonal exchanges includes the conscious maneuvering of one’s behavior aimed at influencing others and engendering desired responses from others. Influence is the requisite to getting one’s way and can play a central role in interpersonal dynamics. Although there are numerous measures of influence tactics used in influence research, this literature includes numerous definitions and is largely divided among various camps with no unifying theory. No existing approach has explicitly adopted the IPC and interpersonal theory as a framework for mapping the universe of content of interpersonal influence. The current study reports on the initial construction and validation of the Interpersonal Influence Tactics – Circumplex (IIT-C), a pantheoretical taxonomy of interpersonal influence tactics conforming to the structure of the IPC, with items arranged around the circumference of a two-dimensional space defined by agency and communion. Circumplex structure of the final IIT-C was confirmed using a randomization test of hypothesized order relations. Validity associations with other IPC-based measures, existing measures of influence, and pathological personality traits will be examined using Structural Summary Method. Findings illustrated that the IIT-C successfully created a common language for discussing numerous streams of influence research while conforming to the well-established, theoretically supported IPC structure and demonstrated meaningful associations with pathological personality traits.