The theory is based on the belief that when people get together in a group, there are three main interpersonal needs they are looking to obtain – affection/openness, control and inclusion.
Schutz developed a measuring instrument that contains six scales of nine-item questions, and this became version B (for "Behavior").
FIRO-B was created, based on this theory, as a measurement instrument with scales that assess the behavioral aspects of the three dimensions.
Schutz himself discussed the impact of extreme behavior in the areas of inclusion, control, and openness as indicated by scores on the FIRO-B (and the later Element-B).
From this, he identified the following types: Schutz composed a "Matrix of Relevant Interpersonal Data", which he called "The Elephant".
The last row was "Pathological Interpersonal relations", which was divided into "too much" and "too little", yielding: "Psychotic (Schizophrenia)" as Too Little/Inclusion; (There was no "Too Much/Inclusion") "Obsessive-compulsive" as Too Much/Control and "Psychopath" as Too Little/Control; and "Neurotic" as too much and too little Affection.
We thus end up with the six dimensions as follows: Expressed Inclusion (eI): "I initiate interaction with others" (High: "outstanding"; low "shy") Wanted Inclusion (wI): "I want to be Included" (High: "friendly"; low: "aloof") expressed Control (eC): "I try to control others" (High: "authoritarian"; low: "absent-minded") Wanted Control (wC): "I want to be controlled" (High: "submissive"; low: "rebellious") Expressed Affection (eA): "I try to be close and personal" (High: "empathetic"; low: "cold") Wanted Affection (wA): "I want others to be close and personal with me" (High: "needy"; low: "defensive") Putting them together, Schutz came up with fifteen "Descriptive Schema and appropriate terminology for each Interpersonal Need Area":[2] In 1977, a clinical psychologist who worked with FIRO-B, Dr. Leo Ryan, produced maps of the scores for each area, called "locator charts", and assigned names for all of the score ranges in his Clinical Interpretation of The FIRO-B: However, to continue not to encourage typology, the names (which were for clinical interpretation primarily) are generally not used, and Element-B test results usually total the E, W, I, C and O scores individually.
This is attributed to "the stereotypical role of women in Western Culture", where they were often dependent, and have simply learned to tolerate control from others.
The example given, is two people with high eC and low wC (aka "Mission Impossible" or "Autocrat Rebellious").
[6] The original FIRO-B was sold to CPP, Inc. (now The Myers-Briggs Company[7]), which also publishes the MBTI assessment, and FIRO Element B is owned by Business Consultants Network, Inc. A third FIRO system, called FIRO-Space™ is being developed by Dr. Henry L. Thompson who developed the second one.