Interpersonal circumplex

[1][2] The interpersonal circumplex is defined by two orthogonal axes: a vertical axis (of status, dominance, power, ambitiousness, assertiveness, or control) and a horizontal axis (of agreeableness, compassion, nurturant, solidarity, friendliness, warmth, affiliation or love).

In recent years, it has become conventional to identify the vertical and horizontal axes with the broad constructs of agency and communion.

The Person's Relating to Others Questionnaire (PROQ), the latest version being the PROQ3 is a 48-item measure developed by the British doctor John Birtchnell.

Again, they argue for the importance of adaptive behaviour and of versatility in moving along and across the two axes in order to build and maintain rapport.

They call the interpersonal circumplex the Interaction Compass, arguing that it is helpful for guiding leadership behaviour in contexts of global diversity, where versatility and flexing are crucial for maintaining positive relationships with subordinates.

Spencer-Oatey and Lazidou[10] also apply it to a range of workplace relationships and issues in their TRIPS rapport management model.

[11] In the 20th century, there were a number of efforts by personality psychologists to create comprehensive taxonomies to describe the most important and fundamental traits of human nature.

His circumplex, developed in 1957, is a circular continuum of personality formed from the intersection of two base axes: Power and Love.

The main idea of the Leary Circumplex is that each and every human trait can be mapped as a vector coordinate within this circle.