Development and Validation of a Circumplex Measure of the Interpersonal Culture in Work Teams and Organizations

Psychometric and Circumplex Properties Evaluation of the International Personality Item Pool-Interpersonal Circumplex (IPIP-IPC) in Chinese People Living with HIV (PLWH)

Background and Purpose

With the improved life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLWH) due to widespread use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), there is a greater emphasis on enhancing long-term well-being and overall quality of life for PLWH. Understanding interpersonal personalities of PLWH can gain further insight into how to improve the overall quality of life in this population. The International Personality Item Pool-Interpersonal Circumplex (IPIP-IPC) scale has been developed to assess interpersonal personalities of individuals, and this scale has been translated into Chinese. However, the Chinese version of IPIP-IPC has not been tested among PLWH in China. In this study, we aimed to test the psychometric properties and circumplex structure of this scale.

Methods

This study was based on cross-sectional, multi-center, large sample data. We employed the Chinese version of IPIP-IPC scale on 3040 PLWH from April 2022 to April 2023 in China to test its psychometric as well as circumplex properties. The structural summary method (SSM) was employed to analyze the circumplex structure of the scale.

Results

The total scale exhibited a Cronbach's alpha of 0.85 and McDonald's omega of 0.91. Out of the 288 possible relationships, 275 relationships satisfy the circular properties hypothesis. The scale demonstrates good reliability and validity, meeting the requirements of psychometrics.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that the Chinese version of the IPIP-IPC scale is a reliable tool for evaluating interpersonal personalities in this population. These results highlight the validity and applicability of the IPIP-IPC scale specifically in the Chinese context, providing valuable insights into the intricacies of interpersonal traits among PLWH.

Examination of Student-Teacher Interpersonal Relationships Circumplex Model in the Greek Educational Context

Student-teacher interpersonal relationships contribute significantly to the academic trajectory and achievement of children and adolescents. The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) is one of the most widely applied measures for assessing students' perceptions about the teachers' interpersonal behaviour. QTI comprises eight subscales that are assumed to follow a circumplex model. Prior studies on QTI's psychometric properties are inconclusive and report mixed findings. The purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of QTI in the Greek cultural context, by testing its circumplex structure and levels of reliability. QTI was administered to 1669 secondary education students, from 85 different classrooms. A cross-validation approach and a variety of statistical techniques were employed. Subscales' internal consistency and their ability to discriminate among classes were satisfactory. Exploratory statistical techniques provided initial support of the circular pattern. Application of a specifically designed package for testing the circumplex structure of an instrument, showed that a model in which the eight QTI subscales are placed on the circumference of a circle with equal distances form the centre was tenable. However, the assumption of equal distances was not confirmed. Deviation from the theoretical position of the subscales was mainly due to students' difficulty to discriminate teachers' proximity behaviour, a finding reported in various studies and across different cultural contexts. Suggestions for improving the psychometric properties of the QTI are discussed.

Evaluating an Abbreviated Version of the Circumplex Team Scan Inventory of Within-Team Interpersonal Norms

Abstract. The Circumplex Team Scan (CTS) assesses the degree to which a team’s interaction/communication norms reflect each segment (16th) of the interpersonal circle/circumplex. We developed and evaluated an abbreviated 16-item CTS-16 that uses one CTS item to measure each segment. Undergraduates ( n = 446) completing engineering course projects in 139 teams completed the CTS-16. CTS-16 items showed a good fit to confirmatory structural models (e.g., that expect greater positive covariation between items theoretically closer to the circumplex). Individuals’ ratings sufficiently reflected team-level norms to justify averaging team members’ ratings. However, individual items’ marginal reliabilities suggest using the CTS-16 to assess general circumplex-wide patterns rather than specific segments. CTS-16 ratings correlated with respondents’ and their teammates’ ratings of team climate (inclusion, justice, psychological safety). Teams with more extraverted (introverted) members were perceived as having more confident/engaged (timid/hesitant) cultures. Members predisposed to social alienation perceived their team’s culture as relatively disrespectful/unengaged, but their teammates did not corroborate those perceptions. The results overall support the validity and utility of the CTS-16 and of an interpersonal circumplex model of team culture more generally.