CHAPTER 9
Interpersonal Theory of Personality
AARON L. PINCUS AND EMILY B. ANSELL
209INTERPERSONAL FOUNDATIONS FOR AN INTEGRATIVE
THEORY OF PERSONALITY 209
THE INTERPERSONAL SITUATION 210
THE INTERPERSONAL AND THE INTRAPSYCHIC 211
DESCRIBING INTERPERSONAL BEHAVIOR 212
The Individual Differences Approach 212
The Dyadic Approach 213
INTERPERSONAL RECIPROCITY AND TRANSACTION 215
Describing Reciprocal Interpersonal Patterns 215
Contemporaneous Analysis of Human Transaction 217
Parataxic Integration of Interpersonal Situations 219
Some Comments on Interpersonal Complementarity 219
Summary 221
THE FUTURE OF INTERPERSONAL THEORY 221
Interpersonal Theory and Mental Representation 221
Development and Motivation 222
Concluding Propositions 223
REFERENCES 225INTERPERSONAL FOUNDATIONS FOR AN
INTEGRATIVE THEORY OF PERSONALITY
The origins of the interpersonal theory of personality we dis-
cuss in the present chapter are found in Sullivan’s (1953a,
1953b, 1954, 1956, 1962, 1964) interpersonal theory of
psychiatry. Extensions, elaborations, and modifications have
consistently appeared over the last 50 years, with landmark
works appearing in each successive decade (see Table 9.1).
Given this clear line of theoretical development, it might
seem puzzling that in a discussion of the scope of interper-
sonal theory held at a recent meeting of the Society for Inter-
personal Theory and Research (SITAR), it was pointed out
that psychology’s expanding focus on interpersonal function-
ing has rendered study of interpersonal processes so funda-
mental that interpersonal theory risks an identity crisis
(Gurtman, personal communication, June 20, 2000). In our
opinion, both promising and perplexing aspects of this iden-
tity crisis are respectively reflected in two growing bodies of
literature. The former body recognizes the integrative and
synthetic potential of interpersonal theory to complement and
enhance many other theoretical approaches to the study of
personality (e.g., Benjamin, 1996c; Kiesler, 1992), whereas
the latter body focuses on interpersonal functioning without
any recognition of interpersonal theory.
Explicit efforts have been made toward integration of
interpersonal theory and cognitive theory(e.g., Benjamin,
1986; Benjamin & Friedrich, 1991; Carson, 1969, 1982;
Safran, 1990a, 1990b; Tunis, Fridhandler, & Horowitz,
1990),attachment theory(e.g., Bartholomew & L. Horowitz,
1991; Benjamin, 1993; Birtchnell, 1997; Florsheim, Henry,
& Benjamin, 1996; Pincus, Dickinson, Schut, Castonguay, &
Bedics, 1999; Stuart & Noyes, 1999), contemporary psy-
chodynamic theory (e.g., Benjamin, 1995; Benjamin &
Friedrich, 1991; Heck & Pincus, 2001; Lionells, Fiscalini,
Mann, & Stern, 1995; Pincus, 1997; Roemer, 1986), and
evolutionary theory(e.g., Hoyenga, Hoyenga, Walters, &
Schmidt, 1998; Zuroff, Moskowitz, & Cote, 1999). Although
it might be argued that such efforts could lead to identity dif-
fusion of interpersonal theory, we believe this points to the
fundamental integrative potential of an interpersonal theory
of personality. In contrast, efforts at integrating interpersonal
theory with social psychological theories of human interac-
tion and social cognition appear to be lagging despite the
initial works of Carson (1969) and Wiggins (1980). We note
continued expansion of a significant social psychological lit-
erature on interpersonal behavior, such as self-verification
and self-confirmation theories (e.g., Hardin & Higgins, 1996;
Swann & Read, 1981) and interpersonal expectancies (e.g.,
Neuberg, 1996), that does not incorporate interpersonal
theory as reviewed here. Remarkably, recent reviews of
interpersonal functioning (Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000;
Snyder & Stukas, 1999) did not cite any of the literature
reviewed for the present chapter on interpersonal theory,