Multilevel Measurement of Interpersonal Behavior: A Manual for the Use of the Interpersonal System of Personality

Clinical versus Research Use of the Interpersonal System There are two major applications of the interpersonal system in clinical diagnosis (either individual, group, or familial) and in research. The use of the system differs dramatically depending on whether the goals are clinical or research. For clinical purposes the eight-digit diagnostic code is of minor importance. The diagnostic formulation should be made from a study of the unilevel profiles supported by inspection of the test protocols. The qualitative aspects of the individual are preserved and combined with the systematic measurements. No eight-digit code can summarize the richness of an individual. The summary points may fall very close to the octant divisions so that a patient diagnosed as masochistic may be bordering on schizoid distrust or bordering on docile dependency. The single diagnostic digit does not reflect these shadings. Other summary points are misleading because they are resolutions of conflicting tendencies. The resultant falls near the center of the grid. The unilevel circles pick up these ambivalences. Do not formulate the clinical picture from the diagnostic code alone. For research purposes the codes become extremely useful. When samples rather than individuals are being studied the over-simplifications due to measurement artifacts tend to balance out. What is a slightly perceptible tendency in one case (e.g., discrepancy between two moderate scores) becomes a significant difference if many cases pile up in the same direction. Clinical diagnosis demands the greatest detailed respect paid to the individual case. Research usually looks for trends and the summary codes are a great advantage.