04-014 Ch01 pp5

3/10/04

4:53 PM

Page 76

tendencies and to relationships with other people, not

just to ones own personal inclinations and psychological attributes. Because the managers job has been
characterized as overwhelmingly interpersonal, interpersonal orientation, or the tendency to behave in certain ways around other people, is an especially important aspect of self-awareness. Management involves
virtually constant contact with people, and managers
whose personalities do not dispose them toward a
high amount of interpersonal activity are likely to be
frustrated and dissatisfied. The quality and type of this
interpersonal activity can vary widely. Therefore, it is
important for you to know your own interpersonal
tendencies and inclinations to maximize the probabilities of successful interactions.
Interpersonal orientation does not reflect the
actual behavior patterns displayed in interpersonal situations. Rather, it refers to the underlying tendencies
to behave in certain ways, regardless of the other person involved or the circumstance. Interpersonal orientation generally arises from certain basic needs in the
individual that relate to relationships with others.
A well-known and thoroughly researched theory
of interpersonal orientation was proposed by Schutz
(1958, 1992). The basic assumption of his model is
that people need people and that all individuals seek to
establish compatible relationships with other individuals in their social interactions. As people form relationships and begin striving for compatibility in interactions, three interpersonal needs develop that must be
satisfied if the individual is to function effectively and
avoid unsatisfactory relationships.
The first is the need for inclusion. Everyone
needs to maintain a relationship with other people, to
be included in their activities, and to include them in
ones own activities. To some extent, all individuals
seek to belong to a group, but at the same time they
want to be left alone. They need to ensure that others
are not left out while at the same time giving them
independence. There is always a trade-off between
tendencies toward extroversion and introversion.
Individuals differ in the strength of their relative needs:

(1) the need to include others, or expressed inclusion,

and (2) the need to be included by others, or wanted
inclusion.
A second interpersonal need is the need for control. This is the need to maintain a satisfactory balance
of power and influence in relationships. All individuals
need to exert control, direction, or structure over other
people while also remaining independent from them.
All individuals also have a need to be controlled,
directed, or structured by others but at the same time
to maintain freedom and discretion. Essentially, this is a
trade-off between authoritarianism and dependency.
Individual differences arise, therefore, in the need to
control others, or expressed control, and the need to be
controlled by others, or wanted control.
A third need is the need for affection, or the
need to form close personal relationships with others.
This need is not restricted to physical affection or
romantic relationships but includes needs for warmth,
intimacy, and love apart from overt behaviors. All individuals need to form close, personal relationships with
other people, but at the same time they want to avoid
becoming overcommitted or smothered. All individuals need to have others show warmth and affection to
them but also need to maintain some distance. This is
a trade-off between high affiliative needs and high
independence needs. Individuals therefore vary in
their needs for expressing affection toward other people and for wanting affection to be expressed toward
them.
Each of the three interpersonal needs has two
aspects: a desire to express the need and a desire to
receive the needed behavior from others. These three
needs determine an individuals interpersonal orientation. Individuals differ uniquely in their need to give or
receive certain behaviors when interacting with others. Table 4 summarizes these three needs and illustrates characteristics of each.
In the Skill Assessment section, we provided the
instrument Schutz developed to assess inclusion, control, and affection needs. Using the scoring sheet and
instructions in Appendix 1, compute your score for

Table 4 Descriptors of Fundamental Interpersonal Relations

OrientationBehavior (FIRO-B) Needs

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INCLUSION

CONTROL

AFFECTION

Expressed Toward Others

I join other people,

and I include others.

I take charge, and I

influence people.

I get close and

personal with people.

Wanted from Others

I want other people

to include me.

I want others to lead

me or give me directions.

I want people to get

close and personal with me.

CHAPTER 1 DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS

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