Assessing Affective Dimensions of the Interpersonal Circumplex: Development and Validation of the Interpersonal Emotion Inventory

Interpersonal emotions are feelings distinctively associated with real or imagined interpersonal situations. We propose that interpersonal emotions can be organized within the same circumplex used by contemporary integrative interpersonal theory to organize other aspects of interpersonal functioning. Our research explores the affective dimensions underpinning the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) and maps distinct emotional dispositions using coordinates for agentic and communal affect. Our aim is to provide a better differentiated and more comprehensive taxonomy of interpersonal emotions consistent with the IPC framework. In an initial development study (N = 1223 undergraduates) we used circumplex and psychometric criteria to create a 64-item Interpersonal Emotion Inventory (IEI), a novel self-report measure of interpersonal emotions reflecting each IPC octant. We then tested the structural properties and utility of the IEI in a preregistered validation study (N = 278 community participants). Across both studies, the IEI scales exhibited good fit to a two-dimensional circular model. The IEI demonstrated robust convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity in relation to measures of interpersonal values and problems, positive and negative affect, adult attachment, self-conscious emotions, self-esteem, and facets of narcissism. By complementing existing measures of affect and interpersonal phenomena, the IEI should prove useful in both research and clinical contexts.