CONSTRUCT-VALIDITY OF INTERPERSONAL PERSONALITY MEASURES - THE INTERPERSONAL CIRCUMPLEX AS A NOMOLOGICAL NET

To understand a construct means to set it within an appropriate "nomological net" of lawful relations. For measures of interpersonal constructs, the interpersonal circumplex provides a nomological system of great potential for validating constructs and their measures. Three multidimensional measures-of dependency, empathy, and narcissism-were subjected to an interpersonal analysis, and construct parameters and similarities were estimated by using formulas derived from the circumplex model. The results offered a distinctly interpersonal perspective on the construct validity of the respective measures. Expanded uses for the interpersonal circumplex are discussed.