Affective and motivational basic dimensions in the interpersonal space

The aim of this research was to explore the existence of certain affective and motivational dimensions of the interpersonal space. The initial hypothesis was the notion that people evaluate the effects of interpersonal behavior in terms of bonding and position. A questionnaire was produced containing daily life situations and subjects were asked to think of themselves in such situations. Each episode described an interaction where the protagonist displayed an initiative leading to an expectation about a positive response by the other participant. However, others’ responses were negative, and then subjects were asked to evaluate their emotional discomfort in a 1 to 5 scale. As expected, factorial analyses identified three dimensions. The interpersonal bonding and position dimensions (Birtchell, 1993; Marrero, Gámez, Castillo & Espino, 1995), and a third dimension related to situations where others hinder our goals. These dimensions were correlated with several personality traits and found to be loosely related to neuroticism and anxiety. Moreover, the bonding discomfort was greater in women. These results are discussed in light of interpersonal research.