Willenbacher,
Alison (9/09) Dominance as an interpersonal construct: Maturity of object
relations, attachment style, and measurement (Barry Ritzler, Ph.D.; Howard
McGuire, Ph.D.; Philip Wong, Ph.D.)
The present study examined maturity of
object relations and attachment style in 225 adults categorized as low in
dominance (LD), average in dominance (AD), and high in dominance (HD). The
present study also explored the utility of the Rorschach Comprehensive System
(Exner, 2003) in assessing for dominance in a sub-sample of 60 adults
categorized as low dominant and high dominant. Measures used included the
Interpersonal Adjectives Scales - Revised (IAS-R; Wiggins, 1995), Relationship
Scales Questionnaire (RSQ; Griffin and Bartholomew, 1994), Bell Object
Relations and Reality Testing Inventory - Form O (BORRTI; Bell, 1995), and the
Rorschach Comprehensive System (RCS; Exner, 2003). As predicted, LD individuals
scored higher on the Insecure Attachment and Social Incompetence subscales of
the BORRTI than did AD and HD individuals. Also as predicted, LD participants
scored higher on the Anxiety dimension of attachment than did AD and HD
participants. Rorschach variables that were explored as possible markers for
dominance included aggressive movement, active and passive movement, coping
style, space, egocentricity index, reflections, good human response, poor human
response, and EA. HD participants' protocols had a greater number of active
movement responses than passive movement responses; however, hypotheses for the
remaining RCS variables were not supported. Study limitations and directions
for future research are discussed.
