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Circumplex (General)

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Definition

A circumplex is a circular system for organizing variables within a certain domain of behavior in which it is assumed that the measured attributes vary in terms of distance from the center of the circle and stylistic differences between attributes vary in terms of their arrangement around the circle.

Introduction

A circumplex is a psychometric structure for psychological attributes that can be organized by two fundamental dimensions, such that variation around the circle and from the center of the circle outward is meaningful. It differs from other structural models in that it is constrained to two organizing dimensions and the associations among the attributes within the structure are precisely specified.

Interpersonal Circumplex

The structure, or interrelationships, of attributes has been an important concern throughout the history of psychology. Structure is often evaluated via factor analysis. In a typical factor analysis, correlations between a set of variables are used...

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References

  • Gurtman, M. B. (1992). Construct validity of interpersonal personality measures: The interpersonal circumplex as a nomological net. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 105–118.

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Correspondence to Christopher Hopwood .

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Hopwood, C. (2016). Circumplex (General). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1217-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1217-1

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