In search of convergence between the main dimensions of interpersonal and basic human values in the context of personality traits

Abstract

Interpersonal values are defined in terms of preferences for achieving specific interpersonal outcomes and ways of dealing with social interactions. They form an octant circumplex based on two dimensions – Agency and Communion, analogous to the Interpersonal Circumplex model. The purpose of this paper was twofold: (1) the integration of two different models that organize values in two diverse circular structures – interpersonal values and basic human values and (2) the inspection of the personality underpinnings of interpersonal and basic human values.The study was conducted on a group of 816 participants in Poland aged from 16 to 72.The results indicate (1) convergence between the dimension of Agency in interpersonal values and the dimension of Openness to Change vs. Conservation in basic values model, (2) convergence between the dimension of Communion in interpersonal values and the dimension of Self-Transcendence vs. Self-Enhancement values, (3) relations of interpersonal values with Agreeableness and Extraversion, as theoretically predicted on the basis of the key assumptions of the Interpersonal Circumplex, and (4) relations between basic human values and personality traits, suggesting there are common personality underpinnings of interpersonal and basic values.