The Structure of the Ravich Interpersonal Game/Test

Abstract

Testing technology and research instruments in the study of family process are still generally entrenched in the assumption of the “pathological individual.” One innovative approach to the study of interpersonal process is the use of simulation games. A brief summary of the potential value of simulation for the study of the family and marriage precedes a factor analytic study of the Ravich Interpersonal Game/ Test (RIG/T), a simulation game designed to study dyadic decision‐making. Seventy‐five married couples seeking marital therapy in private‐practice settings compose the study sample. The goal of the study is to investigate the degree to which the RIG/T is representative of the process aspects of marital decision‐making, i.e., to assess content validity. Three clear factors account for a major portion of the variance: “Husband's Losing and Withdrawing While Wife Impedes,”“Wife's Losing and Withdrawing as Husband Impedes,” and “Open Conflict and Withdrawal from It.” The pattern of factor intercorrelations suggests that the RIG/T is tapping at least two separate aspects of marital decision‐making: the degree to which a person actively impedes the spouse's activity and the extent to which conflict is characteristic of a couple as they negotiate. It is concluded that the RIG/T, as currently constituted, may not be discriminating enough a simulation problem presented to dyads.