Which are the basic meaning dimensions of observable interpersonal behavior?

We investigated the basic meaning dimensions of overt interpersonal behavior in an observational multi-rater multi-situation study. The interpersonal behavior of 99 participants in 17 different interpersonal role-plays was videotaped and judged by three independent observers using 35 adjective-pairs. Principal Components Analysis yielded three factors with Eigenvalues above chance level. The first two factors were easily identifiable as Agency and Communion, which represent the fundamental dimensions in interpersonal theory (Wiggins, 1991). Unexpectedly, we also found a third, weaker factor pertaining to Emotional Stability. Factor coefficients and factor scores of all three factors showed acceptable to good stability across observers and role-plays. Our study is the first to demonstrate the appropriateness of the Agency/Communion framework with observational data