THE FUNDAMENATAL INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

ORIENTATION – BEHAVIOR

Powerful self report tool designed to measure

behavior that derives from interpersonal needs
THEORY OF INTER PERSONAL NEEDS

FIRO- B instrument was created in the late 1950s by William Schutz

(1958)

FIRO – B was developed in the context of understanding and

predicting how high performance military teams would work together

Schutz started from the premise that “ people need people” – that in
addition to physical need such as food and shelter, interpersonal needs
also motivated the behavior of individuals
THEORY OF INTER PERSONAL NEEDS

Schutz used the term of “interpersonal” to indicate any interaction ,

real or imagined , that occurs between people

For eg, a manager might delegate a task to an employee through face-to-

face conversation, by phone, or in a memo

This behavior on the part of the manager constitutes an interaction and

thereby expresses and interpersonal need

THEORY OF INTER PERSONAL NEEDS

The term need was used by Schutz in a manner that was congruent
with how biological needs are commonly understood

A need is a physical or psychological condition of an individual that if

not satisfied leads to a state of discomfort or anxiety

To avoid this unpleasant outcome, people are motivated to take action to

meet the need
Purpose

The FIRO – B instrument is designed to measure behaviour that derives from

interpersonal needs
It is used for:
• Improved self-understanding
• One-to-one relationships
• Team work
• Career development
• Leadership development
FIRO-B THEORY

• Created by Dr. Will Schutz (1958)

• “ People need people…” for:
• Inclusion
•Control
•Affection
• They need:
• People to RECEIVE from
(Wanted behaviour)
• People to GIVE from
(Expressed behaviour)
FIRO-B THEORY

The three need areas (ICA) are combined with the two behavioural dimensions
( E & W) to describe ACTUAL behaviours in terms of:
• Frequency
• ( never usually)
• Selectivity
• (nobody most people)
EXPRESSED BEHAVIOURS

• How much I demonstrate the behaviour

• Active, easily seen
• Initiation: towards others by words or actions (actual behaviours)

WANTED BEHAVIOURS

• Internal expectations
• How much I desire to receive the behaviour
• Something I rely on others to do, say or convey to me
INCLUSION

• Indicates amount of interaction ( boundaries & clarity)

• Extent of prominence and significance a person seeks

INCLUSION

EXPRESSED INCLUSION:
• How much I connect with others in activities or ideas

WANTED INCLUSION:
• How much I want others to include me
CONTROL

• Indicates power of interaction ( potential for action & movement)

• Driven by feelings of respect and competence

CONTROL

EXPRESSED CONTROL:
• Army personnel

WANTED CONTROL:
• Managers
AFFECTION

• Indicates depth of interaction ( understanding & empathy)

• Driven by feelings of likeability and openness

AFFECTION

EXPRESSED AFFECTION:
• Self Closure

WANTED AFFECTION:
• Pleasing
Interactions

I express and want my interactions with others to be……………..

Low – 0, 1, 2

Medium – 3, 4, 5, 6

High – 7, 8, 9
Interactions

LOW means –

Descriptions are rarely characteristic of you

Behaviours of desires only displayed selectively by you
You resist taking on these characteristics and are uncomfortable when
others display them too much
You avoid situations where many of these are expected of you or are
prominently displayed by others
Interactions

MEDIUM means –

 Descriptions are noticeably characteristic of you

You display these behaviours in particular situations
You remain highly flexible in figuring out how you will behave or what
you can expect ( turn on and off)
You avoid situations that require constant behaviour or the reliance on
others
Interactions

HIGH means –

 Behaviours are significantly characteristics of you

You display these behaviours in most situations
You are attracted to situations where you can regularly express and/or
receive these behaviours
You avoid situations which seem depleted of these behaviours
 THE INTER PERSONAL NEEDS

Dimensions/ Inclusion (I) Control (C) Affection (A)

Need
Expressed (e) The extent to which The extent to which The extent to which
you can make an you make an effort to you try to get close to
effort to include control and influence people and to engage
others in your others or situations, them on a personal
activities , to join and to organize and direct level; your degree of
belong to groups and others and to assume comfort in being open
to be with people responsibility with and supportive
of others
Wanted (w) The extent to which The extent to which The extent to which
you want others to you are comfortable you want others to
include you in their working in well act warmly towards
activities and to invite defined situations you and to take a
you to join or belong with clear personal interest in
to groups; the extent expectations and you; the extent to
to which you want to instructions which you want
be noticed others to share things
with you and to
encourage others

* Adapted from Schnell and Hammer (1993)


Dimensions/ Need Inclusion (I)
Expressed (e) •Inviting others to join in
your activities
•Involving others in
projects and meetings
•Incorporating
everyone’s ideas and
suggestions
•Taking a personal
interest in others
Wanted (w) •Getting involved in high
profile activities and
projects
•Doing things to get
noticed
•Going along with the
majority opinion
•Wearing distinctive
clothing
THE INTER PERSONAL NEEDS
Control (C) Affection (A)
•Assuming positions of •Reassuring and
authority supporting others
•Managing the •Showing concern about
conversation other’s personal lives
•Attempting to influence •Sharing your personal
other’s opinions opinions and feelings with
•Establishing policies and others
procedures •Being trustworthy and
loyal
•Deferring to the wishes, •Being flexible and
needs, and requests of accommodating
others •Listening carefully to
•Asking for help on a job others’
•Raising issues for others •Trying to please others
to consider or decide •Making yourself available
•Involving others in to others
decisions
 THE INTER PERSONAL NEEDS

INCLUSION (I) CONTROL (C) AFFECTION (A)

EXPRESSED el eC eA Total Expressed

WANTED wl wC WA Total Wanted

Total Inclusion Total Control Total Affection Need overall

SCORE RANGE CATEGORY MEANING
0 - 15 Low •Involvement with others is not a primary source of need
satisfaction
•Other needs, eg intellectual stimulation or solitary pursuits ,
predominate
•Tend to need privacy to do their best work
•Prefer to keep to themselves and tend to have a small circle of
friends
•Highly selective about how often and with whom they interact
16-26 Medium - Low •Involvement with others is sometimes a source of satisfaction,
depending on the people and the context
•Work most effectively alone, but with others when the objectives
are focuses
•Tend to have a small circle of friends whom they see occasionally
27-38 Medium - High •Involvement is usually a source of satisfaction
•May enjoy small-group work settings
•Tend to have a larger group of friends and may contact them on
regular basis
39-54 High •Involvement with others is enjoyable and satisfying
•Engage in interpersonal interaction with many people and on a
frequent basis
Score Range Category Total Expressed Total Wanted

0-7 Low Are not comfortable Are not comfortable

initiating social relying on others for
behavior what is needed; don’t
expect much; are
independent

8-19 Medium Are selective: Are selective: Reactivity

Reactivity varies by varies by person or
person or situation situation

20-27 High Enjoy initiating social Rely on others; are

behavior comfortable accepting
behaviors from others
TOTAL NEED (I, C, A) SCORES

0 – 5 – Low
• Individual is either indifferent to satisfying this need or very selective about
with whom it is satisfied

6 – 12 – Medium
• Individual will often attempt to satisfy this need, by either expressing or
eliciting the appropriate behaviours

13 – 18 – High
• Individual will consistently pursue satisfaction of this need, he or she will
engage in the associated behaviours frequently and with many different
people across different settings
TOTAL NEED (I, C, A) SCORES

EXAMPLES:
A) If a person joins a new team and his highest total need is for INCLUSION, the
primary concern will be how to join in the activities of the group and how to
gain a sense of belonging;
B) If the strongest need is CONTROL, he or she will focus primarily on
understanding the hierarchy or the structure of the team: who is in charge,
how decisions are made, who is responsible for what
C) If the highest score is AFFECTION, the person will be concerned with
developing close relationships with people he or she can trust and with
demonstrating that others on the team can trust him or her
• The need with the highest score is also the need that the person is least likely
to sacrifice.
• If faced with a choice, the person will be more willing to give up satisfaction of
the need with the lowest score
• Person with highest score for AFFECTION and lowest score for INCLUSION,
may be willing to give up the chance to be a member of an exciting new team
for the opportunity to work closely with a much smaller group that he or she
can get to know better
 Inclusion
Tends to move away from people, and to
THE LONER be selective about responding to
initiatives of others. But very low scores
e 0 reflect strong underlying need to be with
people, that is not expressed.
w 0

MISUNDERSTOOD &
THE NEEDY At 10:30 every morning, says to
himself: “Oh God, let someone
invite me to lunch
e 0
(Does not express inclusion, but
w 9 wants very much to be asked to join,
and be accepted.) Strong desire to
belong likely to go unnoticed
 Inclusion
WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE
When both scores are extremely high, the
e 9 individual is not only outgoing but also is
compulsively driven to be with people.
w 9 At work, this guy is always trying to get up a
group to do something afterward-drinks,
bowling, etc.

THE EXCLUSIVE CLUB

e 9 Has many acquaintances, but

desires to retain control over the
w 0
socializing. Motto is “Don’t call me;
I’ll call you.
Control

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
Wants to exercise lots of control and
e 9 responsibility and resists others’ attempts
to control him/her. “Mission Impossible” –
w 0 type leader is one example.

THE REBEL Doesn’t want control over others, or

to be controlled by anyone else. Acts
like a sort of rebel, but resists
e 0
passively more than actively. May
w 0 really want to dominate
underneath, but may be uneasy
about actually trying to influence
others.
 Control
SCHIZO LEADER

e 9 This person may be in great conflict about

control – may want to be independent, but also
w 9 wants others to decide.

DEPENDENT

This person has a high tolerance for accepting

e 0 the influence or control of others, and a low
w 9 interest in taking the responsibility to make
decisions for others.
 Control
LOYAL LIEUTENANT

e 0 He will be tend to be a “Loyal Lieutenant”.

Assuming responsibility only if told what to do
w 6 and how to do it

THE MATCHER

His attitude is “ I want you to work shoulder to

e 4-6 shoulder with me”. The person is democratic.
He / she does not put excessive demands on
w 4-6 others but merely asks others to match the
responsibility he assumes
 Affection
THE OPTIMIST
This person is strongly interested in
e 9 expressing warmth, closeness, affection
to others, and also wants affection from
w 9
them. May be disappointed when others
don’t return his warmth, and may need
frequent reassurance that he’s liked.

THE CAUTIOUS LOVER

This person is selective and cautious about
initiating close relationships, but really wants
e 0 affection. This person waits for others to take the
w 9 initiative, but the caution may be interpreted by
others as disinterest – not knowing friendship.
So the person can be misunderstood, seen as
aloof.
 Affection
THE PESSIMIST
This person is selective about initiating
close relationships, and cautious about
e 0 responding to others’ initiatives. Others
may see him/her as cold and distant. The
w 0 person may well be distrustful and
suspicious of others.

MASK OF INTIMACY
This person has a warm, friendly
image, but is very selective about
e 9 close involvement with people –
w 0 close to very few people. Others may
be confused when this person’s
warmth turns to caution.
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

THE ROCK
I C A

e 0 0 0
w 0 0 0

A person with low scores in all areas is such a well defended individual that it is
difficult for people to hurt him. He is a PESSIMIST and REBEL
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

I C A
e 9 0
THE TABLE HOPPER
w 9 0

Low scores in the affection area along with high scores in the inclusion area
represent a rare combination of scores. In the affection area the person is a
pessimist
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

THE FLOWER CHILD

I C A

e 9 0 9

w 9 0 9

•In the affection area, he/she not only initiates warm close relationships but he
is most comfortable when others do the same thing with him. He wants
affection and wants a lot of it

•The extreme inclusion score indicate that he is concerned about rejection and
defends himself against it by seldom giving others the opportunity to ignore
him.
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

THE BALL OF FIRE I C A

e 9 9 9

w 9 0 9

•A person with an extremely low wanted control scores everywhere else

is apt to a “bottomless pit of energy”. He is an optimist, he is capable of
taking on large amounts of responsibility and he is very sociable

•In the affection area he not only initiates warm, close or intimate
relationships but he is quite comfortable when others do the same

•Although he is like “the flower child” in the inclusion and affection

areas, his control scores indicate that he is capable of making decisions
and taking on large amounts of responsibility. His self – concept is one
of confidence and adequacy so much so that he may over-estimate his
ability to control environmental restrictions
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

THE PATSY I C A

e 9 9

w 9

A person with extremely high expressed control and wanted affection scores
is a “PATSY”. Because the person is driven by both a need for recognition
and need for affection.
It is extremely difficult for this individual to say “NO” to any request from
others.
As a result the “PATSY” frequently will over-extend himself and even
become painfully caught between conflicting or incompatible demands
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

FULL BLOWN NEUROTIC

I C A

E 0 0 0
W 9 9 9

A person with an extremely low expressed scores and extremely high wanted
scores in all areas is a very frustrated individual.
He is withdrawn, inadequate and cautious in his interpersonal behaviour
At the same time he places excessive demands upon others for fulfillment of
his own need
Some common & unique FIRO – B Profiles

I C A
THE HOLLOW MAN e 9 9 9

w 0 0 0

The extremely rare profile of scores is characteristic of the smooth

sophisticated “manipulator”

His control scores indicate that he not only is capable of taking on large areas
of responsibility, but also that his self-concept is one of over – confidence and
adequacy. The style in which his control is manifested is greatly influenced by
the stance he assures in the inclusion and affection area