Psychological dimensions of goal-oriented interpersonal situations

200 undergraduates were presented with all possible pairs of 20 cooperative and competitive situations, and Ss' dissimilarity judgments were analyzed using a multidimensional scaling technique. Four group analyses and 2 analyses that made provision for individual differences indicated that 7 distinct and replicable dimensions were used to differentiate among goal-oriented interpersonal situations. These 7 dimensions were interpreted as pleasant–unpleasant, accidentally caused/involved vs intentionally caused/uninvolved, physically vs socially oriented, sensitive–insensitive, nonintimate–intimate, nonintimate/uninvolved vs intimate/involved, and work- vs relaxation-oriented. Only 3 of these dimensions were found to have clear generality across different situational domains. Although significant interindividual variability in perception was found, there was also substantial communality in perception (as evidenced by the finding of 7 common and replicable dimensions of perception). Implications for interactionism, the development of taxonomies of situational perception, and the social psychology of cooperative vs competitive situations are discussed. (51 ref)