Abstract

The present study aims at exploring the relationships of mental representation on self and significant others with interpersonal problems which are one of the major sources of psychological conflicts and disorders. Study 1 was performed to develop the Self and Others Representation Inventory(SORI) which is a self-report measure evaluating self, mother, father, people around him/her in terms of 20 personal characteristics. Data from 370 university students showed that the SORI has four factors, namely, benevolence, capability, sociability, and obstinacy as well as good reliability and validity. In Study 2, the relationships between the factors of SORI and 8 types of interpersonal problems were explored. Data from 323 students showed that the benevolence factor of self-representation closely relates with nurturance dimension of circumplex model on interpersonal problems, whereas the capability, sociability, and obstinacy factors are related to dominance dimensions.