Interpersonal competence instrument: Development and preliminary findings

Abstract

A prototype measure of interpersonal competence, designed to measure effectiveness in dealing with other people, was developed-the Interpersonal Competence Instrument (ICI). The ICI is based on the videotape presentation of scenes of subordinates talking to a superior in a business setting. The examinee takes the role of the superior, his or her tape-recorded replies are assessed for effectiveness and originality, and his or her written judgments are evaluated for accuracy. In a pilot study (1) the three scores for the ICI were reliable, in terms of both interrater agreement and internal consistency; (2) the effectiveness and originality scores for replies were only moderately correlated with the accuracy scores for judgments, but the two replies scores were highly intercorrelated ; and (3) the correlations of the scores with background measures and other instruments, including measures of verbal ability and accuracy in social perception, generally supported the ICI’s construct validity.