University Archives

Interpersonal complementarity, the tendency for individuals to respond in specific, patterned ways to others’ behavior, is a cornerstone of functional relationships. According to Contemporary Integrative Interpersonal Theory (CIIT), agentic complementarity occurs with dominance evokes submission and vice versa, and communal complementarity occurs when warmth evokes warmth and coldness evokes coldness. To better understand complementarity, past studies have examined these patterns within specific relational contexts (e.g., family, therapeutic alliances). However, it is unclear whether these findings generalize to other relationships. The current study, then, investigates whether two universal partner characteristics, closeness and respect, moderate perceptions of complementarity in real-world interactions. A sample of 97 undergraduates rated self and other agency and communion and perceived closeness and respect after each significant social interaction lasting more than three minutes. Using multilevel modeling, we examined whether and how closeness and respect influence agentic and communal complementarity. Strong complementarity emerged: partner dominance predicted lower self-dominance (γ = -.34, p < .001); partner warmth predicted higher self-warmth (γ = .58, p < .001). However, moderation by closeness and respect was minimal. For agency, neither moderator was significant. For communion, both moderators reached significance but accounted for <1% of variance. Between-person effects showed perceptual consistency: individuals who viewed others as more agentic/communal reported higher self-agency/communion. Findings suggest complementarity functions as a default social script, warranting investigation of other potential moderators (e.g., gender, shared goals, personality pathology).

Keywords: interpersonal complementarity, ecological momentary assessment, interpersonal theory