Dimensions of Interpersonal Perception in a Meaningful Ongoing Group

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Abstract
First-year and second-year students enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at Brigham Young University rated all pairs of persons in their group as to their relative similarity-dissimilarity on an 8-point scale. Multidimensional scaling procedures yielded three significant dimensions for the first-year group and two for the second-year group. Correlations were then computed between the dimensions and a series of sociometric choices by Ss, personal data obtained from student files, scores on the Guilford-Zimmerman Temperament Survey, and teacher ratings. The dimensions obtained for the first-year group were identified as “perceived competency,” “aggressive self-interest,” and “social interest and self-understanding,” and those for the second-year group were identified as “demonstrated competency” and “group maintenance.” Differences in the dimensions between the groups and relationships of the obtained dimensions with those found in other studies were discussed.