Psychological Characteristics of a Person Showing the Need for Control in Interpersonal Relationships: the Level of Aggression and Life Satisfaction

Uzianova Yuliya Sergeevna ORCID: 0000-0003-0288-5351 Assistant of the Scientific and Educational Center «School of a Young Teacher», Southern Federal University 344038, Russia, Rostov region, Rostov-On-Don, Mikhail Nagibin Ave., 13, office 234 uzianova@sfedu.ru

Vorontsova Tatyana Alekseevna ORCID: 0000-0003-1717-7059 PhD in Psychology Associate Professor Social Psychology Department 344038, Russia, Rostov region, Rostov-On-Don, Mikhail Nagibin Ave., 13, office 234 shkurko@sfedu.ru

Justification of the studySatisfaction of socio-psychological needs is the main factor of human social behavior in society. V. Schutz highlights the need for control in relationships among the basic socio-psychological needs, which is realized at two levels:

1) at the level of behavior required from others – the need to experience control from the partner; 2) at the level of expressed behavior – the need to control the partner ^[1].

A study of modern works devoted to the human need for control showed that the authors' works were mainly aimed at studying the need to control their own internal state (self-control) or external aspects of the environment (control over the results).  

There are quite a few works concerning interpersonal control, and they are devoted to: control and power of personality in the structure of narcissistic character ^[2]; control of relations with a spouse as a manifestation of a grandiose sense of self-importance of spouses with negative narcissism ^[3]; personality of the controlling person (his physical and psychological state) as an investment factor of the company ^[4]; socio-psychological characteristics of a person with a pronounced need to control himself and other people ^[5].

Thus, T. A. Shkurko obtained data ^[5] that the need for control at the level of expressed and required behavior from others is interrelated with other basic needs identified by V. Schutz: with the need for inclusion in social groups by other people (a person with an extremely pronounced need to control others needs social interest from the outside other people) and with a need for love both at the level of expressed and at the level of behavior required from others (a person with an extremely pronounced need for dependence has high indicators of the need for affect). In other words, the controlling person wants social recognition, and the dependent person wants to love and be loved.

Most modern authors study the need for control in relationships as one of the central characteristics of a certain type of personality: narcissistic type ^[2,3], controlling personality ^[5]. As the analysis of the works of Linjari V., McWilliams N., Johnson S. shows, the need to control others / experience control from others in their extreme manifestations (both low and high) is characteristic of different personality types. The specifics of the manifestation of the need for control in a relationship depends on the characteristics of a person's personal conflict and is manifested in the following motives of behavior (Linjari V., McWilliams N., Johnson S.):

1) raising one's own self-esteem, devaluing another in order to "look better yourself." Such an aspiration may be based on the superiority complex highlighted by Adler, which is an "overcompensation" for the shame that a person feels for his alleged inferiority ^[6]. This motive may be characteristic of a person with narcissistic traits.

2)        Getting some kind of "good" (love, relationships, security). This motive may be characteristic of a person with dependent character traits. As a rule, such a person, on the one hand, subordinates his interests to his partner, and on the other - unconsciously "sabotages", punishing the aggressor for injustice in relation to her needs. The relationship of such a person, as a rule, is characterized by hostile dependence – hidden aggression often provokes mistreatment, making the circle vicious: hidden anger and aggression lead to passive-aggressive behavior, provoking aggression and abuse from others, which, in turn, fuels even greater anger and resentment.

3) Achieving moral triumph through equating self-denial with virtue (sacrificing one's interests and needs for the sake of "high" goals). This motive may also be characteristic of a person with dependent character traits.

4)        Preservation of freedom. On the one hand, it is important for all people to feel that they themselves regulate their own behavior, make decisions, make choices ^[7]. On the other hand, obsessive avoidance of control by others may be characteristic of individuals with obsessive-compulsive traits. They, despite excessive self-control in order to keep their own aggressive impulses, experience strong anger in a state under the control of another, accompanied by fear of being judged or punished.

5) Security. This motive may be characteristic: for a person with paranoid character traits who is afraid of being controlled, destroyed (physically or morally by another person); for a person with a schizoid personality style who is afraid of being absorbed by an over-rejecting, over-controlling other (Linjari V., McWilliams N.).

6)        Getting power. This motive covers a wide range of intentions, such as: the use of power to satisfy various needs and desires (instrumental power); the acquisition of sources of power (prestige, status, financial position, leadership position, the ability to control information) ^[8]; the implementation of power actions for their own sake ^[9,10,11].

If control and power are exercised for their own sake, then behind this may lie the need for a person to feel strong, to show his power in action ^[9]. This behavior may be characteristic of individuals with sadistic, antisocial traits.

Sh. Ferenczi believed that the organization of personality around the search for pleasure from controlling the world and others arises due to the lack of a person's sufficient emotional experience of enjoying the illusions of his own omnipotence in infancy ^[12]. A distinctive feature of such people is often a lack of guilt from dominating and controlling others, as well as a tendency to enjoy it ^[13].

Rakhmanovskaya E. A. writes that "the self-perception of the ruler at the same time is comparable to the feeling of expansion of his Ego ... The surrounding people, captured in the field of his power, are perceived ... as direct parts of himself, impersonal instruments of the will, which are intended to perform prescribed functions" ^[14].

The realization of power is often carried out through the restructuring of another person's motives using the following sources of power: reward; coercion and punishment; motivation to follow rules and norms; the use of the desire to be like another; possession of special knowledge, intuition or skills that give authority; possession of information that can make a person see the consequences of his behavior in a new light ^[15].

Maintaining power based on punishment requires control over the object of power, often through the use of aggressive actions as a tool through which this power is realized.

Thus, despite the various motives of human behavior in the field of interpersonal control, we assumed that all people who have a need for control in a relationship may be characterized by open or latent (passive aggression) aggressive impulses.

The relationship of a person's need for control in a relationship with her level of aggression has been studied by other authors in the key of: assessing the influence of communicative control on the indicators of aggressiveness and hostility ^[16]; considering autoaggression as a predictor of victim behavior of a person ^[17]; analyzing the relationship between drug addiction, motivation for aggressive behavior and behavior aimed at obtaining power ^[18]; assessment of the propensity of codependent women to harm themselves through various forms of behavior ^[19]; determination of the role of family styles in the formation of autoaggressive behavior ^[20], etc.

Also, analyzing the characteristics of a person who shows a need for control in a relationship, we suggested that this need may be related to the level of life satisfaction (one of the three components of E. Diener's model of subjective well-being), reflecting a subjective cognitive assessment of one's own life ^[21].

On the one hand, a person who is satisfied with life may have a low need for control in a relationship, because he is already satisfied with everything (a hedonistic approach to understanding happiness ^[22]). On the other hand, a person who is satisfied with life may have a high need for control in a relationship, which will reflect his active lifestyle, self-efficacy ^[23], the desire to take responsibility for relationships (eudemonic approach to understanding happiness ^[22]). An alternative option may be the emergence of a need for control in a relationship as a way to compensate for dissatisfaction with life.

Within the framework of the works of the authors who studied the relationship between life satisfaction and interpersonal needs of a person, it was shown that: authoritarian personalities are more satisfied with life than people with low authoritarianism ^[24]; increased generalized authoritarianism (right-wing authoritarianism and orientation to social dominance) is associated with a higher level of subjective well-being ^[25]; in young people, those prone to antisocial manifestations, with a decrease in the overall level of subjective well-being, a lack of close, trusting relationships with others is manifested ^[26]; satisfaction of basic needs contributes to the experience of happiness, life satisfaction and prevents social frustration ^[27]; the desire for control has a direct impact on human adaptation and subjective well-being ^[28]; the influence of perceived control on life satisfaction is higher in people with a higher level of self-esteem, and the mediating effect of envy is stronger in people with lower self-esteem ^[29]; satisfaction of the need for competence and autonomy is indirectly related to life satisfaction through the meaning of life ^[30]; active involvement in certain activities that contribute to the satisfaction of basic needs for autonomy, competence and It leads to an increase in subjective well-being ^[31]; the locus of control is associated with life satisfaction ^[32]; the need for control at the level of expressed behavior has a direct connection with internality in the field of interpersonal relations ^[5].

These arguments and theoretical prerequisites formed the basis of our research, the purpose of which was to identify the psychological characteristics of a person who shows a need for control in a relationship, an analysis of his level of aggression and life satisfaction.

The design of the study was developed based on the three-dimensional theory of interpersonal behavior by V. Schutz ^[1], the model of a controlling personality by T. A. Shkurko ^[5], ideas about communicative aggressiveness by V. V. Boyko ^[33] and the model of subjective well-being by E. Diener ^[21].

The following assumptions were put forward as hypotheses of the study:

1. The severity of the need for control in adults may be related to the level of aggression of the individual and its parameters.

2. The severity of the need for control in adults may be related to the level of life satisfaction. 

The empirical objectives of our study were to identify the links between the level of aggression / life satisfaction and the severity of the need for control in adults, as well as to conduct a comparative analysis of the severity of the need for control in individuals with different levels of life satisfaction.

Characteristics of the study The subject of the study was the severity of socio-psychological needs (inclusion, control, love) at the level of expressed and required behavior from others, the level of aggression and the level of satisfaction with life in adults.

The empirical object of the study was 105 people, including 73 women (69%), 32 men (31%) aged 20 to 62 years (M=38 years); family status: 73 people married (70%), 8 people divorced (8%), 1 person. widower (0.01%), 23 people. unmarried (22%).

The following research methods were used:

1. Questionnaire of interpersonal relations OMO V. Shutts, adapted by A. A. Rukavishnikov ^[34];

2. E. Diener's SWLS Life Satisfaction scale, adapted by E. N. Osin, D. A. Leontiev ^[35]

3.        The method of determining integral forms of communicative aggressiveness V. V. Boyko (Fetiskin N.P., Kozlov V.V., Manuilov G.M.).

The following methods of mathematical statistics were applied to the obtained data: descriptive statistics methods, Spearman's rank correlation method, Mann-Whitney U-criterion.

Research resultsAt the first stage of processing the obtained data, we turn to descriptive statistics (see Table 1):

Table 1. Statistical results of the assessment of the central trend and the spread of these indicators of needs in interpersonal relationships of V. Schutz, the integral level of aggression and the level of life satisfaction

The data show that in the sample as a whole, the severity of the need for control of other people is at an average level with a tendency to high, and the need for control by other people is in the area below average.  Aggression indicators have a low and average level. Indicators of life satisfaction lie in the area of neutral values.

The results of the study of the relationship of the individual's need for control with the level of aggressionTo prove the first hypothesis, Spearman's correlation analysis was applied to the indicators of aggressiveness and the severity of the need for control (see Table 2), which showed that there was no significant relationship between the level of aggression and the need to control others / experience control from others.

 Table 2. The value of Spearman's rank correlation between indicators of the need for control and indicators of integral forms of communicative aggressiveness (significance level *p <0.05)

However, a number of aggression indicators, which constitute an integral indicator of the level of aggression, turned out to be associated with the need for control. The following connections were established:

1. the inverse correlation (r=-0.22275 at p=0.022) between the need to control others and the inability to switch aggression to activities and inanimate objects. The higher the need to control others, the higher the skill to switch aggression from living people to activities and inanimate objects (reorientation of the attack in case of unavoidable aggression).

2. direct correlation (r=0.19387 at p=0.047) between the need to control others and the use of ritualization of aggression. The higher the need to control others, the more often a person turns aggression into a ritual in a relationship with a partner.

3. a direct correlation (r=0.19187 at p=0.049) between the need to control others and the tendency to become infected with crowd aggression. The higher the need to control others, the higher the tendency to become infected with the aggression of the crowd, pushing their own assessment of the situation into the background, getting involved in the energy and direction of the crowd.

4. the inverse correlation (r=-0.28172 at p=0.036) between the need to experience control from other people and the tendency to repel aggression. People who have a pronounced need for control from other people are not inclined to respond with aggression to the aggression of a partner.

5. direct correlation (r=0.19509 at p=0.046) between the need to experience control from other people and the level of autoaggression. The higher the need to experience control from other people, the more often the suppressed aggression against others is directed by a person at himself.

Thus, hypothesis 1 was partially confirmed (no connection with the general level of aggression was found, but it was revealed that the need for control is associated with a number of its parameters).

The results of the study of the relationship of the individual's need for control with the level of life satisfactionTo prove the second hypothesis, Spearman's correlation analysis was also applied to indicators of the severity of socio-psychological needs and the level of life satisfaction (see Table 3):

 Table 3. The value of Spearman's rank correlation between the severity of socio-psychological needs and the level of life satisfaction (significance level *p <0.01)

The analysis of the data presented in the table shows the presence of a direct highly significant correlation (r=0.32372 at p=0.002) between the need to control others and the level of life satisfaction: people with a higher need to control others have a higher level of life satisfaction.

Thus, hypothesis 2 about the relationship of the need for control with the level of life satisfaction was confirmed with respect to the need to control others at the level of expressed behavior.

At the same time, it is interesting that of all interpersonal needs (the need for inclusion, the need for affect and the need for control), only the need to control others is associated with the level of life satisfaction.

The results of a comparative analysis of the severity of the need for control in adults with different levels of life satisfactionIn order to further test the second hypothesis, we divided the sample into 2 groups.

The 1st group (44 people) included respondents characterized by a low and a tendency to a low level of life satisfaction (up to 21 points on the satisfaction scale of E. Diener), the second group (44 people) – respondents with a high and a tendency to a high level of life satisfaction (22 points or more).

The data obtained were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Differences in the severity of the need for control in adults with different levels of life satisfaction are presented in Table 4.

Table 4. Results of a comparative analysis of the severity of the need for control in adults with different levels of life satisfaction according to the Mann-Whitney U-criterion (*p <0.01)

The data obtained record the presence of significant differences in the need to control others in adults with a low and a tendency to a low level of life satisfaction and adults with a high and a tendency to a high level of life satisfaction. The need to control others is significantly higher in participants who were characterized by a high and a tendency to a high level of life satisfaction.

Analysis of the data, in terms of the need to experience control from others, did not reveal significant differences in the above groups.

Correlational pleiades of interrelations between the severity of the need for control, the level of life satisfaction and the parameters of aggressionTo generalize the connections obtained in the study, we have compiled a correlation galaxy between the considered indicators (Fig. 1).

 Figure 1. Correlation galaxy of interrelations between the severity of the need for control, the level of life satisfaction and the parameters of aggression

It clearly shows the presence of a number of correlations that were not initially proposed as research hypotheses, but reveal the specifics of complex relationships between the need for control, aggression and life satisfaction (see Table 5).

Table 5

Significant correlations between indicators of integral forms of communicative aggressiveness and the level of life satisfaction (Spearman correlation coefficient / significance level of the coefficient *p <0.05, **p <0.01)

The following connections were identified:

1. the inverse highly significant correlation (r=-0.28215 at p=0.008) between the level of life satisfaction and anonymous aggression. The more satisfied a person is with his life, the less often he uses anonymous aggression.

2. an inverse significant correlation (r=-0.22313 at p=0.036) between the level of life satisfaction and autoaggression. The more satisfied a person is with his life, the less often he directs suppressed aggression against himself.

 Conclusions of the study and discussion of the resultsSummarizing the results of the study, we can draw a number of important conclusions:

1. There is no correlation between the level of aggression and the need to control others/experience control from others. This may be due only to the partial intersection of the goals of controlling and aggressive behavior: aggression is always characterized by harming another person, control is quite often used to achieve other (unrelated to harm) goals (for example, the preservation of meaningful relationships).

2.                  The need to control others has an inverse relationship with the inability to switch aggression to activities and inanimate objects. The higher the need to control others, the higher the skill to switch aggression from living people to activities and inanimate objects (reorientation of the attack in case of unavoidable aggression). The ability to direct the energy of aggression in a safe direction can be the key to more adaptive behavior aimed at preserving relationships.

3.                  The need to control others is directly related to the use of ritualization of aggression. People who have a pronounced need to control others tend to turn aggression into a ritual, use it as a symbol of dissatisfaction with a partner in order to manipulate him. They tend to establish rigid rules, often applied by generations, and, under certain circumstances, the application of control can be rationalized through the argumentation of care.

4.                  The need to control others is directly related to the tendency to become infected with crowd aggression. This connection suggests that the higher the need to control others, the higher the tendency to become infected with the aggression of the crowd, pushing their own assessment of the situation into the background, getting involved in the energy and direction of the crowd. This connection can be explained by an attempt by the individual to defuse accumulated negative emotions; a way to strengthen his influence in the crowd thanks to a group of "like-minded people"; recognition of the "language" of power, in this case the crowd.

5.                  The need to experience control from other people is inversely related to the tendency to repel aggression. People who have the need to experience control from other people are not inclined to respond with aggression to the aggression of a partner, but, on the contrary, allow the partner to ignore their interests, violate boundaries. Probably, such behavior is accompanied by a certain masochistic pleasure, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, serves the purpose of obtaining some benefit later (to save the family, to avoid loneliness).

6.                  The need to experience control from other people is directly related to autoaggression. Sacrificing themselves and their needs in relationships, people with the need to experience control from others, experience anger, which is directed not against the partner, but against themselves in order to protect the relationship that is critical for the personality from destruction. Probably, the shift of aggression towards oneself is formed in childhood as a result of the cruel negative reinforcement of the initial aggression from others.

7.                  The need to control others is directly related to the level of life satisfaction. The higher the need to control others, the higher the level of life satisfaction. Probably, the ability to control the other gives the individual a sense of his competence, strength, power, control over the situation; reduces anxiety from the uncertainty and unpredictability of the other and the world. Thus, we can say that a person who realizes the need to control others is in complete harmony with himself, despite the destructive influence of this need on interpersonal relationships.

Of all the interpersonal needs (the need for inclusion, the need for affect and the need for control), only the need to control others is associated with the level of life satisfaction. Probably, this may be due to the fact that other needs in interpersonal relationships have a greater risk of frustration and refusal to satisfy them on the part of the partner. This assumption requires additional research.

8.                  A comparative analysis of the need to control others in adults with a low and a tendency to a low level of life satisfaction and adults with a high and a tendency to a high level of life satisfaction showed that the need to control others is significantly higher in adults who are characterized by a high level of life satisfaction. On the one hand, satisfaction of a need in itself gives a person positive emotions, a sense of control over the situation, another person; a sense of one's strength and competence through influence on another in a relationship, and on the other – a person characterized by the need to control others is often quite successful in society – takes leadership positions, actively self-actualizes.

9. There is an inverse correlation between the level of life satisfaction and anonymous aggression, autoaggression. We can say that satisfied people are not afraid to express their dissatisfaction openly. They freely express negative feelings without trying to disguise them, hide them or redirect them inside themselves. The opportunity to protect oneself by taking an active position in defending one's interests contributes to the preservation of a person's self-esteem, the achievement of his goals and, ultimately, a richer, more interesting and productive life.

The data obtained in terms of the relationship between the need to control others and the level of life satisfaction are consistent with studies of life satisfaction of authoritarian personalities ^[24], data on the influence of the desire for control on human adaptation and subjective well–being ^[28]; in terms of the direct relationship between the need to experience control from other people and autoaggression - with the consideration of autoaggression as a predictor of victimization personal behavior ^[17]; assessment of the propensity of codependent women to harm themselves through various forms of behavior ^[19].

Conclusion

The conducted research expands the understanding of the relationship between a person's need for control in a relationship with such personal characteristics as the level of aggression and the level of life satisfaction.

The data obtained on the relationship of the need for control by others with the level of self-aggression of the individual; on the relationship of the need for control over others with the level of life satisfaction can be useful in consulting and diagnostic work with clients; expand the understanding of the controlling personality and other types of personality.

 Limitations and prospects of the studyThe sample of the study has a gender disparity (69% of the sample are women).

In the future, as part of the continuation of the study and increasing the sample size, it will be possible to compare the detected patterns separately in the female and male subsamples, to describe the gender specifics of the detected relationships. Also, the results obtained in the work pose a promising task for researchers to differentiate personality types (controlling personality, narcissistic personality, authoritarian personality, dominant personality, etc.) based on the interrelationships of its central characteristic (the need for control) with other socio-psychological characteristics.