The FIRO-B questionnaire was devised by American, Will Schutz, in the 1950’s when he studied the relationships within small teams of submariners. This research was then extended to look at how people in general interact with one another and what the drivers are that generate or inhibit certain behaviours.
Like MBTI, the FIRO-B questionnaire has undergone rigorous research and development and is now widely used for helping people to understand themselves and how they relate to others.
It looks at three specific needs each of us has -
INCLUSION, CONTROL and AFFECTION - and helps us to understand how much of a need for each of these we EXPRESS in our behaviour with others, and how much of these we WANT others to demonstrate to us.
Understanding these aspects of our personality can be particularly useful if we want to review the way we may come across to others, and also if we want to understand how and why conflict may arise in our relationships with others.
Individuals should allow around 2 hours in total to complete the questionnaire and discuss the results. For teams, the FIRO-B questionnaire is best used within a half-day or full-day team-building event. It can be used in conjunction with the MBTI questionnaire as it helps give additional insights into specific aspects of personality.
