A possible ideal underlying interpersonal descriptions

Benjafield & Adams‐Webber (1976) suggested that people organize their interpersonal judgements so that the number of positive judgements ( P ) and the number of negative judgements ( N ) are in the golden section ratio (i.e. P /( P+N ) & 0·62). The present study tested this hypothesis in a highly rigourous way by requiring subjects to generate the full range of P /( P+N ) ratios from 0·00 to 1·00 in an interpersonal judgement task. The results were that mean P /( P+N ) ratios were within 0·01 of the golden section for both male and female subjects, and male and female targets.