Riemann-Thomann Model

The Riemann-Thomann model was originally developed by Fritz Riemann in 1975 and taken up by the psychologist Christoph Thomann in 1988. Schulz von Thun eventually applied it to interpersonal communication. The model attempts to explain personality and behavior more easily and states that there are the respective opposite poles of closeness (interpersonal contact, harmony, security) and distance (independence, calm, individuality), as well as duration (order, regularity, control) and change (variety, spontaneity, creativity).

Each personality can be drawn in this coordinate system. Depending on the alignment, a different personal attitude towards an interlocutor emerges. Ideally, there would be a balance of these basic tendencies, but in interpersonal communication usually only one of the contrasting expressions is activated at a time. How a person reacts, communicates or feels can therefore be partly derived from this model and sometimes better understood. For example, when a person with a strong need for distance meets a person with a need for closeness, tensions and interpersonal conflicts could arise.

Literature

Schulz von Thun, Friedemann (n.d.): the values and development square. https://www.schulz-von-thun.de/die-modelle/das-werte-und-entwicklungsquadrat [13.01.2021].

Lubienetzki, Ulf / Schüler-Lubienetzki, Heidrun (2020): Let’s talk to each other. Psychology of successful conversation. Hamburg: Springer Verlag.