Basic iru (IuRuUu)

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This is the most primitive and least tense adjustment of the primitive IRU orientation. There are many similarities between iru and ira, [IuRuAu] but the iru is not as deceptive or misleading. Since he does not have the imitative role adaptability of the ira, [IuRuAu] the schizoid flavor and self-centered withdrawal of the iru are very obvious. He is usually recognized and dealt with as a schizoid; there are few attempts by others toward social-interpersonal involvement.

The iru and ira* [IuRuUc] adjustments are also very similar. However, the iru does not develop the role uniform social behavior of the ira·. Rather than stereotyping and caricaturing social behavior, the iru tends to be oblivious to, indifferent toward, or uncertain about his social-interpersonal role. He uses very little social initiative of any kind and, thus, tends to be passive and preoccupied in social situations. Shyness and elusiveness are common characteristics. When placed in social situations, moreover, the ir will be non-responsive and non-active. He is rarely as defensive as might be the i*r*u*, [EcFcAc] who has a need to avoid or escape his desire for activity. The iru adjustment is one of true indifference.

Since the primitive IRU is rarely left alone because his non-participation is so obvious, he has a choice -- in an abstract, not a conscious sense -- of either cutting off his responsiveness entirely or learning to respond to direction. The ira* [IuRuUc] has been described as the adjustment through which an individual learns a social role that covers or masks his schizoid activity. In the purist sense, the iru adjustment represents a procedural ability rather than a role-playing ability. The iru covers or obscures his schizoid tendencies by learning rituals; protocols, and procedures that he can persevere and use to avoid either the threat of complete isolation where he might become autistic or the threat of social-interpersonal activity where he will be shy or indifferent.

If a satisfactory adjustment can be made at all, the iru will be very work-oriented. As is true for most of the adjustments derived from the primitive IRU orientation, the effectiveness of the iru is very much a function of the skill and attention of his teachers and the extent to which his intellectual level allows him to learn by rote what is required. The e*ru [IcRuUu] acquires a certain amount of discipline of his autistic tendencies, but the iru lacks self-discipline; in addition to learning how to perform what is required, he must also be supervised and controlled while doing it. To a certain extent, the iru becomes inoperative and passive when left to his own devices. The e*ru [IcRuUu] can often be kept out of trouble by giving him a complex task to perform; in contrast, the iru tends to get into trouble unless he is given frequent supervision and is forced to perform. His problems are passivity, inactivity, and social-interpersonal withdrawal.

The psychotic iru, for example, will respond well to occupational therapy, but if it is withdrawn (because he seems to be responding), he relapses into apathy and non-response.

The iru has little or no sense of responsibility. He is selfish, self-centered, and an insulated against the needs and desires of others. Like the e*ru, [IcRuUu] he takes what he wants when he wants it, with little or no regard for the consequences. Unlike the e*ru, [IcRuUu] however, the iru is not active or aggressive in taking material things or in any interpersonal sexual activity. While the e*ru [IcRuUu] may rape with little awareness of the object -- he may be guilty of sexual assault of an aged woman or necrophilia -- the iru is more prone to compulsive masturbation. Some exhibitionists may be iru, but they are less likely to be exhibiting themselves in order to gain attention than to be so auto-erotically involved that they are oblivious to the inappropriateness of their behavior.

Moodiness is an aspect of the iru adjustment, but it must be remembered that overt affective signs are not characteristic of the primitive internalizezer. He must learn to show his feelings in an appropriate manner, but, as pointed out elsewhere, these over displays are not necessarily related to his true feelings. Since the iru shows less overt feeling than any other basic cluster, moodiness, as it occurs in him, is relatively unobservable. The primary signs of moodiness are found in his responsiveness to direction. Apathy may be an indication of intense inner feeling because he is so preoccupied with his inner experience that he loses what little external responsiveness he may have developed. This accounts, in part, for the fact that the iru may unexpectedly and violently react to attempts to arouse him from his apathy or apparent lethargy. Extreme violence in defense of his inner preoccupations is not uncommon in the iru.

The ability to control many of the iru tendencies is directly related to intellectual level. However, it is generally true that the iru does not come near to living up to his intellectual potential. Many very bright iru persons will do an adequate job in procedure-bound, ritual-oriented positions, but their performance is ordinarily considerably below expectations. Some child prodigies, particularly those who can learn numbers and mathematics quickly and who overachieve in childhood, but fail to make an adequate or productive adjustment in adulthood, may come from this cluster. At best, the iru is a schizoid, and even schizophrenic, person who is compulsive, ritualistic, and poorly socialized.