The primitively Role Uniform individual, or the "U," is socially insensitive and deficient in social versatility. He is interpersonally inept, and socially negativistic. A "U" is inherently incapable of understanding, or even recognizing, complex social interpersonal relationships, and is ineffectual in identifying and adopting appropriate roles within them.
A "U" has great difficulty in adjusting to cultural requirements. He is socially inflexible, lacks skill in role playing, and cannot shift from one role to another in accordance with the situation's demands. A "U" thus gives the impression that he has not learned the requirements of his society, and is therefore likely to come into conflict with social manners, procedures, and expectations very early in his life. Lacking the capacity to adapt to and reflect his culture, he meets with considerable cultural rejection.
Unlike the "A," whose social facility may be much greater than his understanding, the "U" may seem to have less capacity in this area than he actually has. His essential lack lies in his inability to appear to be Role Adaptive and to have acquired the social procedures and manners which the culture demands. His social stimulus value is low. He does not attract others to him, and the first impression which he makes is generally unfavorable. He is not attuned to the individual nature of the particular situations in which he finds himself, and he lacks the facility to adapt to those social role requirements which he does not understand.
The "U" is apt to meet with social rejection even when he is making genuine efforts to be sociable. Underlying the unfavorable impression which he creates is his lack of social insightfulness and his inherent social inflexibility, which force him to use the relatively few roles with which he is familiar, regardless of their appropriateness to the particular situation. A "U," then, is at great initial social disadvantage. If he is to achieve enduring socialinterpersonal relationships, he must work to overcome the negative first impression which he makes, just as the "A" must work to sustain his initial advantage.
The result of the environmental rejection which the "U" experiences depends on his total personality structure. Role Uniform is especially difficult for the Externalizer, whose security depends on social and interpersonal acceptance.
The Internalizer, who is generally content to be left alone, is less likely to find Role Uniform a burden. Further, an
Role Uniform Internalizer is not likely to be strongly motivated to overcome his unfavorable first impression, while
an Externalizer, because of his profound need for acceptance, is far more likely to strive for belated acceptance.
The presence of compensation in the other dimensions will, of course, complicate the picture still further. For example, a compensated Internalizer, who has denied his internalized tendency and thus believes himself to be an Externalizer, may find Role Uniform so threatening to his self delusions that he would virtually be (forced to compensate in an Role Adaptive direction as well.
Over time, and depending on the organization of his other personality components, a "U" may be able to demonstrate that the unfortunate first impression which he made was unearned. In general, a "U" learns that he cannot count on favorable reactions from others during the earlier stages of his relationships with them, but that he may nevertheless come to win their acceptance later on. As a result of his many initial failures, a "U" will often become socially cautious, and unwilling to shift to a new situation once he has achieved acceptance in a familiar one.
The nature of the reception which the "U" experiences usually makes him realize that the longer he remains in one social setting, the better his chances of gaining acceptance become. Only after he has overcome his poor beginning is he in a position to prove that he can, in reality, do much better than his first impression suggested. Unlike the "A," who learns that the longer he stays in one environment the more harmful it becomes, the "U" is apt to become dependent on an environment once it has accepted him. Thereafter, he is fearful of moving to another situation, where he will again have to work hard to establish his position. The "U," then, tends to be highly resistant to environmental changes. It is, in fact, often as necessary for him to remain where he is, as it is for an "A" to move on.
Primitive Role Uniform like primitive Role Adaptive must be interpreted in the light of the whole personality pattern. In itself, it is neither inherently desirable nor undesirable. Nevertheless, it can be said that a "U" has many traits which tend to restrict his ability to adjust. His repertory of social responses is limited, and he does not know how to behave appropriately, and deal effectively in many of the situations in which he may find himself. He must acquire some of the social skills of the "A," if he is to adjust to a variety of social demands, and to continue to function effectively in the face of environmental changes.