The PARSHIP test is based on behavioural science and psychoanalytical theory. It covers the values, attitudes and behavioural patterns that determine the success of a relationship.

Important in the formulation of the test was the work of such figures as the psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, the sociologist Georg Simmel and the psychologist Hans Eysenck.

Also incorporated into the test were the findings of studies by the following experts: Prof. Dr. Hugo Schmale (University of Hamburg), Prof. Dr. Johannes Brengelmann (Max Planck Institute, Munich), Prof. Dr. Kurt Hahlweg (Technical University of Braunschweig) und Prof. Dr. Jürg Willi (University of Zürich; the Collusion Model of Partnership Development).