Partner Personality Research Articles

Gaslighting Exposure During Emerging Adulthood: Personality Traits and Vulnerability Paths.

Among the many forms of psychological violence, gaslighting is a particularly insidious manipulative behaviour that includes acts aimed at controlling and altering one's own partner's sensations, thoughts, actions, affective state, self-perception, and reality-testing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between the experience of gaslighting and dysfunctional aspects of the partner's personality. Gaslighter personality facets were assessed using the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Informant Form-Adult (PID-5-IRF), while gaslighting behaviours were assessed using a 25-item questionnaire, based on the three categories of glamour, good-guy, and intimidator (Stern, 2007). The sample was made up of a group of 177 Italian emerging adults aged between 19 and 26 (49.2% male, 50.8% female; M = 21.88, SD = 1.75), enrolled at University, who participated voluntarily in the research. In fact, none of them received any form of direct or indirect incentive. In our study, we applied a beta regression model mapping the Likert scale into the open interval (0,1). The main results show (a) good-guy gaslighting is positively associated with manipulativeness and negatively associated with deceitfulness; (b) glamour gaslighting has a negative association with separation insecurity and manipulativeness, but it is positively associated with irresponsibility; (c) intimidator gaslighting has a positive association with separation insecurity and distractibility and a negative association with eccentricity and perceptual dysregulation; (d) all three gaslighting categories are negatively associated with anhedonia and impulsivity. Based on what emerged from the data, aspects such as separation insecurity, irresponsibility, and distractibility can be seen as serious risk factors for gaslighting. For this reason, with regard to clinical implications, an early recognition of dysfunctional traits in potential abusers should be fostered in order to protect both potential abusers and their partner from aggressive conduct within an intimate relationship.

Singles' similarity preferences in an ideal partner: What, when, and why.

This study investigated singles' similarity preferences concerning their ideal partner's personality traits, physical attractiveness, and social resources, as well as potential moderators (fear of being single and mate value) and mediators (forecasted satisfaction). With 1,014 Chinese singles, we found that singles preferred their ideal partner to share similarities in the HEXACO traits, physical attractiveness, and social resources, and they preferred higher similarity in Honesty-Humility and Openness to Experience. Fear of being single, mate value, and forecasted satisfaction did not affect similarity preferences concerning Honesty-Humility and Openness to Experience but had some mixed influence over similarity preferences for other features.

Is (Actual or Perceptual) Personality Similarity Associated With Attraction in Initial Romantic Encounters? A Dyadic Response Surface Analysis

A central assumption in lay and psychological theories is that people are attracted to potential mates who are similar to themselves in personality traits. However, the empirical findings on this idea have been inconclusive. Only a few studies have considered real-life dating contexts, and the statistical approaches they applied have sometimes spuriously identified similarity effects. In our study, 397 heterosexual singles (aged 18–28) participated in real speed-dates (N_dates = 940). Using dyadic response surface analysis, we investigated effects of actual similarity (similarity between self-reported personality trait levels) and perceptual similarity (similarity between an actor's personality and his/her perception of the partner's personality) concerning the Big Five traits. Neither type of similarity was related to initial romantic attraction. That is, the empirical evidence contradicted the idea that attraction occurs when people's personalities match. We conclude that understanding initial attraction requires a deeper understanding of interpersonal dynamics in first encounters.

Do you know your partner's personality through virtual collaboration or negotiation? Investigating perceptions of personality and their impacts on performance

Interpersonal skills, including collaborative problem solving (CPS) and negotiation skills, are essential in many aspects of the 21st century. With the rapid development of technologies in the past decades, it has become increasingly prevalent for collaborations, negotiations, and communications to occur virtually. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift from in-person interactions to virtual interactions. On the other hand, personality traits, enduring characteristics of individuals that are largely stable over time, affect a wide variety of human behaviors, including how people interact with each other. In this study, we investigated the extent to which team members' personalities, the heterogeneity in personalities among team members, and the interaction processes in virtual tasks impacted performance on these tasks with limited exposure to personal information such as appearance and voice. In addition, we examined how one perceived the team partner's personality and how people tended to project their own personality onto partners during the short-term virtual interactions. Findings suggested that higher heterogeneity in personality between partners was associated with better team negotiation performance, while it was not associated with collaboration outcomes in the CPS task. Implications of the findings and limitations of this research were also discussed.

Is It Bad to Prefer Attractive Partners?

AbstractPhilosophers have rightly condemned lookism—that is, discrimination in favor of attractive people or against unattractive people—in education, the justice system, the workplace, and elsewhere. Surprisingly, however, the almost universal preference for attractive romantic and sexual partners has rarely received serious ethical scrutiny. On its face, it is unclear whether this is a form of discrimination we should reject or tolerate. I consider arguments for both views. On the one hand, a strong case can be made that preferring attractive partners is bad. The idea is that choosing partners based on looks seems essentially similar to other objectionable forms of discrimination. (In particular, the preference for attractive partners is arguably both unfair and harmful to a significant degree.) One can try to resist this conclusion in several ways. I consider three possible replies. The first has to do with the possibility of controlling our partner preferences. The second pertains to attractiveness and ‘good genes’. The last attempts to link certain aspects of attractiveness to a prospective partner's personality and values. I argue that the first two replies fail conclusively, while the third only amounts to a limited defense of a particular kind of attractiveness preference. The idea that we should often avoid preferring attractive partners is thus compelling.

Relationship quality is influenced by actor and partner effects but not by similarity and discrepancy effects: A study of Brazilian and Czech populations

Evidence suggests that personality may influence romantic relationship quality in several ways. Quality of relationship can be affected by an individual's personality (actor effect), partner's personality (partner effect), by discrepancy between ideal and actual partners' personalities (discrepancy effect), or by similarity between partners' personalities (similarity effect). Most studies, however, focus on just one of these effects, their results are often ambiguous, and based on western populations. We tested all these effects at once in individuals from two distinct populations: Brazil and the Czech Republic. In total, 626 individuals in a long-term committed relationship completed the Ten-Item Personality Inventory for their own, actual, and ideal partner, and the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Hierarchical categorical regression analyses showed that the actor and partner effect contributed significantly, although weakly, to dyadic adjustment, while the impact of discrepancy and similarity was negligible. Explained variance was around 10% for the actor effect, around 30% jointly for actor and partner effects, and around 40% jointly for actor, partner, discrepancy, and similarity effects. The overall results were similar for both studied populations. Importantly, all reported effect sizes are small, which suggests that other factors contribute to dyadic adjustment more substantially.

Predicting mate retention behaviors from five-factor personality traits: A dyadic approach

Previous research investigated only the intrapersonal effects of personality traits on mate retention behaviors. The current study is the first to implement a dyadic perspective to explore interpersonal effects of personality traits on mate retention. We investigated actor and partner effects of the five-factor personality traits on mate retention using actor–partner interdependence modeling with data secured from both members of 190 heterosexual romantic couples. In a round-robin design, each participant rated their own and their partner's personality traits, and their own mate retention behaviors. Our results demonstrated the largest actor and partner effects of neuroticism on mate retention, particularly on cost-inflicting behaviors, showing that individuals higher on neuroticism reported their more frequent use. Smaller and opposite effects of agreeableness and conscientiousness were found, with higher levels of these traits related to less frequent use of cost-inflicting behaviors. Several effects of these “Big Three” personality traits generalized across self- and partner-reports, indicating that they were not the artifacts of common method variance. The effects of openness were much weaker and none generalized across both data sources. Extraversion did not demonstrate any significant effects. Discussion comments on limitations of the current research and suggests directions for future research.

Does your partner's personality affect your health? Actor and partner effects of the Big Five personality traits

The Big Five personality traits are powerful predictors of health and longevity. However, few studies have addressed partner effects of personality on health, whereby the personalities of people close to us affect our health. The current study examined the partner effects of Big Five traits on health behaviours, mood, and quality of life in romantic couples. Here, 182 romantic couples (N = 364 participants; Mage = 35.7 years) completed self-report measures of the Big Five (TIPI), health behaviours (GPHB), mood (DASS-21) and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and showed significant partner effects of conscientiousness on quality of life. No other partner effects of the Big Five were found. These findings suggest that there are specific, focussed associations between health and a romantic partner's personality.

Getting to know you: Associations between judge and target personality with personality judgment accuracy during a dyadic social interaction task

This research investigates the association between judge's and target's personality and personality judgment accuracy. Participants (N = 466) completed personality testing, a social interaction task with a partner, and then rated their partner's personality. Participants initially interacted together for 3 min and then in 1 of 3 interaction conditions (interpersonal closeness, competition, cooperation) for 45 min. Personality judgment accuracy was quantified by the convergence between self-reported and rater-reported personality at each time point. We evaluated the association between information quantity (i.e., time), information quality (i.e., social context), and personality on accuracy. Results indicate a) accuracy improved over time, b) participants in the interpersonal closeness condition were most accurate, and c) judge's agreeableness was positively associated and target's extraversion was negatively associated with accuracy. Findings indicate information quantity and quality influence how personality-relevant information is acquired from other people and some personality traits are associated with personality judgment accuracy.

Shopping Over Distance through a Telepresence Robot

Computer mediated-communication tools (CMC) support loved ones in maintaining connections with one another over distance, yet it can be difficult to do activities together. We studied the use of telepresence robots for supporting distance-separated loved ones in engaging in the joint activity of shopping over distance. One partner shopped in person while the other used either a telepresence robot or a tablet from a remote location. Compared to the tablet group, we found that when partners communicated through a telepresence robot, the remote partner's personality and presence were expressed through the movements and physicality of the medium. However, the use of the telepresence robot introduced tension between partners regarding responsibility, dependency, and contribution to the act of shopping. These results demonstrate the benefits of a mobile embodiment for remote partners, as well as the need for greater physical capabilities to support both physical connection and remote contribution to leisure activities.

Bargaining with characters: How personality pathology affects behavior in the ultimatum and dictator games

Although disorders of personality are associated with a range of interpersonal difficulties, little is known about how knowledge of a partner's personality pathology affects behavior in bargaining situations. We asked study participants to play two economic games with virtual confederates. Participants were told that the confederates had been interviewed and were now portrayed using brief vignettes. The vignettes described one of eight DSM-5 personality disorders and a control (no personality pathology) vignette. In Experiment 1, participants played either the role of proposer (specifying offers) or responder (specifying minimum acceptable offers) in an Ultimatum game. In the role of proposer, participants made lower offers to the avoidant, histrionic, antisocial, narcissistic, schizotypal, dependent, and borderline vignettes in comparison to the control vignette. In the role of responder, participants showed no differences among vignettes with respect to responder minimum acceptable offers. To isolate the effects of fairness or altruism, we conducted a second experiment in which participants played the role of allocator in a Dictator game. Participants made lower allocations to vignettes depicting schizoid, histrionic, antisocial, narcissistic, dependent, and borderline personality disorders compared to the control vignette. Taken together, these findings suggest that knowledge of personality pathology plays a role in bargaining situations.

More than skin deep: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-based attraction among Asian American speed-daters

What might explain our instinctual attraction to certain individuals, aside from visible factors such as appearance? We examined possible biologically-driven selection for immunology genes, specifically preferences for Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC)-dissimilarity, through the ecologically-valid method of speed-dating. Two-hundred-and-sixty-two single Asian Americans went on speed-dates (N observations = 2215) with participants of the other sex, making second date offers and rating each other on measures of mate desirability, facial attractiveness, and body scent attractiveness. Using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, women, but not men, showed preferences for speed-dating partners based on MHC-complementarity. The direction of findings varied by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), such that SNPs closer to the major HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) genes supported dissimilarity preferences, whereas those farther away supported similarity preferences. The relative effects of MHC-based measures in comparison to an array of behavioral predictors were examined via random forests. Results indicated that for both men and women, the importance of MHC-based indices was comparable to that of a partner's self-reported personality attributes in predicting second date offers.

Cooperation with characters: How a partner's personality disorder decreases cooperation in two economic games

How does your personality affect how others treat you? Previous research suggests the characteristic patterns of social behavior in personality disorders can be captured using economic games. Here we test the opposite: whether personality disorders elicit characteristic patterns of social behavior from others. Participants read vignettes portraying individuals with one of eight DSM-5 personality disorders (plus a control vignette) then played either a Prisoner's Dilemma (Experiment 1) or Chicken (Experiment 2) game with a confederate said to have been interviewed and portrayed by each vignette. Experiment 1 found higher cooperation rates in response to the control vignette in comparison to all personality disorder vignettes. Experiment 2, found similar results, apart from the vignette depicting schizoid personality disorder. Findings suggest that people use information about personality to guide how they interact with others. They also illuminate the role others play in the difficult social situations those with personality disorders frequently experience.

Maternal egg hormones in the mating context: The effect of pair personality

AbstractAnimal personality traits emerge developmentally from the interaction of genetic and early environmental factors. Maternal hormones, such as androgens (testosterone, T and androstenedione, A4), transferred to embryos and egg yolks may simultaneously organize multiple behavioural and physiological traits. Although previous studies demonstrated an association between the mother's personality and yolk androgen levels, the independent effects of the male partner's personality and pair combination remains unknown.We test this association using an ecological model species for personality research, the great tit (Parus major) using multiple approaches: (1) a wild population, (2) a randomly mated captive population and (3) an experimental study with (dis)assortatively mated pairs from lines selected for fast exploration/boldness or slow exploration/shyness.Egg androgen concentrations were associated with variation in female personality traits, and the experimental data suggested that this is independent of male personality: Experimental females from the slow‐shy line tended to have higher egg T concentrations than females from the fast‐bold line, with no effect of male personality. Shy females from the wild population had higher egg A4 concentration than bold females. However, in the correlative data yolk hormones were linked with male personality, as well as the interaction between female and male traits: Male handling responsiveness correlated negatively with egg A4 concentration in wild birds. In randomly mated birds, pairs that were mated assortatively for personality had lower egg T concentrations than disassortatively mated pairs.Given that egg androgens are known mediators of avian personality, our results suggest that maternal hormones might contribute to the heritability of personality, may be sensitive to the social context of mating, and act as key drivers of individual differences.Aplain language summaryis available for this article.

Evaluating the role of personality trait information in social dilemmas

We investigate whether cooperative behavior in social dilemmas is conditional on information about a partner's personality traits. Using a repeated one-shot continuous strategy Prisoner's Dilemma (two person Public Goods game), we test how information on personality traits of partners influences cooperative actions. Before each game we provide subjects with the rank-order of their partner (relative to all subjects in the session) on one of the personality traits of the Big Five Inventory. Using a within-subjects design we find that subjects are more cooperative when informed that their partner is more ‘Agreeable’ or ‘Open to Experience’. The primary reason for more cooperative behavior is the expectation that partners will give more to the public good.

Is she the one? Personality judgments from online personal advertisements

AbstractThe authors examined the linguistic cues that inform personality judgments from online personal advertisements, and whether these judgments are accurate. Advertisers reported their personality, and 2 sets of naïve judges—including one that was seeking a romantic partner—rated advertisers' personality after reading their ads. Judges' impressions of extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability—3 traits that are strongly desired in a romantic partner—were influenced by particular lexical cues, such as word count, emotionality, and profanity. Both sets of judges formed accurate impressions for extraversion, but not other traits. These findings suggest that online daters use linguistic cues to judge the desirability of a potential romantic partner's personality, but that the impressions driven by these cues are not always accurate.

Lean on me: The importance of one's own and partner's intercultural personality for expatriate's and expatriate spouse's successful adjustment abroad

This research explores the role of three intercultural personality traits—emotional stability, social initiative, and open-mindedness—as coping resources for expatriate couples’ adjustment. First, we examined the direct relationships of expatriates’ and expatriate spouses’ personality trait levels with psychological and sociocultural adjustment. Psychological adjustment refers to internal psychological outcomes such as mental health and personal satisfaction, whereas sociocultural adjustment refers to more externally oriented psychological outcomes that link the individual to the new environment. Second, we examined the association of expatriates’ personality trait levels with professional adjustment, which was defined in terms of job performance and organizational commitment. Cross-sectional analyses among 196 expatriates and expatriate spouses (i.e., 98 expatriate couples) revealed that the three dimensions are each associated with specific facets of adjustment. A longitudinal analysis among a subsample (45 couples) partially confirmed these findings. Furthermore, we obtained evidence for a resource compensation effect, that is, the compensatory process whereby one partner's lack of sufficiently high levels of a certain personality trait is compensated for by the other partner's high(er) levels of this traits. Through this resource compensation effect, the negative consequences of a lack of sufficient levels of a personality trait on adjustment can be diminished. Apparently, in the absence of sufficiently high trait levels, individuals can benefit from personality resources in their partners.

Two to Tango: A Dyadic Analysis of Links Between Borderline Personality Traits and Intimate Partner Violence

Although research has shown links between borderline personality and intimate partner violence (IPV), few studies have examined how each partner's personality traits may influence the other's behavior (Hines, 2008). This study incorporated dimensional assessments of borderline personality organization (BPO) in both partners into a dyadic model that examined associations with IPV. In a community sample of 109 couples, an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine links between BPO traits in each partner and victimization and perpetration of IPV. Men's level of BPO traits was associated with more IPV toward and more victimization by their partners. Women's level of BPO traits was associated with their victimization only. This study is unique in examining links between BPO and IPV in couples using analyses that account for the interdependence of these variables in dyads.

Two to Tango: A Dyadic Analysis of Links Between Borderline Personality Traits and Intimate Partner Violence

Although research has shown links between borderline personality and intimate partner violence (IPV), few studies have examined how each partner's personality traits may influence the other's behavior (Hines, 2008). This study incorporated dimensional assessments of borderline personality organization (BPO) in both partners into a dyadic model that examined associations with IPV. In a community sample of 109 couples, an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine links between BPO traits in each partner and victimization and perpetration of IPV. Men's level of BPO traits was associated with more IPV toward and more victimization by their partners. Women's level of BPO traits was associated with their victimization only. This study is unique in examining links between BPO and IPV in couples using analyses that account for the interdependence of these variables in dyads.

Personality and Metaphor Use: How Extraverted and Introverted Young Adults Experience Becoming Friends

Competing theories have viewed relationship formation as a gradual process or as an instant development, with little attention to differences in individual perceptions of the same relationship. In the present study, conceptual metaphors concerning relationship formation were identified and coded from interviews with each friend in 59 same–sex, white, college–age, US dyads (57% female). Friends were extreme and either very similar or different from one other with regard to extraversion–introversion. An actor–partner analysis found that friends paired with an extravert used more Force–Impact metaphors that conveyed an explosive ‘friends–at–first–sight’ experience, whereas friends paired with an introvert used more Journey–Organism metaphors that reflected a gradual transition into friendship. Regardless of their partner's personality, extraverts and female friends used more Joint–Proximity metaphors that emphasised the development of intimacy. Results are interpreted using the Social Relations Model and the PERSOC approach to show how personality can serve both as an environment (partner) and as a cognitive schema (actor) to distinctly shape impressions of how a friendship develops. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.