Is spousal similarity for personality a matter of convergence or selection?

Mikhila N. Humbad; M. Brent Donnellan; William G. Iacono; Matthew McGue; S. Alexandra Burt

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2010.07.010

Is spousal similarity for personality a matter of convergence or selection?

Mikhila N. Humbad, M. Brent Donnellan, William G. Iacono, Matthew McGue, S. Alexandra Burt

Psychology (Twin Cities)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated whether spousal similarity for personality traits results from convergence (i.e., couples becoming more similar to one another over time) or selection (i.e., individuals selecting partners with similar traits) in a sample of 1296 married couples. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. We evaluated whether similarity increased with increasing length of marriage. Evidence of spousal convergence was inconsistent across analyses, arguing against this mechanism as a compelling explanation for spousal similarity. Accordingly, selection processes may better explain spousal similarity in these data. The one exception might be for aggressive aspects of personality.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	827-830
Number of pages	4
Journal	Personality and Individual Differences
Volume	49
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.07.010
State	Published - Nov 2010

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was funded in part by USPHS Grants # DA05147 , AA09367 , and AA11886, DA13240 , and MH65137 .

Keywords

Assortative mating
Personality similarity
Spousal convergence

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@article{ab8460f767fb495faa1628a0fd29b195,

title = "Is spousal similarity for personality a matter of convergence or selection?",

abstract = "We investigated whether spousal similarity for personality traits results from convergence (i.e., couples becoming more similar to one another over time) or selection (i.e., individuals selecting partners with similar traits) in a sample of 1296 married couples. Personality was assessed using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. We evaluated whether similarity increased with increasing length of marriage. Evidence of spousal convergence was inconsistent across analyses, arguing against this mechanism as a compelling explanation for spousal similarity. Accordingly, selection processes may better explain spousal similarity in these data. The one exception might be for aggressive aspects of personality.",

keywords = "Assortative mating, Personality similarity, Spousal convergence",

author = "Humbad, {Mikhila N.} and Donnellan, {M. Brent} and Iacono, {William G.} and Matthew McGue and Burt, {S. Alexandra}",

note = "Funding Information: This research was funded in part by USPHS Grants # DA05147 , AA09367 , and AA11886, DA13240 , and MH65137 .",

year = "2010",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1016/j.paid.2010.07.010",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "49",

pages = "827--830",

journal = "Personality and Individual Differences",

issn = "0191-8869",