Marrital Similarity

Personality Similarity as a Determining Factor for Marrital Satisfaction For as long as I can remember, the phrase “opposites attract” was the cliche told to me by my parents and everyone every time the topic of romantic relationships arose. I wondered the validity of this statement because growing up I always had a propensity towards guys who were more similar to me. This aside, even if opposites did attract, was this setting yourself up for a healthy relationship? After all, similarities between friends are what foster long lasting friendships, and a marriage partner should be the ultimate friend. Due to the high divorce rate within our society today, it calls into question whether the common phrase “opposites attract” is a reliable

In other words, two people with more similar personality types are typically more compatible. This conclusion was made after researchers and Singh conducted and reviewed numerous personality surveys. “…when “difference scores” on personality decreases, similarity will increase, as predicted satisfaction will also increase among couples (Singh, 1484).” The researchers of this study hypothesized that similarity in self-perceived personality would positively be connected with relationship satisfaction. Results showed them that indeed similarity did have a huge role to play in marriage satisfaction. This research shows us that the phrase “opposites attract” is not a legitimate statement to base one’s relationship off of, as publicized by the world. This is because similarity aids a couple’s understanding of one another. This alikeness translates into everyday discussions and makes connecting with a person that much more natural because of your like-mindedness. Additionally, different types of characteristic similarities were rated at different levels of importance to marital satisfaction. For example, from this study conducted by Singh, it can be observed that when two people are parallel in extraversion and openness, they experience a higher rate of marital bliss. In opposition, when couples share similar characteristics of

Researchers and Schaffhuser further evaluated this topic. “…it is known that the evaluations of the partner’s representation of the own person are important with respect to positive feelings in intimate relationships,” (Schaffhuser, 123). In another study done by Sternberg and Barnes(1985), they found that how someone perceived their partner was a more important contributing factor to the relationship satisfaction than the actual partners personality. From this, one can conclude that perceived partner evaluation plays a big role in marital satisfaction. Furthermore, it is possible that how a person positively perceives their partner, more accurately contributes to marital satisfaction. It was also found that couples were more satisfied with each other if they perceived their partner to be similar to themselves. If you tell yourself something for so long, or if you lie to yourself for so long, eventually it becomes true in your head. This is a good representation of what God calls us to do in his book, the Bible. He calls us to embrace the phrase: “love is a choice” and show affection towards those around us without bounds. This is a great example of partner perception because you will not always agree with or understand them, but its important to choose to love them amidst challenging differences. Applicably speaking, couples can choose to love one another, and in turn