Relationship Satisfaction In Marriage

Men and women both have different expectation within a relationship and so are not satisfied in the same way. Not only is it common knowledge, but just from day to day observation, it is not hard to spot the distinct characteristics between men and women. It is not only obvious, but studied that the two act and think differently, which in turn is what makes their pairing so complementary. Although opposites may attract, these differences in turn may confuse a romantic relationship because of misunderstandings in how the other feels or how one partner thinks the other feels. According to Decuyper, actual personality similarity, perceptual personality similarity, and perceptual personality accuracy, have a greater effect on relationship satisfaction.

There is not one set of two people on this planet that are inherently the same, therefore it is impossible for partners within a relationship to possess all of the same qualities. As discussed previously, character similarity plays a substantial role in marital well-being, but arguably some differences create room for growth. David Yount, a pastoral counselor describes in his book “Making a Success of Marriage” on how to deal with challenges within marriage. “The miseries of a couple’s own making are those quarrels they have with each other when they could be joining together against life’s inevitable adversities (Yount, 50).” From this we can infer that the problem is not so much the subtle differences between partners, rather how they react to the other’s contrasting characteristics. To a certain extent, variety can be a good thing when communicated properly. Not only does it open up a person’s mind to a new point of view, but also creates a strong bond between a couple. More often than not, a dissolution of a marriage is not caused by problems that were above a solution. Minor oppositions are normal, can be worked through, and are no reason to end a marriage. Inevitably, some diversities between partners will present themselves and are not to be regarded as

Further research unearthed many different, often not considered, factors for the parameters of similarity within a relationship. After everything I have learned about personality similarity and how it effects relationships, I have come to realize, that many people don’t put enough thought into the compatibility of their potential life partner. Throughout the centuries humans have carelessly let themselves indulge in unhealthy relationships, and unfortunately more than ever today it can be seen that history keeps repeating itself. Humans tend to base their life choices off of feelings and get into trouble because of it. This would make sense why so many marriages end up in the gutter. A relationship may feel exciting and mysterious, but feelings only last so long and couples figure out that the person they were so “ in love” with really wasn’t meant to be their partner after all. From this we can determine that the choice of your spouse is a heavy one, and should not be regarded as otherwise. The question I’m still left with is, what amount of difference within a relationship will still sustain marital satisfaction? Levels of similarity were measured, although possible good outcomes of minor differences were not the main focus of this paper. Further study on this topic is something that I would like to study in the future. Another question arises: Do specific personalities have a higher tendency to be drawn to