Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures.

Publication ,  Journal Article
McCrae, RR; Martin, TA; Hrebícková, M; Urbánek, T; Boomsma, DI; Willemsen, G; Costa, PT
Published in: Journal of personality
October 2008

We examined patterns of trait similarity (assortative mating) in married couples in four cultures, using both self-reports and spouse ratings on versions of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. There was evidence of a subtle but pervasive perceived contrast bias in the spouse-rating data. However, there was strong agreement across methods of assessment and moderate agreement across cultures in the pattern of results. Most assortment effects were small, but correlations exceeding .40 were seen for a subset of traits, chiefly from the Openness and Agreeableness domains. Except in Russia, where more positive assortment was seen for younger couples, comparisons of younger and older cohorts showed little systematic difference. This suggested that mate selection, rather than convergence over time, accounted for similarity. Future research on personality similarity in dyads can utilize different designs but should assess personality at both domain and the facet levels.

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Journal of personality

DOI

EISSN

1467-6494

ISSN

0022-3506

Publication Date

October 2008

Volume

76

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1137 / 1164

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Twins
  • Spouses
  • Social Psychology
  • Self-Assessment
  • Russia
  • Registries
  • Psychometrics
  • Personality Inventory
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
McCrae, R. R., Martin, T. A., Hrebícková, M., Urbánek, T., Boomsma, D. I., Willemsen, G., & Costa, P. T. (2008). Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures. Journal of Personality, 76(5), 1137–1164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00517.x
McCrae, Robert R., Thomas A. Martin, Martina Hrebícková, Tomás Urbánek, Dorret I. Boomsma, Gonneke Willemsen, and Paul T. Costa. “Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures.Journal of Personality 76, no. 5 (October 2008): 1137–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00517.x.
McCrae RR, Martin TA, Hrebícková M, Urbánek T, Boomsma DI, Willemsen G, et al. Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures. Journal of personality. 2008 Oct;76(5):1137–64.
McCrae, Robert R., et al. “Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures.Journal of Personality, vol. 76, no. 5, Oct. 2008, pp. 1137–64. Epmc, doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00517.x.
McCrae RR, Martin TA, Hrebícková M, Urbánek T, Boomsma DI, Willemsen G, Costa PT. Personality trait similarity between spouses in four cultures. Journal of personality. 2008 Oct;76(5):1137–1164.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of personality

DOI

EISSN

1467-6494

ISSN

0022-3506

Publication Date

October 2008

Volume

76

Issue

5

Start / End Page

1137 / 1164

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • United States
  • Twins
  • Spouses
  • Social Psychology
  • Self-Assessment
  • Russia
  • Registries
  • Psychometrics
  • Personality Inventory