Personality traits can have a significant impact on how people perceive their partner's attractiveness and how they behave within a relationship.
Individuals who are high in conscientiousness tend to be more satisfied with their romantic partners than those low in this trait. Similarly, openness to experience is associated with greater sexual desire and arousal. Researchers suggest that these differences may reflect variations in mate choice preferences, which can affect the quality of a relationship.
There is also evidence that personality traits influence conflict management strategies within a relationship. Individuals high in neuroticism, for instance, tend to respond negatively when their partner behaves in ways that violate expectations, leading to increased conflict.
Extraversion has been linked to active conflict engagement, while agreeableness is related to avoiding conflict altogether. Together, these findings suggest that personality traits can play a role in both relational satisfaction and conflict management, but it remains unclear exactly how they interact with sexual attraction in shaping these outcomes.
The present study aimed to address this gap by examining how sexual attraction interacts with personality traits to predict relational satisfaction and conflict management. Participants were recruited from various online platforms and were asked to complete measures of sexual attraction, personality traits (e.g., the Big Five), and relationship satisfaction. They then reported on recent conflicts with their partners and how they managed them. Results indicated that sexual attraction was positively correlated with satisfaction and negatively correlated with conflict management.
This effect was moderated by personality traits: specifically, agreeableness buffered the negative effects of lower sexual attraction on relational satisfaction, whereas conscientiousness exacerbated its positive impact. In other words, individuals who are high in agreeableness may be more satisfied despite having less sexual desire, while those low in conscientiousness may enjoy greater satisfaction if they have higher levels of sexual attraction. These findings highlight the complex interplay between sexual attraction, personality traits, and relational outcomes, suggesting that future research should consider these factors simultaneously to better understand the dynamics of romantic relationships.
How does sexual attraction interact with personality traits to influence relational satisfaction and conflict management?
Sexual attraction is an important factor that influences relationships by affecting how individuals perceive each other, communicate, and resolve conflicts. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, individuals who experience higher levels of sexual attraction tend to have greater levels of relationship satisfaction and conflict resolution (Zimmerman et al. , 2017).