Personality congruence can be well explained when there components of an individual: real, perceived and ideal self fits together. It’s a state of being healthy and it assists people to progress positively in self-actualization. In a partnership, it’s a state of coming together in an agreement and living a happy life. Personality congruence increases the longevity of couples in a relationship since it bonds together their similarities and does way with the differences (John, Donahue & Kentle 1991). A number of researches are being conducted to show the relationship between partnership longevity and personality congruence in couples. One of the most prominent studies was by Beatrice Rammstedt, Frank Spinath , David Richter c and Jürgen Schupp.
The main purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate the findings of Beatrice Rammstedt, Frank Spinath, David Richter c and Jürgen Schupp. It starts by giving a general summary, the methodologies and the findings of the study. I will look into the various aspects that were incorporated in the study as well in determining the Partnership longevity and personality congruence in couples. An explanation of the sample size and the statistical analysis used will also feature and the implications of the study will be kept into consideration. The conclusion of the paper goes further to indicate the findings of the study and reflects the relevance of the study.
The study aimed at demonstrating why high levels of personality congruence in couple’s increase the longevity in a relationship. About 7000 participants were involved but only about 5000 were tracked for five years. Their personality was assessed both at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results showed that personality congruence determined the duration of a relationship in couples. They went further to state that, when couples are more congruent in a domain of openness, they make their relationship more stable. There were very low levels of congruence among the separated couples. The selected sample size was studied over 5 years after which the data was analyzed and conclusions were drawn in accordance with the existing evidence (Kentle,1991).
In the current study, assortative mating exists under different degrees in personality dimensions. It was reported that agreeableness, openness and conscientiousness are among the Big Five components of congruence. Extraversion and neuroticism are the remaining two domains that showed that congruence was less non-existing. The first three domains seemed to increase with the duration in marriage since congruence was a major consideration in partnership longevity. Where congruence does not exist, the chances of friction and misunderstandings amongst couples are very high leading to separation. (Lang, Lüdtke, Schupp, & Wagner, 2011).
The hypotheses for the research study were: personality congruence was higher in stable relationship than in less stable ones. The second hypothesis stated that personality in couples changed overtime due to a higher congruence, the last hypothesis stated that personality congruence will change after couples separate. The incongruent partnership did not last in a long duration and they ended so early. This was a good reason why the authors concluded that partnership congruence is higher in long lasting relationships (Rammstedt, David & Schupp 2013).
The main aims of the study were: investigating personality congruence can be predicted in partnership longevity and if it’s different in unstable couples, it also investigate whether stable couples developed more congruence over time and lastly investigate whether divorced couples became less congruent over-time. In testing the questions, data of 4809 participants was analyzed and the sample size was put under survey and tracked in a 5 year period. In the study, the data that was analyzed had been extracted from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). In the sample size, the male respondent’s age ranged between 19-95 years and had a mean of 52 with a standard deviation of 14. The female respondent’s age varied between 18-89 years and a mean of 41 and a standard deviation of 11. The married couples were 4308 in total. From the sample size, it was noted that 4610 couples remained stable to 2010 and only 199 couples separated within the survey period.
The researchers compared the congruence levels in the Big Five domains between couples who remained stable and those who had separated. The results showed that Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness were associated with higher personality congruence. For the stable couples, the mean congruence was 28 while in the other two dimensions: extraversion and neuroticism, the mean was 11. The couples who divorced in the years later demonstrated a less congruence in the three dimensions while two later dimensions remained higher (19 compared to 17). Openness in a couple had a great variance between the stable and the unstable couples as it created trust for those who remained open. In separated couples, congruence in openness remained very low. The results support the hypothesis and they justify the problem in the current study. The study showed that personality congruence was very high to the couples who lasted for long than in the separated one. Despite this is not true when considering the Big Five personality domains, there is evidence to show that openness increased partnership longevity in couples.
In investigating whether couples developed a similar personality after being in a relationship, a comparison of congruence levels in the Big Five domains was assessed. It was realized that the stable couples did not indicate any change in personality congruence. No differences found could reach the significance level and they varied between -0.1 and .01, with .00 as the mean. The researchers also assumed that for couples who had separated within five years, there were many changes in their personality congruence. Data clearly supported the assumption as it indicated that personality congruence had an overall decrease of 15 in all the domains. The decrease was so strong and reached high significant levels in openness (D = .24, p < .05). The method of statistical analysis was applied appropriately by the researchers and the interpreted data was simple and easier to be understood. This was a great strength in the study as it did away with errors and redundancy that associates with data analysis. The analysis clearly indicated the findings of the study and it help in confirming whether the research questions were answered. The study was justified as it is a current topic of study and it is very important in determining the factors that leads to durability in a relationship. (Herbener & Ozer 1992)
The findings demonstrated the extent in which personality congruence could be predicted in partnership longevity. The findings also showed how personality congruence changes determined by the stability in a relationship amongst couples. An earlier study conducted by Bleske-Rechek had showed that there was no any evidence to conclude that personality congruence could be predicted in either a stable couple or a separated one. The study seemed to have based its findings on very small and highly selective participants and generalizing the findings left many questions unanswered (Bleske-Rechek, Remiker & Baker, 2009). The present study had evidence to show that personality congruence could be predicted as stated in the hypothesis. The study was particular to the domain Openness; openness had been explained in another earlier study as among the major domains of congruence. In the separated couples, congruence in Openness was very low and it increased after separation.
There was no evidence to show personality congruence increased in stable relationships as stated in hypothesis 2. The coefficients of congruence remained similar both at the beginning and the end of the study. Earlier research also reflected that personality congruence could not change with time. The separated couples showed strong changes in their congruence as stated in hypothesis 3. At the onset of separation, the domain of Openness was low in separated couples but after a period of 5 years, the levels had decreased to zero level. The decrease was present in all the five domains and this explained that couples developed different personalities after they had separated. The four year study duration was long enough to show how the level of congruence was impressive. Specht earlier studies showed that separated couples did not only change their personality but the levels of congruence also decreased (Specht, Egloff, & Schmukle 2011). The present study had a weakness in that it never investigated the extent in which the changes occur. For the study to investigate on the matter the sample size was to be considered a smaller one and there was need to increase the sample size population.
The results and the findings of the study bare wells stated and explained in extents that makes the readers satisfactory. The article used a quantitative research methodology, with survey being the data collection tool. The current study is also strong since the sample was tracked in a long duration hence the findings could not be very biased. The behavior trends of couples are well studied in the duration and the correct findings reached (Greif & Deal 2012). Previous studies which had taken a smaller and ineffective sample size shows results which are vague and cannot be relied on. The study is very scientific and procedural and it increases the confidence in research and set a higher pace to researchers. There was need to include more studies to draw comparisons between the different studies. The comparisons could lead to emergence of other areas of study about partnership longevity and personality congruence amongst couples (Rammstedt & Schupp 2008).
The study is very practical and helpful to the marriage institution. It helps to predict the chances of staying for long in a relationship. It has helped couples to know what is needed for partnership longevity. It can also be applied in divorce cases since if couples do not have higher personality congruence, there is no need for them to hold in a relationship and the best thing here is for them to divorce. The study has also helped counselors’ in guiding couples and giving them the tips that will blossom their marriage.
In a nutshell, the research study demonstrated that personality congruence linked with partnership longevity. It was noted that; the more congruent couples practiced the domain Open-ness, the higher the chances of a more stable relationship. It was also found that personality congruence never increased in stable couples but there was much evidence to show that separated couples decreased their congruence over time and it could be easily detected (Wagner, Frick, & Schupp 2007). The relationship between partnership longevity and personality congruence in couples is clearly demonstrated with the evidence found. It can be said that the researchers did a good job in conducting the entire study.
References
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