PSYCH 137C Chapter 6: Chapter 6
Document Summary
The effect of personality traits on intimate relationships. Personality: distinctive qualities that characterize an individual, that are relatively stable over time and across situations, that have some coherence or internal organization to them, and that influence how the person behaves in and adapts to the world. When choosing a partner for a long-term relationship, most of us opt for an average- looking person with a great personality over a great-looking person with an average personality. Lewis terman view that enduring characteristics of the partners are the driving force in intimate relationships, the efforts to understand relationships (including what happens between the partners) must begin by considering each partner"s personal qualities. Trait approach: identify a core set of personality traits by conducting extensive statistical analysis of the adjectives people use to describe themselves and others. Big five just five traits needed to capture personality differences, they are encompassing traits that include many other specific aspects of personality.
