Do individuals with maladaptive personality traits find these same traits desirable in potential romantic partners?

Is Personality Pathology Ego-Syntonic? Self- and Meta-Perception of Maladaptive Personality Traits

Research has challenged the assumption that personality pathology is "ego-syntonic" or perceived favorably and consistent with one's self-image. The present study employed a community sample (n = 401) to examine relations between self-rated maladaptive personality and liking of maladaptive traits in self and others as well as meta-perception of personality pathology (i.e., how likable participants believe others find maladaptive traits). In general, individuals with higher self-rated maladaptive traits provided higher ratings of the likability of these traits in themselves and others. However, as hypothesized, comparison of liking ratings for high scorers and the rest of the sample revealed that individuals who score high on most pathological personality traits do not "like" these traits (or rate others as "liking" them) but simply dislike them less. Results support a dimensional view of ego-syntonicity.

We Don't Choose Whom We Love: Predictors for Romantic Attraction to Villains

INTRODUCTION

Why are women (not) romantically attracted to dark personalities or villains, which might be a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization? In the current study, it is opted to investigate how adult attachment, maladaptive personality traits, and acceptance of couple violence in women predict romantic attraction to heroic/villainous characters using structural equation modeling (SEM).

METHOD

First, a pilot study was conducted in 122 heterosexual women (aged 16-25) to select male TV characters. This resulted in the selection of six villains and 10 heroes for the main study, in which 194 other heterosexual women (aged 16-25) were asked to rate the pictures of TV characters through an online questionnaire. This was combined with self-report measures of maladaptive personality traits, acceptance of couple violence, and adult attachment. These variables were entered into a SEM model to assess model fit.

RESULTS

Overall, women rated heroes higher on physical appearance (pilot study) and romantic attraction (main study) compared to villains. We found different direct effects of avoidant (negative) and anxious (positive) attachment styles on romantic attraction to heroes. Moreover, maladaptive personality traits fully mediated the positive effect of avoidant attachment style on romantic attraction to villains.

DISCUSSION

Despite the limitations of the study design (e.g., low N, low notoriety of the TV characters), this study emphasizes that women are generally more romantically attracted to heroes (vs. villains). Besides, there are different predictors of romantic attraction to heroes and villains, which requires further investigation, especially in the context of IPV.

A Multivariate Study of Human Mate Preferences: Findings from the California Twin Registry

Much research examining the biological and social-cultural underpinnings of human mate preferences has focused on univariate or bivariate analyses of demographic variables and personality constructs. In this paper, we argue that a multivariate approach more effectively highlights the multifaceted structure and correlates of human mate preferences. To support this claim, we applied several multivariate techniques to data from a large adult sample to (1) examine the major dimensions underlying individual differences in mate preferences, and (2) elucidate how these preferences relate to individual differences in personality. An exploratory factor analysis of an omnibus mate preference questionnaire yielded a 14-factor solution with dimensions mirroring trends in evolutionary psychology and the Big Five personality framework. An inter-battery factor analysis of these dimensions paired with higher-order personality factors provided strong support for the "likes attract" model of partner preferences. Bootstrap confidence intervals for all factor loadings highlighted the robustness of our results.

Can exposure to arguments pro and contra extraversion affect self-reports of the trait and the attitude toward it?

OBJECTIVE

Changeability of personality over short-term intervals has increasingly become a focus of research. However, the role played by argumentation interventions in short-term variations has scarcely been examined.

METHODS

In two experiments (N = 363 and 320), we investigated how processing positive and negative argumentation regarding extraversion (Study 1: watching a lecture; Study 2: elaborating self-invented arguments) affects self-reports on this trait and attitude toward it. The experiments included three waves of measurements with argument manipulation (in favor of or against extraversion) immediately prior to Time 2 (Study 2 also included a control group).

RESULTS

Mean-level changes in extraversion across time moments, measured with the longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis, were consistently negligible. Conversely, there were some indications that argumentation about extraversion could have immediate short-term effects on attitudes toward this trait. The random-intercept cross-lagged model showed that rank-order consistency stemmed from a trait-like intercept, which was particularly large for trait extraversion compared with the attitude. The autoregressive and cross-lagged effects of residual within-person variation were consistently small and mostly nonsignificant.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that extraversion and the attitude toward it maintained their temporal continuity within 3 months, even under a single exposure to arguments pro and contra this trait.

Reciprocal Personality Assessment of Both Partners in a Romantic Relationship and Its Correlates to Dyadic Adjustment

This project examines the effects of self- and partner-rated personality and their reciprocal interaction between two partners. Personality in 113 young dating couples was measured with the Five-Factor Model and maladaptive personality trait model of the DSM-5. Partners completed self- and partner-reports of the NEO-FFI-3 and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) as well as the self-report Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). Three sets of Actor-Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) were run to estimate actor and partner effects of self-rated personality, partner-rated personality, and of both sets of effects simultaneously in an integrated model. When self- and partner-rating models were examined separately, several significant actor and partner effects were observed. However, the strongest effects were observed in the partner-rating models. When self- and partner-rated personality were examined at the same time, most effects from the self-rating models disappeared. Furthermore, most of the effects as well as the strongest one observed were associated with an individual’s perception of their partner’s personality, particularly men’s perception of women’s personality. This study demonstrates the incremental predictive utility of individuals’ perception of their partner’s personality for explaining their own dyadic adjustment.

Do psychopathic birds of a feather flock together? Psychopathic personality traits and romantic preferences

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the present studies was to investigate whether people are especially attracted to psychopathic traits, and whether there are individual differences in such attraction.

METHOD

Female undergraduates (N = 270; M_age  = 19; 57% White, 20% Asian, 8% Black) and female and male community members (N = 426; M_age  = 37; 56% female; 81% Caucasian, 10% African American, 4% Asian) reported on their own personality and constructed their ideal mate for a dating, short-term, and long-term relationship from a list of 70 characteristics drawn from well-validated criteria for psychopathic personality and diagnostic criteria for DSM-5 personality disorders (PDs).

RESULTS

Across both studies, absolute romantic preferences for psychopathic traits collapsed across time point were low on average, but higher than those for most all other PDs. In addition, they were higher for Factor 1 (i.e., interpersonal/affective) as opposed to Factor 2 (i.e., impulsive, antisocial) psychopathy traits. Participants with marked PD features, including Factor 2 psychopathy traits, were more inclined than others to endorse a preference for psychopathic males.

CONCLUSIONS

Relative attraction to psychopathic males and observed homophily may be avenues through which psychopathic traits persist in the population across time.