Are parental personality traits a basis for mate selection?

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Both psychoanalytic views of attachment and evolutionary theories of imprinting suggest that mates may be preferentially chosen to resemble one's parents. Using data from a large Dutch study of twins and their families, we tested these hypotheses with regard to personality traits from the Five-Factor Model. Little evidence of parent/spouse similarity was found, although women did tend to select a husband who resembled their parents with regard to Openness to Experience. This effect may be due to the influence of Openness on their social worlds, rather than to their experiences in early childhood. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)455-457
JournalJournal of Research in Personality
Volume46
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

Cohort Studies

  • Netherlands Twin Register (NTR)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Are parental personality traits a basis for mate selection?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this