Neuroticism, Agreeableness, Gender & Being in a Relationship:

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Rolf Degen

@DegenRolf

Nice and neurotic personality traits increased the likelihood of women being in a partnership, but decreased it for men. This study tested whether gender moderates links between extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness and relationship outcomes: satisfaction in friendship, family, romantic domains, and partnership status.. Extraversion is associated with agency (a stereotypically masculine trait), while agreeableness and neuroticism are linked to communion and emotionality (stereotypically feminine traits). Data from 3,780 adults in Australia, Denmark, and Sweden were analyzed. The clearest moderation involved partnership status: extraversion related more strongly to men’s partnering. The stronger association between extraversion and men's partnering success may reflect societal expectations where men are often expected to initiate romantic connections, demonstrate confidence, and take leadership roles in courtship. Neuroticism and agreeableness demonstrated opposite patterns for men and women in relation to having a partner: negative for men but positive for women. These findings align with research showing that gender-congruent psychological attributes are socially rewarded through being considered attractive. For men, expressions of neuroticism may violate expectations of emotional stability, while for women, emotional expressiveness may be more acceptable, consistent with feminine gender role expectations. This study provides evidence for how personality traits and gender interact to shape relationship experiences, showing that the same personality characteristics have different associations with men's and women's relationship outcomes. Our findings may contribute to the ongoing discussion surrounding the Gender-Equality-Personality Paradox, whereby average personality differences between women and men have been found to be larger in more gender-equal societies.