University of Silesia in Katowice

How are psychological characteristics related to relationship quality and trust?

| Olimpia Orządała |

Statistics show that, on the one hand, the divorce and separation rate is increasing and, on the other hand, the number of people seeking help from specialists offering couple psychotherapy is growing. Lidia Baran, PhD from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Silesia in Katowice, the winner of the first edition of the “Freedom of Research” call for proposals within the Research Excellence Initiative, has conducted research that may be helpful in gaining a better understanding of the difficulties experienced in close romantic relationships and working towards their resolution. The primary aim was to test the connection between different types of psychological characteristics (including personality traits) of people in close relationships and the quality of their relationships and the level of trust felt towards their partner. The research was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Peter Jonason from the University of Padua and Radosław Rogoza, PhD, from Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw.

“We analysed whether the quality of the romantic relationship and trust in the relationship are related firstly to certain personality traits of the partner with whom we are in a relationship, and secondly to one’s similarity to the partner concerning these traits,” explains Lidia Baran, PhD.

A total of 296 couples who were in heterosexual relationships were examined. The youngest person was 18 years old and the oldest 41. Half of the respondents had a university degree, and half had secondary or post-secondary education. The length of the relationship in most cases was between 2 and 4 years. Two-thirds of the couples were in an informal relationship, most lived together and 40% had children together. The research was conducted by an outside company using an online platform where participants completed questionnaires measuring the variables analysed.

“The biggest problem with this type of research is getting full answers from both people in the relationship. If the answer is given by only one partner, it is impossible to carry out the analyses we are interested in,” says the laureate of the call for proposals.

Research models

There are personality traits that characterise a person’s functioning in different situations, build personality structure and may be related to actions taken in a close interpersonal relationship. To determine their associations with quality and trust in romantic relationships, two models were used: The Big Five model comprising the personality traits of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and intellect, and the dark triad of personality, which includes narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. – A high level of these traits is associated with engaging in certain activities that are described as socially undesirable, although they are examined as a manifestation of natural variability in personality rather than as personality disorders. It is about the degree to which each of us may have a tendency to sometimes behave in a narcissistic, more manipulative or insensitive way – says the researcher.

In terms of relationship quality, commitment, closeness and passion were measured. For the trust, on the other hand, three issues were examined: whether the person finds their partner’s behaviour predictable and can feel safe with them, the extent to which they are able to rely on them in difficult situations, and how much they trust their partner to care for them and respond to any needs in the future.

Dark sides of personality

The performed analyses have shown that the level of narcissism is in no way related to either relationship quality or trust. – This can be explained by the fact that of all the problematic traits analysed, narcissism is most dependent on situational factors and has both positive and negative aspects.

WIn the case of the second trait – Machiavellianism – it turned out that people who are in a relationship with a partner with Machiavellian tendencies feel lower trust towards him/her. “This is related to the fact that these people adhere to the maxim that the end justifies the means and that it is more important to pursue one’s own interests through manipulation, even at the expense of others. The partner may not feel that their needs will matter to this person,” admits Lidia Baran, PhD. The level of Machiavellianism, however, was not related to the quality of the relationship. “It is likely that the propensity for manipulation and cynical views of the world may be more related to the perception of the partner as trustworthy rather than the overall quality of the relationship,” says the researcher.

In contrast, the third trait, psychopathy, was associated with both trust and the quality of the romantic relationship. People with psychopathic traits tend to be disinhibited, low in self-control and impulsive, which causes lower trust and difficulty in predicting their partner’s behaviour. In addition, psychopathy is associated with a lower level of empathy and ability to respond to the emotions of others, which means that a person who is with a partner with high levels of psychopathy may judge intimacy and passion in their relationship in a more negative manner.

The Big Five

“When it comes to the Big Five model, we’ve found that regardless of gender, relationship quality or trust is always rated higher when a partner is conscientious and agreeable,” says the laureate.

Research has shown that people function better in relationships with partners who are kind, trusting, cooperative, organised, systematic and dutiful. “Surely many people would like to be in such relationships,” laughs Lidia Baran, PhD. Trust in such a partner is the highest. Conscientiousness is linked with a sense of security and agreeableness is connected with the willingness to help. It is also connected to the quality of the relationship because the partner takes action with the other person in mind or for the common good.

Interestingly, intellect is associated with higher levels of intimacy, passion and greater trust, but is not linked to relationship commitment. According to the researcher, one possible explanation is that commitment is related not only to the qualities of the partner, but also our own – the qualities that are associated with remaining committed to a relationship.

As for the other two traits, extraversion and stability, it turned out that they are more important for women. – As far as this aspect is concerned, women rate their relationship higher in terms of quality if their partner is more active, energetic and sociable, and at the same time they trust him more if he is emotionally stable, that is calmer, balanced, not falling into negative emotions so easily – admits the winner of the call for proposals.

The analyses conducted showed that the quality and trust in a relationship in the case of problematic traits is most related to the level of psychopathy, while in the case of traits from the Big Five model, to the level of intellect, conscientiousness and agreeableness of the partner.

“This part of the study is quite important and interesting from a theoretical point of view because it tells us how we choose partners ad which traits of the other person are important to us, and from a therapeutic point of view.”

Similarity or complementarity?

The second part of the research focused on determining whether relationship quality and trust can be linked to how similar you and your partner are. It turned out that for both men and women, relationship quality is higher when partners differ in terms of narcissism and emotional stability. “Each of these traits can bring something to the relationship, because emotionally stable people, who do not tend to fall into anxiety easily, can “cool down” their partner’s emotions and thus balance his or her emotional functioning. At the same time, people who are more neurotic or worried in certain situations, through their tendency to anticipate problematic or difficult issues may draw their partner’s attention to them in advance,” explains Lidia Baran, PhD.

The analyses also showed that complementarity in the context of Machiavellianism is associated with higher relationship satisfaction among women. For men, on the other hand, what is more, important is a similarity in terms of agreeableness, but in the case of intellect and extraversion, they valued complementarity more.

In the case of trust, both women and men were more likely to trust their partner if s/he differed from them in terms of narcissism, extraversion and emotional stability. Women, on the other hand, rated trust in their partner higher if both were conscientious, while for men it was similarity on the level of psychopathy or complementarity in terms of intellect that mattered.

“The findings seem particularly interesting in the context of working with couples because they show that men and women may have different priorities. For female partners, in some cases, it may be more important whether a partner has certain qualities, while for men it may be more important to be similar to their partner. This shows that women and men can function differently in relationships and that when developing different psychological interventions, we should keep in mind that they are tailored to both people in the relationship,” the award winner explains.

Infographics