THE FIVE FACTORS OF PERSONALITY AND INTERPERSONAL ...

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has been classified as a distal factor (Fletcher & Fitness, 1990). a proximal faaor (Kurdek. 1993), and an outcome factor (Bradbury & Fincham, 1988) Additionally, there has beer. an overemphasis on the distal context Researchers have either tested only the distal context (eg . Kurdek, 1991a) or have examined several distal factors and only one proximal factor (e.g., Bradbury & Fincham, 1989) In spite of this anention to the distal context, few personalit\' traits have been examined Although fewer in number, several studies ha\'e included proximal factors, but have focused almost exclusively on attributions (eg . Fincham & Bradbur\-. 1989) Lasth. prior work based on the contextual model has primarily examined married and gay/lesbian couples. Little research from the contextual model has examined premarital heterosexual relationships One such study by Fletcher and Fitness (1990) identified linkages between distal and proximal factors, but more research in needed to adequately test the contextual model in premarital relationships. Prior research can be improved upon in several ways First, the present study extended pre\ious work based on the contextual model by furthering our understanding of premarital relationships Although premarital relationships ha\ e received much attention in recent years, there is a lack of such research based on the contextual model The present study should further our knowledge of the utility of this model in understanding romantic relationships Second, our understanding of the distal context may be enhanced b\ examining more global personalitv' features. According to Bradburv' and Fincham (1989), the importance of the elements in the distal context abides in their capacity to influence the
proximal context, which in turn affects relationship outcomes Thus, further stud\ of the contextual model should include distal factors likely to be central to relationship functioning The Five Factor Model of personalit> reflects personal charactenstics that meet this criterion These five factors are extraversion. neuroticism. agreeableness. conscientiousness, and openness Researchers ha\ e argued that there are two distinct advantages to utilizing these factors: (a) they represent the basic dimensions of personality (eg,, Goldberg, 1990): and (b) they are presumed to influence relational behaviors (e.g.. Buss, 1992). These personality' factors further our knowledge of the distal context b\ vielding information about individual variables that are likely to influence relationship beha\aors and outcomes For example, Thome (1987) found that extrovens interact with others to estabhsh common ground, and Kelly and Conley (1987) identified extraversion as a personalitv' trait that is related to marital satisfaction The third way to improve upon past research is to expand the proximal context beyond attributions We may increase our knowledge of the proximal context by examining behaviors that are likely to influence relationship outcomes Social competence behaviors may reflect this context because they are necessarv- to maintain relationships (Campbell, Steflfen, & Langmeyer. 1981) The research has identified five basic elements of social competence: initiation, self-disclosure, emotional support, assertion, and conflict resolution Initiation is necessary to launching premarital relationships, but it is not \ital to the maintenance of ongoing relationships and may become a dormant behavior (Twentyman, Boland. & McFall, 1981) The other social competence behaviors may contribute to relationship maintenance, as studies have shown that these beha\iors
Page 1 and 2: THE FIVE FACTORS OF PERSONALITY AND
Page 3 and 4: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere thanks
Page 5 and 6: ABSTRACT This study utilized the co
Page 7 and 8: CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION According to
Page 9: particular interaction episode" (p
Page 13 and 14: contextual model should examine the
Page 15 and 16: Hypotheses The following hypotheses
Page 17 and 18: CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW This c
Page 19 and 20: experience and interpersonal intera
Page 21 and 22: stability, and (e) culture McCrae a
Page 23 and 24: samples of aduhs and children They
Page 25 and 26: personality descriptors. In the sec
Page 27 and 28: the five factors were identified in
Page 29 and 30: When creating a new scale, it is ne
Page 31 and 32: item adjective list. McCrae and Cos
Page 33 and 34: was .72 and the largest divergent c
Page 35 and 36: Another study conducted by McCrae a
Page 37 and 38: as measured by the PRF, can be view
Page 39 and 40: Longitudinal studies provide insigh
Page 41 and 42: The major weakness of this line of
Page 43 and 44: interactions, men report higher inh
Page 45 and 46: more likely to avoid initiation int
Page 47 and 48: concluded that individuals high in
Page 49 and 50: type of self-disclosure was also as
Page 51 and 52: Emotional Support Emotional support
Page 53 and 54: likely to be desired if they have t
Page 55 and 56: self-esteem, self-confidence, inter
Page 57 and 58: colored by other information about
Page 59 and 60: confederates, but more negative soc
Page 61 and 62:
esults cannot be generalized to opp
Page 63 and 64:
Lloyd (1990) contacted the same cou
Page 65 and 66:
poshively related to discussing and
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contrast, unstable couples were cha
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Personality and Interpersonal Compe
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partner's personaHty (e.g., extrave
Page 73 and 74:
negatively associated whh prosocial
Page 75 and 76:
ated by peers on assertiveness and
Page 77 and 78:
These results support the premise t
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maintenance O'Brien and DeLongis (1
Page 81 and 82:
satisfaction, distal factors (persp
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marriage and then annually for thre
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study indicated that spouses' attri
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Other studies have acknowledged bot
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CHAPTER m METHOD Participants Parti
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(steady dating=61%, engaged=9%, coh
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Table 2. Distribution of scores for
Page 95 and 96:
elationship The hems were summed to
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Beliefs Test (Eiedlson & Epstein, 1
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CHAPTER IV RESULTS Preliminarv Anal
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^ CN -.16* m .19* .29** O ON O .19*
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Table 5 Regressions of proximal fac
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Table 6. Regression of liking on th
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Table 7 Regression of liking on the
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Table 8 Hierarchical regression of
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CHAPTER V DISCUSSION This study exa
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hierarchical level (Costa & McCrae,
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Finally, the measure of satisfactio
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"real" me, "I told my partner about
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For example, openness may be more c
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examined Neuroticism was negatively
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Future research should examine how
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developmental theory would help us
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Boyle, G. J (1989) Re-examination o
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Costa, P T , iS: McCrae, R R (1985)
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Forgas, J , Levinger, G., & Moylan,
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Kentle, R. L (1994) An examination
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McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1989
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Rusbuh, C. E . Johnson, D J., & Mor
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Wildman, B. G. (1986) Perception of
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Subject We would like you to answer
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IF YOU ARE NOT IN A ROMANTIC RELATI
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STRONGLY STRONGLY DISAGREE AGREE 1
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I AM POOR I .AM EXTREMELY .AT THIS
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Please answer the following questio
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Next, we are interested in how your
Page 153 and 154:
NOT AT ALL EXTREMELY 1 2 3 4 5 4 Co
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