How Your Spouses Personality Affects Your Character
The Link Between Your Spouse’s Personality And That Promotion You Just Got!!
Everyone has stories of ‘those couples’ -the married pair that have been together so long that Grandma can respond for Grandpa accurately and Aunt Jane finishes Uncle Mark’s sentences before he’s even made his point. As a married couple grows together in the course of a marriage, they learn each other’s quirks, likes, dislikes and pecularities. What they also do is affect each other’s personality and they may not even realize it.
Personality Traits
Does a spouse’s personality trait have any affect on yours? Absolutely! A study done by Washington University in St. Louis examined the affect a spouse’s personality had on an individual’s career. Not only did the study conclude that a spouse’s personality could have a great affect on his or her partner’s career success, but it highlighted conscientiousness as a necessary trait (Jackson, 2014.) When one partner is careful to attend the daily matters, it lightens the load for his or her spouse. This can actually affect the other partner’s conscientiousness, increasing their attention to aiding their spouse’s endeavors.
The theory of the type A and type B personalities has been floating in mainstream consciousness for some time. The type A personality is described in terms such as ‘high strung,’ ‘anxious,’ ‘motivated.’ The type B personality is ‘laid back,’ ‘relaxed’ or ‘easy-going.’ What does this mean for a spouse? A type A personality can motivate a type B personality, bringing more drive and focus to the type B spouse’s life. Those of the type B persuasion can relax a type A personality, encouraging them through example to find time to relax and focus less on success and more on fulfillment.
Lifestyle Choices
A personality is not set in stone by the time a person is 30, (Boeree, 1997) and changes can be attributed to factors such as associations and experiencing different lifestyles. A person with a high level of Extroversion can develop Introverted traits if they spend enough time with an Introvert. When a spouse genuinely enjoys staying in to watch a movie, their partner can share that enjoyment and begin seeking out the same feeling by doing similar activities.
Complimentary Traits
Are you a social, active individual while your spouse prefers focusing on the day-to-day details? Do you handle the calls to family to set up a dinner while your spouse does the menu? You have complimentary traits! People who are the ‘opposites attract’ couples have personalities that complete their spouses. Recognizing how partners differs from each other can show how the relationship affects their traits. One highly adventurous person encourages their spouse to try new things, enriching their experiences.
No single personality type is ‘perfect’ for marriage- every couple finds the adjustments they need to make in order to keep a relationship going. Grandma and Grandpa have spent years together finding those ways to mesh each other’s personalities. Aunt Jane and Uncle Mark may not be anyone’s idea of the perfect couple, but they’ve rubbed off on each other. Marriage means spending a lot of time together; this creates a situation where personalities can enhance qualities in each other while highlighting and strengthening similarities. Recognizing that a person’s individual traits can compliment and enhance their spouse’s life can answer the age-old question of “Why are they still together?”
