Markey and Markey

Romantic ideals, romantic obtainment, and relationship experiences – similarity or complementarity?

  • A self-selected sample of 103 female and 66 male undergraduate students who were single but interested in finding a romantic partner (mean age 19.01) were recruited through advertisements.
  • Participants first completed a questionnaire where they rated their own personality and then described the personality of their romantic ideal. They also completed filler questionnaires to disguise the true purpose of the study.
  • The results showed that all participants wanted a romantic partner similar to themselves. Warm people were attracted to others who were warm. The same was found for dominance.
  • The results indicate that people believe that similarity in a potential partner is important but maybe this ideal partner is difficult to find.
  • A follow-up study with a new sample found that romantic couples who experienced high levels of love and harmony were more likely to consist of one individual who was dominant and one who was submissive. This indicates that complementarity on certain personality factors could affect harmony positively.