Conflict in Married Couples: Personality Predictors of Anger and Upset

This research had two central goals: to examine the role of personality in (a) performing actions that anger spouses, and (b) eliciting anger-provoking actions from spouses. Personality data on a sample of married persons (N = 214) were obtained from three sources--self-report, spouse-observer report, and independent interviewers' reports. In a separate session, subjects recorded which of 147 upsetting actions their spouses had performed in the past year. A series of hierarchical multiple regressions revealed the effects of Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescension (e.g., treating spouse as stupid or inferior), possessiveness (demanding too much time and attention), abuse (slapping spouse), unfaithfulness (having sex with others), inconsiderateness (leaving toilet seat up), moodiness (crying a lot), alcohol abuse (drinking too much alcohol), emotional constriction (hiding emotions to act tough), and self-centeredness (acting selfishly). Discussion of this research focuses on the implications of personality for conflict in marital relationships.