Conflict ln 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 angerprovoking actions from spouses. Personality data on a sample of married persons {N = 214) were obtained from three sources—self-report, spouseobserver 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, Conscietitiousness, Emotional Stability, and Intellect on evoking upset in spouses through condescetision (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 oti the implications of personality for cotiflict in marital relationships. Despite romantic ideals, confiict in close heterosexual relationships is pervasive (Buss, 1989; Muehlenhard & Linton, 1987). Men and women perform actions that upset and anger their dates and mates, and conflict ensues. These upsetting actions vary widely, ranging from physical abuse, condescension, and verbal insults to sexual infidelity, sexual agThis research was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH44206-02, a Fellowship from the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, National Science Foundation Grant BNS98-00864. and the Gordon P Getty Trust. The author thanks Bill Graziano and Caryl Rusbult for helpful suggestions on an earlier version of this article. Correspondence should be addressed to David M. Buss, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 580 Union Drive, Ann Arbor, Ml 48109-1346. Journal of Personality 59:4, December 1991. Copyright © 1991 by Duke University Press. CCC 0022-3506/91/$1.50