The trait that makes you marriageable
A new scientific study has found that one can predict, just from observation, whether or not a woman is likely to get married. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- A new scientific study has found that one can predict, just from observation, whether or not a woman is likely to get married
Getting married depends on whether or not you find the correct person, right? Wrong. Science suggests that it is all dependent on your personality and, to a lesser degree, your looks and hygiene habits.
A new scientific study has found that one can predict, just from observation, whether or not a woman is likely to get married. Having an agreeable personality makes one significantly more marriageable.
Scientists from the University of Miami came to this conclusion when they studied longitudinal data of more than 9,000 adolescents as they became young adults and followed their romantic endeavours through to adulthood.
The study ended when the study subjects were between 24 and 34 years old and when they looked into how attractiveness, personality, and grooming influenced the likelihood that someone will get married. The researchers found that the subjects who scored highly in the three aspects were more likely to walk down the aisle.
ENHANCED COMPETITIVENESS
Increasing this personality trait by one point in a man increased his likelihood of getting married by 13.7 per cent and 13.2 per cent in women.
Twenty-six per cent of all the study subjects were married at the end of the study while 69 per cent expressed the desire to walk down the aisle in the future.
The findings, which have been published in the journal Social Science Research, suggest that individuals may have to trade off their different personal traits in order to enhance their competitiveness in generating offers and finding a suitable mate.
Agreeable people were also found to last longer in marriage. While there are perks for being agreeable or amiable in a relationship, this personality can be a problem in a relationship.
According to Michael T. French, who led the study, an amiable person’s poor communication skills may result in marriage lasting longer only because their partner does not realise that there is something wrong with them. The veneer of serenity that hides the lack of emotional intimacy in relationships among the amiable types may be a problem in the long run.
The good news is that the findings suggest that while being marriageable seems to be a combination of attractiveness, cleanliness, and agreeability, it may be possible to compensate for a deficiency in one desirable trait by enhancing the presence of another.
For instance, a person lacking in attractiveness may choose to become more agreeable in order to become a better marriage prospect.
