Predicting Mate Poaching Experiences from Personality Traits Using a Dyadic Analysis.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Mate poaching, the pursuit of romantically involved individuals, is a complex social behavior.
• Understanding the personality correlates of mate poaching is crucial for evolutionary and social psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the actor and partner effects of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits and the Dark Triad traits on mate poaching experiences.
• To explore gender differences in the relationship between personality and mate poaching.

Main Methods:

• Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) applied to data from 187 heterosexual couples in Croatia.
• Participants (N=374) reported their own and their partner's FFM and Dark Triad traits, and their own poaching experiences in a round-robin design.

Main Results:

• Men's lower agreeableness consistently predicted their own (actor effect) and their partner's (partner effect) poaching experiences.
• Men's psychopathy and Machiavellianism were strongly associated with poaching for both men and women.
• Narcissism did not show consistent actor or partner effects on poaching.
• Men's poaching was linked to their own traits, while women's poaching involved their own and their partner's traits.

Conclusions:

• Personality traits, especially agreeableness and specific Dark Triad traits in men, are significant predictors of mate poaching.
• Gender differences exist in how personality influences poaching, with women's poaching being more dyadic.
• Findings align with life history theory and the mate switching hypothesis.