Related Experiment Videos
Marital assortment and phenotypic convergence: longitudinal evidence
1Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706.
Social Biology
|January 1, 1993
Summary
Spouses do not grow more similar over time. Instead, the similarity observed between married couples is likely due to initial assortment, meaning people choose partners with similar traits from the start.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Genetics
- Human Development
Background:
- Marital relationships often display similarities between partners.
- Two primary explanations exist: initial assortment (choosing similar partners) and phenotypic convergence (growing similar over time).
Purpose of the Study:
- To directly test whether marital similarity results from phenotypic convergence or initial assortment.
- To differentiate between the two hypotheses using longitudinal data.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from three established longitudinal studies.
- Application of both variable-centered and person-centered analytical approaches.
- Examination of phenotypic convergence over the course of marriage.
Main Results:
- Longitudinal evidence does not support the hypothesis of couples growing more similar over time.
- Spouse correlations are best explained by initial assortment at the time of marriage.
- No significant evidence for phenotypic convergence was found.
Conclusions:
- The observed similarity between spouses is primarily attributable to initial assortment.
- The theory of phenotypic convergence in marital relationships is not supported by this evidence.
- Future research should focus on the factors influencing initial partner selection.