PERSONALITY EFFECTS ON SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Personality influences on social relationships and vice versa were lon gitudinally studied. Personality affected relationships, but not vice versa. After entry to university, 132 students participated for 18 mon th in a study in which the Big Five factors of personality, the subfac tors Sociability and Shyness, and all significant social relationships were repeatedly assessed. A subsample kept diaries of all significant social interactions. After the initial correlation between personalit y and relationship quality was controlled for, Extraversion and its su bfactors, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness predicted aspects of re lationships such as number of peer relationships, conflict with peers, and falling in love. In contrast, relationship qualities did not pred ict personality traits, and changes in relationship qualities were unr elated to changes in personality traits. Consequences for dynamic-inte ractionistic views of personality and relationships are discussed.