| Morality is central to social living yet it has not been studied specifically in the context of romantic relationships. Whereas the effects of physical, personality, and background factors in romantic attraction and relationship satisfaction are well-studied, the current research was the first to focus on the role of morality in these processes. Morality was conceptualized in three ways: (1) moral personality traits (e.g. honest, kind), (2) Moral Foundations Theory (Haidt & Graham, 2007), and (3) moral identity (Aquino & Reed, 2002). Studies 1 and 2 examined ideal mate preferences for moral, non-moral, warmth, and trustworthiness traits using a budget allocation-like procedure. In Study 1, college students (N = 327) generally prioritized moral traits (honest, kind) over non-moral traits (attractive, intelligent), and trustworthiness traits (honest, reliable) over warmth traits (kind, generous). In addition, individuals preferred mates with similar moral foundations and identity. Finally, there were a number of gender differences in mate preferences. Study 2 (N = 3665) replicated these findings using a large Internet sample. Study 3 (N = 90) examined the effects of moral, political, and personality similarity on relationship satisfaction in long-term romantic couples. Couples were significantly similar in their moral foundations and political attitudes, but not in their moral identity or personality. Furthermore, women's relationship satisfaction was positively associated with couple similarity on a violation-based measure of moral foundation endorsement. Taken together, these findings suggest that moral attributes play an important role in ideal mate preferences, romantic attraction, and relationship satisfaction, and that attributes related to trustworthiness are valued differently from those related to warmth. |
