Assortative mating in personality among heterosexual and male homosexual couples from Brazil and the Czech Republic

- Men prefer self-similar partners in all Big Five characteristics, but Neuroticism.
- Homogamy in personality in actual couples is considerably lower.
- Male homosexual couples show lower homogamy than heterosexual couples.
- No cross-cultural differences are observed.

Studies of homogamy in personality in heterosexual couples have arrived at inconsistent results and research of this issue in same-sex couples is almost non-existent. Moreover, homogamy in actual couples can differ from preferred homogamy in ideal partners. In Study 1, preferences for personality homogamy and perceived homogamy in actual relationships as measured by a Ten-Item Personality Inventory were assessed in heterosexual and homosexual men from Brazil and the Czech Republic. In men of both sexual orientations, we found preferences for homogamy in all personality characteristics except for Emotional Stability, while perceived homogamy in actual couples was limited to Extraversion in heterosexual couples. The results were nearly identical for both studied populations.In Study 2, resemblance in the Big Five personality traits measured by a 60-item NEO-FFI was tested in 49 actual heterosexual and 40 male same-sex long-term couples from the Czech Republic. Heterosexual partners resembled each other in Extraversion, Openness, and Conscientiousness, whereas homosexuals only in Extraversion. Our results thus indicate that while preferences for personality homogamy exist in both heterosexual and homosexual men, they translate only partially into actual mate choice, especially in homosexual men.