Personality features and mate retention strategies: Honesty–humility and the willingness to manipulate, deceive, and exploit romantic partners

•Findings on personality and mate retention are extended to a six-factor model.•The H factor was associated with a majority of the mate retention strategies.•Low H scores associated with manipulative, deceptive, and explotative strategies.•Associations between the Five-Factor model and mate retention are replicated.

Personality features are associated with several relationship outcomes. We examined whether specific personality features differed in their associations with “mate retention” strategies. We examined the unique associations that personality features had with mate retention strategies reported by 179 community members in romantic relationships for at least 6 months. Personality features were associated with each of the mate retention strategies such that positive personality features (e.g., high levels of honesty–humility) were associated with less reliance on mate retention strategies that involved manipulating, deceiving, or exploiting romantic partners. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the connection between personality features and behaviors intended to preserve and maintain romantic relationships.