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Re:Divorce and Occupation by hectorlorenzo on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @03:04PM (#15178162)
But we keep on having this "opposite poles attract each other" kind of narrative in books and movies. I guess that two people agreeing on almost everything from the get-go makes for really boring stories.
Re:Divorce and Occupation by gertef on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @03:35PM (#15178425)
Aligning values isn't the same as matching personalities. What's important is that each appreciates the other's personality -- that they complement each other, not that the personalities are the same.
Re:Divorce and Occupation by axlprose on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @05:10PM (#15179153)
> Aligning values isn't the same as matching personalities

This depends on how you define "personality" and "values". Because for example, according to psychological research, personality traits (as defined by the Big 5 model of personality) are strongly correlated with things such as political beliefs (which could be argued is a subset of a person's values at least), and are largely stable over time. So it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that the more similar the personalities between a couple, the higher the probability of them also having a large set of overlapping "values", however you choose to define them.

Re:Divorce and Occupation by strlen on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @06:49PM (#15179737)
"Attract" is not the same as compatible for long term relationships and especially marriage. Initial chemistry is important, but it fades after a honeymoon phase (which usually happens long before the real honeymoon.) There's also a lot of equivocation here on "opposites."

Not every point of disagreement is important: not every value has relevance to a family and not every value one holds is equally difficult to compromise. It's more important to agree on things like finances, children, moral/ethical standpoints, etc... than on politics, music, or hobbies and interests.

Re:Divorce and Occupation by tertius on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @03:55PM (#15178574)
Agreeing on, let's say abortion or how to discipline children is not the same as an extrovert marrying an introvert. Some opposites can work together others (think religion) can not.
Re:Divorce and Occupation by danbolt on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @04:53PM (#15179024)
I think this is the big one. If you don't disagree on anything in a way that makes compromise turn into regret, then things will likely turn out alright.
Re:Divorce and Occupation by PeterisP on Tuesday September 05, 2017 @05:19PM (#15179207)
That's a narrative popular in fiction, and not actually reflected in real life; I'm not going to bother to find the studies showing this, but essentially opposite poles don't attract and people tend to marry others who are much more similar to them than a random person.