Now the clinic believes it knows just what traits are crucial for men to possess and what ones are crucial for women. (They sometimes differ.)
The Audit measures you for nine separate and distinct traits of personality—sociability, conformity, tranquillity, dependability, stability, idealism, steadiness, flexibility, and seriousness. A personality trait has two extremes, just as height has the two extremes of tallness and shortness. These are the opposite poles for the nine traits just listed:
| Reserved—Sociable | Bold—Fearful |
| Agreeable—Nonconforming | Broadminded—Idealistic |
| Tranquil—Irritable | Calm—Emotional |
| Dependable—Evasive | Rigid—Flexible |
| Thoughtful—Frivolous |
Let’s consider these nine traits, and their significance when found in a mate. (You can also apply them to yourself.)
Trait I. Is He Reserved or Sociable? Another way to put it is this: “Is he introverted or extroverted?” The reserved person is usually quiet, ambitious, serious, agreeable with intimates and confines his socializing to close friends. Sociable or extroverted people are extremely social and aggressive. They are talkative and carefree and sometimes show little regard for other people’s rights. They are the “glad-handers.” Perhaps the man is a salesman, or the girl is a sorority president.
The Penn State investigators found, surprisingly, that the happily married men tended to be just a bit more impulsive, to be more sociable, to be more talkative and to have broader interests than did unhappily married men. Women on the other hand could tend to be either reserved or sociable and still be happy, as long as they were not extreme introverts or extreme extroverts.
Trait II. Is He an Agreeable Sort, or Is He an “Individualist”? The agreeable person tends to conform to the norms set by society. He is usually poised, coöperative, can concentrate easily and tends to wholesome recreations. The individualist enjoys the idea of being “different,” is apt to hurt people’s feelings by his brusqueness and impatience with things that bore or irritate him. In extreme cases he is bullheaded and argumentative.