Role of Personality Traits in Mate Selection Preferences among College Students in Karnataka

Marriage is the foundation of all social relations which further constitutes a family. Especially for long term partners, university students, about marriage and the criteria for choosing the right partner for proper planning to preserve family is of great importance. To find out the relevance of the claim, this quantitative study was designed to know the desirable traits being considered by the college students in selecting their potential mate, and how males and females differ in their preference. Using simple random sampling, 2624 college students were selected of which 1081 male and 1543 females studying in final year degree in colleges of sampled study area of Bagalkot in Karnataka, India through a questionnaire. Being exploratory in nature findings are presented in a simple percentage. The trait preferences of the respondents were influenced by their sex. Never the less this study suggests the similarity that males and females put importance to traits, which can help them develop and maintain an intimate and strong interpersonal relationship with their mate.