Personality traits key to successful relationships

An American anthropologist, who claimed to have uncovered the key to a successful relationship, said all humans based on their brain chemicals can be divided into four personality groups -- explorers, builders, directors and negotiators.

And everybody is a combination of two personality types, of them one dominates, influencing the person`s behaviour and the choice of partner, said Dr Helen Fisher, who has studied the science of romantic love for over 30 years.

The success or failure of any relationship largely depends on how a person`s dominating personality traits match, meet or clash with those of his or her partner, she said.

"There will always be magic to love, but knowledge is power," said Dr Fisher.

"If you know who you are, what you seek and how you and others love, you can capture that magic, find and keep real love, and make your dreams come true," she was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

According to her, the molecules such as dopamine and serotonin, and the hormones testosterone and oestrogen are the four chemicals that makes our personality type.

If dopamine tends to dominate one`s personality, the person will have a tendency to seek novelty. People in this group are termed explorers, she said.

When serotonin dominates, the guiding personality traits tend to be calmness, loyalty, a fondness of rules and facts, and order. Because this group tend to be skilled at building social networks, she called this group builders.

Those with high levels of testosterone (male or female) fall into a section called directors because they are direct, decisive, tough-minded, exacting and good at strategic thinking.

Finally, personalities dominated by oestrogen (this also affects both men and women) are dubbed negotiators because they are highly imaginative and empathetic, with great verbal and social skills as well as being adept at connecting disparate facts.

Dr Fisher, who has studied nearly 30,000 people for her research, found that explorers are most likely to pick other explorers and least likely to choose directors, while builders fall for negotiators other than builders.

Similarly, directors are likely to choose negotiators as well as builders, while negotiators are most likely to pick directors.

Statistically, Dr Fisher found that explorers often have a tough time with other explorers as they are more likely to divorce.