Charmed I'm Sure: Do Charismatic People Have More Satisfying Sexual and Romantic Relationships?

High quality romantic relationships are a key predictor of health and well-being, but sexual dissatisfaction and frequent conflict can make it challenging to maintain relationship quality over time. Personality traits, such as the Big Five personality dimensions have been associated with relationship and sexual satisfaction, but less is known about other individual differences. Across three multi-method studies, I tested the role of charisma, the quality of being influential and affable, in the maintenance of sexual and relationship quality. Charismatic people were more responsive to their partners needs during sex and both they and their partners reported higher sexual satisfaction and desire. People higher in charisma also reported higher relationship quality, in part because they used more positive conflict management strategies. The current research is among the first to investigate charisma, which has primarily been studied in workplace and leadership contexts, as a protective factor in the maintenance of intimate relationships.