We conclude by noting the limitations of our study. First, although
partial correlation findings indicate that convergence was unlikely to
have occurred, an ideal design would be to follow up married couples
and track their similarity longitudinally to rule out convergence. Second,
even though most predictor variables in this study were based on the
mean of the spousal ratings, response bias likely remains a daunting
challenge. Despite these limitations, the current study has extended
our understanding of two central issues in relationships—partner selection
and relationship functioning in relation to couple similarity in a
large married sample. The strong similarity correlations on stimulus
characteristics suggest that stimulus characteristics are important domains
to partner selection. However, similarity on these characteristics
in general was not a strong predictor of satisfaction. It would be useful
for future research to examine why people are strongly drawn to similarities
on stimulus characteristics initially and yet these similarities
only bring modest benefits to an established relationship.