As far as partner's personalities go, neuroticism, or the tendency to
experience negative emotional
states such as anxiety and depressed
mood, has the strongest impact on romantic relationship quality.
For their first slider rating, 17 older and 8 younger participants indicated that they were in a neutral or positive
mood and accordingly were classified as rapid regulators, whereas 17 older and 17 younger adults still reported
experiencing a
negative affective
state — they were classified as nonregulators.