The “risk-taker” personality has come up a lot this week as people try to wrap their heads around the Spitzer scandal.

What served the outgoing N.Y. governor well in his professional career clearly did little for his interpersonal relationships.

One psychology professor, Marvin Zuckerman of the University of Delaware, has indicated in an interview the happiest marriages are between non-Spitzer like people. Meaning, people who "have great tolerances for boredom" and won't be itching for a new partner.

He's developed a scale that measures people's need for thrills.

Sample True/False statements include:
•I sometimes do "crazy" things just for fun.
•I prefer friends who are excitingly unpredictable
•I like to explore a strange city or section of town by myself, even if it means getting lost.

How do you score? How does your partner?

Research from the University of Maine suggests that women are OK with their mates taking risks when they deem it necessary, but are not that into thrill-seekers.

For his study, "Neither Daredevils nor Wimps: Attitudes toward Physical Risk Takers as Mates," psych prof William Farthing surveyed UMaine undergraduate women to assess men's response to scenarios involving physical risk. He found that women are attracted to men who take risks for altruistic reasons (like saving somone's life) and less so to men who have non-heroic reasons (whitewater kayaking, for example.)

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