Whereas, high self-monitors are more likely to be responsive to situations, low self-monitors may express their behavior as it reflects their own inner attitude. This brings about the theory of self-monitoring being situation versus trait. Self-monitoring tries to explain behaviors of trait versus situation. It gives way to say that low self-monitors can be predicted from their traits and high self-monitors can be best predicted from features of their situations ( Snyder & Gangestad, 2000). Research on self-monitoring designed to test these and related hypotheses typically has used multi-item self-report measures to identify people high and low in self-monitoring (Snyder & Gangestad, 2000). The most frequently used measurement is the 25-item, true-false, original Self-Monitoring Scale (Snyder, 1974, see appendix). Most of these studies also pointed out the nature of self-monitoring and the validity of it. Briggs and Cheek (1988) found the scale of self-monitoring to be correlated with other traits as well. In the Snyder and Gangestad (1986) study, they revised the scale, and a few items were drop, making for a revised 18-question scale. The self-monitoring theory has given way to much research. Snyder and Gangestad (2000) express that the links between self-monitoring and interpersonal relationships, including friendships, romantic relations, and sexual involvement might be the most prominent of the topics dealing with self-monitoring. .
In an early study done by Snyder and Simpson (1984), findings about self-monitoring and intimate relationships correlated with the sexual behaviors of high and low self-monitors. They found that high self-monitors appear to develop intimacy in relationships more quickly, and low self-monitors tend to establish greater intimacy over a longer period of time. The researchers also found that individuals with high self-monitoring had more of an uncommitted approach to dating while low self-monitors have more of an exclusive, or committed approach to dating.
