Perception of communal motives in couples: Accuracy, bias, and their associations with relationship length

Abstract

Can romantic partners accurately perceive each other’s communal motives, or are these perceptions biased by their own motivational hopes and fears? This study used data from N = 1,905 partnered participants to examine the extent to which partner perceptions of communal motives correspond to targets’ (accuracy) and perceivers’ (motivational bias) explicit and implicit communal motives. Our results indicate that explicit communal motives and implicit communal approach motives can be (a) accurately inferred and (b) positively bias communal motive perception. Furthermore, there was no evidence for moderation of either accuracy or motivational bias by relationship length. These findings point to the early visibility of both implicit and explicit motives in couples, as well as their persistent biasing effects on partner perception.