This study investigated 98 undergraduate college couples on the relationship between potential conflict in and perceptual distortion of the intended mate. On the basis of an empathy questionnaire, it was found that the number of disagreements were related to the number of errors in prediction. This was interpreted to mean that a block in communication was taking place where disagreements and errors were high, and free communication was taking place where disagreements and errors were low. Categories of idealist, realist, and pessimist couples were defined using the empathy questionnaire. A comparison of idealistic and realistic couples suggested that idealistic couples had scores equal to or higher than realistic couples on a standard test of engagement adjustment.