Preprint: Perception of Communal Motives in Couples: Accuracy, Bias, and their Associations with Relationship Length

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 datafrom N = 1,905 partnered participants to examine the extent to which partnerperceptions of communal motives correspond to targets’ (accuracy) and perceivers’(motivational bias) explicit and implicit communal motives. Our results indicate thatexplicit 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 byrelationship length. These findings point to the early visibility of both implicit andexplicit motives in couples, as well as their persistent biasing effects on partnerperception.