Perceptions of a romantic partner’s approach and avoidance motives: Accuracy, bias, and emotional cues.

Abstract

We examined tracking accuracy and bias (mean-level and projection) in people’s perceptions of their romantic partner’s relationship approach and avoidance motives, similarity in partners’ motives, and positive and negative emotions as potential cues used to make judgments about a partner’s daily motives and motives during shared activities. Using data from 2 studies, 1 using daily diaries (N = 2,158 daily reports), the other using reports of shared activities (N = 1,228 activity reports), we found evidence of tracking accuracy and projection across samples; we also found evidence of mean-level bias such that people underperceived their partner’s approach (daily) and avoidance motives (daily and in shared activities). Partners had similar daily approach and avoidance motives but were not similar in their motives during shared activities. Further, our studies indicated that emotions often serve as relevant, available, and detectable cues for judging a partner’s motives. The results demonstrate that accuracy and bias are both present in judgments of a romantic partner’s approach and avoidance motives, and that people often, but not always, use their partner’s emotions to make such judgments.

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

“…We hypothesized that couples would demonstrate substantial accuracy in their communal motive perceptions. In line with previous research (e.g., LaBuda et al, 2019;Sanderson & Cantor, 2001) and the dual-lens model of personality judgment (Nestler & Back, 2013), we expected individuals' perceptions of their partners' communal motives to be positively associated with their partners' actual explicit desire for closeness, pnCommunion Approach, and pnCommunion Avoidance. Independent of this accuracy, communal motive perceptions should also involve motivational bias due to perceivers' own communal motives.…”

“…Although rooted in reality, partner perceptions can also be biased by perceivers' own needs and wishes. Most people seem motivated to hold positive illusions about their partners (Murray & Holmes, 1997;Murray et al, 1996) and frequently project their ideals and goals onto their partners (Kenny & Acitelli, 2001;LaBuda et al, 2019).…”

Approach and avoidance motives for touch are predicted by attachment and predict daily relationship well-being

“…For example, believing that a partner has approach motives rather than avoidance motives for touch may lead to better consequences of touch receipt. Recent research shows that there is both accuracy and bias in detecting a partner's motives (LaBuda et al, 2019); inaccuracies may be particularly informative in future research. Note.…”

Activated at home but deactivated at work: How daily mobile work leads to next‐day psychological withdrawal behavior

“…According to person-perception theorists (e.g., Brunswik, 1956;Funder, 1995), a perceiver utilizes a set of observable cues when making judgments about a target person. In particular, couples likely have day-to-day interactions with each other and try to decipher the partner's motives, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (Gagné & Lydon, 2004;LaBuda et al, 2019). Although such inferences in intimate relationships may contain both bias and accuracy (Fletcher & Kerr, 2010), it is important to note that partners tend to rely on cues available in a daily setting as a source of interpersonal judgment.…”