Intimacy of Relationship as a Function of Positivity Vs Accuracy of Perceived Evaluative Feedback from Partner

Abstract

Prior studies disagree about whether a married person (P) will feel greater intimacy toward the spouse (O) when O perceives P just as positively as P perceives self (hypothesis of self-verification) or when O perceives P in a more positive light than P perceives self (hypothesis of self-enhancement). In these prior studies, the discrepancy between self-ratings and partners' ratings of self was related to self's rating of intimacy toward partner. In the current study, the same individual provided information about self-evaluation, how the person thought the partner evaluated self and the feeling of intimacy toward partner. People reported higher intimacy when they thought that their partners evaluated them more favorably than they evaluated themselves.