Mind-reading accuracy in intimate relationships: assessing the roles of the relationship, the target, and the judge

Using a video-review procedure, multiple perceivers carried out mind-reading tasks of multiple targets at different levels of acquaintanceship (50 dating couples, friends of the dating partners, and strangers). As predicted, the authors found that mind-reading accuracy was (a). higher as a function...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of personality and social psychology Vol. 85; no. 6; p. 1079
Main Authors Thomas, Geoff, Fletcher, Garth J O
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.12.2003
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Courtship
Female
Gender Identity
Humans
Individuality
Interpersonal Relations
Judgment
Male
Nonverbal Communication
Object Attachment
Personal Satisfaction
Self Disclosure
Social Perception
Telepathy
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Summary:Using a video-review procedure, multiple perceivers carried out mind-reading tasks of multiple targets at different levels of acquaintanceship (50 dating couples, friends of the dating partners, and strangers). As predicted, the authors found that mind-reading accuracy was (a). higher as a function of increased acquaintanceship, (b). relatively unaffected by target effects, (c). influenced by individual differences in perceivers' ability, and (d). higher for female than male perceivers. In addition, superior mind-reading accuracy (for dating couples and friends) was related to higher relationship satisfaction, closeness, and more prior disclosure about the problems discussed, but only under moderating conditions related to sex and relationship length. The authors conclude that the nature of the relationship between the perceiver and the target occupies a pivotal role in determining mind-reading accuracy.
ISSN:0022-3514
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.85.6.1079