Do people know how they impact their Partner’s goal pursuit? Accuracy, bias, and associations with relationship outcomes

We examined accuracy and bias in perceptions of one’s instrumentality to and obstruction of daily partner goal pursuit, and associations of mean-level bias with daily relationship outcomes. Daily reports ( N = 2,377) from cohabiting couples ( N = 106 couples), using multilevel path models, indicated that perceptions of own instrumentality to and obstruction of partner goals contain tracking accuracy and projection and partners were similar in instrumentality and obstruction. Perceptions of goal instrumentality showed mean-level accuracy, but people underestimated their obstruction of partner goals. Underestimation of obstruction was associated with lower closeness for both perceiver and partner and lower relationship satisfaction for the partner. Overestimation of instrumentality was associated with lower relationship satisfaction for both perceiver and partner and lower closeness for the partner. Our results indicate that maintaining overly positive self-perceptions may be costly for the relationship.