Seeing Clearly or Seeing Through Tinted Glasses: How Accurate and Biased Perceptions of Emotions Influence Romantic Relationships

How well do we really know how our romantic partners feel—and how accurately do we judge our own impact on their emotions? These are the central questions driving “Seeing Clearly or Seeing Through Tinted Glasses,” an innovative research project led by Jenny Le, a doctoral candidate in Social Psychology at the University of Rochester.

Backed by support from the Mental Research Institute (MRI), Jenny’s project takes a closer look at how accurately—or inaccurately—people perceive their partners’ positive and negative emotions, as well as how accurately they perceive their influence on those emotions. Building on a prior MRI-funded study conducted in 2019–2020, this follow-up project revisits 197 couples five years later to explore the long-term consequences of these perceptions on emotional and relationship well-being.

Using the Truth and Bias Model, Jenny investigates whether people’s perceptions are grounded in reality or distorted. Interestingly, the research recognizes that people can be both accurate and biased at the same time—perhaps seeing a partner's joy clearly while still underestimating their stress.

The findings could have practical value for therapists, couples, and anyone interested in improving communication and emotional support in close relationships. Jenny’s work will shed light on whether improving emotional accuracy—and becoming aware of our biases—may be key to building more satisfying and resilient partnerships.

Jenny is looking forward to sharing her findings with both academics and the broader public in forthcoming publications, research presentations, and other science communication outlets to make her work widely accessible.