Implicit agency, communality, and perceptual congruence in couples: Implications for relationship health

Men and women are expected to exemplify the gendered traits of agency (masculinity) and communality (femininity). Research has yet to examine how the implicit adoption of these traits influences close relationships. To address these gaps, the current study used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) in a dyadic context to examine whether or not these implicit traits, and perceptual congruence (i.e., seeing one's partner as they see themselves) regarding these traits, relate to relationship health in mixed-sex couples. Results revealed that when both partners implicitly viewed themselves as the more agentic partner, relationship health suffered. Having one or both partners identify as more communal resulted in greater relationship health. Results were equally positive regardless of whether couples implicitly viewed their relationship traditionally (i.e., perceiving the male as the more agentic partner and the female as the more communal partner) or non-traditionally (i.e., perceiving the female as more agentic, and the male as more communal). Implications for interpersonal relationships are discussed.