Perceived authenticity in romantic partners

•Authenticity in romantic partners signals trustworthiness and stability.•Perceiving romantic partners as more authentic should promote non-defensiveness.•Correlational and experimental methods were applied in a sample of couples.•Perceived partner authenticity was associated with more adaptive relationship goals.•Perceiving partners as authentic led to greater trust, satisfaction, and commitment.

The notion of authenticity, or a state of being in which one's behavior is motivated by genuine, internal forces, has long been of interest to philosophers and social thinkers. Previous research on authenticity has examined the association between an individual's self-reported evaluations of his/her own authenticity and measures of well-being or relationship quality. The present work provides a new perspective by casting light on an interpersonal aspect the construct, namely, the extent to which an individual believes his or her romantic partner is authentic. Using correlational and experimental methods in a sample of dating and married couples, the present work found strong associations between perceived partner authenticity, relationship goals, interpersonal trust, and relationship outcomes.