Seeing the partner: a video recall study of emotional behavior in same- and mixed-sex late adolescent romantic couples.

Fifty-three college-aged same- and mixed-sex romantic couples (83% White, 63% female, mean age, 20.8) engaged in a video recall task in which they rated their own and their partners' behaviors and emotions. Females reported feeling more connected to partners and reported fewer negative behaviors than males. Females with male partners reported the highest feelings of connection and the fewest negative behaviors. Males with male partners reported the lowest connection and most negative behaviors. Behavioral mirroring and empathic accuracy did not vary by sex of the actor or of their partner. Partners' self-reported connection and negative behaviors were similar and they accurately perceived each others' average behavioral and emotional states. The data showed little evidence that partners' behaviors mirrored one another temporally across time segments, however. Results suggest that college-aged same and mixed-sex romantic couples show greater similarities than differences in functioning.