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Research Opportunities with Dr. Sprecher Scholarly Interests and Activities I am a social psychologist with a primary focus on the study of personal relationships, which includes dating relationships, marriages, friendships and social networks. I also conduct research on human sexuality, specifically in a relational context. I welcome undergraduate and graduate students at ISU to contact me about independent credit opportunities and research experience. My primary appointment is in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, but I also have a joint appointment in Psychology. Because of my interdisciplinary background, I also have connections with the Department of Social Work, the School of Communication, and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. Some of my current interests and projects include: Research on Compassionate Love What factors contribute to people’s feelings of compassionate (self-giving) love for others? Does the experience of compassionate love for close others differ from the experience of close others for humanity and strangers? With Dr. Beverley Fehr (University of Winnipeg), I have conducted several studies that examine people's beliefs about, and experiences with, compassionate love. Utilizing a theoretical approach from psychology (prototype theory), we constructed a self-report scale to assess the propensity to experience compassionate love. This research was funded by the Fetzer Institute. For a summary of some of our preliminary research, see: Sprecher, S., & Fehr, B. (2005). Compassionate love for close others and humanity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 629-652. Research on Mediators of Attraction Why does P (a Person) become attracted to O (an Other)? Social scientists have been studying determinants of attraction for over three decades. Researchers have focused on how various factors, such similarity, proximity, physical attractiveness, and other desirable characteristics are associated with attraction. Various theoretical explanations have been offered to account for the influence of similarity, physical attractiveness, and other factors in leading to attraction, including consensual validation, certainty of being liked, fun and enjoyment, self-expansion, prestige by association, and rewards. The focus of my research is on measuring these proximal predictors of attraction or what I also refer to as mechanisms of attraction, to examine their role in contributing to attraction. Research on College Students’ SexualityHow are young adults’ sexual attitudes and behaviors changing over time? How do sex attitudes and behaviors vary based on socio-demographic variables, including gender, race, and social class? I have collected data since 1990 in the Human Sexuality class at ISU, and am in the process of analyzing the results and writing up the results. Social Network Influence on Romantic Relationships How do social network reactions’ affect romantic relationships? Do parental and friend support increase the intensity of a relationship? When does parental and friend disapproval hinder the relationship and when does it make the relationship more intense? These are issues that I have explored over the years, primarily with my colleague, Dr. Diane Felmlee (University of CA-Davis. In current research, I am examining the influence of the social network from the perspective of the social network members. Other ProjectsI am also beginning writing projects on the following topics:
I welcome students interested in any of the above topics or other topics related to personal relationships to contact me to see whether there are opportunities to join a research team.
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For questions or comments, e-mail me at:
sprecher@ilstu.edu
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