Research
Our Research
The quality of close relationships is one of the most important predictors of a long, well-lived life. In our research, we consider how both macro-level societal changes and micro-level personal identities drive the well-being of our closest relationships. Our work focuses on how soaring economic inequality affects how people across the socioeconomic spectrum cultivate and maintain their close relationships. We also focus on the identities of the people navigating these social structures, and how people’s understanding of their own identities affects relationship functioning. Specifically, we examine (1) how social class affects the challenges and strengths people experience in their relationships, (2) how people develop and understand their identities, and how this understanding affects people’s relationships. In a third line of research, we focus on how researchers can bolster the diversity and representativeness of their research samples—and why doing so is essential.
Social Class and Relationships
Social class inequality has starkly divided American society. More than half of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and could not cover an unexpected $500 expense, and by most measures (e.g., income, education), most Americans are lower socioeconomic status (SES) or social class. Yet, most relationship studies consist primarily of middle- and upper-class samples. Our work suggests that although relationship science has largely overlooked lower-SES participants, it is in these communities that high-quality relationships are especially important. Our work investigates how social class, as a pervasive cultural context, shapes both the challenges and strengths that people experience in their close relationships, especially their romantic relationships.
Identity and Relationships
Societal changes due to inequality and instability shape relationships, but so too does a person’s core sense of identity, especially when that identity is disrupted or changed. In our second line of work, we focus primarily on how uncertainty and instability in a person’s self-concept influence people’s relationships. How we see and understand ourselves shapes what we value, who we fall in love with, and when our relationships end. If the ways we understand ourselves shift or become unclear, this lack of clarity can undermine relationships. Our research examines people’s understanding of both their individual identities and their identities as couples, and how those understandings can shift as our self-concepts grow and change. In newer work, we are especially interested in how couples build a new identity together.
Metascience
Historically, diversity has been limited in relationship science—in our research questions, samples, and methodological approaches. We are interested in understanding what our research samples typically look like in relationship science, and whether the diversity of samples has improved or changed over time; how researchers report on the identities of the participants in their samples; and how researchers can adjust their research practices in order to make their samples more inclusive.