Presented By: Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD)
RCGD Fall Seminar Series on the Science of Social Relationships: Amie Gordon
Leveraging Modern Technology to Better Understand Relationships from Beginning to End
Amie Gordon of the University of Michigan joins the RCGD Fall Seminar Series on the Science of Social Relationships.
Despite decades of research, relationship scientists have yet to fully unpack the mysteries of dating and compatibility. We still cannot robustly predict the formation and dissolution of any given romantic relationship. Furthermore, the researchers who study attraction and initial dating tend to have little overlap with those who study the maintenance of established relationships, leaving many unanswered questions about trajectories of relationships over time. In this talk, Amie Gordon will discuss how relationship science can leverage modern technology to gather large-scale data on the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of romantic relationships. One project leverages dating apps—the most common way for couples to meet today—to gain new insights into relationship formation. In collaboration with Elizabeth Bruch, a U-M sociologist, her lab has spent the past two years developing Revel, a dating app designed for science, not profit. A second project uses intensive longitudinal methods to track moment-to-moment relationship experiences with the goal of better understanding the dynamic patterns of change in relationship quality and stability over time. This talk showcases how technological advances provide creative opportunities to track the full lifecycle of relationships at an unprecedented scale and shed new light on the dynamics of relationships from beginning to end.
Amie M. Gordon is an associate professor of social psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she directs the Well-being, Health, and Interpersonal Relationships Lab (WHIRLab). Her research uses a multimethod approach to understand the affective, social cognitive, and biological factors that shape our closest relationships. She is particularly interested in how relationship partners influence each other in the moment and over time. A main goal of her research is to better understand how people can maintain high-quality relationships. Her research is driven by the belief that our interpersonal relationships underscore every aspect of our lives, influencing the health and well-being of individuals, families, groups, and organizations. Dr. Gordon received her PhD in Social-Personality Psychology from UC Berkeley and her BA in Psychology from UCLA. Prior to beginning her position at the University of Michigan, she completed postdoctoral fellowships at UC Berkeley and UCSF, as well as a research scientist position at UCSF.
About the Series:
Humans are social animals and from the earliest days of life, are dependent on the quality of social relationships with significant others: family, kin, friends, and a growing social network of online acquaintances. But, how do we conduct research and come to understand the social processes transpiring in these significant social connections with others? What are the consequences for individual development and mental health outcomes of having close intimate relationships in one’s life? There is also a darker side to some relationships in the form of violence, aggression, and conflict. How do we study these processes? Social media and artificial intelligence have opened up new ways of thinking about “what is a social relationship?” and how many of these “friends” can one truly have.
The speakers for this series will focus on different types of social relationships, spanning family and parent-child relationships, friendships, peer networks, romantic relationships, attachment relationships, and the use of online media to maintain social connections. Although several speakers are senior scholars with extensive research backgrounds in the field, many are junior scholars who are traversing new paths into the science of social relationships. Please join us Mondays to learn more about the exciting field of social relationships!
These events will be held Mondays from 3:30 to 5.
In person: ISR Thompson 1430
Organized by Brenda Volling and Richard Gonzalez.
As permissions allow, seminars are later posted to our YouTube playlist.
Despite decades of research, relationship scientists have yet to fully unpack the mysteries of dating and compatibility. We still cannot robustly predict the formation and dissolution of any given romantic relationship. Furthermore, the researchers who study attraction and initial dating tend to have little overlap with those who study the maintenance of established relationships, leaving many unanswered questions about trajectories of relationships over time. In this talk, Amie Gordon will discuss how relationship science can leverage modern technology to gather large-scale data on the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of romantic relationships. One project leverages dating apps—the most common way for couples to meet today—to gain new insights into relationship formation. In collaboration with Elizabeth Bruch, a U-M sociologist, her lab has spent the past two years developing Revel, a dating app designed for science, not profit. A second project uses intensive longitudinal methods to track moment-to-moment relationship experiences with the goal of better understanding the dynamic patterns of change in relationship quality and stability over time. This talk showcases how technological advances provide creative opportunities to track the full lifecycle of relationships at an unprecedented scale and shed new light on the dynamics of relationships from beginning to end.
Amie M. Gordon is an associate professor of social psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where she directs the Well-being, Health, and Interpersonal Relationships Lab (WHIRLab). Her research uses a multimethod approach to understand the affective, social cognitive, and biological factors that shape our closest relationships. She is particularly interested in how relationship partners influence each other in the moment and over time. A main goal of her research is to better understand how people can maintain high-quality relationships. Her research is driven by the belief that our interpersonal relationships underscore every aspect of our lives, influencing the health and well-being of individuals, families, groups, and organizations. Dr. Gordon received her PhD in Social-Personality Psychology from UC Berkeley and her BA in Psychology from UCLA. Prior to beginning her position at the University of Michigan, she completed postdoctoral fellowships at UC Berkeley and UCSF, as well as a research scientist position at UCSF.
About the Series:
Humans are social animals and from the earliest days of life, are dependent on the quality of social relationships with significant others: family, kin, friends, and a growing social network of online acquaintances. But, how do we conduct research and come to understand the social processes transpiring in these significant social connections with others? What are the consequences for individual development and mental health outcomes of having close intimate relationships in one’s life? There is also a darker side to some relationships in the form of violence, aggression, and conflict. How do we study these processes? Social media and artificial intelligence have opened up new ways of thinking about “what is a social relationship?” and how many of these “friends” can one truly have.
The speakers for this series will focus on different types of social relationships, spanning family and parent-child relationships, friendships, peer networks, romantic relationships, attachment relationships, and the use of online media to maintain social connections. Although several speakers are senior scholars with extensive research backgrounds in the field, many are junior scholars who are traversing new paths into the science of social relationships. Please join us Mondays to learn more about the exciting field of social relationships!
These events will be held Mondays from 3:30 to 5.
In person: ISR Thompson 1430
Organized by Brenda Volling and Richard Gonzalez.
As permissions allow, seminars are later posted to our YouTube playlist.
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