My main research focus is on
how the self is enhanced or diminished in close relationships. Specifically, my work addresses role of the
self in interpersonal attraction, relationship maintenance, and relationship dissolution.
1. The Role of the Self in Interpersonal
Attraction My work has
focused on the effect of personal information on perceptions of physical
attractiveness and how self motivations influence the desire to begin a
relationship, and what type of partner is most desirable. I am also interested in how past
relationships influence subsequent relationships due to continued inclusion of
the former partner in the self.
2. The
Role of the Self in Relationship Maintenance My work has focused on distinguishing the roles
of arousal and the motivation for self-expansion at different stages of
relationship development, and the construction of a measurement tool for
self-expansion. I also have a line of
research examining the role of self-expansion in relationship infidelity (both
sexual and emotional) and desirable characteristics in an extra-dyadic partner
in the context of self-expansion.
Additionally, a separate research area focuses on operationalizing
self-understanding and determining its influence on relationship quality.
3. The Role of the Self in Relationship
Dissolution Based on principles
from the self-expansion model, I have proposed an integrative theory of how the
self is affected by relationship dissolution.
In this framework, I suggest that positive or negative reactions to
relationship dissolution are determined by how one’s self-concept was affected
by the loss. My research tests this by
empirically determining how pre-dissolution levels of self-expansion coincide
with post-dissolution changes in the self.
Within this work, I am most interested in the positive outcomes that
result from relationship dissolution.