Amie Gordon
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.