RESEARCH_FILE
Diane H. Felmlee
University of California, Davis
Known for:Research on how social networks and shifting appraisals shape whether relationships last
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“My friends see something I don't”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I have the footage. They have the interpretation. I'm not obligated to adopt theirs.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Identify one thing your partner did this week that you genuinely appreciated or that felt considerate. Write the exact moment down. Ask yourself: did you need outside confirmation to see that clearly?
Key findings
- 1990
With Sprecher and Bassin, found in a hazard-model analysis of dating-couple breakups that low approval or explicit disapproval from a partner's social network predicted an earlier end to the relationship, more strongly than several individual- and couple-level factors tested in the same model. The Dissolution of Intimate Relationships: A Hazard Model ↗
- 1995
In 'Fatal Attractions,' found that in about 29% of breakups, a quality that first attracted someone to a partner later became a source of complaint — showing that appraisals of a partner, including social ones, change as a relationship develops. Fatal Attractions: Affection and Disaffection in Intimate Relationships ↗
- 2000
With Sprecher, followed romantic partners over time and found that how a person's friends and family view their partner is not fixed at first meeting — it changes across relationship transitions such as becoming exclusive or moving in together. Romantic Partners' Perceptions of Social Network Attributes with the Passage of Time and Relationship Transitions ↗