RESEARCH_FILE
Miller McPherson
Duke University and University of Arizona
Known for:The 2006 'Social Isolation in America' study reporting shrinking core discussion networks — and the methodological debate it launched
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Being sincere would kill the vibe”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“I can say one plain thing and keep the joke alive after.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
On a scrap of paper or notes app, write one sincere sentence you wish you had said today, then write the same sentence without any joke around it. Keep both versions and notice how short the plain one can be.
Key findings
- 2006
With Smith-Lovin and Brashears, he compared the 1985 and 2004 General Social Surveys and reported the mean number of confidants Americans discuss important matters with fell from 2.94 to 2.08 — with the modal respondent going from three confidants in 1985 to zero in 2004. Social Isolation in America: Changes in Core Discussion Networks over Two Decades ↗
- 2009
When Claude Fischer argued the isolation finding was likely a survey artifact, McPherson and colleagues published a formal reply defending the analysis while acknowledging the data's limits — an exchange that made the difficulty of measuring social isolation part of the published record. Reply to Fischer: Models and Marginals — Using Survey Evidence to Study Social Networks ↗