Dr. Susan Sprecher
Sociology Distinguished Professor
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Office
SCH Schroeder Hall 351
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Current Courses
SOC 123.001 Human Sexuality
SOC 400.004 Independent Study
SOC 461.002 Readings In Sociology
SOC 123.001 Human Sexuality
SOC 499.003 Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
SOC 400.005 Independent Study
SOC 398.001 Professional Practice:Internship In Sociological Research
PSY 391.027 Scholarship Of Teaching & Learning Apprenticeship
PSY 290.027 Special Projects: Research Apprenticeship
PSY 291.027 Special Projects:Undergraduate Teaching
SOC 495.001 Special Topics In Sociology
SOC 291.001 Undergraduate Teaching Experience In Sociology-Anthropology
Teaching Interests & Areas
Susan Sprecher earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She has written on interpersonal attraction, intimacy, and human sexuality, and has had articles published in the Journal of Personal Relationships. She teaches courses on social psychology, human sexuality, marriage and the family, and personal relationships.
Research Interests & Areas
Social Psychology, Marriage and the Family, Close Relationships, Sexuality. Relationship initiation; love; compassionate love; equity and exchange; sexual attitudes; Internet dating services; relationship initiation
Ph D Sociology
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Distingished Career Award
International Association for Relationship Research
2024
Kenneth Mary Ann Shaw Teaching Award
Illinois State University
2020
Grants and Contracts
Connections with Weak Ties
Susan Sprecher.
URG; Illinois State University. July 2023 - June 2024
Loving Connections with Weak Ties: A Research Agenda Using a Fast Friends Procedure
Susan Sprecher.
John Templeton Foundation. November 2023 - October 2026
How We See Ourselves: Self-Esteem, Perceived Physical Attractiveness and Perceptions of Being Overweight as a Function of Gender and Race
Yasmin A Odeh, Susan Sprecher.
Department of Sociology & Anthropology. 2022 - 2022
Book, Chapter
Relationship quality: Predictors, correlates, and consequences
Jeremy Kanter, Susan Sprecher, Terri Orbuch.
(2025), Research Handbook of Partnering Across the Life Course
Desire: The pursuit of physical, psychological, interpersonal (and sexual) pleasure
Cheryl Harasymchuck, Pamela REgan, Susan Sprecher.
(2023), 75-91, The Emotionality of Social LIfe
Social Networks and Extended Families
Susan Sprecher, Luke Russell, Chang Su-Russell, Maria Schmeeckle.
(2022), 277-293, The Routledge Handbook of Family Communication, Routledge
The Compassionate Love Scale
Susan Sprecher, Beverley Fehr.
(2022), Handbook of Assessment in Mindfulness, Springer
Creating Closeness and Interdependence: Results of Laboratory-Based Studies Involving Getting-Acquainted Dyads
Susan Sprecher.
(2020), 343-367, Interdependence, Interaction, and Relationships, Cambridge Publishers
Influence of Self-Disclosure in the Acquaintance Process on Changes in People's Self-Concept, How People Feel About Themselves, and How People Feel About Others
Susan Sprecher.
(2020), 37-51, Interpersonal Relationships and Self-Concept
Social networks and relationship maintenance
Susan Sprecher, Diane Felmlee, Jeff Stokes, Brandon McDaniel, .
(2020), 152-177, Relationship Maintenance: Theory, process, and Context, Cambridge University Press
Scale of Sexual Permissiveness for Relationship Stages
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger.
(2019), Handbook of sexuality-related measures (4th edition)
Compassionate love
Susan Sprecher.
(2013), 64-65, The world book of love: The knowledge and wisdom of 100 love professors from all around the world, Lannoo publishers
Compassionate love: What we know so far
Bev Fehr, Susan Sprecher.
(2013), 106-120, Positive psychology of love, Oxford Press
Logging on, hooking up: The changing nature of romantic relationship initiation and romantic relating
Susan Sprecher, Sandra Metts.
(2013), 197-225, Human bonding: The science of affectional ties, Guilford Press
Women's sexuality in close relationships
Stan Treger, Susan Sprecher, Elaine Hatfield, Ralph Erber.
(2013), 47-68, The essential handbook of women's sexuality, Praeger
Widening Circles: Interactive Connections between Immediate Family and Larger Social Networks
Maria Schmeeckle, Susan Sprecher.
(2012), 302-317, Routledge Handbook of Family Communication (2ND edition)., Routledge.
Overview of sexual practices and attitudes within relational contexts
Marion Willetts, Susan Sprecher, Frank Dwight Beck.
(2004), 57-85, The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships
Social Networks and Relationship Maintenance
Susan Sprecher, Diane Felmlee, Jeffrey Stokes, Branden McDaniel.
Encyclopedia
Love
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Elaine Hatfield.
Springer, (2021)
Premarital sex
Susan Sprecher, Lucia O'Sullivan.
Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd edition), (2021)
Attributions in close relationships
Julie Verette Lindenbaum, Susan Sprecher.
67-73, (2019)
Marital sex
Leah Roberts, Susan Sprecher, Linda Roberts.
551-554, (2019)
Relationship dissolution
Susan Sprecher, Beverley Fehr.
714-719, (2019)
Love
Stan Treger, Susan Sprecher, Elaine Hatfield.
Springer, 3708-3712, (2014)
Seduction
Elaine Hatfield, Susan Sprecher.
Wiley-Blackwell, (2014)
Journal Article
Barriers to interaction with new weak ties: Are self-presentation concerns and forecasts of benefits miscalibrated?
Susan Sprecher.
32, (2025)
Is there a sexual stereotype linking casual sex with low self-esteem?
Susan Sprecher, Julie Verette-Lindenbaum, Diane Felmlee, Fiona Fleming, Yasmin Odeh.
(2025)
Liking gap(s) in getting-acquainted interctions
Susan Sprecher.
The Journal of Social Psychology, (2025)
More than an acquaintance less than a friend: Fringeships in everyday life
Karen Fingerman, Kira Birditt, Katherine Fiori, Jeffrey Hall, Oliver Huxhold, Amy Rauer, Gillian Sandstrom, Susan Sprecher.
Review of General Psychology, 29, (2025)
The efficacy of relationship education for improving children's outcomes: A multi-informant, multi-method study
Jeremy Kanter, Dan Lannin, H Cailyn Ratliff, Amy Rauer, Susan Sprecher, Brian Ogolsky, Ani Yazedjian.
(2025)
Is there a kernel of truth to the stereotype that women who engage in casual sex have lower self-esteem?
Susan Sprecher, Julie Verette-Lindenbaum.
Personality and Individual Differences, (2024)
The impacts of specific program components on romantic relationship satisfaction
Jeremy Kanter, Daniel G. Lannin, Amy Rauer, Susan Sprecher, Ani Yazedjian, J McCraig.
(2024)
Listening and responsiveness in getting-acquainted processes
Susan Sprecher.
Current Opinion in Psychology, 52: 101645, (2023), 101645
The longitudinal influence of cumulative risk: Is relationship education a resource?
Jeremy Kanter, Daniel G. Lannin, Amy Rauer, Susan Sprecher, Ani Yazedjian.
(2023)
The vignette method: A flexible method for capstone courses and as a supplemental learning experience in research labs
Susan Sprecher.
College Teaching, 71 (2), 75-81, (2023)
Acquaintanceships (Weak Ties): Their Role in People's Web of Relationships
Susan Sprecher.
Personal Relationships, 29 (3), 425-450, (2022)
Enhanced Mood after a Getting-Acquainted Interaction with a Stranger: Do Shy People Benefit Too?
Susan Sprecher, Roland Miller, Beverley Fehr, Jeremy Kanter, Daniel Perlman, Diane Felmlee.
(2022), https://doi.org/10.1177/02654075221141433
Is Chatting with a Sophisticated Chatbox as Good as Chatting Online or Face to Face with a Stranger?
Michelle Drouin, Susan Sprecher.
Computers in Human Behavior, 128, (2022), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107100
Perhaps It Was Too Soon: College Students' Reflections on the Timing of Their Sexual Debut
Susan Sprecher, Lucia O'Sullivan, Michelle Drouin, Julie Verette-Lindenbaum, Marion Willetts.
Journal of Sex Research, 59 (1), 39-52, (2022)
Ratings of the Physical Attractiveness of an Interaction Partner After a Getting-Acquainted Interaction
Susan Sprecher, Elaine Hatfield.
Personal Relationships, 29 (2), 366-385, (2022)
Attachment Orientation and Reasons for and Reactions to "Virginity" in College
Susan Sprecher.
Current Psychology, (2021)
Closeness and Other Affiliative Outcomes Generated from the Fast Friends Procedure: A Comparison with a Small-Talk Task and an Unstructured Getting-Acquainted Task the Moderating Role of Mode of Communication
Susan Sprecher.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38 (5), 1452-1471, (2021)
Introduction to the special issue on communication technologies and relationships
Daniel Perlman, Susan Sprecher, Michelle Drouin.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 38 (12), 3417-3428, (2021)
Social Network Pressure to Enter a Romantic Relationship, Fear of Being Single, and the Role of Gender
Susan Sprecher, Diane Felmlee.
Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 15 (2), 246-261, (2021)
Social bonding in initial acquaintance: Effects of modality and modality order
Susan Sprecher.
Social Psychology Quarterly, 84, 216-234, (2021)
Trends Over Time in Emerging Adults' Self-Reports of Attachment Styles
Susan Sprecher.
Emerging Adulthood, (2020)
Does dis(similarity) information about a new acquaintance lead to liking or repulsion? An experimental test of a classic social psychology issue
Susan Sprecher.
Social Psychology Quarterly, 18, 303-318, (2019)
Mate preferences in emerging adulthood and beyond: Cross-sectional and retrospective analyses to examine changes.
Susan Sprecher, Alexis Econie, Stan Treger.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36, 3139-3158, (2019)
Men and women's plans for romantic initiation strategies across four settings
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Nicole Landa.
Current Psychology, (2019)
The Significance of Sexual Debut in Women's Lives
Susan Sprecher, Marion Willetts.
Current Sexual Health Reports, 11, 265-273, (2019)
"You're Like Me and I Like You": Mediators of the similarity-liking link assessed before and after a getting-acquainted social interaction
Adam Hampton, Amanda Boyd Fisher, Susan Sprecher.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36, 2221-2244, (2019)
Inequity Leads to Distress and a Reduction in Satisfaction: Evidence from a Priming Experiment
Susan Sprecher.
Journal of Family Issues, 39, 230-244, (2018)
Channels of Computer-Mediated Communication and Satisfaction in Long-distance Relationships
Adam Hampton, Jessica Rawlings, Stan Treger, Susan Sprecher.
(2017)
Liking and Other Reactions after a Get-Acquainted Interaction: A Comparison of Continuous Face-to-Face Interaction versus Interaction that Progresses from Text Messages to Face-to-Face
Susan Sprecher, Adam Hampton.
Communication Quarterly, 65, 333-353, (2017)
The Importance of Love as a Basis of Marriage: Revisiting Kephart (1967).
Susan Sprecher, Elaine Hatfield.
Journal of Family Issues, (2017)
Can I connect with both you and my social network? Access to network-salient communication technology and get-acquainted interactions
Susan Sprecher, Adam Hampton, Hannah Jones, Diane Femlee.
Computers in Human Behavior, 62, 423-432, (2016)
Who does the work? Partner perceptions of relationship initiation and maintenance
Susan Sprecher, Pamela Regan, Terri Orbuch.
Interpersona, 10, 13-27, (2016)
Association between self-expansion and actual and perceived (dis)similarity and their joint effects on attraction in initial interactions.
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Amanda Fisher, Nicole Hilaire, Michelle Grzybowski, .
Self and Identity, 14, 369-389, (2015)
Don't tell me who I can't love: A multi-method investigation of social network and reactance effects on romantic relationships.
Colleen H. Sinclair, Diane Felmlee, Susan Sprecher, Brittany Wright.
Social Psychology Quarterly, 78, 77-99, (2015)
The benefits of turn-taking reciprocal self-disclosure in get-acquainted interactions.
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger.
Personal Relationships, 22, 460-475, (2015)
Virgin college students' reasons for and reactions to their abstinence from sex: Results from a 23-year study at a Midwestern U.S. University
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, .
Journal of Sex Research, 52, 936-948, (2015)
Compassionate love in romantic relationships: A Review and Some Findings
Beverley Fehr, Cheryl Harasymchuk, Susan Sprecher, .
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 575-600, (2014)
Effects of Actual (Manipulated) and Perceived Similarity on Liking in Get-acquainted Interactions: The Role of Communication
Susan Sprecher.
Communication Monographs, 81, 4-27, (2014)
Evidence of Change in Men's and Women's Emotional Reactions to First Sexual Intercourse: A 23-year Study in a Human Sexuality Course at a Midwestern University
Susan Sprecher.
Journal of Sex Research, 51, 466-472, (2014)
Initial Interactions Online-text, Online-audio, Online-video, or Face-to-face: Effects of Modality on Liking, Closeness, and Other Interpersonal Outcomes
Susan Sprecher.
Computers in Human Behavior, 31, 190-197, (2014)
The Influence of Compassionate Love on Strategies Used to End a Relationship
Susan Sprecher, Corinne Zimmerman, Beverley Fehr.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31, 697-705, (2014)
Attachment style and sexual permissiveness: The moderating role of gender
Susan Sprecher.
Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 428-432, (2013)
Correlates of couples' perceived similarity at the initiation stage and currently
Susan Sprecher.
Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships, 7, 180-195, (2013)
Effects of self-disclosure role on liking, closeness, and other impressions in get-acquainted interactions
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Joshua Wondra.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30, 497-514, (2013)
Laughing and Liking: Exploring the interpersonal effects of humor use in initial social interactions
Stan Treger, Susan Sprecher, Ralph Erber.
Europeon Journal of Social Psychology, 43, 532-543, (2013)
Predictors of condom use in first sexual intercourse: A consideration of individual, situational, relational, and cohort effects.
Susan Sprecher.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43, E71-E84, (2013)
Premarital sexual standards and sociosexuality: Gender, ethnicity, and cohort differences
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, John Sakaluk.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 1395-1405, (2013)
Self-esteem among young adults: Differences and similarities based on gender, race, and cohort (1990-2012)
Susan Sprecher, James E. Brooks, Winfred Avogo.
Sex Roles, 69, 264-275, (2013)
Taking turns: Reciprocal self-disclosure promotes liking in initial interactions
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Joshua Wondra, Nicole Hilaire, Kevin Wallpe.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 49, 860-866, (2013)
You validate me, you like me, you're fun, you expand me: "I'm Yours!"
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Nicole Hilaire, Amanda Fisher, Elaine Hatfield.
Current Research in Social Psychology, 22-30, (2013)
Expectations for mood enhancement as a result of helping: The effects of gender and compassionate love
Susan Sprecher, Beverly Fehr, Corinne Zimmerman.
Sex Roles, 56, 543-549, (2007)
The Role of Expectations for Liking and Other Positive Affiliative Outcomes in the Get-Acquainted Process that Occurs over Computer-Mediated Communication
Susan Sprecher.
Current Psychology
The significance of sexual debut in women's lives
Susan Sprecher, Lucia O'Sullivan, Michelle Drouin, Julie Verette-Lindenbaum, Marion Willetts.
Current Sexual Health Reports, 11, 265-273
Other
Relationship initiation and development
Susan Sprecher, Diane Felmlee, Sandra Metts, William Cupach.
American Psychological Association, (2015)
Presentations
Friendship acceptance (and rejection) across political divides
Susan Sprecher, Julie Verette-Lindenbaum, Rory Kuhn, Sydney Laux, Kinlee Spranger, Ella Woodruff, Dela Youngman.
Midwest Psychological Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2025
Symposium on Social and Intimate Connections
Susan Sprecher.
Midwest Psychological Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2025
Who is judged to be compassionate and responsive in first interactions?
Susan Sprecher, Beverley Fehr, Jeremy Kanter.
Midwest Psychological Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2025
Investigating risk and resilience associated with couples’ longitudinal experiences in relationship education programming
Jeremy Kanter, Dan Lannin, Ani Yazedjian, Amy Rauer, Susan Sprecher.
National Council on Family Relations, Baltimore, MD, November, 2021
Reflections on IARR
Susan Sprecher.
The conference for the International Association for Relationship Research, Online, June, 2021
Interdependence and Closeness in Getting-Acquainted Dyads
Susan Sprecher.
The International Association for Relationship Research, Syracuse New York, June, 2017
Mate Preferences in Emerging Adulthood and Beyond: Cross-sectional and Retrospective Analyses to Examine Change
Susan Sprecher, Alexis Econie, Treger Stan, Willard Ryan.
The International Association for Relationship Research, Syracuse New York, June, 2017
The Study of Get-acquainted Interactions Using the Social Interaction Paradigm
Susan Sprecher.
Department of Human and Community Development, Urbana, IL, October 16, 2015
Can I connect with both you and my social network?: Access to network-salient communication technology and get-acquainted interaction.
Susan Sprecher, Adam Hampton, Hannah Jones, Diane Felmlee.
Mini-conference for the International Association for Relationship Research, New Brunswick, New Jersey, June, 2015
The Study of Get-Acquainted Interactions through the Social Interaction Paradigm
Susan Sprecher.
Department of Psychology; University of California - San Bernardino, San Bernardino, CA, May 22, 2015
Heterosexual couples' perceptions of balance of the work of relationship initiation and maintenance
Susan Sprecher, Pamela C Regan, Terri Orbuch.
Society for the Personality and Social Psychology, Long Beach, CA, January, 2015
Elevating Positive Mood Through Getting-Acquainted Interactions: Results from Two Get-Acquainted Interaction Studies
Susan Sprecher, Amanda Fisher, Michelle Grzybowski, Stanislav Treger, Adam Hampton, Ashley Campbell, Christina Miller, Samantha Helms.
Midwest Psychological Association Meeting, Chicago, IL, May 3, 2014
"Self-Expansion in Initial Interactions: Effects of Perceived and Actual Similarity"
Susan Sprecher, Stanislav Treger, Amanda Fisher, Nicole Hilaire, Michelle Grzybowski.
Annual Conference for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Austin, Texas, February, 2014
Role of Similarity in Activity Preferences in a Sample of Romantic Couples
Susan Sprecher, Amanda Fisher, Michelle Grzybowski, Josie Maggio, Ronald Pikes, Katie Young.
Mini-Conference for the International Association for Relationship Research, Louisville, KY, October, 2013
You Validate Me, You Like me, You're Fun, You Expand Me: I'm Yours!
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Nicole Hilaire, Amanda Fisher, Elaine Hatfield.
Mini-conference for the International Association for Relationship Research, Louisville, KY, October, 2013
The Influence of Compassionate Love on Disengagement Strategies Used to End a Relationship
Susan Sprecher, Corinne Zimmerman, Beverley Fehr.
Mini-Conference for the International Association for Relationship Research, Louisville, KY, October, 2013
The Study of Relationship Initiation: Findings from Three Studies Using the Social Interaction Paradigm
Susan Sprecher.
Midwest Psychological Association, Chicago, IL, May, 2013
Taking Turns: Reciprocal Self-Disclosure Promotes Liking in Initial Interactions
Susan Sprecher, Stan Treger, Joshua Wondra, Nicole Hilaire, Kevin Wallpe.
Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Online, May, 2013