Facebook Profile Offers a Peek into Past Relationships

A recent study conducted by a Western Illinois University faculty member has explored romantic relationships on social networking site Facebook.

The study, "Exploring romantic relationships on social networking sites using the self-expansion model", was authored by assistant professor Christopher Carpenter of WIU Department of Communication along with co-author Erin Spottswood (Cornell University).

The study states that more the number of past romantic relationships the participant had, the more interests they list on their Facebook profile.

He came up with this conclusion after analyzing study samples that had 276 respondents who answered queries that were based on their relationship histories as well as social networking site uses. The subset sample had 149 participants who answered additional questions that focused on their present romantic partners.

"I predicted this relationship because other research suggested that part of romantic relationship development involves adopting new interests and behaviors from one's partner," he said.  

The reason why Carpenter studies human interactions on a social networking site like Facebook is because this online network offers a unique window to people's lives.

"We can't follow people around with a tape recorder getting a record of what they say all day. Facebook, on the other hand, offers us the chance to see one part of that record. We can see how often people interact with their romantic partners on Facebook, what they say to each other and how they present themselves on their profiles," Carpenter explained.

The study will appear July 2013 in the journal issue of Computers in Human Behavior.

Prior to this study, Carpenter published a study "Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and Anti-social Behavior". It received wide media attention and was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.