This research is supported through a grant and Institution Review Board oversight by Walden University.
You have probably seen the list before … “Exercise. Get enough sleep. Eat well. Manage stress. Spend time outdoors
And somewhere on that list—often near the bottom—you will find something like “stay socially connected,” “build relationships,” or “spend time with people you care about.”
But have you ever wondered why?
The usual answers seem obvious: Being around other people is good for us. Everyone needs a strong support system. We all need to feel like we belong.
Those answers may be true—but they leave a much more interesting question unanswered:
What does our social world actually provide that makes it so important to our well-being?
I have spent years studying social connection, identity, loneliness, and belonging, and the research is remarkably consistent on one point: our relationships with other people matter. What is less clear is how and why they matter. What happens between the social world around us and our experience of ourselves that gives social connection its psychological significance?
That is the question behind our current research.
And I would like to invite you to help us investigate it.
We are beginning by developing a new research tool designed to explore the different meanings people derive from the social worlds in which they live—their relationships, interactions, communities, and experiences with other people.
You do not need to be an expert in psychology. You do not need to work in education or mental health. We want to hear from adults with ordinary, real-world social experiences—because those experiences are exactly what we are trying to understand.
Your participation can help us build and test this new measure. And, if you choose, you can remain part of our participant pool and have opportunities to contribute to future stages of the research as we continue investigating the larger question.
Why does social connection matter?
We know that it does.
Now we want to understand why.
Join us in finding out.
Help independent research stay independent donate today
Why donate to us? Help Us Better Understand How People Connect
Human connection matters. Strong relationships, a sense of belonging, and feeling connected to the communities around us are consistently associated with well-being. Yet there is still much to learn about how social connection develops, why some forms of connection are more meaningful than others, and how identity and our social environments shape these experiences.
Our research examines these questions through the study of social connection, belonging, identity, and the ways people interact with their social worlds.
Your contribution helps support the practical costs of conducting independent research, including participant recruitment, research technology, data collection and analysis, and the communication of findings to students, professionals, and the broader public.
Why Give?
Research takes more than ideas. It requires participants, reliable research tools, careful analysis, and resources to share what we learn.
By contributing, you help make it possible to:
- Reach more diverse research participants.
- Conduct larger and stronger studies.
- Explore new questions about identity, belonging, and social connection.
- Maintain the technology and research tools needed for data collection and analysis.
- Share research findings through educational materials, presentations, podcasts, and other publicly accessible resources.
- Continue research that is driven by scientific questions rather than commercial interests.
A donation is never required to participate in our research, and contributing does not influence research participation, data collection, analysis, or the conclusions we report.
Whether you contribute financially, participate in a study, or simply share our work with others, you are helping us better understand one of the most fundamental parts of human life: how we connect with one another and find our place in the social world.
Thank you for supporting the continued exploration of social connection, identity, and belonging.
Dr. Curtis Peterson
Ecological Identity Model Research
Become a research partner
This section is completely separate from the survey – completed above – and is in no way connects completing this information with your survey results. But now that you helped us understand the first part of the journey consider becoming a research partner.
