Honors Projects

Abstract

This project examines limerence from both a psychological and sociological perspective. The psychological component aimed to investigates whether higher limerent scores predict greater engagement in social media monitoring behaviors related to a romantic interest, and whether these monitoring behaviors are associated with increased interpretation of ambiguous social cues-failure to obtain IRB approval resulted in limitations in completing the study. The sociological component uses qualitative observational methods to examine how two Reddit communities,  r/NevilleGoddard and r/ShiftingRealities,  reinforce limerent and parasocial romantic behaviors. Findings from the qualitative analysis reveal patterns of emotional attachment, ritualized obsession, perceived reciprocation, self-insert fantasy, and escapism across both communities, suggesting that social media environments serve as a infrastructure which sustains maladaptive romantic fixation through community validation and intermittent reinforcement. Implications for clinical awareness and future research directions are discussed.

Department

Psychology

Major

Psychology

First Advisor

Clare Barratt

First Advisor Department

Psychology

Second Advisor

Margaret Weinberger

Second Advisor Department

Sociology

Publication Date

Spring 5-1-2026

Download

Share

COinS