Who Matters to You?
By: Victoria Chou, Qudisa Khalid, and Fernanda Amaya
Department: Developmental Psychology
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jeff Cookston
In previous research, mattering has been examined as a phenomenon that influences an individual’s self-concept and well-being. How much one matters to others in their life has been posited to have implications on wellbeing. To date, there has not been any investigation into the significance that the perceived mattering of others has on one’s life. Additionally, there is no research examining whether valuing and placing importance on the relationships in one’s life influences well-being. The current study aims to explore the kinds of relationships individuals would indicate when asked to list people who matter to them. This is to assess whether and how the relationships people list differ from relationships we might expect them to list. Last, we plan to examine potential associations between the mattering of others and participants’ well-being and loneliness. Our sample will include approximately 150 college students.