Ellen Patricia Saumer Berscheid (October 11, 1936 – May 22, 2025) was an American

social psychologist Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field of ...

who was a Regents professor at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, where she earlier had earned her PhD in 1965. Berscheid conducted research on

interpersonal relationship In social psychology, an interpersonal relation (or interpersonal relationship) describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more people. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which a ...

s, emotions and moods, and social cognition. Berscheid wrote books, articles and other publications to contribute to the field of Social Psychology. She was involved in controversy surrounding the funding for her research on why people fall in love. In addition to her position at the University of Minnesota as a Psychology and Business professor, she also held a position at Pillsbury. She received awards for her contributions to social psychology, including The Presidential Citation and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

. Berscheid died on May 22, 2025, at the age of 88.

Career

Berscheid started her academic career as an Education major at Beloit College in Wisconsin, before transferring to University of Nevada, Reno. There she was given a research assistant grant by her professor, Paul Secord. Berscheid picked up psychology as her second major and graduated with honors. After graduation Berscheid applied for and received PHS Predoctoral Research Fellowship, at the University of Minnesota to work with

Harold Kelley Harold Kelley (February 16, 1921 – January 29, 2003) was an American social psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His major contributions have been the development of interdependence theory ...

. However, Berscheid decided to decline the offer and became a research administrator for Pillsbury. Berscheid later applied for a research assistantship at the University of Minnesota, working with

Elliot Aronson Elliot Aronson (born January 9, 1932) is an American psychologist who has carried out experiments on the theory of cognitive dissonance and invented the Jigsaw Classroom, a cooperative teaching technique that facilitates learning while reducing i ...

. Under the direction of Elliot Aronson she obtained her PhD in social psychology. Berscheid accepted a job teaching research methods in the business department at the University of Minnesota. Through the business department, Berscheid met Elaine (Walster) Hatfield. Hatfield convinced Berscheid to join her in researching equity and attraction. At the time, women conducting research was rare and may have been stopped if too many people had taken notice, therefore Hatfield and Berscheid conducted their research quietly through a federal grant. Berscheid's main research interest was interpersonal relationships. Ellen Berscheid looked at why people fall in love, the meaning of love, and attraction in close relationships. In 1983 Berscheid introduced the Emotion-in-Relationships Model (ERM), a theory designed to predict individual's experiences towards

emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

s.Kelley, H. H., Berscheid, E., Christensen, A., Harvey, J. H., Huston, T. L., Levinger, G., McClintock, E., Peplau, L. A., & Peterson, D. R. (1983). ''Close relationships''. New York: W. H. Freeman.

Controversy

In 1974, Berscheid was the center of a controversy regarding federal funding of research. Senator

William Proxmire Edward William Proxmire (November 11, 1915 – December 15, 2005) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1957 ...

of Wisconsin used her as an example when he awarded the National Science Foundation his first Golden Fleece award, which was presented monthly between 1975 and 1988, in order to focus media attention on projects Proxmire viewed as self-serving and wasteful of taxpayer dollar. Berscheid had been granted $84,000 by the foundation to research why people fall in love. The scandal "called into question use of public funds in scientific research." A few years later, Hatfield left the business department and Berscheid took over Hatfield's job as Student Activities Bureau. Due to an all-male faculty, Berscheid expected an early retirement but then was offered a professorship in the psychology department. Berscheid remained on the Psychology Faculty at the University of Minnesota.

Significant publications

;Books * Berscheid, E., & Regan, P. (2005). The psychology of interpersonal relationships. New York: Prentice-Hall. ;Journal articles * Berscheid, E. (2006). Notes on the social psychological study of love. Impulse, 60, 5–13. * * ;Other publications * Berscheid, E. (2006). Searching for the meaning of "love." In R. J. Sternberg & K. Weis (Eds.), The psychology of love (2nd ed., pp. 171–183). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. * Berscheid, E. (1994). Interpersonal relationships. In L. W. Porter & M. R. Rosenzweig (Eds.), ''

Annual Review of Psychology The ''Annual Review of Psychology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes review articles about psychology. First published in 1950, its longest-serving editors have been Mark Rosenzweig (1969–1994) and Susan Fiske (2000&ndas ...

'' (pp. 79–129). Palo Alto, CA: Annual Reviews. * Berscheid, E., & Reis, H. T. (1998). Attraction and close relationships. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (4th ed., pp. 193–281). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Legacy

Ellen Berscheid received awards for her contributions to social psychology, including the Presidential Citation and Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award presented by the American Psychological Association, Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and the Distinguished Career Award by International Society for the Study of Personal Relationships. Berscheid also held presidency of the International Society for the Study of Interpersonal Relationships (1991–1992) and the Society of Personality and Social Psychology (1983–1985).

References

*Berscheid, E., & Regan, P. C. (2005). The psychology of interpersonal relationships. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Berscheid & Walster: Interpersonal Attraction

External links