Meet Dr. Shira Gabriel
Professor of Psychology and Leading Expert on Collective Effervescence
Photo Credit: Douglas LevereDr. Shira Gabriel is a professor of psychology at SUNY, University at Buffalo.
She studies collective effervescence and the importance of immersion in crowds for well-being. She is interested in the need for social embeddedness and the need to feel as if life is sacred and meaningful. She also studies the need for connection, including how nontraditional targets (like TV shows) can fill these needs.
Dr. Gabriel received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Northwestern University in 2000.
She is the past president of the Midwestern Psychological Association, the International Society for Self and Identity, and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology.
Her work has been funded by Templeton World Charity, the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council.
She is a past editor of Character & Context, Self and Identity, and Social Psychological and Personality Science.
In her free time, Dr. Gabriel enjoys spending time with her husband, two kids, and friends. She also loves seeing live music, reading novels, playing euchre, watching bad TV shows, and reading about bad TV shows online.
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Exploring the unexpected ways humans find connection, community, and happy meaningful lives.