Dr. Shira Gabriel is a Professor of Psychology at SUNY, University at Buffalo.
She studies the need for connection, including how nontraditional targets (like TV shows) can fill belongings needs. She also studies collective effervescence and the importance of immersion in large crowds for well-being. She is interested in the need for social embeddedness and the need to feel as if life is special Dr. Gabriel received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Northwestern University in 2000.
She is the current president of the Midwestern Psychological Association and the past president of the International Society for Self & Identity and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology. Her work is currently funded by Templeton World Charity.