Press Featuring Dr. Gabriel
We are excited to share our research with others. Below are some of our research areas and examples of media coverage those studies have received.
COVID-19 Press
The social distancing required during the early days of COVID-19 was necessary for physical health but had implications for people’s abilities to connect to others. Our research into social flexibility was relevant to understanding how people could stay mentally healthy as they protected their physical health.
- March 2, 2020. The CBC: Why watching historical dramas is good for you according to psychologists
- March 19, 2020. The Emporia Gazettte: Comfort food for uncomfortable times
- March 25, 2020. WGRZ Channel 2: UB psychology professor says now is the time to indulge in guilty pleasures
- April 2020. Interview with Dr Gabriel on the podcast Happy & Healthy: Coronavirus Help | Beating Loneliness
- April 3, 2020. The Wall Street Journal: The Comfort-Food Recipes We Need Right Now
- April 3 2020. The CBC: Why watching comedies is ‘important medicine’
- April 16, 2020. The Washington Post: Those calendar alerts reminding us of canceled events can cause real anxiety
- April 17, 2020. Earth.com News: Watching TV or reading a book can satisfy social needs
- April 19, 2020. Everyday Health: How to Get Through the Loss of Rituals During the Pandemic
- April 22, 2020. The Greater Good Magazine: What Happens When We Lose Our Social Rituals?
- April 27, 2020. The Sun: Eating junk food while watching telly could actually be GOOD for your mental health, study suggests
- May 4, 2020. PBS radio WHYY: The importance of finding joy during our coronavirus quarantine
- May 8, 2020. EcoWatch: What Happens When We Lose Our Social Rituals—and How to Make New Ones
- May 14,2020. Elemental: The Health Benefits of Revisiting Your Favorite Books and TV Shows
- May 18, 2020. The Washington Post: Home-delivered muffulettas, deep-dish pizza, brisket and more bring iconic American tastes to your table
- May 26, 2020. Video featuring interview with Dr Gabriel on social media news service Attn: Benefits of Binge-watching shows
- May 30, 2020. JSTOR Daily: A Brief History of Comfort Food
- June 3, 2020. The Philadelphia Enquirer: Water ice is Philly’s precious taste of summer
- March 6, 2021. CNN: Vaccine selfies are everywhere. That’s actually a good thing.
- March 8, 2021. Vox: How boomers got so good at Zoom
- March 12, 2021. CNN: How a year of living almost exclusively online made the internet weird again
- April 15, 2021. WGRZ: The return of sports during COVID-19
- Yahoo: Here’s why experts say rereading your favourite novel could actually benefit your mental health
- The Boston Globe: Unmute that zoom call: Embrace the background noise of other people’s loves
- Popula: How to Get By
- The Washington Post: Large events can be cesspools of germs. Here’s why we ache for them, anyway
- Huffpost: Wait, What The Heck Is A ‘Parasocial Relationship’?
From “Love Actually” to love, actually
The sociometer takes every kind of fuel (Paravati, Naidu and Gabriel, 2020) Click here to view this article
March 28, 2020. Article in Psychology Today: It’s Possible to Find Happiness in Times of Social Isolation
April 17, 2020. Science Daily, From watching reruns to relationships, there are many ways of feeling connected
April 19, 2020. PsychCentral: Can binge-watching your favorite show meet your social needs?
April 21, 2020. Forbes: How to be social without people
April 21, 2020. Yahoo!: Binge watching TV and other ‘guilty pleasures’ are as valuable as seeing family and friends, says study
Social surrogates, social motivations, and everyday activities
The case for a strong, subtle, and sneaky social self (Gabriel, Valenti, & Young, 2016) Click here to view this article
Feb. 14, 2017. WBFO Buffalo’s NPR News Station: Loneliness Can Be Bad for Your Health
Jan. 23, 2017. The Cut: Protests, Parties, and Sports Games All Fill the Same Human Need
Sept. 15, 2008. Time: Celebrity Worship: Good for Your Health?
Chicken Soup Really Is Good for the Soul
“Comfort Food” Fulfills the Need to Belong (Troisi & Gabriel, 2011) Click here to view this article
Jan. 24, 2018. NBC News: Why We Crave Comfort Foods
April 3, 2015. The Atlantic: Why Comfort Food Comforts
March 27, 2015. University at Buffalo MD Physicians’ Group: Love the cook, love the food: Attraction to comfort food linked to positive social connections
Becoming a Vampire Without Being Bitten
The Narrative Collective-Assimilation Hypothesis (Gabriel & Young, 2011) Click here to view this article
July 27, 2018. Electric Lit: Science Says Reading a Book Makes You a Better Friend
July 2018. Bustle: Reading Can Alleviate Loneliness For A Very Specific Reason, According To A New Study
Sept. 7, 2011. The Guardian: Reading fiction ‘improves empathy’, study finds
April 29, 2009. Live Science: Lonely Hearts Find Comfort in TV Characters
April 27, 2009. The Hollywood Reporter: Studies: TV Pushes Away Loneliness
From Apprentice to President
The Role of Parasocial Connection in the Election of Donald Trump (Gabriel, Paravati, Green, & Folmsbee, 2018) Click here to view this article
April 30, 2018 The Atlantic: The Problem With Calling Trump a ‘Reality-TV President’
March 29, 2018 Pacific Standard: Trump’s Secret Electoral Weapon: The Bond He Formed With TV Viewers
March 20, 2018 The Legislative Gazette: Cynthia Nixon’s hope may lie to Gov. Cuomo’s left, experts say
March 14, 2018 Media Post:Our Parasocial Bond With Donald J. Trump
March 5, 2018 University at Buffalo Now: Reality TV Played Key Role in Taking Trump from ‘Apprentice’ to President