ISSI President: Dr. Shira Gabriel
Professor Shira Gabriel from SUNY, University at Buffalo is president of the
organization, beginning her 3-year term on January 1, 2022. Dr Gabriel’s primary area of research is on the social nature of the self. Within that area, she and her students have examined
Social Surrogacy - the tendency for humans to form psychological relationships with non-human (on non-physically available) entities, the social functions of the self, the need to belong, and how our
relationships shape our feelings about ourselves (and vice versa). She also studies the psychological importance of spending time in large, anonymous crowds such as at concerts, sporting events,
rallies, and religious gatherings. She is a fellow of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, the Midwestern Psychological Association, and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology.
Dr Gabriel is also the former editor of Self & Identity the flagship journal of the International Society for Self & Identity.