Research Objectives

Dr. Shaver conducts research in two principal areas: close relationships and emotions. In the close relationships area he has studied the application of Bowlby’s attachment theory to research on loneliness and adult romantic love. Currently, he is extending this work to the study of attachment-style differences in defenses or coping strategies, sexual motivation and behavior, and compassion and altruism. In the field of emotions, he has proposed a prototype methodology for mapping individuals’ and cultures’ cognitive representations of the emotion domain and, with the help of coworkers in other countries, is investigating everyday conceptions of emotions such as love and shame in various cultures. Dr. Shaver is past editor of the Review of Personality and Social Psychology, current associate editor of Attachment and Human Development, and a current member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personal Relationships. He coedited Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications, published by Guilford Press in 1999, and coedits the series Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes. In 2002 he received a Distinguished Career Award from the International Association for Relationship Research.