The Love Consortium is focused on advancing the scientific study of all processes related to love and social connection. The science of love spans many domains of research including affective science, personality psychology, social psychology, close relationships, developmental science, the psychology of religion, neuroscience, organizational behavior, communication studies, family studies, sociology, anthropology, and more. Across these literatures, the construct of love goes by many names and is studied in many different contexts. For example, researchers study parent-child love, dispositional compassionate love for humanity, love in friendships, and so on. Here are just some examples of research questions in the domain of love. 

• How does love develop?

• How can love best be cultivated or enhanced?

• How does cultural context shape the expression of love?

• How is love best measured (e.g., love of humanity scales, observer reports of responsive behavior, compassionate goals scales, compassionate love scales, observed behavior of sympathetic joy, facial expression, vocal pitch, touch)?

• What are the various ways that love manifests (e.g., other-focused attention, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, approach-related sacrifice, expressed gratitude, compassion, communal orientation, sympathetic joy)?

• Do children whose parents demonstrate love toward one another become more loving themselves? Do they show developmental benefits?

• What are the consequences of / benefits from being a loving person e.g., health consequences, character development, meaning in life)?

• How does love influence those around us? Does it influence the health and well-being of our loved ones?

• Does the capacity to love one person relate to love for all persons? Is love contagious? Does love flow through a friend group or social network?

• What are the biological underpinnings or neural correlates of love?

• Is love stable over time? If it changes, how can that change be described and understood?

• What is the role of love in partner selection and romantic relationship initiation? How does it influence the trajectory of a relationship?

• What can we learn about love from studying it in its least conditional form - toward infants, new lovers, and persons at the end of life?

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Note: Applicants do not need to be doing research on these types of questions, but they represent the types of research on interpersonal connection that may be represented at the conference. If you are curious about the research and want to meet people doing this kind of work, please apply!