ENGAGE
Engage with The Love Consortium
Interested in engaging more deeply with opportunities afforded by The Love Consortium? Read on!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Connect with the broader TLC community! Our 2022 program of virtual and in-person events includes research talks, panel discussions, and networking events designed to support interdisciplinary learning and collaboration. Upcoming events are described in detail below. Join our mailing list (see the “Subscribe” box at the bottom of this page) for updates on these and other future events.
Register now!
Virtual "Love and Sex" Symposium
Registration is now open for “Love and Sex” – a two-hour virtual symposium scheduled for Tuesday, May 24th from 12PM to 2PM Eastern Time.
The event will take place on Zoom and will feature presentations and discussion by some of the foremost researchers in the field.
Agenda
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12:00 - 12:10: Welcome from Sara Algoe, Amy Muise, and Emily Impett
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12:10 - 12:20: Opening remarks on the state of the research by Lisa Diamond: "Love and sex? Love or sex? Love/sex? Sex/Love?"
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12:20 - 1:30: Research talks
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Terri Conley and Jennifer Piemonte, University of Michigan, “Orgasms and Love: The Importance of Orgasm for Intimate Justice”
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James Kim, Western University, “‘Love you, but not tonight’ The role of responsive sexual rejection communication in romantic relationships”
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Moran Mizrahi, Ariel University, "Secured by your desire: Perceived partner sexual desire fosters ‘felt security’ in romantic relationships"
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Uzma Rehman, University of Waterloo, "Why Sexual Communication Can Feel Like Walking on Eggshells"
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1:30 - 1:40: Closing remarks by Lisa Diamond
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1:40 - 2:00: Discussion and additional Q&A with the speakers, moderated by Amy Muise
Click the button below to register. We hope to see you there!
Save the date!
2022 TLC Love Conference
The Love Consortium is thrilled to announce the 2022 TLC Love Conference to take place this September 28th through 30th in Durham, North Carolina. The conference will feature research talks, workshops, and discussions all centered on love. We’ll unpack the latest findings, share common challenges and opportunities we see in the research, and discuss promising avenues for collaboration and scientific advancement going forward.
Registration will open in May and spots are limited. Join our mailing list (via the “Subscribe” box at the bottom of this page) for updates on this and other TLC events as we have them. In the meantime, if you have research on love that you’d like to present at the conference, read on!
Call for speakers
We are currently accepting presentation submissions for the 2022 TLC Love Conference. To be considered, you must be willing and able to travel to Durham, North Carolina from September 28th through 30th, 2022. You may select any of the following format(s) for which you’d like your research to be considered: poster, flash talk (5 minutes), and/or full talk (15-20 minutes).
Click the button below to submit your research for consideration.
Within the submission survey, you’ll be asked to provide a 500-word abstract detailing your research. This abstract must include background information, your research question or hypothesis, study design, sample size, analysis approach, and a statement about the contribution of this work to the science of love.
What we mean by “the science of love”
The science of love spans many different research domains, theoretical perspectives, and methodological approaches. Across these distinctions, love goes by many names and is studied in many different contexts (e.g., parent-child love, dispositional compassionate love for humanity, love in friendships). We welcome researchers in any field and at any stage of their career to submit their work on love for presentation at the 2022 TLC Love Conference.
Critically, though, we want to use this gathering as an opportunity to foster conversation on the construct of love itself—not simply any process or construct observed within a prototypically love-based relationship. We encourage you to make it clear in your submission how your research informs work on the construct of love itself, however you may define it.
Submissions will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
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Scientific contribution: To what extent does the research advance the science of love?
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Methodological quality: How sound are the methods, analyses, and conclusions?
Submissions are due by April 15, 2022 and decisions will be announced by May 15, 2022.
We look forward to learning more about your research! Please reach out via theloveconsortium@unc.edu with any questions.
WEBINARS
Join us for an upcoming informational webinar! During our time together, we will give an overview of The Love Consortium Dataverse, explain the process to post a dataset description, and answer any questions you may have. Each webinar takes about 30 minutes, but we reserve the full hour for additional conversation, should the Q&A portion run over.
Register for a webinar
There are no webinars scheduled at this time. If you would like to schedule a private webinar for you or your lab, please reach out via our Contact page and we'll be happy to accommodate.
PAST EVENTS
The Love Consortium Inaugural Meeting: Theoretical Perspectives on the Science of Love
Invited scholars from a variety of theoretical perspectives met to discuss evidence and theory related to the construct of love (Days 1 and 2) as well as to offer visions for a future of thriving research in this domain (Day 3).
Date: April 25-27, 2019
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Program: Download PDF
The Love Consortium Trainee Workshop on The Science of Love
Selected attendees met to share their research, learn about the science of love from affective and relationship scientists (Drs. Algoe, Fredrickson, Gable, Reis), and develop scientific collaborations on love with one another.
Date: June 17-19, 2019
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Program: Download PDF
The Love Consortium Pre-Conference Workshop
Attendees of the International Association for Relationship Research Mini-Conference on Positive Action in Relationships joined this Pre-Conference Workshop to learn more about The Love Consortium and how to get involved, to offer expertise to facilitate the goals of The Love Consortium, and to consider how their own work (independently or in collaboration with others at the workshop) may benefit from The Love Consortium resources.
Date: June 19-20, 2019
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Program: Download PDF
METHODOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITIES
The Love Consortium initiative holds great promise for scientific advances by capitalizing on the methods afforded by the approach of uncovering untapped data from across labs, disciplines, and geographic locations. For now, we feature two key opportunities that we believe will be especially fruitful.
Using Integrative Data Analysis to Pool Data Across Samples
Find out more about Integrative Data Analysis (IDA) by reading this paper by Hussong, Curran, & Bauer (2013). IDA provides many advantages for theory testing that could be capitalized upon through collaborations developed via The Love Consortium.
Expanding the Range of Evidence Related to the Construct, Love
Evidence points to the value of love for individual and collective welfare, but surprisingly, most of it is indirect. While many researchers study people who are in love-based relationships, most do not study the construct of love itself. Other researchers study emotion, but few study the emotion, love. Datasets uncovered via The Love Consortium may help us take a new look at longstanding questions about the nature and value of Love.
GET INVOLVED IN THE LOVE CONSORTIUM
Subscribe to our Listserv
Use the “Subscribe” box at the bottom of this page to join our listserv for announcements about opportunities and events.
