Arthur Aron, Ph.D.
Dr. Aron is Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Director of the Stony Brook Interpersonal Relationships Lab (http://www.psychology.stonybrook.edu/aronlab-), and Co-Director of the Stony Brook Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience Center. His research centers on the self-expansion model of motivation and cognition in personal relationships and intergroup relations, including the neural underpinnings and real-world applications of the model to close relationships and intergroup relations. He has published more than 100 scientific papers, including two foundational papers in collaboration with Dr. Elaine Aron on his basic theoretical model that have more than 500 citations; and his earliest one, on the “shaky bridge study,” has become a classic in the field and is cited in nearly every introductory psychology text, social psychology text, and psychology methods text published in the last 20 years. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Personal Relationships, and Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. He has received major grants from the National Science Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, the Fetzer Foundation, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He recently received the Distinguished Research Career Award from the International Association for Relationship Research.
Elliot J. Coups, Ph.D.
Dr. Coups is Associate Professor of Medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a faculty member in the Division of Public Health Science at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey. He received his PhD in social/health psychology from Rutgers University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer prevention and control at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Coups’ primary area of research focuses on understanding and promoting health-related behaviors among cancer survivors. His research in this area has included identifying the prevalence and correlates of physical activity among lung cancer survivors, testing the feasibility of an Internet-based weight loss intervention for colorectal cancer survivors, and examining longitudinal changes in health behaviors among individuals completing treatment for colorectal cancer. Dr. Coups also conducts research to identify the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of behavioral risk factors for cancer among the general adult population. The goal of Dr. Coups’ research program is to develop innovative, theory-driven health behavior interventions that enhance the quality of life of cancer survivors and those at risk for cancer. Dr. Coups has published more than 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and his research has been supported by grants from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the National Cancer Institute.
Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D.
Dr. Aron is a researcher, writer, and clinical psycholgist in private practice. Her most widely cited work focuses on the innate temperament/personality trait of sensory processing sensitivity, with research ranging from in-depth qualitatve interviews to laboratory experiments, representative surveys, and neuroimaging studies. She is also well known for her research in collaboration with Dr. Arthur Aron on close relationships, including two seminal books. She has published more than 40 research papers and has given more than 100 invited talks, colloquia, and continuing education workshops for professionals. Her just released book Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person(Routledge, 2010) represents the integration of her research with her clinical experience. In addition to her academic writing, she has published eight books for the general public based on her research, including the best-selling The Highly Sensitive Person, translated into 14 languages, and The Highly Sensitive Child, translated into 10 languages(both Broadway Books), and the just released The Undervalued Self (Little, Brown, 2010). She has also published a best-selling novel.