• PhD, Northwestern University

My primary area of interest is the social nature of the self. Within that broad area, my students and I 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). We also study the psychological importance of spending time in large, anonymous crowds such as at concerts, sporting events, rallies, and religious gatherings. Much of our research is guided by the proposition that humans are a fundamentally social species and thus a great deal of human behavior can be best understood as being in service of connecting to others. Even when we think we are not being social (i.e. when we watch TV or surf the web) social motivations are behind our actions.

• Koefler, N., Naidu, E., Gabriel, S., Schneider, V., Pascuzzi, G., & Paravati, E. (in press). Let the music play: Live music fosters collective effervescence and leads to lasting positive outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
• Gabriel, S., & Schneider, V. (2024). The need for social embeddedness: Human belonging goes beyond dyadic bonds. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 33(4), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214241257880
• Naidu, E., Gabriel, S., Wildschut, T., & Sedikides, C. (2024). Reliving the good old days: Nostalgia increases psychological wellbeing through collective effervescence. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 15(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506221149813
• Leary, M. R., & Gabriel, S. (2022). The relentless pursuit of acceptance and belonging. In Advances in Motivation Science (Vol. 9, pp. 135–178). https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.adms.2021.12.001
• Naidu, E., Paravati, E., & Gabriel, S. (2022). Staying happy even when staying 6 feet apart: The relationship between extroversion and social adaptability. Personality and Individual Differences, 190, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111549
• Ministero, L. M., Green, M. C., Gabriel, S., & Valenti, J. (2021). Back where I belong: Rereading as a risk-free pathway to social connection. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 16(1), 97-109. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000375
• Paravati, E., Naidu, E., & Gabriel, S. (2021). From “love actually” to love, actually: The sociometer takes every kind of fuel. Self and Identity, 20, 6-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2020.1743750
• Gabriel, S., Naidu, E., Paravati, E., Morrison, C. D., & Gainey, K. (2020). Creating the sacred from the profane: Collective effervescence and everyday activities. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 15(1), 129–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1689412
• Gabriel, S., Paravati, E., Green, M. C., & Flomsbee, J. (2018). From Apprenticeto President: The role of parasocial connection in the election of Donald Trump. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9(3), 299–307. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550617722835
• Gabriel, S., Valenti, J., Naragon-Gainey, K., & Young, A. F. (2017). The psychological importance of collective assembly: Development and validation of the Tendency for Effervescent Assembly Measure (TEAM). Psychological Assessment, 29(11), 1349–1362. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000434
• Gomillion, S., Gabriel, S., Kawakami, K., & Young, A. F. (2017). Let’s stay home and watch TV: The benefits of shared media use for close relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 34(6), 855-874. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407516660388
• Gabriel, S., Read, J. P., Young, A. F., Bachrach, R. L., & Troisi, J. D. (2017). Social surrogate use in those exposed to trauma: I get by with a little help from my (fictional) friends. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 36(1), 41–63. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2017.36.1.41 
• Buffone, A., Gabriel, S., & Poulin, M. (2016). There but for the grace of god: Counterfactuals influence religious belief and images of the divine. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 7(3), 256–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550616632576
• Gabriel, S., Valenti, J., & Young, A. F. (2016). Social surrogates, social motivations, and everyday activities: The case for a strong, subtle, and sneaky social self. In J. M. Olson & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 189–243). Elsevier Academic Press.
• Gomillion, S., Gabriel, S., & Murray, S. L. (2014). A friend of yours is no friend of mine: Jealousy toward a romantic partner's friends. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5(6), 636–643. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550614524447