This online conference hosted by the International Institute of Love Studies featured pre-recorded talks and livestreamed thematic panel sessions. The conference focused on international collaboration and integrating love research from different disciplines and cultures to increase diversity. The motto of the Conference was “Love in cultural contexts.” Participants highlighted the importance of cultural context when studying how people live and love in different societies.

The Diversity of Love Journal presents an overview of this interdisciplinary conference on love research as well as several thematic panel sessions that took place at the conference:

Love in Popular Culture and Literary Explorations, chaired by Willie van Peer from Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany,

Evolutionary and Cultural Perspectives on Love, chaired by Ian Skoggard from Human Relations Area Files at Yale University, USA,

Experiences and Expressions of Love, in sequence of Session 1 chaired by Sandra Langeslag from University of Missouri – St. Louis, USA, andSession 2 chaired by Charles Hill from Whittier College, USA,

Conceptual and Linguistic Research on Love, chaired by Zoltán Kövecses, from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, and Iryna Pinich from Kyiv National Linguistic University, Ukraine, and Södertörn University, Sweden,

Love and Family Relationships, chaired Anna Romanowicz from Jagiellonian University, Poland, and Claude-Hélène Mayer from University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Dear colleagues interested in research on love,

We want to inform you that registration for the conference is now open at the Conference website at https://love-studies-institute.org/second-conference-on-love-studies-online/

Please take advantage of the early registration before February 20.

The Love Consortium invites you to submit your research for a presentation at The Love Consortium’s Global Gratitude Summit that will take place virtually on Wednesday, May 14, 2025!

The organizers are currently accepting submissions for three scientific presentation formats: virtual posters, flash talks (5 minutes), and full talks (15-20 minutes).

You can submit your research for the scientific presentation by providing a 500-word abstract detailing your research.

The 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 gratitude.

Submit your research here.

Submissions will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Scientific contribution: To what extent does the research advance the science of gratitude?
• Methodological quality: How sound are the methods, analyses, and conclusions?

The Love Consortium is especially eager to feature research conducted outside of WEIRD (Western Educated Industrialized Rich & Democratic) populations. They also give priority to talks using data described on the Global Gratitude Dataverse (GGDv). To learn more about posting a dataset description to the GGDv, you may click here

Submissions are due by January 31, and the decision will be announced by February 28.

The precise timing and format of the event on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, will depend on final talk selections. The event may include multiple sessions across the day to include as many of our global colleagues as possible.

The Love Consortium looks forward to learning more about your research! Please reach out to them via email ([email protected]) with any questions.

The International Institute of Love Studies invites you to submit proposals for presentations at the Conference on a wide range of love-related topics. The call for proposals is open. The deadline for submitting proposals is January 14, 2025.

Format of the Conference: the online conference will present pre-recorded talks, followed by the Zoom livestreaming of thematic panel sessions.

Dates of the Conference: March of 14 –16, 2025

You can see more information at the Conference website: https://love-studies-institute.org/second-conference-on-love-studies-online/ and the Call for Proposals.

If you have any questions about the conference schedule or submission process, please contact us at [email protected]

The Institute of Love Studies is thrilled to announce the publication of three interesting books on love research that are worthy of your attention. These are:

Karandashev, V. (2024). The Varieties of Love as Interpersonal Attraction. Springer.

Singla, R. (2024). Living apart together transnationally (LATT) couples: Promoting mental health and intimacy. Springer.

Van Voorst, R. (2024). Six in a Bed: The Future of Love-from Sex Dolls and Avatars to Polyamory. John Wiley & Sons.

The Institute of Love Studies has published the summaries of these books in the Diversity of Love Journal for those who are interested.

With great sadness and sorrow, the International Institute of Love Studies announces that Dr. Helen E. Fisher, the world’s expert on romantic love, passed away on August 17, 2024, at the age of 79, in New York, United States.

Helen Fisher, a renown biological anthropologist, was instrumental in bridging the gap between academic knowledge of love and the popular science of lust, romantic love, and attachment.

The Diversity of Love Journal has published an obituary for Helen Fisher, a towering figure in the study of love.

Sam Joel, María Alonso-Ferres, and Hannah Williamson are editing a special issue of Personal Relationships, focused on measurement and assessment issues (broadly construed) in the field of close relationships. We are looking for articles on topics such as:

• Careful validity testing of existing, widely used measures within close relationship (e.g., convergent validity, divergent validity, predictive validity)
• Careful generalizability testing of existing, widely used measures within close relationships (e.g., to different populations, languages, and contexts)
• Validity testing of non-self-report measures in close relationships (e.g., experimental manipulations, observational coding schemes, implicit measures)
• The development and validation of new, improved measures of existing, widely used constructs in close relationships

Initial abstracts will be due December 1, 2024, and the full manuscript will be due a year from then, providing ample time to complete any projects that are currently at a nascent stage. You can find our full call for papers here: https://osf.io/egha5

The 2024 loveresearch.info Symposium will be held online at 1200 EDT (1800 CEST) on Friday 25 October. Presentations will be 12 minutes with three minutes for questions. All work related to the science of love in romantic relationships is welcome! Abstract submission is open and will finish on Monday 30 September.

Submissions can be made here:  https://anu.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cYBZkUl1iWGecpU