Why do we fall in love, and how do we choose who to fall in love with? For Phillip Shaver, distinguished professor emeritus of psychology, the quest to answer such questions started with a study he co-authored in 1987 on romantic love that would transform the study of interpersonal relations. The field of attachment theory began with psychological studies in the 1960s and ’70s examining patterns of infant-mother attachment. Shaver’s work with co-author Cindy Hazan then identified the same patterns in adult relationships. Those findings spawned an enormous interdisciplinary and international research literature and even popular books on the phenomenon. The work continues today with Paul Eastwick, professor of psychology, who serves as the principal investigator for the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory.
