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Glenn Geher
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As an undergraduate at the University of Connecticut in the early 1990s, I was fortunate to work with and take classes from great psychologists of all varieties such as Reuben Baron, Benjamin Sachs, Herb Kaufman, and Amerigo Farina. A wonderful experience -- so wonderful that I decided to go all the way and get my own Ph.D. in Social Psychology.
"Fortunate" is not a strong enough word to describe my experience as a graduate student at the University of New Hampshire. I got to work closely with Becky Warner who, as far as I can tell, is one of the best there is. In addition to getting a very strong background in social psychological research methods, I was able to work on much interesting research regarding measuring emotional intelligence (with Jack Mayer who played a very pivotal role in launching my career) and on the phenomenology of romantic partner perception (with Becky). I ended my stint there by winning the Sigma Xi Outstanding Dissertation Award (which, if you knew me in high school, may be somewhat surprising ...). I also met and married my beautiful social-psychologist partner, Kathy (we now have a just-as-beautiful girl named Megan and an all-out beast of a boy: Andrew).
After a whirlwind including a stint at Western Oregon University (which I loved) and a year at Husson College in perfect Maine, I've landed on my feet here at SUNY New Paltz where I serve as chair of the psychology department and teach several classes related to social psychology, evolutionary psychology, statistics, and research methods. My students and I are conducting all kinds of research -- most recently on the measurement of mating intelligence, a construct rooted in evolutionary psychology. We like to say that we're the best lab on campus!
The basic idea behind Mating Intelligence (described in detail in my 2013 book, Mating Intelligence Unleashed (http://www.amazon.com/Mating-Intelligence-Unleashed-Dating-ebook/dp/B00BK396CY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361758164&sr=1-2&keywords=mating+intelligence; co-authored with Scott Barry Kaufman)), pertains to the fact that evolutionary psychologists have recently demonstrated (strongly) that issues regarding mating have played a major role in determining the nature of the human mind -- however, in spite of this fact, research and theory on the topic of intelligence has pretty much ignored mating as a relevant topic fully. My research is designed to address this problem!
Much of my work here at SUNY New Paltz these days focuses on our interdiscplinary program in Evolutionary Studies (see: http://www.newpaltz.edu/evos/; www.evostudies.org). The point of this program, modeled after a successful similar program at Binghamton (directed by D.S. Wilson), and funded strongly by the National Science Foundation, is to provide all students (regardless of major) with the opportunity to actually understand evolutionary principles and be able to understand avenues of applying evolution to human affairs. For too long, college graduates have been, as a rule, fully (or nearly fully) ignorant of the intricacies of evolution -- we are working to change that.
I also spearheaded the creation of the NorthEastern Evolutionary Psychology Society (NEEPS) -- the first regional society dedicated to evolutionary psychology. Find out how to join or attend our meetings at: www.neepsociety.com
Check out my webpage at http://www.glenngeher.com for more information on me than even my mom would want to have!
Primary Interests:
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Close Relationships
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Evolution and Genetics
- Person Perception
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Sexuality, Sexual Orientation
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Video Gallery
Positive Evolutionary Psychology
Select video to watch
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71:59 Positive Evolutionary Psychology
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38:35 Cutting Against the Prevailing Narrative: Guidance for Undergraduates
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81:44 Darwin's Guide to Living a Richer Life
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1:01:34 Evolutionary Psych, Mating, Attachment, And the Psych Table
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60:52 Politics and Academic Values in Higher Education
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08:10 Evolutionary Perspective on Truth
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1:07:14 Darwin's Guide to Living a Richer Life (NEEPS 2021 Keynote)
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07:25 Evolutionary Perspective on Wellness
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46:36 Evolution 1/5: Introduction to Evolutionary Thinking
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33:3 Evolution 2a/5: Darwin's Definitions
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10:6 Evolution 2b/5: Darwin's Definitions
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47:46 Evolution 3/5: Human Universals
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46:16 Evolution 4/5: Evolutionary Mismatch
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48:7 Evolution 5/5: Altruism
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07:32 Positive Evolutionary Psychology (Hawk Talk)
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68:16 The Advent of Positive Evolutionary Psychology
Additional Videos
Books:
- Geher, G. (2014). Evolutionary Psychology 101. New York: Springer.
- Geher, G. (Ed.). (2004). Measuring emotional intelligence: Common ground and controversy. New York: Nova Science Publishing.
- Geher, G., & G. F. Miller (Eds.). (2008). Mating intelligence: Sex, relationships, and the mind's reproductive system. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Geher, G., & Kaufman, S. B. (2013). Mating intelligence unleashed: The role of the mind in sex, dating, and love. New York: Oxford University Press.
Journal Articles:
- Bauman, K. P., & Geher, G. (2003). The role of perceived social norms on attitudes and behavior: An examination of the false consensus effect. Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social, 21, 293-318.
- Clark, S. C., Dover, A. D., Geher, G., & Presson, P. K. (2005). Perceptions of self and of ideal mates: Similarities and differences across the sexes. Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social.
- Geher, G. (2011). Evolutionarily informed parenting: A ripe area for scholarship in evolutionary studies. EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium, 3(2), 26-36.
- Geher, G. (2006). Evolutionary psychology is not evil! (… and here’s why …). Psychological Topics, 15, 181-202. [Special Issue on Evolutionary Psychology]
- Geher, G. (2000). Perceived and actual characteristics of parents and partners: A test of a Freudian model of mate selection. Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social, 19(3), 192-212.
- Geher, G., Bauman, K. P., Hubbard, S. E. K., & Legare, J. (2002). Self and other obedience estimates: Biases and moderators. The Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 677-689.
- Geher, G., Bloodworth, R., Mason, J., Downey, H. J., Renstrom, K. L., & Romero, J. F. (2005). Motivational underpinnings of romantic partner perceptions: Psychological and physiological evidence. Journal of Personal and Social Relationships, 22, 255-281.
- Geher, G., Derieg, M., & Downey, H. J. (2004). Required parental investment and mating patterns: A quantitative analysis in the context of evolutionarily stable strategies. Social Biology, 51, 54-70.
- Geher, G., Warner, R. M., & Brown, A. S. (2001). Predictive validity of the emotional accuracy research scale. Intelligence, 29, 373-388.
- Glass, D. J., Wilson, D.S., & Geher, G. (2012). Evolutionary training in relation to human affairs is sorely lacking in higher education. EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium, 4(2), 16-22.
- Mayer, J. D., & Geher, G. (1996). Emotional intelligence and the identification of emotion. Intelligence, 22, 89-113.
- Peterson, A., Carmen, R., & Geher, G. (2013). Ovulatory shifts in mating intelligence. Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology 2013, 7(1), 66-75.
- Trouton, G. T., Guitar, A. E., Carmen, R. A., Geher, G., & Grandis, T. L. (2012). Olfactory ability to detect ovulatory cues: A function of biological sex, sexual orientation, or both? Journal of Social, Evolutionary, and Cultural Psychology, 6(4), 469-479.
Other Publications:
- Brackett, M. A., & Geher, G. (2006). Measuring emotional intelligence: Paradigmatic diversity and common ground. In J. Ciarrochi, J. P. Forgas, & J. D. Mayer (Eds.), Emotional intelligence in everyday life. New York: Psychology Press.
- Geher, G., & Renstrom, K. L. (2004). Measurement issues in emotional intelligence research. In G. Geher (Ed.), Measuring Emotional Intelligence. New York: Nova Science Publishing.
- Hall, S. E., & Geher, G. (2004). The measurement of emotional intelligence in children: The case of reactive attachment disorder. In G. Geher (Ed.), Measuring Emotional Intelligence. New York: Nova Science Publishing.
Courses Taught:
- Contemporary Issues in Social Psychology
- Evolution and the Human Condition - (Honors Seminar)
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Evolutionary Studies Seminar
- General Psychology
- Psychological Statistics
- Psychology of Terrorism
- Research Methods / Experimental Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Theories of Personality
Glenn Geher
Department of Psychology
SUNY New Paltz
600 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, New York 12561
United States of America
- Phone: (845) 257-3091
- Fax: (845) 257-3474
- Email: geherg@newpaltz.edu