Arthur Aron

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Arthur Aron
Born (1945-07-02) July 2, 1945 (age 79)
EducationBA, MA (University of California at Berkeley),
PhD (University of Toronto)
Alma mater University of California at Berkeley,
University of Toronto
Known for Self-expansion model of motivation in interpersonal relationships
Spouse Elaine Aron
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology of interpersonal relationships
social psychology
Institutions State University of New York at Stony Brook
Doctoral advisor A. J. Arrowood
Website www.psychology.stonybrook.edu/aronlab-/

Arthur Aron (born July 2, 1945) is a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is best known for his work on intimacy in interpersonal relationships, and development of the self-expansion model of motivation in close relationships.

Contents

In 2018, Aron featured in the Australian narrative film 36 Questions. [1]

Early life and education

Arthur Aron received a bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy in 1967 and a master's degree in social psychology in 1968, both from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a PhD in social psychology from the University of Toronto in 1970. [2]

Career

Aron's work focuses on the role, creation, and maintenance of friendship and intimacy in interpersonal relationships. He developed the self-expansion model of close relationships; it posits that one of the motivations humans have for forming close relationships is self-expansion, i.e., "expansion of the self", or personal growth and development.

36 questions

In 1997, Aron and his wife published an academic paper called The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A Procedure and Some Preliminary Findings, in which the appendix featured a set of 36 questions of increasing intimacy. [3] Participants who were strangers to each other were grouped in pairs to ask each other the questions, and found afterwards to develop a stronger friendship and in some cases even a relationship. [4] In January 2015, New York Times columnist Mandy Len Catron posted the article "To Fall In Love With Anyone, Do This", which listed them as the "36 questions that lead to love". [5] The list has been used in hundreds of studies, to create closeness in a lab setting, to break down barriers between strangers, and improve understanding between police officers and community members. [6]

Personal life

Aron married Elaine Aron on February 13, 1975. [7]

His son is television writer Elijah Aron. He has two grandsons.

Publications

References

  1. ↑ 36 Questions: The Movie (Featuring Dr. Arthur Aron), 14 February 2022, retrieved 2022-10-22
  2. ↑ "Art". psychology.psy.sunysb.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  3. ↑ "Love is … getting the answers to all these 36 questions right". The Guardian. 14 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Lee, Anna Grace. "She Wrote About 'The 36 Questions That Lead to Love'— and Now, She's Married". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Lee, Anna Grace. "She Wrote About 'The 36 Questions That Lead to Love'— and Now, She's Married". The New York Times.
  6. ↑ Anwar, Yasmin (February 12, 2015). "Creating love in the lab: The 36 questions that spark intimacy". Berkeley News. University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original on November 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ Sanchez, Sofia (February 8, 2025). "Married for 50 years, these psychologists who study love share what they've learned to do — and not to do — to stay happy". CNN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
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