Dr. Yitshak Alfasi is a senior lecturer in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Hadassah Academic College, Jerusalem, Israel. He completed his PhD studies in psychology at the University of Southampton, UK, where his research focused on adult attachment patterns and mental representations of significant others. He has been awarded the Outstanding Lecturer Award at Hadassah Academic College and various scholarships from the University of Southampton. He recently led research projects on political extremism, cognitive rigidity, the academic experiences of first-generation students in higher education, the dynamics of social comparison in digital environments, and the interplay between conspiracy beliefs and health-related behaviors. Dr. Alfasi has published numerous papers in various journals. His teaching disciplines include personality psychology, social psychology, and research methods, and his research interests include adult attachment behavior, the psychological impacts of online social networks, and the dynamics of social identity.
Dr. Avi Besser is a Full Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Communication Disorders at Hadassah Academic College, Israel. He received his B.A. with honors in 1991, his M.A. in 1995, and his Ph.D. in 2000, all in psychology from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship from 2001 to 2002 at York University, Canada, collaborating with experts in personality vulnerability to depression. Since 2002, he has been at Sapir Academic College in the Department of Human Resource Management and Social Work. Dr. Besser is a full professor and Chairman of the Center for Research in Personality, Life Transitions, and Stressful Life Events, and served as Vice President for Academic Affairs until 2019. His research specializes in personality and social psychology, emphasizing vulnerability to depression and interpersonal functioning. Key topics include the impact of personality traits like narcissism, dependency, self-criticism, extraversion, neuroticism, perfectionism, and adult attachment on interpersonal relationships, depression, suicidality, postpartum depression, leisure activity enjoyment, and responses to security threats and PTSD. Along with his academic roles, Prof. Besser is a specialist educational psychologist with a global reputation in personality and social psychology. He has published over 135 empirical studies, authored chapters, edited books, and served on editorial boards of leading journals in his field.
