Dr. Samantha Joel

Biographical Information

B.Sc. - University of Toronto, 2010
M.A. - University of Toronto, 2011
Ph.D. - University of Toronto, 2015

Selected Publications

Spielmann, S. S., Joel, S., & Impett, E. A. (in press). Pursuing sex with an ex: Does it hinder breakup recovery? Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Joel, S., Impett, E. A., Spielmann, S. S., & MacDonald, G. (in press). How interdependent are stay/leave decisions? On staying in the relationship for the sake of the romantic partner. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

Park, Y.*, Debrot, A., Spielmann, S. S., Joel, S., Impett, E. A., & MacDonald, G. (in press). Distinguishing dismissing from fearful attachment in the association between closeness and commitment. Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Page-Gould, E. (in press). Wanting to stay and wanting to go: Unpacking the content and structure of relationship stay/leave decision processes. Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Joel, S., Plaks, J. E., & MacDonald, G. (in press). Nothing ventured, nothing gained: People anticipate more regret from missed romantic opportunities than from rejection. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Joel, S., Eastwick, P. W., & Finkel, E. J. (2018). Open sharing of data on close relationships and other sensitive social psychological topics: Challenges, tools, and future directions. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 1, 86-94.

Joel, S., & Eastwick, P. W. (2018). Intervening earlier: An upstream approach to improving relationship quality. Policy Insights from Behavioral and Brain Science, 5, 25-32.

Uchino, B. N., Kent de Grey, R. G.*, Cronan, S.*, Smith, T. W., Diener, E., Joel, S., & Bosch, J. (2018). Life satisfaction and inflammation in couples: An actor-partner analysis. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 41, 22-30.

Joel, S., Eastwick, P. W., & Finkel, E. J. (2017). Is romantic desire predictable? Machine learning applied to initial romantic attraction. Psychological Science, 28, 1478-1489.

Joel, S., Spielmann, S. S., & MacDonald, G. (2017). Motivated use of numerical anchors for judgments relevant to the self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43, 972-985.

Eastwick, P. W., Harden, K. P., Shukusky, J.*, Morgan, T. A., & Joel, S. (2017). Consistency and inconsistency among romantic partners over time. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 112, 838-859.

Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., Joel, S., & Impett, E. A. (2016). Longing for ex-partners out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality, 84, 799-808.

Day, L. C.*, Muise, A., Joel, S., & Impett, E. A. (2015). To do it or not to do it? How communally motivated people navigate sexual interdependence dilemmas. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 41, 791-804.

Sherman, G. D., Lerner, J. S., Renshon, J.*, Ma-Kellams, C.*, & Joel, S. (2015). Perceiving others’ feelings: The importance of personality and social structure. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6, 559-569.

Robinson, J. S.*, Joel, S., & Plaks, J. E (2015). Empathy for the group versus indifference toward the victim: Effects of anxious and avoidant attachment on moral judgment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 56, 139-152.

Joel, S., Teper, R., & MacDonald, G. (2014). People overestimate their willingness to reject potential romantic partners by overlooking their concern for others. Psychological Science, 25, 2233-2240.

Joel, S., Burton, C. M.*, & Plaks, J. E. (2014). Conservatives anticipate and experience stronger emotional reactions to negative outcomes. Journal of Personality, 82, 32-43.

Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Plaks, J. E. (2013). Romantic relationships conceptualized as a judgment and decision-making domain. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22, 461-465.

Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., Maxwell, J. A.*, Joel, S., Peragine, D.*, Muise, A., & Impett, E. A. (2013). Settling for less out of fear of being single. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 1049-1073.

Gere, J., MacDonald, G., Joel, S., Spielmann, S. S., & Impett, E. A. (2013). The independent contributions of social reward and threat perceptions to romantic commitment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 961-977.

Maxwell, J. A.*, Spielmann, S. S., Joel, S., & MacDonald, G. (2013). Attachment theory as a framework for understanding responses to social exclusion. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7, 444-456.

Joel, S., Gordon, A. M., Impett, E. A., MacDonald, G., & Keltner, D. (2013). The things you do for me: Perceptions of a romantic partner’s investments promote gratitude and commitment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 1333-1345.

MacDonald, G., Locke, K., Spielmann, S. S., & Joel, S. (2013). Insecure attachment predicts ambivalent social threat and reward perceptions in romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 30, 647-661.

Spielmann, S. S., Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Kogan, A. (2013). Ex appeal: Current relationship quality and emotional attachment to ex-partners. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 175-180.

Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Plaks, J. E. (2012). Attachment anxiety uniquely predicts regret proneness in close relationship contexts. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 3, 348-355.

Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Shimotomai, A. (2011). Conflicting pressures on relationship commitment for anxiously attached individuals. Journal of Personality, 59, 51-74.

* Indicates an undergraduate or graduate student coauthor.

Research

I study how people make decisions about their romantic relationships. What sort of factors do people take into consideration when they try to decide whether to pursue a potential date, invest in a new relationship, or break up with a romantic partner? In my research, I draw from the field of judgment and decision making (JDM) to better understand ways in which relationship decisions are similar to other types of decisions, as well as ways in which they might be unique.

More information regarding my research can be found at: http://relationshipdecisions.org/