2011–2026
Published Work
Asterisks mark trainee co-authors.
- 57
Charlot, N., Joel, S., & Houston, C. (in press). Attitudes and intentions towards prenuptial marriage contracts. Law and Human Behavior.
- 56
Kim, J., Joel, S., Gonzales, A., Murphy, B., Perez, H., Kaufman, V., Eastwick, P., Bradbury, T., & Karney, B. (in press). Predicting relationship quality with itself? A single general factor captures most of the variance across 34 common relationship measures. PLOS One.
- 55
Charlot, N., Campbell, L., & Joel, S. (in press). Warning signs of future intimate partner violence. Current Opinion in Psychology.
- 54
Qin, H. Y.*, Hoan, E.*, Joel, S., & MacDonald, G. (in press). In what domains does entering a romantic relationship boost well-being? A longitudinal investigation. Social Psychological and Personality Science.
- 53
Uchino, B. N., Tacana, T.*, Landvatter, J., Baucom, B. W., Smith, T. W., Joel, S., & Fagundes, C. (in press). The Social Ambivalence and Disease model: Childhood trauma as an antecedent factor linking spousal ambivalence to inflammation. Health Psychology.
- 52
Dacosta, L., Morandini, J., Pinkus, R., De Caluwé, E., Chan, L. S., Dale, V.*, Joel, S., … & Dar-Nimrod, I. (2026). University students' condom use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-cultural differences and what predict them. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 57(2), 262-282.
- 51
Joel, S., Sakaluk, J., Kim, J., Khera, D.*, Qin, H.*, & Stanton, S. C. E. (2025). Pseudo effects: How method biases can produce spurious findings about close relationships. Psychological Science, 36(10), 780-795.
- 50
Joel, S., Eastwick, P., & Khera, D.* (2025). A credibility revolution for relationship science: Where can we step up our game? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 19(2), e70042.
- 49
Sakaluk, J. K., Joel, S., Quinn-Nilas, C., Camanto, O. J.*, Pevie, N. W.*, Tu, E.*, & Jorgensen-Wells, M.* (2025). A Renewal of Dyadic Structural Equation Modeling with Latent Variables: Clarifications, Methodological Advantages, and New Directions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 19(3), e70045.
- 48
Eastwick, P. W., & Joel, S. (2025). How do people feel about mates? Annual Review of Psychology, 76(1), 385-412.
- 47
Charlot, N.*, Joel, S., & Campbell, L. (2025). The predictive validity of intimate partner violence warning signs. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 16(2), 192-201.
- 46
Joel, S., & Machia, L. (2025). How do invested partners become invested? A prospective investigation of fledging relationship development. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 51(9), 1523-1537.
- 45
Bock*, H., Chen, J., & Joel, S. (in press). Associations between political orientation and allyship: Evidence from potential allies and their LGBTQ+ close others. Scientific Reports.
- 44
Kim, J. J., Reis, H. T., Maniaci, M. R., & Joel, S. (2024). Half empty and half full? Biased perceptions of compassionate love and effects of dyadic complementarity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 50(10), 1423-1437.
- 43
Peetz, J., Fisher-Skau, O.*, & Joel, S. (2024). How individuals perceive their partner's relationship behaviors when worrying about finances. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 41(6), 1577-1599.
- 42
Selterman, D., Joel, S., & Dale, V.* (2023). No remorse: Sexual infidelity is not clearly linked with relationship satisfaction or well-being in Ashley Madison users. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 52(6), 2561-2573.
- 41
Cantarella, I. A.*, Spielmann, S. S., Partridge, T., MacDonald, G., Joel, S., & Impett, E. A. (2023). Validating the Fear of Being Single Scale for individuals in relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.
- 40
Chen, J., Joel, S., & Lingl, D. C.* (2023). Antecedents and consequences of LGBT individuals' perceptions of straight allyship. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
- 39
Joel, S., Maxwell, J. A., Khera, D.*, Peetz, J., Baucom, B. R. W., & MacDonald, G. (2023). Expect and you shall perceive: People who expect better in turn perceive better behaviors from their romantic partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124, 1230-1255.
- 38
Machia, L., Niehuis, S., & Joel, S. (2023). Breaking up is hard to study: Review of two decades of dissolution research. Personal Relationships, 1, 113-143.
- 37
Eastwick, P. W., Joel, S., Carswell, K. L., Molden, D. C., Finkel, E. J., & Blozis, S. A. (2023). Predicting romantic interest during early relationship development: A preregistered investigation using machine learning. European Journal of Personality.
- 36
Eastwick, P. W., Finkel, E. J., & Joel, S. (2023). Mate Evaluation Theory. Psychological Review.
- 35
Joel, S., & Charlot, N.* (2022). Dealbreakers, or dealbenders? Capturing the cumulative effects of partner information on mate choice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
- 34
Joel, S., & MacDonald, G. (2021). We're not that choosy: Emerging evidence of a progression bias in romantic relationships. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 21, 317-243.
- 33
Joel, S., Stanton, S. C. E., Page-Gould, E., & MacDonald, G. (2021). One foot out the door: Stay/leave ambivalence predicts day-to-day fluctuations in commitment and intentions to end the relationship. European Journal of Social Psychology.
- 32
Rosenfeld, D. L.* et al., including Joel, S. (2021). Psychological science in the wake of COVID-19: Social, methodological, and meta-scientific considerations. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
- 31
Murphy, A. P.*, Joel, S., & Muise, A. (2021). A prospective investigation of the decision to open up a romantic relationship. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 194-201.
- 30
Visserman, M., Righetti, F., Muise, A., Impett, E., Joel, S., & Van Lange, P. (2021). Taking stock of reality: Biased perceptions of the costs of romantic partners' sacrifices. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 54-62.
- 29
Joel, S., Eastwick, P. W., et al. (2020). Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117, 19061-19071.
- 28
Park, Y.*, Impett, E. A., Spielmann, S., Joel, S., & MacDonald, G. (2020). Lack of intimacy prospectively predicts breakup. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12, 442-451.
- 27
Uchino, B., Landvetter, J.*, Cronan, S.*, Scott, E.*, Padakis, M.*, Smith, T. W., Bosch, J. & Joel, S. (2019). Self-rated health and inflammation: A test of depression and sleep quality as mediators. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81, 328-332.
- 26
Park, Y.*, Debrot, A., Spielmann, S. S., Joel, S., Impett, E. A., & MacDonald, G. (2019). Distinguishing dismissing from fearful attachment in the association between closeness and commitment. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 10, 563-572.
- 25
Spielmann, S. S., Joel, S., & Impett, E. A. (2019). Pursuing sex with an ex: Does it hinder breakup recovery? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 691-702.
- 24
Joel, S., Plaks, J. E., & MacDonald, G. (2019). Nothing ventured, nothing gained: People anticipate more regret from missed romantic opportunities than from rejection. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 36, 305-336. One of JSPR's top ten most downloaded articles in 2019.
- 23
Joel, S., Impett, E. A., Spielmann, S. S., & MacDonald, G. (2018). How interdependent are stay/leave decisions? On staying in the relationship for the sake of the romantic partner. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 115, 805-824. Winner of a Preregistration Challenge Prize from the Open Science Framework.
- 22
Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Page-Gould, E. (2018). Wanting to stay and wanting to go: Unpacking the content and structure of relationship stay/leave decision processes. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 9, 631-644.
- 21
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.
- 20
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.
- 19
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.
- 18
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.
- 17
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.
- 16
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.
- 15
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.
- 14
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.
- 13
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.
- 12
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.
- 11
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.
- 10
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.
- 09
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.
- 08
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.
- 07
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.
- 06
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.
- 05
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. Winner of the Student Publication Award from SPSP.
- 04
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.
- 03
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.
- 02
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.
- 01
Joel, S., MacDonald, G., & Shimotomai, A. (2011). Conflicting pressures on relationship commitment for anxiously attached individuals. Journal of Personality, 59, 51-74.