Stephanie Spielmann serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology within Wayne State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where she directs the Relationships and Individual Differences (RAID) Lab focused on personality dynamics in romantic relationships, breakups, and singlehood. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2013, completing a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Social Psychology at the same institution from 2013-2014. Her research program investigates how insecurity drives maladaptive relationship choices through threat avoidance motivations (e.g., fear of rejection) while examining reward opportunities like intimacy. Grounded in attachment theory, her work demonstrates that insecure individuals exaggerate social threats and undervalue rewards, leading to pursuits of undesirable partners despite available alternatives. This framework reveals how fear of being single motivates risky health decisions, ambiguous rejection responses, and ex-partner re-engagement. Analysis of her publications shows consistent thematic focus since 2013, with recent work (2023-2025) expanding into health contexts and scale validation. Methodologically, her research combines experimental priming, longitudinal surveys, and dyadic couple studies across journals like Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Personal Relationships . No major scientific awards are documented in the provided materials. Dr. Spielmann advises graduate researchers in the RAID Lab and teaches core courses including Statistical Methods in Psychology (PSY2030) and Psychology of Social Behavior (PSY2600), with specialized instruction in Social Psychology of Close Relationships (PSY7645). The RAID Lab conducts empirical studies examining how personality traits and attachment styles shape relationship regulation, utilizing diverse methodologies to investigate singlehood experiences, breakup recovery, and decision-making under insecurity.











