Steven J. Spencer, Ph.D., is a 1988 Hope College alumnus. He majored in Psychology and Biology, minoring in Religion and Philosophy. He was awarded the Ph.D. at the University of Michigan and taught at SUNY Buffalo (2 years), Hope College (2 years), and the University of Waterloo (19 years). In 2016, he became the Robert K. and Dale J. Weary Chair in Social Psychology at The Ohio State University.     

Dr. Spencer conducts research on motivation and the self, particularly on how these factors affect stereotyping and prejudice. He also examines how being a member of a stereotyped group affects people's self-concept and academic performance.

He has served as the President of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and as a council member of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. He is also the co-author with David Myers and Christian Jordan of Social Psychology, the leading Canadian textbook on social psychology.