Geoff MacDonald 🇨🇦

Japanomie Singlehood norms are changing fast, can our theory account for that?

Akiko Yoshida provides some good theoretical ideas for dealing with rapidly changing singlehood norms. Why aren't they being incorporated? unromanticprof.substack.com/p/japanomie

What's It Like Being Interviewed? Reflections on dealing with the media

Academics and journalists don't share the same goals. What does that mean for an academic operating in media spaces? My thoughts in my latest Substack post. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/whats-it-l...

YouTube video by CBC News: The National 2026 relationship goal: Stay single?

The MacLab makes an appearance on CBC's The National. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9Xa...

Consider signing up for this study.

Do People Partner to Save on Rent? What is the link between income and single people's interest in romantic relationships?

I revisited MacLab research on the link between income and well-being in singlehood for my latest Substack post. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/do-people-...

Spending the (Canadian) holiday checking out the art installations at the Beaches in Toronto.

In a recent paper, Bella DePaulo argues we should do singlehood research from a "singles-centred" perspective. In a reply, I argue that, practically speaking, that means ignoring large swaths of the singlehood experience. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/a-singles-...

Opinion | The Globalization of Canadian Rage

Sounds about right. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/o...

link to the paper: psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...

Do Boosts in Well-Being from Partnering Last? The importance of tracking both those who partner and those who stay single longitudinally

The effect of life events on personality and well-being is a hot topic. But our new paper on the effects of romantic partnering suggests you need to also consider the effect of NOT experiencing the life event. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/do-boosts-...

Link to the paper is here: psycnet.apa.org/record/2027-...

One specific form of insecurity is significantly lower among singles who have casual sex A new study suggests that single adults engaging in casual sex often report higher sexual satisfaction and a stronger sense of their own desirability. The findings challenge the idea that casual encou...

MacLab work on sex and singlehood featured in PsyPost. www.psypost.org/one-specific...

The paper is here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

For Chinese (All?) Singles, Family Can Be Both Support and Strain A new MacLab paper on filial piety and singlehood in China

How Confucian values make family a simultaneous support and strain for Chinese singles. My latest Substack post and the MacLab's latest paper. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/for-chines...

Who Signs Up for Singlehood and Romantic Relationship Studies? Examining Volunteer Bias in Online Recruitment - Elaine Hoan, Yoobin Park, Geoff MacDonald, 2025 Research involving self-report methods risks volunteer bias, which can undermine validity by attracting particular participant types. What is the risk of such b...

The paper itself is here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Is a Particular Type of Single Person More Likely to Sign up for Singlehood Research? On the hunt for volunteer bias

Do online studies advertised as being about singlehood or romantic relationships attract a biased sample? A new MacLab paper first-authored by @elainehoan.bsky.social says no. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/is-a-parti...

Who Is “Doing It”? Casual Sex and WellBeing in Singlehood The casual sex literature has mostly ignored the fact that casual sexual encounters typically occur in the broader context of lives lived single. This study aimed to address this gap by examining the...

The paper itself is here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

What Kind of Sex are Singles Having? And who among them is having it?

An undergraduate project that turned into a publication leads to some reflections on singlehood and sexuality in my latest Substack post. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/what-kind-...

Consensual Non-Monogamy from an Involuntary Singlehood Perspective Survivorship bias and other issues in CNM research

Thoughts on consensual non-monogamy from a singlehood perspective. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/consensual...

Need fewer gifs in your recommendation letters imho.

On the Value of Just Observing What descriptive research revealed about singles' sexual satisfaction

If descriptive research is supposed to be one cure for the replication crisis, why do reviewers and editors keep downgrading descriptive research for not advancing theory? I explore this (in the context of sex and singlehood) in my latest Substack post. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/on-the-val...

It's become an academic trope to "challenge the narrative that...". But how do we know the narrative being challenged is really a thing? I go down this road in my latest Substack post. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/on-sith-bu...

The Singlehood Meme that Won’t Die An oft repeated factoid is based on a retracted analysis

If you've heard that unmarried, childless women are society's happiest group, then you've heard the singlehood meme that won't die. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/the-single...

BBC Radio 4 - AntiSocial, Are women better off single? An article about "embarrassing" boyfriends prompts a debate over women's singledom

Played the role of the research nerd in this discussion of whether it's embarrassing to have a boyfriend. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Does solitude bring freedom? It depends who you socialize with

Does solitude offer more autonomy than social interaction? A new paper with @elainehoan.bsky.social and @jessiesun.bsky.social says it depends who you're interacting with. Read about it in my most recent substack post (link to paper in comments). unromanticprof.substack.com/p/does-solit...

Sombrio Beach, British Columbia.

Everyone has been single The strange hole in the middle of singlehood studies

What do you miss when you focus on social structural accounts of singlehood? Maybe people's own experience. My latest Substack post. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/everyone-h...

A diverse group of young adults seated in a circle, engaging in a focused discussion inside a bright room with large windows.

📊 New research finds people often feel less autonomous during social interactions, but interaction partner matters.

Authors: @elainehoan.bsky.social, @gmacdonalduoft.bsky.social, and @jessiesun.bsky.social

Read more in Social Psychological and Personality Science: ow.ly/sOOO50Xe6Ku

Done.