Geoff MacDonald
- Media Contact
Currently, my main research focus is on the role of social rewards, particularly intimacy and connection, in the regulation of emotional investment in romantic relationships. My lab has shown that rewards are a particularly important force impelling commitment to a relationship, and that this process is tied to individual differences in attachmet avoidance. I also maintain interests in acceptance and rejection more broadly, including the experience of social pain.
Primary Interests:
- Attitudes and Beliefs
- Close Relationships
- Culture and Ethnicity
- Emotion, Mood, Affect
- Evolution and Genetics
- Interpersonal Processes
- Personality, Individual Differences
- Persuasion, Social Influence
- Self and Identity
- Social Cognition
Research Group or Laboratory:
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Video Gallery
Dating Insights Discussion
Books:
Journal Articles:
- Borsook, T. K., & MacDonald, G. (2010). Mildly negative social encounters reduce physical pain sensitivity. Pain, 151, 372-377.
- Dane, S. K., & MacDonald, G. (2009). Heterosexuals' acceptance predicts same-sex attracted young adults' well-being beyond ingroup support. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 26, 659-677.
- DeWall, C. N., MacDonald, G., Webster, G. D., Masten, C., Baumeister, R. F., Powell, C., Combs, D., Schurtz, D. R., Stillman, T. F., Tice, D. M., & Eisenberger, N. I. (2010). Acetaminophen reduces social pain: Behavioral and neural evidence. Psychological Science, 21, 931-937.
- Gere, J., & MacDonald, G. (2010). An update of the empirical case for the need to belong. Journal of Individual Psychology, 66, 93-115.
- Joel, S., Gordon, A. M., Impett, E. A., MacDonald, G., & Keltner, D. (in press). The things you do for me: Perceptions of a romantic partner’s investments promote gratitude and commitment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
- 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, 79, 51-71.
- MacDonald, G., & Borsook, T. K. (2010). Attachment avoidance and feelings of connection in social interaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2010.05.019.
- MacDonald, G., & Jessica, M. (2006). Family approval as a constraint in dependency regulation: Evidence from Australia and Indonesia. Personal Relationships, 13, 183-194.
- MacDonald, G., & Leary M. R. (2005). Why does social exclusion hurt? The relationship between social and physical pain. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 202-223.
- MacDonald, G., Saltzman, J. L., & Leary, M. R. (2003). Social approval and trait self-esteem. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 23-40.
- Nail, P. R., MacDonald, G., & Levy, D. A. (2000). Proposal of a four-dimensional model of social influence. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 454-470.
- Nordgren, L. F., Banas, K., & MacDonald, G. (2011). Empathy gaps for social pain: Why people underestimate the pain of social suffering. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 120-128.
- 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.
- Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., & Tackett, J. L. (2012). Social threat, social reward, and regulation of investment in romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 19, 601-622.
- Spielmann, S. S., MacDonald, G., & Wilson, A. E. (2009). On the rebound: Focusing on someone new helps anxiously attached individuals let go of ex-partners. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 1382-1394.
- Spielmann, S. S., Maxwell, J. A., MacDonald, G., & Baratta, P. L. (2013). Don't get your hopes up: Avoidantly attached individuals perceive lower social reward when there is potential for intimacy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 91-107.
Other Publications:
- MacDonald, G. (2009). Social pain and hurt feelings. In P. Corr & G. Matthews (Eds.) The Cambridge handbook of personality (pp. 541-555). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- MacDonald, G. (2007). Self-esteem: A human elaboration of prehuman belongingness motivation. In C. Sedikides & S. Spencer (Eds.), The self in social psychology (pp. 412-456). New York: Psychology Press.
Courses Taught:
- Human Sexuality
- Introductory Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Social Psychology of Communication
- Social Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships
Geoff MacDonald
Department of Psychology
University of Toronto
100 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3
Canada
- Phone: (416) 978-3840