New post at The Unromantic on why singlehood studies should not make avoiding "deficit narratives" its only priority. unromanticprof.substack.com/p/how-should...

Is the idea that getting into a romantic relationship increases well-being a myth? A new MacLab paper says no. And I had so much to say about this work, I started a Substack: The Unromantic. Links for the paper and the Substack in replies.

Excited to be a part of what should be a very interesting roundtable.

MacLab in the New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/b...

The only other time I followed an account based on name alone was Stone Cold Jane Austen.

Slightly diminish a band: The Capable Capable Bosstones

Money can’t buy love - but it might make us more open to it, according to a new study #UofT 💗 uoft.me/bJy

Post a GIF of who you wanted to be as a kid!

People who pursue romantic relationships because they genuinely want connection and intimacy—not because of pressure or insecurity—are more likely to end up in a relationship. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Good coverage of our paper on individual differences in motivations for dating.

New MacLab paper. Do people partner up to save on rent? Apparently not.

Norris Point, Newfoundland

Western Brook Pond, Newfoundland

Tablelands, Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland

Dungeon Provincial Park, Bonavista, Newfoundland & Labrador

Cape Spear, Newfoundland.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrdor

The number of academic psychologists who fail the theory of mind test where being able to hear yourself does not mean the back of the room can hear you is remarkable. Please just use the microphone.

@elainehoan.bsky.social and I got a chance to write a more conversational piece about our gender and singlehood work for Psyche. psyche.co/ideas/is-bei...

“Whether Canadians ever would have joined the American Revolution en masse is doubtful. But invading Quebec as a persuasive tactic ultimately backfired on the patriots.” www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-...

People can want romantic relationships because they enjoy them or because they feel pressured into them. Our new paper uses Self-Determination Theory to measure motivations for relationships, to organize the literature on relationship desire, and predict who starts a relationship. shorturl.at/hP3o6

Singlehood among 20-30-year-olds is on the rise, but societal expectations to partner can undermine singlehood. Here are tips to support singlehood thriving. Ft. @gmacdonalduoft.bsky.social @a-fisher.bsky.social @bdennett.bsky.social @hannahdupuis.bsky.social, Yoobin Park, Elyakim Kislev and more!!

Namwon, South Korea

Seoul 🇰🇷

This poem. Every single word.

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Post a photo you took with no context to bring some zen to the timeline.

Marriage is declining, but data suggest it makes people happier & more prosperous. Are we headed toward a crisis? I talk with Joe Henrich and @gmacdonalduoft.bsky.social about where marriage came from, the role religion played, and whether everyone should pair up. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

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Great resource to help Canadians buy goods made in Canada! madeinca.ca?fbclid=IwY2x...

In the News: Research by @uoftartsci.bsky.social PhD student @elainehoan.bsky.social & Prof. @gmacdonalduoft.bsky.social is featured @thestar.com www.thestar.com/life/single-...

People, just stop doing Frontiers special issues. Find a nice diamond open access journal, and self-publish and collaboratively peer review the set of papers you all want to write. Do not give Frontiers money. They add no value. If anything, they hurt your reputation. MDPI is of course even worse.

Why would you call your band The Attachment Theory when you could call it The Strange Situation instead? pitchfork.com/news/sharon-...

Wow. I’ve expressed concerns about Frontiers for a long time and won’t submit or review for them, but this suggests things are really bad.

Quick story as a reminder that Frontiers journals are best avoided. I never review for them, but received a request where I wanted to have input on the paper, so I took the review. I recommended reject, and the editor emailed back to say he liked the review and ask if I would review a revision. 1/3

More coverage of @elainehoan.bsky.social and her work on gender and singlehood.

"Coyne’s blogs were verbose and erratic, often veering into personal attacks. He freely fabricated conspiracies and leveled baseless accusations that obscured whatever legitimate critiques he might have had."

My problem with "marriage makes relationships better" discourse is that not all marriages have the same norms. I'd rather talk about which marriage behaviors make people happier, why, and when. I taught a Psychology of Marriage course this semester. Here's a 🧵

Great piece by @nicgaston.bsky.social on just how foolish the NZ government’s defunding of humanities, social sciences, and basic science is: the-conversation.com/funding-rese...

More domination of the news cycle by MacLab rising star @elainehoan.bsky.social www.artsci.utoronto.ca/news/new-stu...

Jeff Hall is one of the most meticulous scholars I know - so that this is very carefully written does not surprise me!

Nothing quite like the feeling of seeing a post, thinking the finding is cool, and only then remembering you are an author on the paper.

Research by PhD candidate @elainehoan.bsky.social & Prof. @gmacdonalduoft.bsky.social @uoftartsci.bsky.social finds that single women are happier than single men. “This research turns stereotypes about the ‘lonely spinster’ woman & the ‘eligible bachelor’ man on their head,” says Hoan.

More than happy to share that our manuscript investigating „Differences Between Lifelong Singles and Ever-Partnered Individuals in Big Five Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction“ across 27 countries is now available online at Psychological Science (journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...)! A 🧵:

Are singles with the least lifetime involvement in romantic relationships "single at heart" and therefore with the best well-being outcomes? Our new paper in Psychological Science suggests, on average, no (N = 77,064, mainly ≥ 50 years, 27 countries). journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Singlehood studies is growing rapidly, you can find a bunch of us here.