Researchers are increasingly coming to understand that social connection is woven deeply into the fabric   of the human experience. There is good reason to believe that our ancestors, both human and non-human, survived   the process of natural selection in large part because of their ability to manage social connections (Gere &   MacDonald, 2010; Leary & Baumeister, 1995).

            I have argued that one tool useful for navigating the social world is pain (MacDonald & Jensen-Campbell,   2011; MacDonald & Leary, 2005). That is, feeling hurt by social exclusion may be unpleasant, but such pain   ultimately helps in the pursuit of healthy social connection (MacDonald, 2009). But what are the implications of   overlap between social and physical pain systems? Some implications I have been involved in exploring include   physical numbness in response to exclusion (Borsook & MacDonald, 2010), difficulty in appreciating the social pain   of others (Nordgren, Banas, & MacDonald, in press), and the dulling of social pain with acetaminophen (DeWall,   MacDonald, et al., 2010). My lab continues to explore the social/physical pain overlap.

            I am also particularly interested in the social behaviour regulation of individuals high in avoidant attachment.   Attachment theory suggests that these individuals harbour deep fears of rejection but cannot admit to themselves   feelings of threat. This creates a dilemma - the need to avoid threatening social situations without acknowledging   threat. I argue their solution is to maintain low expectations for intimacy in their relationships (e.g., "It's not that I   didn't ask her out because I was afraid, it's that she wasn't interesting enough"). Much of my work on this topic is   in preparation, although evidence that avoidants care more about connection with others than they will admit is   recently published (MacDonald & Borsook, 2010).

            Finally, I have also taken an interest in the relationship processes of those high in anxious attachment.    Anxious individuals tend to be needy and clingy in their close relationships, and work in my lab suggests that this    results in highly ambivalent approaches to romantic partners. For example, anxious individuals have trouble letting    go of their ex-partners, but very subtle suggestions of the availability of new partners reverses this trend (Spielmann,   MacDonald, & Wilson, 2009). Further, anxious attachment predicts conflict in commitment to romantic partners.   Anxious individuals want more commitment because they feel dependent on their partners, but they simultaneously   want less commitment because they are afraid of being rejected (Joel, MacDonald, & Shimotomai, in press).