Alcohol, Affect, and Aggression: An Investigation of Alcohol's Effects Following Ostracism

It will (never) stop hurting: Do repeated or chronic experiences of exclusion lead to hyper- or hyposensitive psychological responses?

Unlike one-time lab manipulations of exclusion, in real life, many people experience exclusion, from others and from groups, over extended periods, raising the question of whether individuals could, over time, develop hypo- or hypersensitive responses to chronic exclusion. In Study 1, we subjected participants to repeated experiences of inclusion or exclusion (three Cyberball games, time lag of three days, N = 194; 659 observations). We find that repeatedly excluded individuals become hypersensitive to inclusion, but not to exclusion. Study 2 ( N = 183) tested whether individuals with chronic experiences of real-world exclusion show hypo- or hypersensitive responses to a novel episode of exclusion. In line with Study 1, exclusion hurt to the same extent regardless of baseline levels of chronic exclusion in daily life. However, chronically excluded individuals show more psychological distress in general. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for dealing with chronically excluded individuals and groups.

Mixing Misery and Gin: The Effect of Alcohol Administration on Ostracism Response

Williams's need-threat model proposes that ostracism responses are reflexive and, because of their evolutionary significance, difficult to diminish. Alcohol is widely consumed in social contexts and for reasons of coping with social stress, and major theories of alcohol propose that intoxication disrupts cognitive appraisal of environmental threats, leading to stress relief. Surprisingly, though, no well-powered experimental research has examined the impact of alcohol intoxication on distress from social ostracism. In three studies across two independent laboratories (N = 438), participants were randomly assigned to receive either an alcoholic or nonalcoholic (i.e., no-alcohol control or placebo) beverage and were exposed to an ostracism (or social inclusion) manipulation. Results, which emerged as remarkably consistent across all studies, indicated strong and consistent effects of ostracism on mood and needs satisfaction among both intoxicated and sober participants. Findings have important implications for ostracism theory and speak to boundary conditions for alcohol's ability to relieve stress.

Attending to the Ignored

Abstract. Ostracism – being excluded and ignored – has received considerable attention in social psychology in the past few decades. Experimental evidence suggests that negative psychological reactions to ostracism are robust and widespread. Initially, ostracism is detected quickly as painful and reduces the satisfaction of four fundamental needs: belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. When ostracism is experienced occasionally, individuals tend to respond and cope by trying to fortify the threatened needs, either by attempting to improve their inclusionary status (fortifying belonging and self-esteem by being more likable, agreeable, and pliable), by exerting more control and attention (by becoming more provocative, noticeable, but also sometimes more aggressive and violent), or by reducing future episodes of ostracism by seeking solitude. Persistent or long-term exposure to ostracism results in decreased coping attempts, and higher rates of alienation, depression, learned helplessness, and unworthiness. In this article, we integrate these findings with clinical theory and practice, seeking to apply experimental results to therapeutic applications.

The instigating effects of isolation on substance-related intimate partner violence: A review

In this article, we examine the empirical and theoretical support for the idea that experiences of isolation can intensify substance use, even among those in committed close relationships, and can increase the likelihood of negative conflict behaviors, including intimate partner violence (IPV). Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and laboratory-based research suggest that individuals and couples who report experiences of social exclusion and have fewer social supports experience more mental health problems, more negative emotional experiences, and higher levels of stress. These negative outcomes spur coping efforts to reduce these distressing states, which often involve pain-relieving substances such as alcohol. We describe how dynamic models of relationship conflict and IPV can integrate alcohol and substance use patterns among both individuals and couples to understand and predict contexts leading to conflict escalation and IPV perpetration.