Orders to shoot (a camera): effects of ostracism on obedience

Cooperation after social exclusion: To reconnect or to harm?

Predicting a person's reaction after experiencing exclusion is an important question, which is accompanied by paradoxical answers. An excluded person may tend to harm others (antisocial reaction hypothesis), treat them with increased ingratiation (prosocial reaction hypothesis), or withdraw from further social contacts. The aim of this study was to test the hypotheses about the prosocial and antisocial responses in the social dilemma context, specifically, to examine whether social exclusion will result in reduced or increased cooperation in the Trust Game. The sample included 175 participants (females = 142), first- and second-year psychology students. There was a between-subject design 3 exclusion (exclusion vs. inclusion vs. neutral) × 2 history (known vs. unknown partner), with Social value orientation being treated as a covariate. Social exclusion was manipulated using the get-acquainted paradigm, and the Trust Game was used to measure the willingness to cooperate. The level of social value orientation was measured using the Social Value Orientations (SVO) Slider Measure. Despite the successful manipulation of social exclusion, the results do not support studies showing that exclusion influences cooperation in a mixed-motive situation. Only the main effects of the history were observed (p = .012, η2  = .04.), and social value orientation was a significant predictor of the level of cooperation (p ≤ .001, η2  = .08.). The conclusion is that the experience of social exclusion made participants no less able to analyze social cues and willing to cooperate in the Trust Game.

Divergent emotional and autonomic responses to Cyberball in patients with opioid use disorder on opioid agonist treatment

The perception of social exclusion among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) could be affected by long-term opioid use. This study explores the emotional and cardiac autonomic responses to an experience of ostracism in a sample of participants with OUD on opioid agonist treatment (OAT). Twenty patients with OUD and twenty healthy controls (HC) performed a ball-tossing game (Cyberball) with two conditions: Inclusion and Ostracism. We measured self-reported ratings of perceived threat towards one's fundamental needs and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) immediately after the game and 10 min after Ostracism (Reflective stage). Following ostracism, participants with OUD self-reported blunted feelings of threat to the fundamental need to belong. RSA levels were significantly suppressed immediately after ostracism and during the Reflective stage in comparison with HC, indicating an autonomic alteration in response to threatening social situations. Finally, only among HC higher perceived threats towards fundamental needs predicted increases in RSA levels, suggesting an adaptive vagal regulation in response to a perceived threat. Conversely, among patients with OUD the subjective response to ostracism was not associated with the autonomic reaction. OAT may have a protective effect against negative feelings of ostracism. However patients with OUD on OAT present poor autonomic regulation in response to social threats, which could reflect their trait hypersensitivity to social rejection.

Facing ostracism: micro-coding facial expressions in the Cyberball social exclusion paradigm

BACKGROUND

Social exclusion is often measured with the Cyberball paradigm, a computerized ball-tossing game. Most Cyberball studies, however, used self-report questionnaires, leaving the data vulnerable to reporter bias, and associations with individual characteristics have been inconsistent.

METHODS

In this large-scale observational study, we video-recorded 4,813 10-year-old children during Cyberball and developed a real-time micro-coding method measuring facial expressions of anger, sadness and contempt, in a multi-ethnic population-based sample. We estimated associations between facial expressions and self-reported negative feelings, explored associations of child characteristics such as sex and parental national origin with observed and self-reported feelings during social exclusion, and tested associations of observed and self-reported feelings during social exclusion with behavior problems at age 14.

RESULTS

Facial expressions of sadness and anger were associated with self-reported negative feelings during the game, but not with such feelings after the game. Further, girls reported to have had less negative feelings during the game than boys, but no such sex-differences were found in total observed emotions. Likewise, children with parents of Moroccan origin reported less negative feelings during the game than Dutch children, but their facial expressions did not indicate that they were differently affected. Last, observed emotions related negatively to later internalizing problems, whereas self-report on negative feelings during the game related positively to later internalizing and externalizing problems.

CONCLUSIONS

We show that facial expressions are associated with self-reported negative feelings during social exclusion, discuss that reporter-bias might be minimized using facial expressions, and find divergent associations of observed facial expressions and self-reported negative feelings with later internalizing problems.

Social pain by non-social agents: Exclusion hurts and provokes punishment even if the excluding source is a computer

Prior research has shown that being excluded by computer-agents in experimental exclusion paradigms threatens individuals' basic needs to a similar extent as being excluded by humans. It is less clear, however, why this similarity between computer and human exclusion occurs, and whether it applies only to reactions immediately after the exclusion event (reflexive stage), or also to reactions that occur further downstream (e.g., reflective stage). Four studies (N = 1048) with three different exclusion paradigms provide several key insights: First, the similarity between computer and human exclusion is robust and pervasive, as Bayesian analyses provide consistent support that the source of exclusion (human vs. computer) does not affect reflexive need satisfaction. Second, this similarity also extends to reflective reactions and punishing behavior. Finally, the present studies extend our knowledge about the processes underlying this similarity by uncovering the role of anthropomorphism. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

How group processes push excluded people into a radical mindset: An experimental investigation

Social exclusion is a condition that seems to allow terrorism to flourish. Since radicalization is argued to occur mostly in the context of group identification and accompanying processes, we hypothesized that these may contribute to pushing excluded individuals toward radicalism. To investigate this, we performed four studies. In Studies 1 to 3, we conducted experiments in which we manipulated exclusion (vs. inclusion), created new in-groups, and measured radicalism intentions in the context of eco- or animal rights extremism. In Study 4, we tested the focal variables in a reanalysis of coded qualitative data on an Islamist sample. In Study 1, the exclusion–radicalism link revealed to be mediated by in-group sympathy as opposed to out-group antipathy. Studies 2 to 4 specifically identified perceived group threat as a driver of radicalism in the aftermath of exclusion. This work provides first experimental evidence for the catalyzing power of relationships in the exclusion–radicalism link.

Do it for others! The role of family and national group social belongingness in engaging with COVID-19 preventive health behaviors

COVID-19 is an unprecedented threat and an effective response requires a collective effort: engagement in preventive health behaviors, even from people at low risk. Previous research demonstrates that belongingness to social groups can promote prosocial, preventive health behaviors. The current research tests the effects of belongingness to two types of groups, intimate (family) and social category (nation), on intentions to comply with preventive health behaviors and reasons for these behaviors. We conducted three studies using French participants at low risk of grave effects from COVID-19 (total N = 875). In Study 1, across three time periods, belongingness was correlated with greater intentions to comply with preventive behaviors when these behaviors were not enforced by law. In Study 2, we experimentally manipulated threat to belongingness (vs. no threat). When belongingness was threatened, participants were less concerned with protecting vulnerable people. Closeness to family predicted preventive behavior intentions and both self-centered and prosocial reasons for these behaviors, regardless of condition. National identification buffered the negative effects of the threat to belongingness condition on preventive behavior intentions. In Study 3, we experimentally primed thoughts of belongingness to family vs. nation vs. control condition. We found greater intentions to engage in preventive behaviors and greater concern with protecting oneself and close relatives in the family condition. In summary, belongingness to one's family promotes preventive behavior intentions and the reasons given are to protect both oneself and others. Self-reported (but not primed) national identification can be related to prevention behavior intentions under certain conditions.

Consequences of Workplace Ostracism: A Meta-Analytic Review

Workplace ostracism, which is regarded as “social death,” is rampant in organizations and has attracted significant research attention. We extend the understanding of workplace ostracism by conducting a meta-analysis of studies of the relationships between workplace ostracism and its consequences. We also explore the moderating effects of national culture (i.e., collectivism vs. individualism) and the mediating effects of organization-based self-esteem (OBSE). The results of a meta-analysis of 95 independent samples (N = 26,767) reveal that exposure to workplace ostracism is significantly related to individuals’ attitudes, well-beings, and behaviors. Moreover, the effects of workplace ostracism on belongingness, job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) toward individuals (OCBI), organizational deviance, and interpersonal deviance are stronger in individualist contexts than in collectivist contexts. However, the relationships between workplace ostracism and organizational identification and OCB are stronger in collectivist contexts than in individualist contexts. Our meta-analytical structural equation modeling also provides evidence of the mediating effects of OBSE on the relationships between workplace ostracism and organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and job performance. The implications and limitations of our study and future research directions are also discussed.

Personality as a moderator of immediate and delayed ostracism distress

Although ostracism is known to have negative consequences, individuals are affected to differing extents and show different patterns of recovery. To better understand these differences, the Big-Five personality model was used to examine the moderating role of personality on immediate and delayed ostracism distress. In this laboratory study, 408 participants played Cyberball and completed batteries on needs satisfaction and mood distress. The results show that more Agreeable or Conscientious individuals experienced greater distress on the immediate and the delayed distress measures (needs satisfaction and mood). Greater Openness to experience was related to greater effects of Agreeableness or Conscientious on distress experienced after being ostracized than when included. The discussion centers on the steps that can be taken to achieve greater relief after ostracism. This research contributes new theoretical insights and presents practical implications leading to a better understanding of those individuals who are at greater risk of being affected by ostracism, the personality characteristics that moderate ostracism distress, and when.

Low Altruism as a Cause of Ostracism

This study focused on the causes of ostracism and explored the relationship between altruistic personality traits and ostracism. Using a combination of questionnaire surveys and laboratory experiments, results showed that: individuals with lower altruism were more vulnerable to be ostracized than those with higher altruism (Study 1 and Study 2). The relationship between altruism and ostracism was partially mediated by social responsibility (Study 3). When facing a low-altruistic target, the source would infer that the social responsibility level of this target was also low, thereby leading the ostracism intention to the target. Empathy did not moderate the relationship between altruism and ostracism. On the one hand, empathy did not moderate the direct effect of altruism on ostracism (Study 2); on the other hand, it also did not moderate the mediating role of social responsibility (Study 3). The strengths and limitations of this research are also discussed.

The Impacts of the Presence of an Unfamiliar Dog on Emerging Adults' Physiological and Behavioral Responses Following Social Exclusion

Research indicates that non-human attachment figures may mitigate the negative consequences of social exclusion. In the current experiment, we examined how the presence of an unfamiliar companion dog in the laboratory effects physiological and behavioral reactions in female emerging adults after social exclusion compared to inclusion. Results revealed the beneficial effects of the dog: Socially excluded participants in the company of a dog showed less aggressive behavior in response to the hot sauce paradigm compared to excluded participants in the control condition. Furthermore, cardiac responses indicated mitigated perception of threat in a subsequent insult episode when a dog was present. The presence of a dog did not impact the most instantaneous, "reflexive" response to the social exclusion as revealed by characteristic cardiac changes. Together, the findings indicate that the presence of a companion dog takes effect in a later, reflective period following a social exclusion experience, which implicates relevant social elaboration and appraisal processes.

Exploring a pathway to radicalization: The effects of social exclusion and rejection sensitivity

This article aims to explore if social exclusion can constitute a pathway to radicalization, and if individual level of sensitivity of rejection moderates the effect of social exclusion. Humans innately seek belonging and meaning, and strive for re-establishing a sense of value and belongingness if faced with social exclusion. One way to achieve this is by adherence to a new and inviting group. In four studies, we test to what extent individuals who face social exclusion adapt to a radical including group. In Studies 1 ( n = 104) and 2 ( n = 308), we use a social media-like paradigm to manipulate social exclusion. In Study 3 ( n = 1041), we use the so-called Cyberball paradigm, and in Study 4 ( n = 40) we use a real-life manipulation. All studies show that rejected individuals who are sensitive to rejection are more prone to identify with, engage with and endorse an extreme group. The results hold over both ideological (Studies 1–3) and non-ideological (Study 4) content. Only the last study showed a main effect of social exclusion. We discuss the results in reference to the significance loss model of radicalization.

Anticipated emotional and behavioral responses to ambiguous rejection by a significant other, friend, or acquaintance

Although there is an extensive literature on interpersonal rejection, individual studies that have examined adults' emotional and behavioral responses to rejection have tended to limit their scope to a specific category of rejector (e.g., acquaintances). As a result, prior research has failed to systematically investigate whether individuals' emotional and behavioral responses to perceived rejection differ as a function of the role of the potential rejector. In the present study, a total of 481 participants read two scenarios describing hypothetical situations in which rejection by a specific individual (i.e., significant other, friend, or acquaintance) was ambiguous. After each scenario, participants rated the extent to which they would be likely to anticipate (a) experiencing various negative emotions (e.g., upset) and (b) engaging in various behavioral responses (i.e., act friendly, retaliate, complain, avoid) to the potential rejector. Overall, the potential of being rejected by another person with whom one has a close and valued relationship (i.e., a significant other and, to a lesser degree, a friend) was associated with heightened negative emotion and a heightened likelihood of engaging in an active response, either prosocial (i.e., act friendly) or antisocial (i.e., retaliate or complain). In contrast, potential rejection by an acquaintance was associated with relatively little negative emotion and relatively little desire to engage the other (i.e., avoid). In sum, the participants' relationship with specific individuals was found to influence both the intensity of their anticipated negative emotional response to ambiguous rejection and the pattern of their anticipated behavioral response to the potential rejectors.

Children show selectively increased language imitation after experiencing ostracism

When threatened with ostracism, children attempt to strengthen social relationships by engaging in affiliative behaviors such as imitation. We investigated whether an experience of ostracism influenced the extent to which children imitated a partner's language use. In two experiments, 7- to 12-year-old children either experienced ostracism or did not experience ostracism in a virtual ball-throwing game before playing a picture-matching game with a partner. We measured children's tendency to imitate, or align with, their partner's language choices during the picture-matching game. Children showed a strong tendency to spontaneously align with their partner's lexical and grammatical choices. Crucially, their likelihood of lexical alignment was modulated by whether they had experienced ostracism. We found no effect of ostracism on syntactic alignment. These findings offer the first demonstration that ostracism selectively influences children's language use. They highlight the role of social-affective factors in children's communicative development, and show that the link between ostracism and imitation is broadly based, and extends beyond motor behaviors to the domain of language. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Out of the dark, into the light: The impact of social exclusion on judgments of darkness and brightness

Based on theories of grounded cognition, we assumed that the experience of social exclusion is grounded in a concept of darkness. Specifically, we hypothesized that social exclusion causes perceptual judgments of darkness and a preference for brightness as a compensatory response. To investigate these hypotheses, we conducted four studies using different manipulations and measurements. In Studies 1a and 1b, excluded participants judged a picturized room as darker and drew more attention to its brightest part than included participants. In Study 2, excluded participants judged a surface as darker and decided for brighter clothing than included participants. In Study 3, excluded participants judged their lab room as darker and expressed a higher preference for brightness than included participants. Providing consistent support for our hypotheses, these findings confirm the idea that the experience of social exclusion is grounded in multiple ways that share a common representational system.

Turning Away From Averted Gazes: The Effect of Social Exclusion on Gaze Cueing

Past studies showed increased sensitivity to other people’s gaze after social exclusion. In the present research, across two studies, we tested whether social exclusion could affect the basic cognitive phenomenon of gaze-cueing effect, namely, the tendency to redirect visual attention to the same location that other people are looking at. To this purpose, participants were socially excluded or included using the Cyberball manipulation. In Study 1, after the manipulation, participants performed a gaze-cueing task in which an individual’s gaze, oriented rightward or leftward, preceded a peripheral target stimulus requiring a simple categorization response. The gaze direction could be congruent or incongruent with the location of the target. Results revealed a reduced gaze-cueing effect for socially excluded than for socially included participants. In Study 2, where human gazes were replaced by arrow cues, such an interaction between social exclusion and trial congruency disappeared, indicating a specific effect of social stimuli. We interpreted these findings with the notion that excluded participants can perceive an averted gaze as a further sign of social exclusion, thus showing a reduced gaze-cueing effect.

Social exclusion reduces the sense of agency: Evidence from intentional binding

Social exclusion is known to induce an immediate threat to one's perceived sense of control. The sense of agency is an important human experience, strongly associated with volitional action. Healthy participants perceive the temporal interval between a voluntary action and its effect to be shorter than the same interval when it separates an involuntary action and effect. This temporal illusion is known as intentional binding and is used experimentally to index the implicit sense of agency. The current study investigated whether activating memories of social exclusion alters intentional binding. Results show that action-effect interval estimates are significantly longer after remembering an episode of social exclusion than after remembering an episode of social inclusion, or a no priming baseline condition. This study is the first to demonstrate the link between feelings of social exclusion and the pre-reflective sense of agency.

Social inclusion, but not exclusion, delays attentional disengagement from direct gaze

The present study investigated whether another person’s direct gaze holds a perceiver’s visuospatial attention and whether social exclusion or social inclusion would enhance this effect. Participants were socially excluded, socially included, or underwent a non-social control manipulation in a virtual ball-tossing game. The manipulation was followed by an attentional disengagement task, in which we measured manual response times in identification of peripheral stimuli shown to the left or right of centrally presented faces portraying direct or downward gaze. Contrary to our hypotheses, the response times were not, in general, longer for direct gaze trials than downward gaze trials, and exclusion did not increase the delay in direct gaze trials. Instead, we discovered that, in the social inclusion group, the response times were longer for direct gaze trials relative to downward gaze trials. Thus, social inclusion might have activated affiliation-related cognitive processes leading to delayed attentional disengagement from faces cueing affiliation.

Ostracism drives group moralization and extreme group behavior

Sharing beliefs, particularly moral beliefs, is a way to establish social connections. We hypothesized that ostracism leads people who are high in the need to belong to adhere to the moral beliefs of an ingroup, and that moralizing the beliefs of one's group increases the willingness to endorse extreme behavior on behalf of the group. Across two studies, participants were ostracized or included, rated the moral relevance of their group values, and indicated their endorsement of extreme behavior on behalf of the group. Across studies, ostracism increased group moralization in participants high in the need to belong. In Study 2, group moralization translated into endorsement of extreme behavior. Our findings suggest that morality serves a binding function that may be channeled into extreme behaviors. (120 words).

I don't need your attention: ostracism can narrow the cone of gaze

Previous research has shown that ostracized participants seek inclusive cues, such as gaze directed at them, when trying to reaffiliate. However, instead of seeking reinclusion, ostracized individuals may sometimes withdraw from interactions if not offered an opportunity for reaffiliation. In the current study, after an ostracism manipulation with no reaffiliation opportunity, participants judged whether faces portraying direct gaze or slightly averted gaze (2°-8° to the left and to the right) were looking at them or not. Compared to an inclusion group and a non-social control group, ostracized participants accepted a smaller range of gaze directions as being directed at them, i.e., they had a narrower "cone of gaze". The width of the gaze cone was equally wide in the inclusion and control groups. We propose that, without an opportunity for reaffiliation, ostracized participants may start to view other people as particularly unapproachable, possibly indicative of a motivational tendency to disengage from interactions.

It is More than Thought that Counts: the Role of Readiness for Aggression in the Relationship Between Ostracism and Displaced Aggression

Research has shown that ostracism results in aggressive behavior towards the ostracising other, but also causes displaced aggression—aggression directed towards an innocent person. Our study investigated whether displaced aggressive responses to ostracism were increased by three types of aggression proneness (readiness for aggression) based on different mechanisms: emotional-impulsive, habitual-cognitive or personality-immanent. Participants (n = 118) played a Cyberball game in which they were either excluded or included, next prepared a hot sauce sample for another person as an indicator of aggression and completed the Readiness for Interpersonal Aggression Inventory. Results showed that ostracism evoked more aggression in participants with high rather than with low emotional-impulsive readiness for aggression. Only this type of readiness moderated the ostracism-aggression relationship indicating that mostly affective mechanisms induce displaced aggressive responses to exclusion.

Safety in Beauty

Abstract. Individuals regularly exhibit antisocial responses after social exclusion. In four unregistered studies (1a, 1b, 2, and 3) and one preregistered experiment (Study 4), we tested the hypothesis that the excluder’s physical attractiveness reduces the relationship between social exclusion and negative responding. Results showed that exclusion by a highly attractive source caused less aggressive and more prosocial responses than exclusion by a less attractive source (Studies 1–3). The interaction effect was mediated by perceived likeability of the excluding person (Study 3). The preregistered experiment did not confirm the interactive effect between exclusion and attractiveness (Study 4); however, exploratory analyses indicated the effect on pro- (but not antisocial) responding. Inconsistent findings as well as the theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Social life and social death: Inclusion, ostracism, and rejection in groups

Humans are social animals and they depend upon social relationships to fortify their physical and psychological well-being. Various types of social experiences can threaten these relationships, making individuals feel excluded: separated from others physically or emotionally. Social exclusion experiences can be further broken down into two subcategories: rejection- and ostracism-based experiences. We provide a brief summary of the research on social exclusion, rejection, and ostracism, focusing particularly on theory and research on ostracism, given that is the primary focus of our research programs. We close with some key suggestions on how future research on different types of social exclusion can become increasingly integrated theoretically.

Softening the Blow of Social Exclusion: The Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion

Social exclusion is an interactive process between multiple people, yet previous research has focused almost solely on the negative impacts on targets. What advice is there for people on the other side (i.e., sources) who want to minimize its negative impact and preserve their own reputation? To provide an impetus for research on the interactive nature of exclusion, we propose the Responsive Theory of Social Exclusion. Our theory postulates that targets and sources’ needs are better maintained if sources use clear, explicit verbal communication. We propose that sources have three options: explicit rejection (clearly stating no), ostracism (ignoring), and ambiguous rejection (being unclear). Drawing on psychology, sociology, communications, and business research, we propose that when sources use explicit rejection, targets’ feelings will be less hurt, their needs will be better protected, and sources will experience less backlash and emotional toil than if sources use ambiguous rejection or ostracism. Finally, we propose how the language of rejections may impact both parties.

Whatever? The effect of social exclusion on adopting persuasive messages

The aversive state of social exclusion can result in a broad range of cognitive deficits. Being unable or unmotivated to process relevant information, we assumed that social exclusion would also affect the success of persuasive attempts. We hypothesized that socially excluded people would adopt attitudes regardless of persuasion quality. In three studies using different manipulations of social exclusion and persuasion, we showed that participants who were socially excluded adopted persuasive messages regardless of argument quality. In contrast, this undifferentiated response was not shown by socially included participants who were more persuaded by high- compared to low-quality arguments. In Study 3, we moreover revealed that this pattern could only be replicated in reliable situations-that is, when the communicator appeared credible. These findings support the assumption that social exclusion can lead to reduced processing of information.

Recalling an Attachment Event Moderates Distress after Ostracism

Ostracism is known to cause psychological distress. Studies have indicated that immediate distress is resistant to individual differences and situational factors, but delayed reactions are more sensitive to moderation. Because attachment orientation is inextricably tied to rejection and inclusion, we hypothesized that attachment orientation would moderate both immediate and delayed ostracism effects and that recalling an attachment event compatible with a person's attachment internal working model would moderate the distress of a laboratory ostracism experience. In two experiments, 158 individualistic (secular Jewish) and 190 collectivistic (ultra–Orthodox Jewish) participants played Cyberball with two other ostensible in–group players. Distress was measured immediately after the game and 30 minutes later. The results show that less anxious and more avoidant individualistic but not collectivistic participants were less distressed by ostracism. After the delay, recall of an attachment event compatible with the participants‘ internal working model eliminated distress in both individualistic and collectivistic ostracized participants as measured on the needs satisfaction scale. Among individualistic participants, avoidants, who are known to avoid meaningful attachments, were less distressed by ostracism; anxious participants, who seek proximity, were more distressed. Recalling a compatible attachment event may be a mechanism that reduces individuals‘ perceptions of threats to their fundamental needs. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology

Disagreeableness as a Cause and Consequence of Ostracism

Ostracism’s negative consequences have been widely documented, but research has yet to explore the personality characteristics of its targets that precipitate ostracism. Based on theories of the functions of ostracism, we found that people are more willing to ostracize disagreeable targets than more agreeable targets (Studies 2 and 3). This outcome was mediated by participants’ interpersonal trust toward the target, and was especially strong for people who highly endorse fairness as a foundation for morality (Study 4). Ironically, the experience of ostracism induced a state of disagreeableness: the very characteristic that elicits ostracism from others (Study 5). This relationship was mediated by feelings of anger (Study 6). Findings indicate disagreeableness is a particularly negative outcome of ostracism, because it leads to further ostracism.

Understanding maladaptive responses to rejection: Aggression with an audience

Logically, responding aggressively to rejection is maladaptive because one is unlikely to seek a relationship with an aggressor. We predict that when concealed, the illogical aggressive response to rejection is more likely, whereas when the rejected individuals' aggressive responses are perceived as public, the aggressive acts may be reduced. Participants were rejected by others (Experiment 1) or were either accepted or rejected during an online ball-tossing game (Experiment 2) and were then given an opportunity to aggress publicly or privately. Across experiments, when the opportunity to aggress was made public, rejected participants exhibited less aggressive behavior. When concerned about the perception of their public aggressive responses by others, rejected individuals' aggressive responses diminished compared with those whose actions were private. Crucially, this extended to aggression visible only to neutral others, suggesting that effects cannot solely be due to fear of retribution.

Ostracism Online: A social media ostracism paradigm

We describe Ostracism Online, a novel, social media-based ostracism paradigm designed to (1) keep social interaction experimentally controlled, (2) provide researchers with the flexibility to manipulate the properties of the social situation to fit their research purposes, (3) be suitable for online data collection, (4) be convenient for studying subsequent within-group behavior, and (5) be ecologically valid. After collecting data online, we compared the Ostracism Online paradigm with the Cyberball paradigm (Williams & Jarvis Behavior Research Methods, 38, 174-180, 2006) on need-threat and mood questionnaire scores (van Beest & Williams Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 91, 918-928, 2006). We also examined whether ostracized targets of either paradigm would be more likely to conform to their group members than if they had been included. Using a Bayesian analysis of variance to examine the individual effects of the different paradigms and to compare these effects across paradigms, we found analogous effects on need-threat and mood. Perhaps because we examined conformity to the ostracizers (rather than neutral sources), neither paradigm showed effects of ostracism on conformity. We conclude that Ostracism Online is a cost-effective, easy to use, and ecologically valid research tool for studying the psychological and behavioral effects of ostracism.

Evidence for Another Response to Ostracism

People may choose to move toward, move against, or move away in reaction to threatening social situations. Ostracism induces both prosocial behaviors (moving toward) and antisocial behaviors (moving against). One reason that moving away may be missing from these observed responses is the absence of including such a response in experiments. In four studies, we examined whether ostracized individuals would avail themselves of a moving away response (i.e., seeking solitude), if offered, and also whether one individual difference—introversion—predicted higher desires to move away. Correlational data (Study 1) showed that participants who reported more ostracism experiences indicated stronger desires to be alone; three experiments (Studies 2–4) demonstrated that manipulated ostracism experience increases the desire to be alone in a subsequent activity, especially among introverts. These findings suggest that ostracized individuals may desire a phase of solitude to cope with the social pain.

Exclude Me If You Can

We examined how individualistic versus collectivistic cultural backgrounds affected the psychological experience of social exclusion. We found that Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants (collectivistic background) differed in their experience of social exclusion from German participants (individualistic background): German participants experienced lower fulfillment of psychological needs in response to social exclusion, whereas Turkish, Chinese, and Indian participants were affected to a lesser extent (Turkey, India, Hong Kong) or not at all (mainland China) by social exclusion manipulations. Testing two different explanatory mechanisms in Study 3, we found that the difference in dealing with social exclusion was not associated with activating social representations in participants with collectivistic background but with exclusion being associated with more threat in participants with individualistic background. In Study 4, cultural differences emerged also on the physiological level: German participants’ heart rates were increased when excluded, whereas Chinese participants showed no change in heart rate during exclusion. The results are discussed regarding their implications for the role of self-construal and culture when dealing with the threat of social exclusion.