Multilingual Groups: Effects of Linguistic Ostracism on Felt Rejection and Anger, Coworker Attraction, Perceived Team Potency, and Creative Performance

On the lowest rung of the ladder: How social exclusion, perceived economic inequality and stigma increase homeless people's resignation

Despite the relevance of social exclusion and economic inequality for homelessness, empirical studies investigating how these issues relate to homeless people's psychological well-being are scarce. We aimed to fill this gap by conducting two quasi-experimental studies on homeless and non-homeless groups. The first study (N = 200) showed that homeless (vs. non-homeless) people presented higher levels of resignation, characterized by depression, alienation, helplessness, and unworthiness (Williams, 2009). The second study (N = 183) replicated the findings from Study 1 and showed that perceived economic inequality could increase homeless people's resignation by emphasizing perceptions of social exclusion. Additional analyses found that identification with the stigmatized homeless group could mediate the relationship between perceived inequality and social exclusion, increasing the resignation. Overall, the results showed that chronic social exclusion of homeless people is associated with higher levels of resignation. Moreover, they showed the role of perceived economic inequality and homeless group stigmatized identification as group-specific mechanisms favouring social exclusion and ultimately worsening psychological well-being.

Outcasts and saboteurs: Intervention strategies to reduce the negative effects of social exclusion on team outcomes

The experience of social exclusion in the workplace adversely impacts employees' well-being, job satisfaction, and productivity, and no one quite knows what to do about it. In this report, we describe the development and testing of three ostracism interventions, designed to help people cope with the negative effects of being excluded by one's team. Across five studies, participants were assigned to a virtual ball toss game where they were either included or excluded by their teammates. Afterwards, they were given a task where they could earn money for themselves, for their entire team, or for an unrelated group (charity). Excluded participants worked less hard for their teams (even when this meant sacrificing their own earnings). This sabotage effect was specific, meaning that excluded individuals worked less hard on behalf of their teams, but not when they worked for themselves or for charity. We devised three intervention strategies-perspective, mentorship, and empowerment-to combat the negative effects of ostracism on people's willingness to work for their teams. These interventions were successful; each increased people's persistence in a team-based reward task, and in some cases, even raised the outcomes of excluded teammates to levels observed in included teammates. The effectiveness of these interventions also replicated successfully, using preregistered hypotheses, methods, and analyses. These studies add novel insights to a variety of fields that have examined the consequences of social exclusion, including social psychology, organizational behavior, and management science.

Surrendering to social emptiness: Chronic social exclusion longitudinally predicts resignation in asylum seekers

The current knowledge of the long-term consequences of social exclusion mostly relies on theoretical assumptions. (Williams, 2009, Adv. Exp. Soc. Psychol., 41, 275) hypothesized that chronic ostracism drives individuals into a stage of resignation (depression, alienation, unworthiness, helplessness). We focused on asylum seekers (N = 112) as a social group at risk of experiencing prolonged instances of exclusion. Applying a three-wave longitudinal design with a three-month interval between each wave, we sought to advance the knowledge of the temporal development of chronic social exclusion. Cross-lagged panel analyses showed that social exclusion influenced the development of feelings of resignation in the long term, from baseline to six months and between three and six months. In the same time frame, the perception of social exclusion became stable and chronic. These findings provide empirical evidence that chronic exclusion predicts resignation and shed light on the temporal development of the detrimental impact that pervasive exclusion can have on people belonging to marginalized social groups.

Exclusion in the workplace: a multi-level investigation

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to expand the research on workplace mistreatment and its effects on individual employees while taking into account the organizational setting. This cross-level study explores the interaction between the team Civility climate (CC) and individual experience of exclusion and their combined effect on the target’s organization-based self-esteem (OBSE).

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 251 individuals nested in 71 teams (mean team size=4.6) completed surveys. A two-way multi-level interaction model was used to test the moderation hypothesis.

Findings

The cross-level interaction between CC and exclusion was significant, which means that CC influenced the strength of the relationship between exclusion and OBSE. Specifically, it was found that the higher the group-level civility norms, the stronger the negative relationship between exclusion and OBSE.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitation of this study is its cross-sectional design. All variables were self-reported and collected at one time-point.

Originality/value

The present study contributes to workplace mistreatment literature by using a multi-level design to examine exclusion as a predictor of OBSE and team CC as a cross-level moderator of this relationship.

Workplace ostracism and discretionary work effort: A conditional process analysis

Drawing on affective events theory (AET) and workplace incivility spiral, this study tested a conditional process model to explain, when and how, affective workplace events (workplace ostracism and workplace incivility) affect employees’ emotions and work effort. Data for this cross-sectional study were collected via an online survey from 251 employees at three public sector universities in Quetta, Pakistan. Results indicated that both ostracism and incivility encumber work effort, and that one way via which ostracism negatively affects work effort is by provoking targets’ negative affect (NA). Results also revealed that workplace incivility exacerbated positive relationship of ostracism and NA such that this relationship was stronger when incivility was high and weaker when incivility was low. Moreover, the indirect effects of ostracism on work effort were also contingent on workplace incivility. Practical implications are discussed at the end.

Who Is Less Likely to Ostracize? Higher Trait Mindfulness Predicts More Inclusionary Behavior

Despite the pain ostracism (being excluded and ignored) causes, researchers have minimally investigated factors related to reducing its occurrence. We investigated the association between higher trait mindfulness (the tendency to be attentive to the present moment) and lower engagement in ostracism. In Study 1, employed adults scoring higher on trait mindfulness reported ostracizing coworkers less. In Study 2, participants possessing higher levels of trait mindfulness demonstrated greater inclusion of a fellow group member being ostracized by others in the group. Results suggested that attention, rather than empathy, was the psychological process responsible for greater inclusion of an ostracized group member by mindful individuals. Study 3 supported this conclusion because participants responded similarly to those high in trait mindfulness when they were instructed to pay attention and ensure all players were included equally. Overall, we found that people with higher levels of trait mindfulness are more attentive to targets of ostracism.

Comparing and Contrasting Workplace Ostracism and Incivility

Despite their shared characteristics, the literatures on workplace ostracism and incivility have evolved in different directions. In this review, we discuss the similarities and differences in the conceptualizations of the two constructs and trace the different measures, histories, theories, and topics covered in the two literatures. Although small, we also review the subset of studies that have directly contrasted the effects of ostracism and incivility within the same study. Subsequently, we outline future research areas for both literatures, with a particular focus on research areas that may produce results that help further differentiate the two constructs.

Rejected and excluded forevermore, but even more devoted: irrevocable ostracism intensifies loyalty to the group among identity-fused persons

When people are ostrasized (i.e., rejected and excluded) by either an outgroup or an ingroup, they may either withdraw or engage in compensatory activities designed to reaffirm their social identity as a group member. The authors proposed here that individual differences in identity fusion (an index of familial orientation toward the group) would moderate the tendency for people to display such compensatory activity. Consistent with this reasoning, the results of four experiments showed that irrevocable ostracism increased endorsement of extreme, pro-group actions (fighting and dying for the ingroup) among fused persons but not among nonfused persons. This effect emerged when an outgroup ostracized fused individuals due either to their nationality (Experiment 1) or their personal preferences (Experiment 2). Similarly, ostracism by the ingroup amplified the tendency for fused persons to both endorse extreme pro-group actions, refuse to leave the group (Experiment 3), and donate money to an ingroup member (Experiment 4). Finally, compensatory activities emerged even when ostracism was based on being "too good" for the group, suggesting that a desire for self-enhancement does not mediate such activities (Experiment 4).