On Being Rejected: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Research on Rejection

Who is more willing to engage in social rejection? The roles of self-esteem, rejection sensitivity, and negative affect in social rejection decisions

How do self-schemas and their consequences guide would-be-rejectors? When making decisions about whether to reject, individuals consider the difficulty and emotional consequences of rejecting, and both considerations are likely to involve self-schemas. In three preregistered studies, we examine the roles of self-esteem, rejection sensitivity, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in rejection decisions. In an initial set of studies (N1a = 214, N1b = 264), participants forecast their willingness to reject and their emotional responses in friendship (Study 1a) and romantic (Study 1a-1b) vignettes. In Study 2 (N2 = 259), participants who recently rejected rated that experience on the same measures. Correlates of negative self-schema were associated with negative emotions. Self-esteem, rejection sensitivity, and general distress were associated with forecasted difficulty rejecting, but only anxiety and general distress were associated with retrospectively reported increased difficulty. Taken together, psychological distress may decrease willingness to reject in a way that participants cannot predict.

Are there negative cycles of peer victimization and rejection sensitivity? Testing ri-CLPMs in two longitudinal samples of young adolescents

This study's aim was to examine whether there are negative increasing cycles of peer victimization and rejection sensitivity over time. Drawing from Social Information Processing Theory, we hypothesized that victimization leads to higher levels of rejection sensitivity, which would put adolescents at risk for higher future victimization. Data were collected in a four-wave study with 233 Dutch adolescents starting secondary education (Mage = 12.7 years), and a three-wave study with 711 Australian adolescents in the last years of primary school (Mage = 10.8 years). Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models were used to disentangle between-person from within-person effects. In each sample, a significant between-person association was found: adolescents with higher levels of victimization as compared to their peers also reported higher levels of rejection sensitivity. At the within-person level, all concurrent associations between individual fluctuations of victimization and rejection sensitivity were significant, but there were no significant cross-lagged effects (except in some sensitivity analyses). These findings demonstrate that victimization and rejection sensitivity are interrelated, but there may not be negative victimization-rejection sensitivity cycles during the early-middle adolescent years. Possibly, cycles establish earlier in life or results are due to shared underlying factors. Further research is needed examining different time lags between assessments, age groups, and contexts.

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.

Unveiling the influence of the Italian mafia as a Dark Triad threat on individuals' affective states and the power of defense mechanisms

The present research investigated whether the Italian mafia as a Dark Triad threat increased threat-related affective states and explored how thinking about defense mechanisms may help to reduce these states. For this, we conducted a multi-method experimental study with Italians (N = 253). The quantitative results show that the mafia as a threat manipulation increased threat-related affective states in terms of higher behavioral inhibition (BIS) and lower behavioral activation (BAS). The qualitative results further depict proximal and distal defense mechanisms to reduce this threat, which can be categorized into models of threat and defense. Exploratory analyses indicate that naming distal defenses positively affected the increase of BAS. Additionally, when participants had higher levels of BIS after the threat, naming more defenses and proximal defenses positively affected the decrease of BIS. Further qualitative results provide valuable information on effective personal and societal buffers for the perceived threat of the Italian mafia.

Does Level of Social Support During Rejection Affect Pain Sensitivity and Distress?

This study investigated whether level of social support would decrease emotional distress and physical pain sensitivity following rejection. Healthy undergraduate students received varying levels of social support from a close companion during the Partial Future Life Alone rejection paradigm. Participants also completed baseline and post-stressor measures of physical pain sensitivity as well as post-stressor measures of emotional distress. Results indicated that all levels of social support benefited rejected participants by either buffering and/or improving fundamental needs, mood, and pain to levels comparable to non-rejected participants; however, passive support resulted in the fewest beneficial outcomes. The current study provides preliminary evidence that even minimal levels of support during rejection benefits or at least neutralizes associated pain and distress outcomes.

The role of self-compassion in the relationship between rejection and unhealthy eating: An ecological momentary assessment study

Available studies suggest that experiencing interpersonal rejection heightens negative affect and, in turn, triggers unhealthy eating behaviors. Elucidating individual differences that attenuate the negative consequences of rejection could inform interventions targeting unhealthy eating. This study examined the buffering role of self-compassion in the relationship between rejection experiences and unhealthy eating behaviors, defined as snacking on junk food and overeating. Two-hundred undergraduate students (50% women) completed ecological momentary assessments measuring rejection experiences, emotions, and unhealthy eating seven times a day for 10 consecutive days. Self-compassion was measured after the 10-day assessment period. Reports of rejection were low (2.6%) in our university sample. Multilevel mediation analyses examined whether the relationship between experiencing rejection and subsequent unhealthy eating was mediated by negative affect. Multilevel moderated mediation analyses further considered whether relationships between rejection and negative affect and between negative affect and unhealthy eating were moderated by self-compassion. Experiencing rejection predicted more unhealthy eating behaviors at the next time point, and this relationship was fully explained by increases in negative affect. Participants with high levels of self-compassion experienced less intense negative affect after rejection and reported less unhealthy eating behaviors when feeling negative emotions, compared to their counterparts with lower levels of self-compassion. The indirect effect of rejection on unhealthy eating was moderated by self-compassion, and there was no statistically significant relationship between rejection and unhealthy eating behaviors among highly self-compassionate participants. Findings suggest that cultivating self-compassion may help attenuate the negative impact of rejection experiences on emotions and unhealthy eating behaviors.

The myth of regaining control: Ostracism increases superstitious tendencies

Whether and how interpersonal experiences predispose people to show superstitious tendencies have been largely unexamined by past studies. By adopting a multimethod approach, three studies tested (a) whether ostracism increases superstitious tendencies through thwarted perceived control, (b) whether the dispositional need for closure moderates the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies and (c) whether restoring ostracized people's thwarted control weakens their superstitious tendencies. The results revealed that ostracized participants had higher superstitious tendencies than nonostracized participants did (Studies 1-3). Moreover, thwarted control mediated the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies (Study 2). In addition, the dispositional need for closure moderated the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies, such that the effect was stronger among participants with a high need for closure (Studies 1-2). Finally, restoring ostracized participants' perceived control weakened the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies (Study 3). Altogether, these findings feature the essential role of thwarted perceived control in understanding the link between ostracism and superstitious tendencies and the implication of control restoration in weakening the link. They also highlight the importance of dispositional characteristics in moderating people's responses to superstitions following ostracism and related forms of interpersonal maltreatment.

Workplace ostracism and employee wellbeing: A conservation of resource perspective

Introduction

As a common phenomenon of workplace ostracism in corporate management, it is urgent to clarify how it affects employee well-being.

Methods

Based on Conservation of Resource Theory, this study investigates the mechanisms of workplace ostracism on employee well-being and examines the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of team forgiveness climate by surveying 282 employees from 68 companies in mainland China.

Results

The results show that (1) workplace ostracism negatively affects employee well-being; (2) emotional exhaustion plays a mediating role between workplace ostracism and employee well-being; (3) team forgiveness climate weakens the negative effect of workplace ostracism on emotional exhaustion and negatively moderates the indirect effect of workplace ostracism on employee well-being through emotional exhaustion.

Discussion

It tries to provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for eliminating the negative effects of workplace ostracism and focusing on employee well-being.

Affective and cognitive impact of social overinclusion: a meta-analytic review of cyberball studies

Belongingness is a central biopsychosocial system. Challenges to belongingness (i.e. exclusion/ostracism) engender robust negative effects on affect and cognitions. Whether overinclusion - getting more than one's fair share of social attention - favourably impacts affect and cognitions remains an open question. This pre-registered meta-analysis includes twenty-two studies (N = 2757) examining overinclusion in the context of the Cyberball task. We found that the estimated overall effect size of overinclusion on positive affect was small but robust, and the effect on fundamental needs cognitions (belongingness, self-esteem, meaningful existence and control) was moderate in size and positive in direction. Notably, the effect sizes of overinclusion were smaller than the corresponding effects of exclusion. Finally, the effects of overinclusion on positive affect were greater for high, as compared to low, socially anxious individuals. Exploring the sequelae of the full range of inclusion experiences - from exclusion to overinclusion - may enrich our understanding of the functioning of the belongingness system as well as its interaction with another central biosocial system - the social status system.

Direct and displaced aggression after exclusion: role of gender differences

The present studies consider the influence of exclusion on aggressive behavior depending on the target of the aggression and the gender of the aggressor. Previous studies have shown that after exclusion, aggressive behavior occurs toward the excluder as well as toward innocent bystanders. However, there is also evidence that men have a greater tendency toward direct aggression and women have a greater tendency toward displaced aggression. In Studies 1 (N = 89) and 2 (N = 120), participants were ostracized, in Studies 3 (N = 88) and 4 (N = 133), participants were rejected. Then, aggressive behavior toward the excluder or bystander was measured. The results confirmed the gender differences hypothesis, but only in the case of ostracism. After ostracism, more retaliatory aggression was observed in men, and more displaced aggression was noted in women. Rejection resulted in generalized aggressive behavior directed toward the excluder and the bystander in men and women. The results are discussed in light of Sexual Selection Theory.

Troll story: The dark tetrad and online trolling revisited with a glance at humor

Internet trolling is considered a negative form of online interaction that can have detrimental effects on people's well-being. This pre-registered, experimental study had three aims: first, to replicate the association between internet users' online trolling behavior and the Dark Tetrad of personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism) established in prior research; second, to investigate the effect of experiencing social exclusion on people's motivation to engage in trolling behavior; and third, to explore the link between humor styles and trolling behavior. In this online study, participants were initially assessed on their personality, humor styles, and global trolling behavior. Next, respondents were randomly assigned to a social inclusion or exclusion condition. Thereafter, we measured participants' immediate trolling motivation. Results drawn from 1,026 German-speaking participants indicate a clear correlation between global trolling and all facets of the Dark Tetrad as well as with aggressive and self-defeating humor styles. However, no significant relationship between experiencing exclusion/inclusion and trolling motivation emerged. Our quantile regression findings suggest that psychopathy and sadism scores have a significant positive effect on immediate trolling motivation after the experimental manipulation, whereas Machiavellianism and narcissism did not explain variation in trolling motivation. Moreover, being socially excluded had generally no effect on immediate trolling motivation, apart from participants with higher immediate trolling motivation, for whom the experience of social exclusion actually reduced trolling motivation. We show that not all facets of the Dark Tetrad are of equal importance for predicting immediate trolling motivation and that research should perhaps focus more on psychopathy and sadism. Moreover, our results emphasize the relevance of quantile regression in personality research and suggest that even psychopathy and sadism may not be suitable predictors for low levels of trolling behavior.

Interweaving xenophobia and racism in South Africa: the impact of racial discrimination on anti-immigrant hate violence among people of colour

Self-reported experiences of racial discrimination are quite prevalent among the adult population of colour in South Africa. This article will argue that ongoing experiences of racial intolerance encourage participation in hate crime. To validate this thesis, two models are tested: (a) the Common Ingroup Identity (CII) and (b) Social Identity Threats (SITs). The former suggests that experiences of discrimination can help create a shared ‘disadvantaged’ identity that produces intergroup tolerance. The latter contends that group discrimination undermines social norms and the stress caused can encourage aggression. The study examined participation in anti-immigrant violence as well as behavioural intention towards the same. Nationally representative survey data from the South African Social Attitudes Survey was used. Multinomial regression analysis found that experiences of perceived personal and collective discrimination influenced participation in hate crime. This finding was consistent with the SITs model rather than the CII model. Socio-economic status was found to buffer the influence of racial discrimination, showing how economic advantages helped people cope with adverse situations. Study outcomes demonstrate how the legacy of white settler colonialism has contributed to xenophobia in the post-apartheid period. Policy interventions (especially those targeting the poor) that reduce racial discrimination will decrease public participation in hate crime.

Testing effects of social rejection on aggressive and prosocial behavior: A meta-analysis

Social rejection elicits profound feelings of distress. From an evolutionary perspective, the best way to alleviate this distress is to behave prosocially, minimizing the likelihood of further exclusion. Yet, examples ranging from the playground to the pub suggest rejection commonly elicits aggression. Opposing theoretical perspectives and discordant empirical results have left a basic question unanswered: does rejection more commonly elicit prosocial or aggressive behavior? We conducted three meta-analyses (one with studies measuring aggressive behavior; one with studies measuring prosocial behavior; and one with studies measuring both aggressive and prosocial behavior; N = 3864) to quantify: (1) the extent to which social rejection elicits prosocial or aggressive behavior and (2) potential moderating effects on these relations. Random-effects models revealed medium effects such that social rejection potentiated aggressive behavior (k = 19; d = 0.41, p < .0001) and attenuated prosocial behavior (k = 7; d = 0.59, p < .0001), an effect that remained consistent even when participants were given the option to behave prosocially or aggressively (k =  15; d = 0.71, p < .0001). These results cast doubt on the theory that rejection triggers prosocial behavior, and instead suggest it is a robust elicitor of aggression. Statement of Relevance: To our knowledge, these meta-analyses are the first to directly test whether social rejection elicits aggressive or prosocial behavior. By including a comprehensive collection of both published and unpublished research studies, and examining a wide variety of previously untested moderators, we show that social rejection robustly elicits aggressive behavior and inhibits prosocial behavior. Additionally, we demonstrate that aggressive behavior following social rejection is not simply a function of limited choices in response options. In fact, aggressive behavior was evoked even when the option to engage in prosocial behavior was provided. Furthermore, we conducted a comprehensive narrative review of the neural mechanisms underlying social rejection-elicited aggressive and prosocial behavior to supplement primary analyses. Overall, we believe that our work makes a critical theoretical contribution to the field.

Hostility bias or sadness bias in excluded individuals: does anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of right VLPFC vs. left DLPFC have a mitigating effect?

Exclusion has multiple adverse effects on individual's well-being. It induces anger and hostile cognitions leading to aggressive behavior. The purpose of this study was to test whether exclusion would affect recognition of anger on ambivalent faces of the excluders. We hypothesized that exclusion would elicit more anger encoding (hostility bias) than inclusion, but this effect would be mitigated by anodal tDCS of right VLPFC or left DLPFC-regions engaged in negative affect regulation. Participants (N = 96) were recognizing emotions (anger, sadness, happiness) on ambiguous faces of individuals who-as they were told-liked them or not. Results showed that exclusion induced more sadness bias. tDCS to VLPFC decreased anger and increased sadness recognition on excluders' faces compared with includers' faces, expressing a mixture of these two emotions. Additionally, stimulation to VLPFC and DLPFC decreased latencies for faces expressing sadness (sad-angry and happy-sad) but increased for happy-angry faces. Stimulation to VLPFC also increased reaction time to excluders faces while stimulation of DLPFC decreased reaction latency to includers faces. Results were discussed with the reference to the form of exclusion, motivational mechanism affected by disliking but also to lateralization (valence vs. arousal theory) and cortical regions engaged in encoding sadness after a threat to belonging.

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.

Bidirectional Associations of Prosocial Behavior with Peer Acceptance and Rejection in Adolescence

As most studies on the link between peer status and prosocial behavior are cross-sectional, conducted with children, and operationalize status as the difference between acceptance and rejection, it remains unclear whether peer acceptance and rejection are consequences or prerequisites of prosocial behavior in adolescence. To fill this gap, this study examines the bidirectional associations of prosocial behavior with peer acceptance and peer rejection with data collected at 3 time points, 6 months apart, in a sample of 660 early Chilean adolescents (M = 12.94, SD = 0.62; 55.1% boys). Cross-lagged panel analyses showed that prosocial behavior positively predicted future peer acceptance, whereas peer acceptance had no significant effect on future prosocial behavior. The association between rejection and prosocial behavior was negative and bidirectional between Time 1 and Time 2. When a new academic year began, between Time 2 and Time 3, prosocial behavior negatively predicted rejection, whereas rejection in the previous grade level was positively associated with prosocial behavior at the beginning of the next grade. Multi-group panel analyses did not detect significant differences between boys and girls in the cross-lagged associations of prosociality with peer acceptance and peer rejection. The results suggest that acting prosocially can make adolescents better liked by their peers and highlight the possible importance of the transition to a new academic year for the prosocial behavior of previously rejected students. Implications for future research on peer relations are discussed.

Informal Networks, Informal Institutions, and Social Exclusion in the Workplace: Insights from Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations in Korea

Drawing on interviews with decision makers in multinational corporations (MNCs) in South Korea, we examine the role of informal networks in the social exclusion of women in the workforce. Although legislation in the country is in favor of gender equality, we found that informal barriers in the workplace remain difficult to overcome. Informal networks in Korea, yongo, present an ethical issue in the workplace, as they tend to socially exclude women, limiting possibilities for their participation and career progression. We found that informal networks are pervasive and strong because of the informal institutions in which they are embedded and that there is a complex interplay between informal networks and informal institutions that socially excludes women. Due to difficulties accessing yongo, women appear to build inmaek, a network type that is more open and accessible. We also found that MNCs in Korea can compensate for the lack of local informal networks for their female employees. However, despite providing a more supportive environment for women at work, gender equality policies in MNCs are not yet as effective as they could be due to the dynamics of the workplace and the fact that the policies are not tailored to the local context. We have seen evidence in recent years that MNCs can serve as role models for implementing gender equality policies by creating a more inclusive work environment and demonstrating leadership commitment and support.

Inducing and blocking the goal to belong in an experimental setting: goal disengagement research using Cyberball

In the present research, the Cyberball ostracism paradigm was adapted for experimental goal disengagement (GD) research: the goal to belong to a particular group is first induced in participants (via social interaction) and then blocked (via social exclusion) to trigger GD processes. In an online group setting, we experimentally tested the procedure's suitability to investigate goal disengagement processes. A pilot study demonstrated successful induction of the goal to belong. In the main study (N = 180), exclusion from the group reduced participants' perceived goal attainability (indicating goal blockage) and desirability (indicating goal disengagement) and their well-being. Regarding the regulatory functions of GD, results were mixed. During work on individual tasks, goal desirability decreased further and well-being was largely restored. However, GD changes were correlated only with changes in negative affect (and not other well-being measures). Findings suggest the procedure's suitability for studying GD experimentally and employing it to investigate other measures of GD processes and their functionality in more detail.

Workplace ostracism and family social support: a moderated mediation model of personal reputation

Work and family are important life domains. This study investigates the relationship between employees’ perceptions of workplace ostracism and their provision of family social support. Integrating social impact theory and self-verification theory, the study provides a novel theoretical framework for examining the influence of workplace ostracism on employees’ provision of family social support. Using a moderated mediation model, it reveals the mediating role of personal reputation and the moderating roles of job social support and perceived organizational support. The results of two three-wave surveys of married employees and their spouses in China demonstrate that the negative relationship between exposure to workplace ostracism and an employee’s provision of family social support is mediated by the employee’s personal reputation. In addition, job social support and perceived organizational support weaken the relationship between personal reputation and family social support and the mediating effect of personal reputation on the relationship between workplace ostracism and family social support. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study for human resource management are discussed.

Online Emotional Support Accompany Group Intervention and Emotional Change of the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multi-Period Data Analysis From China

COVID-19 has made it difficult to adopt traditional face-to-face psychological intervention under this situation because of the blocked down and social distancing, which brings big psychological crisis to the public among the global. To explore the emotional change of the public in China at the outburst of the pandemic at different phases, to establish an online working platform and create a new model of an online intervention to hold public emotions under pandemic, and test its effectiveness, so to give advisement for government emergency management system. We established an online organization to work for this program ad innovated a model of online group counseling with online emotional support accompany group (OESAG) right after the outburst of a pandemic. We analyzed 53 OESAGs from February 10 to April 9, including 555 application forms, 253 feedback from members, and 139 feedback from group leaders by using NVivo and SPSS to explore the evolution and characteristics of public emotion during COVID-19 and the effectiveness of OESAG. Our results showed that the emotional changes of members ranged from shock to depression to positive. The public's emotions swiftly changed from stress, anxiety, and isolation, to the hope of returning to work or finding a job during the pandemic with the help of OESAG. OESAG has effectively regulated the negative emotions of members by conducting psychological crisis intervention to provide members a space to communicate with each other, especially the female and frontline staff. Policy makers can set up an online systematic psychological crisis intervention system as soon as possible to make up for the lack of psychological assistance in the emergency management system.

The influence of social pain experience on empathic neural responses: the moderating role of gender

Empathy for pain, the ability to share and understand the pain of others, plays an important role in the survival and development of individuals. Previous studies have found that social pain experience affects empathy for pain, but potential gender differences have not been considered. The stage of information processing during which gender is most likely to play a moderating role has yet to be clarified. In the current study, we set up two groups (social pain experience priming: social exclusion group; positive social interaction experience priming: social inclusion group) with a Cyberball game paradigm. We recorded the electrophysiological responses when participants were completing an empathy task. An early frontal P2 and N2 differentiation between painful stimuli and neutral stimuli was observed and females showed larger P2 amplitudes than males. At the P3 stage, in the social exclusion group, males showed similar parietal P3 amplitudes for painful and neutral stimuli, while females showed smaller P3 amplitudes for painful stimuli. At the central-parietal late positive potential (LPP) stage, females in the social inclusion group showed larger LPP amplitudes for painful stimuli than males. Our results suggest that gender plays a significant moderating role in how social pain experience affects empathy for pain during the late cognitive processing stage. Experiment 2 was designed to investigate the cognitive mechanism behind the results for the P3 component in females and the results partially confirmed our speculation. This study provides a neurophysiological basis for the dynamic gender differences in the effects of social pain experience on empathy for pain.

Altered immediate behavioral response to partial social exclusion: A cross-diagnostic study in patients with borderline personality disorder and persistent depressive disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and persistent depressive disorder (PDD) are related to interpersonal dysfunction which might become particularly apparent in situations of social exclusion (SE). While emotional responses to SE have been widely explored, behavioral data in clinical samples are lacking. In this cross-diagnostic study, we applied a variant of the Cyberball paradigm to investigate the dynamic behavioral response to partial SE in BPD and PDD. BPD patients (n = 36), PDD patients (n = 34) and age and gender matched healthy controls (HC) (total n = 70) played experimental (i.e. partial SE Cyberball) and control (i.e. inclusion only) conditions in randomized order. While all groups tended to increase ball tosses towards the excluder in response to SE, this behavioral turn was significantly lower in PDD (p = .03, d = -.30) and trendwise in BPD patients (p = .06, d = -.28). Thus, an altered immediate response to partial SE was observed in BPD and PDD, in addition to the emotional reactions. This study supports the hypothesis of a behavioral coping with SE in BPD and PDD that might be problematic in the long run and provides an experimental paradigm for future research on interpersonal dysfunction.

Re-positioning workplace aggression interventions: a violence framework

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the socio-psychological systems in organizations that structurally support workplace aggression.

Design/methodology/approach

Using both a structural and contextual model of intimate partner violence (IPV), the factors supporting workplace aggression were analyzed. The narratives were provided from the participants’ lived experiences of workplace aggression, producing clear indications of where formal and informal power reside.

Findings

The methods of power and control used by workplace perpetrators parallel those illustrated in IPV. The inaction of management and the lack of social support enabled informal power asymmetries and the organizational norm of silence. The findings have implications for how workplaces view and intervene in relationship-based violence.

Originality/value

Workplace aggression has been studied from a conflict management perspective, without exploring the components that enable and support organizational abuse. As a result, organizational responses to workplace aggression have failed to address the complex relationship-based components and consequences. The primary contribution of this study is the disruption of the conflict-based perspective of workplace aggression into a more appropriate framework of violence, power and control.

A daily-life study of interpersonal stressors and alcohol use in individuals with borderline personality disorder and community controls

BACKGROUND

Interpersonal stressors (ISs) are major factors in relapse in alcohol use disorder (AUD) and are theorized to play a role in drinking behaviors. Past work has examined this association using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), but the unique effects of rejections and disagreements on alcohol use are unknown. Research suggests the two ISs functionally differ and may display distinct associations with drinking. Further, these associations may differ in people with borderline personality disorder (BPD), a population reporting frequent IS and co-occurring AUD.

METHODS

113 drinkers (community: n = 59; BPD: n = 54) reported alcohol use and ISs using EMA for 21 days. Using generalized estimating equations, we expected that rejection and disagreement would predict increased likelihood of drinking each day. We examined both cumulative (throughout each day) and immediate momentary effects of ISs predicting subsequent drinking on that same day. Further, we predicted that these associations would be stronger in individuals with BPD.

RESULTS

Greater rejections throughout the day were associated with a reduced likelihood of drinking that day (OR = 0.56, 95 % CI:[0.32, 0.97], p < .040). In contrast, disagreements immediately prior to drinking were associated with an increased likelihood of drinking that day (OR = 0.60, 95 % CI:[1.02, 2.50], p = .039). However, the effect of disagreement on drinking was moderated by BPD diagnosis (OR = 2.56, 95 % CI:[1.13, 5.80], p = .025), such that the effect was only present for individuals with BPD.

CONCLUSIONS

Assessing ISs as an aggregate predictor may mask potentially opposite effects on alcohol use. Additionally, disagreements may be a risk factor for subsequent alcohol use in BPD.

Examining the Direct and Indirect Effects of Mothers' Rejection from the Ex-Spouse on Time to Repartnering

Individuals who feel rejected following relationship dissolution typically experience reductions in their health and wellbeing. Although feelings of rejection can be painful, the acquisition of a new romantic relationship can help to ease this pain. The goal of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effects of divorced residential mothers' rejection from the ex-spouse on their time to entering post-divorce romantic relationships. Results indicate that mothers' rejection from the ex-spouse is significantly associated with delays in repartnering. Results indicated two marginally significant indirect effects, providing some evidence that mothers' rejection from the ex-spouse and delayed repartnering is transmitted through decreases in mothers' depressive symptoms and increases in mothers' barriers to repartnering. These findings demonstrate the importance of promoting divorced mothers' self-perceptions following divorce.

Thwarted Belongingness Mediates Interpersonal Stress and Suicidal Thoughts: An Intensive Longitudinal Study with High-risk Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Interpersonal negative life events (NLEs) have been linked to risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, little is known about how this risk is conferred over the short term and the mechanisms linking interpersonal NLEs to suicide risk, particularly in adolescents. This study used an intensive longitudinal design to examine thwarted belongingness with family and friends as potential mechanisms linking interpersonal NLEs to suicidal thoughts.

METHOD

Forty-eight adolescents (M_age = 14.96 years; 64.6% female, 77.1% White), who recently received acute psychiatric care for suicide risk, were followed intensely for 28 days after discharge. Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment was used to measure presence of interpersonal NLEs at the day level, fluctuations in thwarted belongingness with family and friends (separately) within day, and fluctuations in suicidal thoughts within day. A multi-level structural equation model was utilized to examine family thwarted belongingness and friend thwarted belongingness as parallel mediators in the relationship between interpersonal NLEs and next-day suicidal thoughts.

RESULTS

Significant direct effects were observed between interpersonal NLEs and family thwarted belongingness, family thwarted belongingness and suicidal thoughts, and friend thwarted belongingness and suicidal thoughts. In addition, family, but not friend, thwarted belongingness significantly mediated the association between interpersonal NLEs and next-day suicidal thoughts.

CONCLUSIONS

Interpersonal NLEs predicted greater suicidal thoughts over the short term (next day) in high-risk adolescents. Findings suggest how interpersonal NLEs may confer risk for suicidal thoughts - by reducing feelings of family belongingness. Future research is needed to examine how modifying belongingness may reduce suicide risk in adolescents.

Humorous Coping With Unrequited Love: Is Perspective Change Important?

A large number of studies suggest that humor is associated with mental well-being and effective as a means of coping. However, it is less well-understood which mechanisms are effective for this particular function of humor. The present study examines whether processes of change of perspective, which are often regarded as constitutive for humor, could be an effective coping-factor when facing unrequited love as a specific psychological burden. In a questionnaire study, N = 148 persons aged 18-65 years (w = 96) with actual or past experiences of unrequited love reported on their subjective burden due to this experience, their self-esteem and satisfaction with life, two scales for humor (Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale: MSHS, and a self-constructed scale: Humorous Change of Perspective, HCOP) and a coping scale which measure change of perspective in the confrontation with goal blockages (Flexible Goal Adjustment, FGA). Results indicated that the burden of unrequited love [operationalized objectively as actuality of experience (dichotomous) or subjectively as burden experienced] and both indicators of well-being were negatively associated. Multiple regression analyses showed that humor was a significant moderator of this relationship in nearly all combinations of operationalizations of humor and indicators of well-being: Higher levels of humor are associated with better well-being even when the perceived burden was high. In addition, the study examined whether the coping effect of humor can be partly or mainly attributed to the individual's capacity to perspective change as captured by FGA. When including this scale as a covariate in the regression models, the moderation effect for MSHS did not persist; however, for HCOP the moderation effect remained unchanged: the moderator effect of humorous change of perspective proved to be independent of FGA. Taken together the results suggest that perspective-changing skills play a significant role in the coping effect of humor in dealing with psychological burdens. However, depending on which humor facet is measured, the entailed perspective change may or may not appear to go beyond what the individual's FGA can account for. This suggests that the coping effect caused by humorous change of perspective includes aspects that are also discussed for other coping resources as well as its own, humor-specific aspects. Potential avenues for future studies are discussed both with respect to the necessity for replication and extension of the present study and to the determination of other potential alleviativing effects of other facets of humor.

The impact of temporary deferrals on future blood donation behavior across the donor life cycle

BACKGROUND

Donor retention is essential for blood banks because acquiring new donors is more expensive than retaining existing ones. Previous studies show that the temporary deferral of donors negatively impacts future donation likelihood. In this study, we analyze the impact of temporary deferrals on future donation behavior while correcting for potential endogeneity, depending on the level of donor experience and number of previous deferrals.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHOD

We use data from more than 123,000 whole blood donors of the Austrian Red Cross over a period of 5.5 years. We estimate logit models to analyze how a deferral affects future donation behavior while controlling for potential selection biases because donors are not deferred randomly. We control for gender, blood type, years since first donation, and number of previous donations and deferrals. We analyze the direct deferral effect, its interaction with donor experience, and the number of previous deferrals.

RESULTS

Our results confirm that temporary deferrals hurt future donation behavior. This effect varies with donor experience and the number of previous deferrals. The effect is weaker with a higher number of previous donations and is stronger with a higher number of previous deferrals. The results suggest that donors learn to cope with deferrals the more they donate. However, the negative effect of deferrals amplifies over time, and each additional deferral decreases donation likelihood.

CONCLUSION

Blood banks that seek to overcome the negative effect of deferrals should be aware that this effect varies with donor experience and with the number of previous deferrals. Our results suggest that blood banks should focus on early-stage donors who are deferred because the negative deferral effect is stronger for more experienced donors. At the same time, blood banks should be careful with donor groups who have experienced deferrals in the past because every additional deferral demotivates future donation behavior. Overall, researchers should be careful to correct for endogeneity because our results suggest that ignoring these effects could lead to substantial underestimation of the negative deferral effect.

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.

Hunger games: Associations between core eating disorder symptoms and responses to rejection by peers during competition

OBJECTIVE

Individuals with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are sensitive to social threat and report maladaptive interpersonal styles that may contribute to and exacerbate negative evaluation from others. Research in this area has relied primarily on self-report. The current study examined associations between behavioral responses to social threat and core ED symptoms using a behavioral paradigm. Based on previous findings that individuals with binge-eating report being more reactive and confrontational, whereas individuals with dietary restriction tend to be more submissive and avoidant of conflict, we hypothesized that binge eating would be associated with a greater tendency to retaliate against rejection perpetrators, whereas dietary restriction would be associated with a lower tendency to retaliate when rejected.

METHOD

Undergraduate women (N = 132) completed a self-report measure of ED symptoms and participated in an online "Survivor"-type game in which they voted to either accept or reject computerized coplayers, while also receiving acceptance or rejection feedback from others.

RESULTS

Neither ED symptom was associated with how often participants retaliated against coplayers who rejected them. However, dietary restriction was related to more rejection votes overall (i.e., the tendency to reject others regardless of how others voted).

DISCUSSION

Findings suggest that individuals with dietary restriction may rely on a maladaptive defensive strategy aimed at pre-empting rejection, or alternatively, have difficulty shifting from habitual self-isolating behavior that results from over-involvement with restricting symptoms. Interventions targeting hypersensitivity to social threat or interpersonal flexibility may help reduce interpersonal stress and mitigate its impact on restricting symptoms.

Belonging: A Review of Conceptual Issues, an Integrative Framework, and Directions for Future Research

Objective

A sense of belonging-the subjective feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences-is a fundamental human need that predicts numerous mental, physical, social, economic, and behavioural outcomes. However, varying perspectives on how belonging should be conceptualised, assessed, and cultivated has hampered much-needed progress on this timely and important topic. To address these critical issues, we conducted a narrative review that summarizes existing perspectives on belonging, describes a new integrative framework for understanding and studying belonging, and identifies several key avenues for future research and practice.

Method

We searched relevant databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo, and ClinicalTrials.gov, for articles describing belonging, instruments for assessing belonging, and interventions for increasing belonging.

Results

By identifying the core components of belonging, we introduce a new integrative framework for understanding, assessing, and cultivating belonging that focuses on four interrelated components: competencies, opportunities, motivations, and perceptions.

Conclusion

This integrative framework enhances our understanding of the basic nature and features of belonging, provides a foundation for future interdisciplinary research on belonging and belongingness, and highlights how a robust sense of belonging may be cultivated to improve human health and resilience for individuals and communities worldwide.

Social Exclusion Down-Regulates Pain Empathy at the Late Stage of Empathic Responses: Electrophysiological Evidence

Social exclusion has a significant impact on cognition, emotion, and behavior. Some behavioral studies investigated how social exclusion affects pain empathy. Conclusions were inconsistent, and there is a lack of clarity in identifying which component of pain empathy is more likely to be affected. To investigate these issues, we used a Cyberball task to manipulate feelings of social exclusion. Two groups (social exclusion and social inclusion) participated in the same pain empathy task while we recorded event-related potentials (ERP) when participants viewed static images of body parts in painful and neutral situations. The results showed early N2 differentiation between painful and neutral pictures in the central regions in both groups. The pattern at the late controlled processing stage was different. Parietal P3 amplitudes for painful pictures were significantly smaller than those for neutral pictures in the social exclusion group; they did not differ in the social inclusion group. We observed a parietal late positive potential (LPP) differentiation between painful and neutral pictures in both groups. LPP amplitudes were significantly smaller in the social exclusion group than those in the social inclusion group for painful stimuli. Our results indicate that social exclusion does not affect empathic responses during the early emotional sharing stage. However, it down-regulates empathic responses at the late cognitive controlled stage, and this modulation is attenuated gradually. The current study provides neuroscientific evidence of how social exclusion dynamically influences pain empathy.

The effect of implicit (vs explicit) rejection on the behavioral intentions of online daters

Purpose

Online dating facilitates both dater interactions and rejections. Given the vast offer of potential mates and daters' limited time, several rejections may occur. On online dating platforms, most of these rejections are simply the absence of a reply (ignoring). The purpose of this paper is to compare the impact of implicit rejection (ignoring) vs explicit rejection (declining) on the behavioral intentions of daters, considering self-esteem as a moderator.

Design/methodology/approach

Experiment 1 investigated the effect of the extent of rejection (implicit vs explicit vs control) on the behavioral intentions of online daters. Experiment 2 assessed observers' recommended actions to a male (vs female) online dater following rejection (implicit vs explicit vs control).

Findings

Implicit rejections generate greater behavioral intentions than explicit rejections. Both daters (study 1) and observers of the dating scenario (study 2) indicated greater intent to revise their profiles (study 1) or recommend a profile revision (study 2) when implicitly (vs explicitly) rejected by interaction partners. Self-esteem moderated the effect of the extent of rejection. Higher levels of self-esteem eliminate and lower levels of self-esteem intensify the effect of the extent of rejection on behavioral intentions. Additionally, observers' recommendations based on the extent of rejection depend on the rejected dater's gender.

Originality/value

Ignoring is a frequent practice among dating platform users, and this paper provides an original contribution to better understand the differences stemming from implicit or explicit rejection of online daters.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2020-0207

Dynamics of the immediate behavioral response to partial social exclusion

Social rejection and exclusion (ostracism) represent main stressors in daily life and even threaten mental and physical health. Abundant data from subjective measures in social exclusion paradigms are available, but the dynamic behavioral response is largely unexplored. Here, we applied modified variants of the Cyberball paradigm in two consecutive experiments to investigate the adaptive behavioral and emotional reactions to partial social exclusion. In experiment 1, 68 healthy participants (females, mean age 24.76 ± 4.05 years) played 2 min inclusion, 5 min partial exclusion and 2 min total exclusion. In experiment 2, 94 healthy participants (48 females, mean age 34.50 ± 12.08 years) underwent an experimental condition (2 min inclusion, 10 min partial exclusion) and a control condition (12 min inclusion only) in randomized order. In experiment 1, behavioral responses to partial exclusion showed two characteristics: (1) an immediate increase in ball passes to the excluding player followed (2) by a later return of participants’ behavior to baseline. This finding was replicated for both genders and in comparison to a control condition in experiment 2. The dynamic behavioral response observed here may point to overlapping principles of cooperation in this ball tossing paradigm and serves as a novel experimental proxy.

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic as a predictor of daily psychological, social, and health-related outcomes

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, striking public health measures have been implemented to encourage physical distancing in order to slow the spread of disease. However, the impact of these measures on health and wellbeing is not well understood. In the current study a daily diary methodology was used to investigate the effects of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on a variety of outcomes with 230 undergraduate students. Participants completed an online diary for 3 days, reporting on daily social distancing behaviors, psychological wellbeing/resources, social/interpersonal connection with others, health behaviors, and health outcomes. Overall, daily social distancing (close adherence to social distancing guidelines) was associated with decreases in psychological wellbeing/resources, less social/interpersonal connection with others (including technology-mediated communication), fewer positive health behaviors, and increased reports of stress-related physical illness symptoms. Discussion centers on implications of these findings as well as the importance of identifying ways to mitigate the effects of these necessary but costly measures on health and wellbeing.

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.

Evaluating sociometer theory in children’s everyday lives: Inclusion, but not exclusion by peers at school is related to within-day change in self-esteem

Sociometer theory proposes that a person’s self-esteem is a permanent monitor of perceived social inclusion and exclusion in a given situation. Despite this within-person perspective, respective research in children’s everyday lives is lacking. In three intensive longitudinal studies, we examined whether children’s self-esteem was associated with social inclusion and exclusion by peers at school. Based on sociometer theory, we expected social inclusion to positively predict self-esteem and social exclusion to negatively predict self-esteem on within- and between-person levels. Children aged 9–12 years reported state self-esteem twice per day (morning and evening) and social inclusion and exclusion once per day for two (Study 1) and four weeks (Studies 2–3). Consistently across studies, we found that social inclusion positively predicted evening self-esteem on within- and between-person levels. By contrast, social exclusion was not associated with evening self-esteem on the within-person level. On the between-person level, social exclusion was negatively linked to evening self-esteem only in Study 1. Multilevel latent change score models revealed that children’s self-esteem changed from mornings (before school) to evenings (after school) depending on their perceived daily social inclusion, but not exclusion. The findings are discussed in light of sociometer theory and the bad-is-stronger-than-good phenomenon.

A New Instrument for Assessing Cohesion in Primary and Grammar School Classes—Factorial Structure and Measurement Invariance of the GruKo4

Class climate has been focused in the context of school research for decades. One central facet of class climate is cohesion. Whereas there are well-elaborated instruments to assess cohesion in different contexts (e.g., sport and therapy), such an instrument is missing for the school context. The aim of the current article is to present an instrument to measure different facets of group cohesion in classes of primary and grammar schools. The factorial structure of the instrument is analyzed using data from Grades 2 to 7 ( N ≈ 3052 from 146 classes) by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, tests of measurement invariance across the different levels of education (primary vs. grammar school) are undertaken. Results support configural as well as partial metric and scalar invariance between students of primary and grammar schools. Further, cohesion in primary schools is significantly higher than in grammar schools. Limitations of the study and implications for future research in the context of school are discussed.

The Association Between Electronic Device Use During Family Time and Family Well-Being: Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Electronic devices (eDevices) may have positive or negative influences on family communication and well-being depending on how they are used.

Objective

We examined eDevice use during family time and its association with the quality of family communication and well-being in Hong Kong Chinese adults.

Methods

In 2017, a probability-based 2-stage random sampling landline telephone survey collected data on eDevice use in daily life and during family time (eg, family dinner) and the presence of rules banning eDevice use during family dinner. Family communication quality was rated from 0 to 10 with higher scores being favorable. Family well-being was calculated as a composite mean score of 3 items each using the same scale from 0 to 10. The associations of family communication quality and well-being with eDevice use in daily life and during family time were estimated using beta-coefficient (β) adjusting for sociodemographics. The mediating role of family communication quality in the association between eDevice use and family well-being was analyzed.

Results

Of the 2064 respondents (mean age 56.4 [SD 19.2] years, 1269/2064 [61.48%] female), 1579/2059 (76.69%) used an eDevice daily for a mean of 3.6 hours (SD 0.1) and 257/686 (37.5%) used it for 30+ minutes before sleep. As much as 794/2046 (38.81%) often or sometimes used an eDevice during family time including dinner (311/2017, 15.42%); 713/2012 (35.44%) reported use of an eDevice by family members during dinner. Lower family communication quality was associated with hours of eDevice use before sleep (adjusted β=–.25; 95% CI –0.44 to –0.05), and often use (vs never use) of eDevice during family dinner by oneself (adjusted β=–.51; 95% CI –0.91 to –0.10) and family members (adjusted β=–.54; 95% CI –0.79 to –0.29). Similarly, lower family well-being was associated with eDevice use before sleep (adjusted β=–.26; 95% CI –0.42 to –0.09), and often use during family dinner by oneself (adjusted β=–.48; 95% CI –0.83 to –0.12) and family members (adjusted β=–.50; 95% CI –0.72 to –0.28). Total ban of eDevice use during family dinner was negatively associated with often use by oneself (adjusted odds ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.85) and family members (adjusted odds ratio 0.41; 95% CI 0.28, 0.60) but not with family communication and well-being. Lower family communication quality substantially mediated the total effect of the association of eDevice use time before sleep (61.2%) and often use at family dinner by oneself (87.0%) and by family members (67.8%) with family well-being.

Conclusions

eDevice use before sleep and during family dinner was associated with lower family well-being, and the association was substantially mediated by family communication quality. Our results suggest that interventions on smart use of eDevice may improve family communication and well-being.

Anticipated consequences as the primary causes of suicidal behavior: Evidence from a laboratory study

Due to the limitations of conducting experimental studies on suicide, little is known about its causes. Based on basic behavioral research, we hypothesized that the anticipated consequences of suicidal behavior (e.g., stress relief) are the primary causes of suicidal behavior, and experienced antecedents (e.g., stress) are secondary causes. We evaluated this general hypothesis by testing the causal effects of these two broad phenomena on virtual reality (VR) suicide in 497 participants across five groups. On their own, experienced antecedent manipulations (i.e., stress and rejection) did not significantly increase VR suicide rates relative to the control group. On its own, the anticipated consequence manipulation (i.e., instruction that engaging in VR suicide would allow one to avoid a future stressor) caused a large increase in the VR suicide rate. In the context of an experienced antecedent manipulation (i.e., stress), this anticipated consequence manipulation caused an even larger increase in the VR suicide rate. These findings suggest that the anticipated consequences of suicidal behavior (e.g., avoidance or escape from something unpleasant, attaining something pleasant) are the primary causes of suicidal behavior, and that experienced antecedents (e.g., stress) serve as secondary causes when they make an anticipated consequence of suicidal behavior seem more appealing.

The affiliative consequences of same-race and cross-race mimicry

Few studies have replicated and extended the classic mimicry → liking effect. The present research sought to (a) replicate the affiliative consequences of mimicry; (b) test whether the affiliative consequences hold in a context where mimicry may not be normative (i.e., cross-race interactions); and (c) investigate how excluded individuals respond to same- versus cross-race mimicry and non-mimicry. Participants wrote about a control topic or social exclusion and then engaged in a brief laboratory interaction in which they were mimicked or not mimicked by a confederate who was either same-race or cross-race. Then they reported how much they liked the confederate. Within the control condition, the effect of mimicry on affiliation depended on the race of the confederate - but this pattern did not emerge for excluded individuals. The study was unable to conclusively replicate and extend previous findings. The authors make recommendations to promote a more cumulative science of behavioral mimicry.