A lasting sting: Examining the short-term and long-term effects of real-life group rejection

Abstract

The short-term effects of rejection on state selfesteem, negative affect, and hurt feelings have been examined in many laboratory experiments. These studies generally find that rejection causes an immediate decrease in feelings of personal adequacy and self-esteem AbstractAlthough many studies have examined the short-term effects of rejection in laboratory settings, few have investigated the impact of rejection over time or in real-world contexts. The university sorority recruitment process offers a unique opportunity to address these shortcomings. Women participating in sorority recruitment were surveyed directly before recruitment, directly after recruitment, and 3 months later. Rejected women experienced decreases in all indicators of well-being directly after recruitment and did not return to baseline on depressive symptoms, positive mental health, satisfaction with life, perceived belonging, or perceived social status 3 months later. Accepted women showed no long-term changes in well-being, with the exception that happiness and perceived social status increased from baseline. A comparison group of women who did not participate in sorority recruitment showed no significant long-term changes in well-being. Perceived belonging, but not social status, significantly mediated the long-term emotional effects of rejection. These results document that rejection experiences can have long-lasting effects.

Can the chronic exclusion‐resignation link be broken? An analysis of support groups within prisons

“…This work set at three months the minimum duration for an exclusion experience to be considered chronic. Similarly, Martin and colleagues (2017) investigated the long‐term effects of rejection from sorority recruitment on young women. The authors found that women who were rejected from the sorority had lower psychological well‐being three months after the rejection (Martin, Smart Richman, & Leary, 2017).…”

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

“…First, the present study provided the first longitudinal empirical causal evidence that chronic exclusion leads to resignation. Indeed, previous studies have only spoken about the long-lasting sting of acute rejection episodes (Martin et al, 2018). Although, as recommended by Selig and Little (2012), arguments favouring causal relationships based on cross-lagged panel analyses should be drawn with care, the present findings are strengthened and supported by their conjunction with (1) converging and independent theoretical predictions from the main psychosocial models on interpersonal devaluationpointing at psychological and behavioural withdrawal as the direct outcome of chronic exclusion (Richman & Leary, 2009;Williams, 2009) -(2) qualitative (Zadro, 2004), crosssectional (Marinucci & Riva, 2020), and quasi-experimental (Riva et al, 2017) preliminary evidence of the exclusion-resignation link, and (3) converging results coming from conceptually related scientific fields.…”

“…Thus, researchers need to apply methodologies pointing at causal inference (e.g., longitudinal study) that can distinguish between the effect that perceived chronic exclusion can have on the long-term resignation outcomes from the reciprocal influence that resignation can play in generating long-term feelings of being rejected and ostracized. This is the case, for example, of the longitudinal study by Martin et al (2018) investigating the short-and long-term effects of rejection from university sorority recruitment. The authors showed that the negative implications for participants' well-being caused by an acute episode of rejection could last for three months.…”

“…This is the case, for example, of the longitudinal study by Martin et al . (2018) investigating the short‐ and long‐term effects of rejection from university sorority recruitment. The authors showed that the negative implications for participants’ well‐being caused by an acute episode of rejection could last for three months.…”

Implicit theories shape responses to social-evaluative threat

“…Social relationships help us meet evolved needs for acceptance and belonging ( Baumeister and Leary, 1995 ) and they provide us with numerous benefits, such as social support, and access to resources ( Leary and Acosta, 2018 ). As such, events that threaten social relationships or suggest possible social devaluation are experienced as aversive and have harmful effects on one’s cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and physiology ( Leary et al, 1995 ; Stroud et al, 2000 ; Dickerson and Kemeny, 2004 ; Zadro et al, 2004 ; Blackhart et al, 2007 ; Martin et al, 2018 ). SET is one such event.…”