A preference for genuine smiles following social exclusion

The interplay of oxytocin and collectivistic orientation shields against negative effects of ostracism

“…Consistent with our rationale, these two needs are often seen as closely related in the ostracism literature, that is, as components of a common "inclusionary" cluster (Williams, 2009). Both of these needs have been linked to re-affiliation behaviors (Williams, 2009), and have been shown to mediate affiliative responses to ostracism (Bernstein et al, 2010). The present effect of oxytocin, a neuropeptide often serving affiliative needs, is consistent with, and underscores, the proposed inclusionary component of the two constructs.…”

“…We then assessed participants' feeling of social comfort, as indicated by the sense of belonging and socially reflected self-esteem. We chose these two scales, which have been frequently employed in ostracism research, because they are related to affiliation behavior (Bernstein, Sacco, Brown, Young, & Claypool, 2010;Williams, 2009) and are apt to capture the expected social effects of oxytocin (Bartz et al, 2011). We predicted that under oxytocin (vs. placebo), the drop in social comfort triggered by ostracism (vs. inclusion) should be weaker in participants with a horizontally collectivistic (vs.…”

The Impact of Race and Inclusionary Status on Memory for Ingroup and Outgroup Faces

“…But more than just being painful, social exclusion can also attune perceivers to information that will facilitate reaffiliation (e.g., Bernstein, Sacco, Brown et al, 2010;Bernstein et al, 2008;Gardner, Pickett, & Brewer, 2000;Maner, DeWall, Baumeister, & Schaller, 2007;Pickett, Gardner, & Knowles, 2004). Such perceptual readiness is a classic motivational phenomenon (e.g., Bruner, 1957), and perceptual sensitivity to such social information may better prepare individuals to efficiently identify targets who offer social affiliation, which would represent a rather adaptive response to social rejection (i.e., would facilitate successful reaffiliation; see Sacco et al, 2011).…”

“…Specifically, we explored how the experience of being socially included or excluded by racial ingroup and outgroup members influences the ORE in face memory. Because social exclusion can result in greater attunement to social information communicated by faces (e.g., Bernstein, Sacco, Brown, Young, & Claypool, 2010;Bernstein, Young, Brown, Sacco, & Claypool, 2008;Sacco, Wirth, Hugenberg, Chen, & Williams, 2011), we expected socially rejected individuals to show more accurate memory for faces. However, we expected this effect to be qualified by racial ingroup-outgroup status, including the race of the group rejecting the participant as well as the race of the targets to be remembered.…”

The way I make you feel: Social exclusion enhances the ability to manage others' emotions

“…Prior research examining responses to social exclusion strongly suggests that social exclusion enhances performance on this first branch of emotional intelligence. Specifically, when people feel insufficient levels of social inclusion (e.g., after a laboratory-induced exclusion, chronicallylonely individuals, individuals with dispositionally-high belonging needs), they show heightened attention to and accuracy in understanding both facial and vocal expressions of emotion (e.g., Bernstein, Sacco, Brown, Young, & Claypool, 2010;Bernstein, Young, Brown, Sacco, & Claypool, 2008;Gardner et al, 2005;Pickett, Gardner, & Knowles, 2004;Sacco, Wirth, Hugenberg, Chen, & Williams, 2011). Accurately perceiving others' emotions may not be enough to ensure successful reconnection, however.…”