Clarifying the Relationship Between Ostracism and Relational Devaluation

Abstract

We examine how three perspectives on relational devaluation relate to needs threat following ostracism. In two experiments with 179 first-year psychology students, distress was greatest when participants were ostracized without any prior throws, and distress decreased linearly with increasing prior inclusion. In Experiment 3, using 76 first-year psychology students, we manipulated expectations of exclusion and found expectations predicted distress following ostracism, suggesting ostracism's distress can be influenced by norm-based expectations of inclusion, and that progressive relational devaluation is not a necessary condition for ostracism's distress.

The Impact of Workplace Ostracism on Stress and Employee Engagement

“…Workplace ostracism increases employee turnover, and it ultimately decreases the performance of the organization (Hitlan, Cliffton, & Desoto, 2006). Endanger employee relationships (Gerber & Wheeler, 2014), and reduce employees' personal and work satisfaction (Ferris, 2008). Recent studies suggest that individuals are ostracized on a daily basis (Nezlek, Wesselmann, Wheeler, & Williams, 2015).…”

Diagnosing member-customer ostracism in co-operatives and counterpoising its relationship-poisoning effects

“…Though a subtle form of exclusion and mistreatment, ostracism presents a salient experience of being left out, violating individuals' expectancies of being included (Gerber and Wheeler, 2014;Poon et al, 2013;Svetieva et al, 2015). The purposeful or unintentional failure of co-op participants to act in ways that make members feel included or enjoy membership benefits (e.g.…”

Essays on co-operatives’ idiosyncrasies : structure, performance, and membership

“…We expect ostracism to have a profound effect on relational exchange outcomes, despite the likely presence of competing mistreatment behavior like social undermining. Besides, co-op members' ingrained need for connection with their co-op can be principally thwarted by ostracism, which habitually provokes heightened social disconnection (Gerber and Wheeler, 2014;Mead et al, 2011). Nevertheless, we do not expect ostracism or social undermining to outperform or offset one another; thus, we do not formulate a particular hypothesis.…”

“…Perhaps the prime reason why ostracism will hurt membership outcomes is its conflict with top co-op priorities, like the sense of inclusion, attention, and treatment (Nilsson, 2001;Novkovic, 2008). Though a subtle form of exclusion and mistreatment, ostracism presents a salient experience of being left out, violating individuals' expectancies of being included (Gerber and Wheeler, 2014;Poon et al, 2013;Svetieva et al, 2015). The purposeful or unintentional failure of co-op participants to act in ways that make members feel included or enjoy membership benefits (e.g., being attended to, having their voice heard) can be rather distressing.…”

“…Being ostracized in social groups is particularly aversive, unleashing a variety of physiological, cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses (Lustenberger and Jagacinski, 2010;Williams and Nida, 2011). Notably, even minimal forms of ostracism elicit significant perceptions of social disconnection (Gerber and Wheeler, 2014;Jones et al, 2011). Connection and inclusion are central facets of co-op philosophy (Mellor, 2009;Novkovic, 2008), thus, ostracism can strike at the heart of co-op principles, poisoning intra-group relationships, and distancing members from their co-op.…”