Does inclusion after ostracism influence the persistence of affective distress?

Abstract

This study used the ostracism detection theory to investigate the persistence of affective distress following ostracism and whether subsequent group inclusion would influence the recovery from ostracism more so than the passage of time. A total of 430 college students played 1 or 2 games of Cyberball. In Game 1, participants were randomly assigned to the Ostracism or the Inclusion condition. In Game 2, participants were randomly assigned a Wait condition or to the Inclusion condition. Game 1 (Ostracism vs. Inclusion)-Game 2 (Inclusion vs. Wait) group differences were used to examine level of positive and negative affect from baseline, after each game of Cyberball and at 10-min delay. Results suggest that ostracism uniquely contributed to immediate dis tressed affect. Among Game 2 Inclusion participants who were ostracized in Game 1, the episode of Game 2 Inclusion increased positive affect and decreased negative affect, more than waiting. In terms of change in affect from Game 2 to Delay, positive affect declined faster for the Game 2 Inclusion group (especially if they were ostracized in Game 1) than the Game 2 Wait group. Relative to Baseline, positive affect declined whereas negative affect recovered within 10 min of the initial experience of ostracism for all groups. These results shed light on the persistence of affective distress following ostracism. They also suggest the possibility of a short-term improvement of some immediate negative affective consequences of ostracism by providing ostracized par ticipants with the opportunity for group inclusion.

When a Look Is Not Enough: No Evidence for Direct Gaze Facilitating Recovery after Social Exclusion

“…It was surprising that seeing direct gaze did not alleviate the effects of exclusion in the present study, as previous research has demonstrated that even minimal acknowledgment can facilitate recovery after exclusion (Rudert et al, 2017). However, there is one important distinction between the current study and previous research examining how acknowledgment or inclusion moderates the effects of exclusion (Gross, 2009;Rudert et al, 2017;Twenge et al, 2007;Zwolinski, 2014). In the previous studies, participants either interacted with other people, or believed that they did.…”

“…. Zwolinski (2014) found that an inclusive interaction alleviated affective distress after exclusion more than the passing of time.…”

Learning to cope with everyday instances of social exclusion: A review of emotional and cognitive strategies for children and adolescents

“…External social support seems to bring some relief after exclusion has occurred. For example, re‐inclusion in a Cyberball game has shown to have ameliorative effects (Edmond & Keefe, ; Zwolinski, ). Moreover, having a friendly conversation with an experimenter after an exclusion episode has proven to reduce aggression (Dickerson & Kemeny, ).…”

“…Moreover, having a friendly conversation with an experimenter after an exclusion episode has proven to reduce aggression (Dickerson & Kemeny, ). However, re‐inclusion does not seem protective against subsequent episodes of exclusion (Zwolinski, ), and its positive effects do not seem to last long (Edmond & Keefe, ). Another strategy that external supporters may use is to validate the emotional experience of the victim.…”

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

“…We follow the lead of recent ostracism studies which explore coping strategies, such as how to soothe the distress caused by ostracism (Wu et al, 2012;Zwolinski, 2014) or how to reduce its aversive impacts (Lelieveld et al, 2012;Tang and Richardson, 2013). In a separate followup study, we develop and test an extended core conceptual framework that centres on the joint protective benefit of perceived "groupness" (i.e.…”