Ostracism & Aggression
Williams, Kipling (Purdue University)
Whereas social psychologists have studied a variety of factors that precipitate aggression for nearly a century, recently research suggests important links between ostracism (also known as social exclusion and/or rejection) and aggression. The phenomenon of ostracism has received considerable empirical attention in the last 15 years, in part because of a revitalized interest in the importance of belonging for human social behavior. Research has shown that surprisingly minimal conditions of ostracism are sufficient to cause large emotional, cognitive, and behavioral effects. I present a temporal model that describes and predicts processes and responses at three stages of reactions to ostracism: (a) reflexive, (b) reflective, and (c) resignation. The reflexive response is pain and simultaneously triggers threats to negative affect (anger and sadness) and four fundamental needs--belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. In this stage, the individual’s attention is directed to reflect on the meaning, relevance, and importance of the ostracism episode. The result of this cognitive appraisal process leads the individual to engage in emotional, cognitive, and behavioral coping responses that serve to fortify the most threatened need(s). Our thinking is that control and existence-fortification can lead to anti-social behaviors, whereas belonging and self-esteem-fortification often leads to social attentiveness and pro-social behaviors. However, a possible dysfunctional consequence of enhancing one's inclusionary status is heightened social susceptibility, which sometimes can also take the form of adherence to group norms that favor or instigate aggression toward other groups. Much of our research is aimed at investigating effects of ostracism on social susceptibility, pro-social behaviors, and aggression. In the resignation stage, persistent exposure to ostracism over time depletes the resources necessary to motivate the individual to fortify threatened needs, thus leading eventually to resignation, alienation, helplessness, and depression. Understanding the link between ostracism and aggression, and individual and social factors that moderate the relationship, will be discussed.
Sydney Symposium of Social Psychology 2010