Current Directions in Ostracism, Social Exclusion and Rejection Research

This edited volume provides an up-to-date review of current research on ostracism, social exclusion, and rejection. The book shows why exclusion and rejection occur, how they affect the excluded individuals, and the consequences they might have for individuals and organizations. Ostracism, social exclusion, and rejection are common phenomena, both at the individual level, such as ostracism in the classroom or at the workplace, as well as on a societal or even global scale, such as immigration or asylum policies. Examining key concepts such as the long-term effects of ostracism, the developmental and cultural perspective on ostracism, and the detrimental impact that social exclusion may have on individuals and societies, the authors provide an up-to-date overview of the research field and present new conceptual models and methodological approaches. Featuring discussion of promising areas, novel pathways for research, and cutting-edge developments, this is the most comprehensive bringing-together of research on this topic. The book gives both a broad state-of-the-art overview of the field as well as discussing cutting-edge ideas and promising areas for future research; it is essential for students, researchers of social psychology, and policy makers interested in this field.

Selma C. Rudert is Junior Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Koblenz and Landau, Germany. In her research, Selma C. Rudert investigates social group processes with a specific focus on social exclusion in groups. Rainer Greifeneder is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. His research focuses on various aspects of social cognition, such as the experienced ease or difficulty of thinking, or how individuals construe, experience, and react to social exclusion. Kipling D. Williams is Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University, USA. His research focuses on ostracism, social influence, and intragroup processes.

Contributors 1 Understanding common and diverse forms of social exclusion Eric D. Wesselmann, Corinna Michels, and Alison Slaughter 2 Social ostracism as a factor motivating interest in extreme groups Kipling D. Williams, Andrew H. Hales, and Corinna Michels 3 About flames and boogeymen: social norms affect individuals' construal of social exclusion Rainer Greifeneder and Selma C. Rudert 4 Exclusion and its impact on social information processing Heather M. Claypool and Michael J. Bernstein 5 Dealing with social exclusion: an analysis of psychological strategies Susanna Timeo, Paolo Riva, and Maria Paola Paladino 6 How self-talk promotes self-regulation: implications for coping with emotional pain Ariana Orvell and Ethan Kross 7 Hurt feelings: physical pain, social exclusion, and the psychology of pain overlap Laura J. Ferris 8 Physiostracism: a case for non-invasive measures of arousal in ostracism research Ilja van Beest and Willem Sleegers 9 Observing ostracism: how observers interpret and respond to ostracism situations Selma C. Rudert and Rainer Greifeneder 10 Workplace ostracism: what's it good for? Sandra L. Robinson and Kira Schabram 11 Moralization as legitimization for ostracism: effects on intergroup dynamics and social cohesion Susanne Täuber 12 Rejection sensitivity as a determinant of well-being during reentry Michael J. Naft and Geraldine Downey Index