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When Silence Is Not Golden: Why Acknowledgment Matters Even When Being Excluded.
Journal article

When Silence Is Not Golden: Why Acknowledgment Matters Even When Being Excluded.

  • Rudert SC 1 University of Basel, Switzerland.
  • Hales AH 2 Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
  • Greifeneder R 1 University of Basel, Switzerland.
  • Williams KD 2 Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
  • 2017-09-15
Published in:
  • Personality & social psychology bulletin. - 2017
acknowledgment
ostracism
rejection
social exclusion
Adult
Cues
Female
Hostility
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Personal Satisfaction
Rejection, Psychology
Social Isolation
Young Adult
English Following ostracism, individuals are highly sensitive to social cues. Here we investigate whether and when minimal acknowledgment can improve need satisfaction following an ostracism experience. In four studies, participants were either ostracized during Cyberball (Studies 1 and 2) or through a novel apartment-application paradigm (Studies 3 and 4). To signal acknowledgment following ostracism, participants were either thrown a ball a few times at the end of the Cyberball game, or received a message that was either friendly, neutral, or hostile in the apartment-application paradigm. Both forms of acknowledgment increased need satisfaction, even when the acknowledgment was hostile (Study 4), emphasizing the beneficial effect of any kind of acknowledgment following ostracism. Reinclusion buffered threat immediately, whereas acknowledgment without reinclusion primarily aided recovery. Our results suggest that minimal acknowledgment such as a few ball throws or even an unfriendly message can reduce the sting of ostracism.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/5759
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