Righting the Wrong: Reparative Coping After Going Along With Ostracism
Nicole Legate1, Cody DeHaan, Richard Ryan
1a Illinois Institute of Technology.
The Journal of Social Psychology
|August 13, 2015
Summary
Complying with ostracism harms psychological needs, leading to negative effects for ostracizers. However, these individuals later exhibit more inclusive behaviors, suggesting a coping mechanism for social exclusion.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Ostracism research primarily focuses on the negative impacts on the ostracized individual.
- Emerging research highlights negative psychological effects for those who ostracize others (ostracizers).
- Coping responses of ostracizers remain under-examined in scientific literature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the psychological experiences and coping reactions of individuals who engage in ostracism.
- To explore prosocial versus antisocial coping strategies employed by ostracizers.
- To understand the impact of complying with ostracism on an ostracizer's psychological needs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a face-to-face interaction paradigm to simulate ostracism.
- Examined compliant ostracizers compared to a neutral control group.
- Assessed psychological needs (autonomy, relatedness) and subsequent behavioral responses.
Main Results:
- Compliant ostracizers reported significant frustration of psychological needs for autonomy and relatedness compared to controls.
- Individuals who complied with ostracism demonstrated increased inclusivity towards the ostracized person when given the opportunity.
- Findings suggest a link between the negative experience of ostracizing and subsequent prosocial coping.
Conclusions:
- Complying with ostracism negatively impacts ostracizers' fundamental psychological needs.
- Ostracizers may engage in prosocial behaviors as a coping mechanism to repair social bonds.
- Future research should explore long-term effects and diverse coping strategies in ostracism scenarios.
More Related Videos
08:05A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence
Published on: March 23, 2022
3.1K
11:13The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
14.7K
Related Concept Videos
01:20Coping Strategies: Emotion Focused
782
Emotion-focused coping refers to a set of strategies aimed at managing the emotional impact of stressors, rather than directly addressing their causes. This approach involves altering one's emotional response to stressful situations to reduce their psychological effects. For example, individuals might talk with a friend or engage in activities like journaling to express their feelings. Such actions can help achieve emotional clarity or release, providing the psychological stability needed...
782
01:27Coping Strategies: Problem Focused
705
Coping strategies are methods people use to manage, tolerate, or reduce the effects of stressors. These strategies involve both behavioral and psychological actions to handle stressful situations. One common approach is problem-focused coping, which aims to change or eliminate the source of stress rather than merely addressing its consequences. This method involves taking direct action to resolve the issue causing stress.
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
For example, consider a student who struggles to understand their...
705
01:29Impression Management Techniques III: Aligning Actions
210
Aligning actions are communicative strategies individuals employ to maintain social harmony and preserve personal identity in the face of potential disruptions to social norms. These actions are particularly important in managing social impressions when one's behavior might be seen as inappropriate, incompetent, or morally questionable.Types of Aligning ActionsThe three principal types of aligning actions are disclaimers, accounts, and apologies.DisclaimersDisclaimers are preventive; they are...
210
04:49Robbers Cave
15.1K
During the 1950s, the landmark Robbers Cave experiment demonstrated that when groups must compete with one another, intergroup conflict, hostility, and even violence may result. At the Oklahoman summer camp, two troops of boys—termed the Rattlers and the Eagles—took part in a week-long tournament. During this time, their negativity culminated in derogatory name-calling, fistfights, and even vandalism and destruction of property. However, this work also revealed that such tension...
15.1K
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
38.0K
Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
38.0K
01:31In- and Out-Groups
44.1K
People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.
44.1K