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Disagreeableness as a Cause and Consequence of Ostracism

Andrew H Hales1, Matthew P Kassner2, Kipling D Williams3

  • 1Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA ahales@purdue.edu.

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin
|April 6, 2016
PubMed

Insights

People avoid ostracizing agreeable individuals. Experiencing ostracism makes targets disagreeable, leading to more social exclusion and anger.

Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Personality Psychology

Background:

  • Ostracism's detrimental effects are well-established.
  • However, the personality traits that predispose individuals to ostracism remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the personality characteristics that make individuals targets of ostracism.
  • To examine the impact of ostracism on individuals' subsequent personality states.

Main Methods:

  • Multiple studies (2-6) were conducted, employing various experimental designs.
  • Participants' willingness to ostracize targets based on agreeableness was assessed.
  • Mediating roles of interpersonal trust and fairness endorsement were examined.
  • The effect of ostracism on target disagreeableness and anger was investigated.

Main Results:

  • Individuals perceived as disagreeable were more likely to be ostracized.
  • This effect was mediated by lower interpersonal trust towards the target.
  • Experiencing ostracism led to increased disagreeableness in targets.
  • This increase in disagreeableness was mediated by feelings of anger.

Conclusions:

  • Disagreeableness is a key factor influencing who becomes a target of ostracism.
  • Ostracism can paradoxically induce disagreeableness, creating a cycle of social exclusion.
  • Understanding these dynamics is crucial for addressing the negative consequences of ostracism.
Keywords:
agreeablenessfairness moral foundationostracismpersonality

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