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Updated: Jul 24, 2025

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You can't play with us: First-person ostracism affects infants' behavioral reactivity

E Quadrelli1,2, J Mermier1, S Nazzari3

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.

Child Development
|July 10, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Even 13-month-old infants show behavioral responses to social exclusion. Ostracized infants displayed increased negative emotions and involvement behaviors, indicating early sensitivity to social rejection.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Infant Behavior

Background:

  • Ostracism impacts adult psychological needs and social information processing.
  • Limited research exists on ostracism's effects in preverbal infants and young children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate infant responses to social exclusion.
  • To assess the effectiveness of a triadic ball-tossing game in creating inclusion and ostracism scenarios.
  • To develop an observational coding system for infant behaviors during social exclusion.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a triadic ball-tossing game with 84 infants (13 months old).
  • Infants were observed while either included or excluded from the game.
  • An observational coding system was developed to record infant behaviors.

Main Results:

  • Infants excluded from the game exhibited increased negative emotionality.
  • Ostracized infants showed a rise in involvement behaviors.
  • Infants included in the game did not display these behavioral changes.

Conclusions:

  • Behavioral responses to ostracism are evident in infants as young as 13 months.
  • Early life experiences of social exclusion can elicit distinct behavioral patterns.
  • The findings suggest a foundational sensitivity to social rejection in early development.

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