The emotional and motivational aftermath of everyday rejection

Although rejection is a universal human experience, the short- and long-term social and emotional consequences of naturally occurring rejection are understudied. Using two experience-sampling designs, we delineated the concurrent and prospective sequelae of rejection. Study 1 used daily diary data collected in 2020 to examine how rejection experiences predicted daily emotional well-being and social motivation in 269 participants (age range = 18-73) screened for social anxiety and/or depression symptoms. Study 2 used denser, within-day sampling via ecological momentary assessment data collected in 2021 and multivariate, temporal network analyses to examine the direct and indirect effects of rejection on socioemotional factors in 96 participants (age range = 18-66) with and without social anxiety disorder. In Study 1, feeling rejected during daily social interactions predicted same-day increases in negative emotions (i.e., sadness, anger, irritability), decreases in approach motivation, and increases in avoidance motivation, but none of these effects persisted to the next day. In Study 2, feeling rejected concurrently and temporally predicted increased negative emotions (i.e., loneliness, sadness, embarrassment, hurt, anger, and irritability) and desire to be alone. Temporal network analyses yielded evidence of direct and indirect feedback loops between rejection and feeling hurt and angry that might maintain a cycle of negative affect and rejection feelings. Sensitivity analyses indicated that social anxiety moderated some reciprocal effects between rejection and social motivation. Together, these findings shed new light on the potency of naturally occurring rejection and why its consequences can be so difficult to counteract. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).