Reactions to Ostracism: Pain followed by Need Fortification

I will present my program of research on ostracism, which I define as being ignored and excluded. Using a variety of methods, I find initial reactions to ostracism are unmitigated, distressing, and painful. As coping processes are activated, ostracized individuals appear to follow two distinctly different paths: one that seems to improve their inclusionary status, including pro-social and socially attentive behavior. The other path includes self-defeating and anti-social reactions, behaviors that appear to ensure further exclusion. I interpret these findings as differential attempts to fortify threatened needs of belonging and self-esteem on the one hand, and control and meaningful existence on the other.