Temporal effects of group membership on ostracism.

Abstract

The effect of group membership on ostracism has been repeatedly demonstrated to be negligible in past studies. Exclusion by ingroup or outgroup members did not result in a difference in distress level due to ostracism. This is in spite of the important functions that social exclusion serves, that is, to maintain a group's basic functions and to form its members' identities. Study 1 proposed a temporal effect of group type where ingroup-ostracized targets were expected to experience more distress than outgroup-ostracized targets after a time lapse. Results however showed no difference in distress between these targets during immediate and delayed testing. Study 2 tested possible coping mechanisms adopted by ostracized participants as explanations for the absence of group membership on ostracism. Results and further directions for future studies were discussed.