Date of Award

8-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Adam Pazda

Second Advisor

Alexandra E. Roach

Third Advisor

Ed Callen

Abstract

Ostracism is a social process through which individuals are excluded or ignored (Williams, 1998). While recent research has slowly shifted toward the perpetrators of ostracism, relative to the targets, there is still little research on the effects of complying with ostracism. While previous research suggests engaging in ostracism leads to negative affect and thwarted need satisfaction, ostracism was directed toward an otherwise underserving target (Legate et al., 2013). The current research examined the effects of being instructed to ostracize a member of a despised outgroup on affect and need satisfaction. Seventy-one participants were recruited to play Cyberball, in which they were instructed to ostracize a loathsome other, ostracize a neutral target, or simply play the game as they wish. Affect and psychological need satisfaction was measured at baseline and after the completion of the game. When controlling for baseline affect, participants in ostracism groups reported significantly lower positive affect than those in the control groups. There was no observed effect of ostracism on need satisfaction, nor were there any observed differences in affect or need satisfaction between the two ostracism groups.

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