Ostracism

Ostracism is among the most powerful means of social influence. From schoolroom time-outs or the "silent treatment" from a family member or friend, to governmental acts of banishment or exile, ostracism is practiced in many contexts, by individuals and groups. This lucidly written book provides a comprehensive examination of this pervasive phenomenon, exploring the short- and long-term consequences for targets as well as the functions served for those who exclude or ignore. Within a cogent theoretical framework, an exemplary research program is presented that makes use of such diverse methods as laboratory experiments, surveys, narrative accounts, interviews, Internet-based research, brief role-plays, and week-long simulations. The resulting data shed new light on how ostracism affects the individual's coping responses, self-esteem, and sense of belonging and control. Informative and timely, this book will be received with interest by researchers, practitioners, and students in a wide range of psychological disciplines.

Synthesizing a vast and diverse literature across the humanities and social sciences, this volume examines the impact of ostracism, exclusion, and rejection on individuals, relationships, groups, and societies. Its clear and comprehensive approach makes it suitable for use as a text on upper-level courses in and beyond social psychology.

This book explores the cultural and political significance of ostracism in democratic Athens. In contrast to previous interpretations, Sara Forsdyke argues that ostracism was primarily a symbolic institution whose meaning for the Athenians was determined both by past experiences of exile and by its role as a context for the ongoing negotiation of democratic values. The first part of the book demonstrates the strong connection between exile and political power in archaic Greece. In Athens and elsewhere, elites seized power by expelling their rivals. Violent intra-elite conflict of this sort was a highly unstable form of "politics that was only temporarily checked by various attempts at elite self-regulation. A lasting solution to the problem of exile was found only in the late sixth century during a particularly intense series of violent expulsions. At this time, the Athenian people rose up and seized simultaneously control over decisions of exile and political power. The close connection between political power and the power of expulsion explains why ostracism was a central part of the democratic reforms. Forsdyke shows how ostracism functioned both as a symbol of democratic power and as a key term in the ideological justification of democratic rule. Crucial to the author's interpretation is the recognition that ostracism was both a remarkably mild form of exile and one that was infrequently used. By analyzing the representation of exile in Athenian imperial decrees, in the works of Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, and in tragedy and oratory, Forsdyke shows how exile served as an important term in the debate about the best form of rule.

Aversive behaviors have greater influence on social interactions than is generally acknowledged, determining personal satisfaction, interpersonal attraction, choice of partners, and the course of relationships. What motivates aversive behaviors? To what extent do they obtain desired outcomes? In what ways are they unnecessary and destructive? How do other people respond, emotionally and behaviorally? These are just a few of the many interesting questions addressed by the 16 respected researchers who contribute to Aversive Interpersonal Behaviors. Nine chapters give this heretofore neglected subject the attention it is due, probing a dark side of interpersonal relationships to understand both its destructive and adaptive nature.

This book focuses on the ubiquitous and powerful effects of ostracism, social exclusion, rejection, and bullying. Human beings are an intrinsically gregarious species. Most of our evolutionary success is no doubt due to our highly developed ability to cooperate and interact with each other. It is thus not surprising that instances of interpersonal rejection and social exclusion would have an enormously detrimental impact on the individual. Until 10 years ago, however, social psychology regarded ostracism, rejection and social exclusion as merely outcomes to be avoided, but we knew very little about their antecedents and consequences, and about the processes involved when they occurred. Furthermore, the literatures of ostracism, social exclusion and rejection have not until now included discussions of the bullying literature.

Workplace mistreatment is a burgeoning topic of interest, with the majority of workers having experienced it in some form. This book explores workplace ostracism and its negative effects on employee and organizational outcomes, such as employee attitudes, behaviors, and well-being. This edited volume defines workplace ostracism and examines how to differentiate ostracism from other type of workplace mistreatment, such as workplace incivility and interpersonal conflict. Among the questions it seeks to answer are: 1) what are the individual, relational, and contextual factors that influence employees’ workplace ostracism experiences; and 2) what constitutes ostracism in stigmatized populations, such as international students, immigrant workers, and older workers. Researchers in organizational behavior, I/O psychology, and the sociology of work will find this book to be a valuable resource.

Society consists of numerous interconnected, interacting, and interdependent groups, which differ in power and status. The consequences of belonging to a higher-status "majority" versus a lower-status "minority" can be profound. To understand the origins of the problems caused by majority-minority tensions and develop solutions, it is necessary to understand the dynamics of majority-minority relations. This volume brings together leading scholars in the fields of stigma, prejudice and discrimination, minority influence, and intergroup relations to provide diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives on what it means to be a minority.

This edited volume provides an up-to-date review of current research on ostracism, social exclusion, and rejection. The book shows why exclusion and rejection occur, how they affect the excluded individuals, and the consequences they might have for individuals and organizations. Ostracism, social exclusion, and rejection are common phenomena, both at the individual level, such as ostracism in the classroom or at the workplace, as well as on a societal or even global scale, such as immigration or asylum policies. Examining key concepts such as the long-term effects of ostracism, the developmental and cultural perspective on ostracism, and the detrimental impact that social exclusion may have on individuals and societies, the authors provide an up-to-date overview of the research field and present new conceptual models and methodological approaches. Featuring discussion of promising areas, novel pathways for research, and cutting-edge developments, this is the most comprehensive bringing-together of research on this topic. The book gives both a broad state-of-the-art overview of the field as well as discussing cutting-edge ideas and promising areas for future research; it is essential for students, researchers of social psychology, and policy makers interested in this field.

Ostracism, Exclusion, and Rejection examines research into the related phenomena of ostracism, exclusion and rejection. Most individuals have experienced both sides of the coin: being ostracized and ostracizing others. People experience mild forms of ostracism on a daily basis, but some endure years and decades of being the social outcast. How does it feel to be shunned, left out, not wanted? Research suggests that even the mildest and briefest forms of ostracism are painful and have downstream consequences to our feelings of social connection. Longer-term ostracism has devastating consequences on individuals’ health and well-being. This innovative compilation covers how being cast out affects the brain and body chemistry, feelings and emotions, thoughts and beliefs, and behaviors. In addition to the primary focus on targets of ostracism, researchers also examine the motives and consequences of ostracizing. Social scientists from social psychology, developmental psychology, neuroscience, communication science, cross-cultural psychology, and anthropology tackle these questions with cutting-edge methods and provocative theories. A key volume for all in those fields, this book also presents applications from the schoolyard to the workplace, and sounds a much-needed call for further research on this universal behavior of all social animals.

Ostracism is by far the most emblematic institution of ancient Athenian democracy. This volume offers a reassessment of recently found ostraka (or potsherds, on which the names of the 'candidates' for exile were inscribed by citizens) from several Greek cities outside Athens, a thorough reconstruction of the history and of the procedure of ostracism in Athens, and a comprehensive account of the political circumstances of the introduction of the law on ostracism by Cleisthenes in 508/507 BCE. Marek Węcowski's original study focuses not only on the final stage, the day of the vote, but on the entire operation and procedure of ostracisation. Tracing the logic of the political play in Athens between the opening and final stages of ostracism, Węcowski argues that Athenian ostracism was a mechanism devised to impose compromise on the main players in Athenian political life, thereby avoiding the punishment of political elites by exile of leading politicians resulting from unpredictable votes by the citizenry. To support this hypothesis, Węcowski turns to the theory of the 'evolution of cooperation' as formulated by the American mathematician and political scientist Robert Axelrod based on the iterated prisoner's dilemma in game theory, applied as a probabilistic analogy to the dynamics of Athenian political life under democracy.