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Unlike one-time lab manipulations of exclusion, in real life, many people experience exclusion, from others and from groups, over extended periods, raising the question of whether individuals could, over time, develop hypo- or hypersensitive responses to chronic exclusion. In Study 1, we subjected participants to repeated experiences of inclusion or exclusion (three Cyberball games, time lag of three days, N = 194; 659 observations). We find that repeatedly excluded individuals become hypersensitive to inclusion, but not to exclusion. Study 2 ( N = 183) tested whether individuals with chronic experiences of real-world exclusion show hypo- or hypersensitive responses to a novel episode of exclusion. In line with Study 1, exclusion hurt to the same extent regardless of baseline levels of chronic exclusion in daily life. However, chronically excluded individuals show more psychological distress in general. We discuss theoretical and practical implications for dealing with chronically excluded individuals and groups.

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Based on data from a large-scale social survey in the United Kingdom, the present work examines the influence of household situation and gender on individuals' psychological needs and subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asked to compare their current state to that before the pandemic, men but not women living alone report a subjective decline in their basic psychological needs for meaningfulness and self-esteem, as well as lower subjective well-being. A mediated moderation analysis indicates that the lower subjective well-being for men living alone is mainly mediated by the decline in the satisfaction of their need for self-esteem. The present findings suggest that social isolation during the pandemic may have affected men and women's psychological needs differently and highlight the special role of need for self-esteem, offering insights for potential well-being interventions in times of crisis.

Evidence from different research areas suggests that expecting negative outcomes can buffer their adverse psychological effects. In the context of social exclusion, however, evidence for buffering effects of expectations on individuals' immediate need threat is mixed and has not been examined in terms of cognitive bracing. We present four studies (N = 1159) that test two competing hypotheses (no buffering vs. buffering effects) and focus on three explanations that may account for the previous mixed findings. Study 1 provides support for buffering effects. However, Studies 2, 3 and 4 do not replicate these effects. An integrative data analysis across the four studies using equivalence tests suggests no meaningful differences in need threat after exclusion. These results suggest that expectations alone may not suffice to buffer immediate need threat or negative affect after exclusion, and illuminate how prior seemingly contradictory evidence may align well. Conceptual and practical implications are discussed. K E Y W O R D Sbracing for the worst, buffering of need threat, expectations, ostracism, social exclusion 1 Exclusion hurts regardless of expectationsThe temporal need threat model of ostracism or social exclusion holds that individuals possess an inherent ostracism detection system that immediately reacts to the slightest cues of social exclusion 746