Rejected and Excluded Forevermore, but Even More Devoted

Abstract

When people are ostrasized (i.e., rejected and excluded) by either an outgroup or an ingroup, they may either withdraw or engage in compensatory activities designed to reaffirm their social identity as a group member. The authors proposed here that individual differences in identity fusion (an index of familial orientation toward the group) would moderate the tendency for people to display such compensatory activity. Consistent with this reasoning, the results of four experiments showed that irrevocable ostracism increased endorsement of extreme, pro-group actions (fighting and dying for the ingroup) among fused persons but not among nonfused persons. This effect emerged when an outgroup ostracized fused individuals due either to their nationality (Experiment 1) or their personal preferences (Experiment 2). Similarly, ostracism by the ingroup amplified the tendency for fused persons to both endorse extreme pro-group actions, refuse to leave the group (Experiment 3), and donate money to an ingroup member (Experiment 4). Finally, compensatory activities emerged even when ostracism was based on being "too good" for the group, suggesting that a desire for self-enhancement does not mediate such activities (Experiment 4).

Independent and Interdependent? Agentic and Communal? Self-construals of People Fused with a Group

“…To assess the level of fusion between personal and group identities, I used the Polish version (Besta, Jaśkiewicz & Besta, 2014) of the seven-item identity fusion scale (Gómez et al, 2011b). The feeling of unity with one's country ("I am one with my country," "I feel immersed in my country," "I have a deep emotional bond with my country," "My country is me," "I would do more for my country than any of the other group members would," "I am strong because of my country," "I make my country strong") and with gender (e.g., "I feel one with my gender") were measured separately.…”

“…To assess the level of fusion between personal and group identity, I used the seven-item identity fusion scale (Gómez et al, 2011b) and measured fusion with the groups provided by participants (e.g., sports club, religious group, coworkers, nongovernment organization; sample item: "I feel one with my group"). Participants responded using a 7-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree).…”

“…I used a seven-item identity fusion scale (Gómez et al, 2011b) to measure fusion with the group indicated by participants, who responded on a 7-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Reliability was measured with Cronbach's α, which equaled .93.…”

“…Even ostracism increases endorsement of extreme progroup behavior for the in group among fused persons (Gómez, Morales, Hart, Vázquez, & Swann, 2011b).…”

Differential Responses of Independent and Interdependent People to Social Exclusion

“…In other research, group membership or identification serves to meet a bevy of human needs, including belongingness, self-enhancement, control, meaningful existence, and recognition by others (Smart Richman, & Leary, 2009;Williams, 2007). In addition, one's reaction to social exclusion is often to take active steps to win the approval of the in-group through heightened group identification (Baumeister & Leary, 1995;Gómez, Morales, Vázquez, & Swann, 2011;Jamieson, Harkins, & Williams, 2010). In order to buffer an exclusion threat, independents seek to restore belonging needs through a heightened sense of group identity as a social symbol, through holding on to relationships with specific group members.…”