Show Me the Honey! Effects of Social Exclusion on Financial Risk-Taking

Abstract

This research examines the effects of social exclusion on a critical aspect of consumer behavior, financial decision-making. Specifically, four lab experiments and one field survey uncover how feeling isolated or ostracized causes consumers to pursue riskier but potentially more profitable financial opportunities. These daring proclivities do not appear driven by impaired affect or self-esteem. Rather, interpersonal rejection exacerbates financial risk-taking by heightening the instrumentality of money (as a substitute for popularity) to obtain benefits in life. Invariably, the quest for wealth that ensues tends to adopt a riskier but potentially more lucrative road. The article concludes by discussing the implications of its findings for behavioral research as well as for societal and individual welfare.S ocial exclusion (i.e., being alone, isolated, or ostracized, sometimes with explicit declarations of dislike, but other times not; Baumeister et al. 2005;Williams 2007) is a rather common experience. Romantic relationships dissolve; people are ignored at parties or in office conversations; offers of friendship are rebuffed. Suggestive of the universality of the phenomenon, metaphors such as "getting the cold shoulder," "being left behind," or "getting dumped" are found in numerous languages around the world. And while one might hope that recent advances in communiRod Duelos (rod.duclos@ust.hk) is assistant professor of marketing at the Hong

Desiring to connect to nature: The effect of ostracism on ecological behavior

“…Second, it tested whether increased desires to connect to nature mediated the effect of ostracism on ecological behavior. To manipulate ostracism, participants recalled a past ostracism or physical pain experience (e.g., Chen, Williams, Fitness, & Newton, 2008;Duclos, Wan, & Jiang, 2013). Next, participants reported their desires to connect to nature and their inclinations to behave ecologically.…”

“…In the first part, participants completed a memory task by recalling a past experience to induce feelings of ostracism (e.g., Chen et al, 2008;Duclos et al, 2013). Participants were instructed to describe these experiences in as much detail as possible.…”

Making Sense from (Apparent) Senselessness: The JCR Lens

“…Excluded consumers have been found to seek uniqueness (Wan, Xu, and Ding 2014;Tian, Bearden, and Hunter 2001), take more risks (Duclos, Wan, and Jiang 2013), and exhibit more switching behavior (Su et al 2017), all in the service of restoring their self-view. All of these effects could explain switching from the status quo (e.g., the United Kingdom as a member of the European Union) to an unknown future (Brexit).…”

Money or Attention? Sex Differences in Reactions to Social Exclusion

“…For example, Duclos et al (2013) demonstrated that there is an increasing interest in exploring the influence of social exclusion on behavioral decisions, especially consumer decisions. In this study, we identified the money-seeking tendency of men and the attention-seeking tendency of women who face social exclusion.…”

“…In line with social exclusion tending to increase self-focus and strengthen self-belief in men, money can be an effective tool to bolster one's agentic beliefs because it is closely related to a sense of control over one's life (Johnson & Krueger, 2006) and is an effective substitute for popularity (Duclos, Wan, & Jiang, 2013). Money acts as a powerful resource and is commonly considered as a symbol of competence and achievement.…”