Lecture 5: Rejectio aod Exclusiio io Ioterpersioal relatiossips (Review Questioss
1. Describe what relatioal value is aod what reactios a decrease io relatioal value cao
trigger?
Relational value = the degree to which others consider their relationships with us to be valuable.
Relational devaluation = apparent decreases in others’ regard for us. This causes a variety of unhappy
emotions. When partners turned against them, people felt sad, angry, and hurt. Hurt is particular sensation that is
uniquely associated with losses of relational value.
2. What is curreotly koiwo abiut the similarites betweeo physical aod sicial paio?
Ciosideriog that there are similar uoderlyiog mechaoisms if the bith, what cao yiu
cioclude abiut the fuoctios if experieoce sicial paio io reactio ti sicial exclusiio?
Hurt feelings have much in common with real pain; brains response as if they were experiencing physical pain (fMRI
study). Rejection really hurts. Pain reliever (paracetamol) reduces pain of social rejection just as it does a headache.
Marijuana blunts social pain, too. Psychological wounds can cause real distress, and the sense of injury that
characterizes hurt feelings (feeling that relationship rules have been broken and that one has been damaged,
shattered, cut or stabbed) makes hurt feelings a distinct emotional experience.
Why would social pain involve similar mechanisms as physical pain? Because having a signal that you don't belong
to a group might be a direct threat to survival, similarly as touching a hot fre or physical injury. It's a triggering
mechanism warning us for losing our social status in a group or losing close others when it refers to a kin
network or a social group. Inclusive ftness is a theory in evolutionary biology in which an organism’s genetic
success is believed to be derived from cooperation and altruistic behaviour.
3. Ti what exteot cao we be ciofdeot that sicial rejectio actvates the paio matrix ideotfed
io studies if physical paio (review paper by Kawamiti, et al., 2015)? If yiu were a
researcher io this feld what further types if evideoce wiuld yiu be liikiog fir?
ARTICLE
The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) activities are
identifed as possible neurocognitive index of social exclusion. Studies show the involvement of these two brain
regions in intrapersonal and interpersonal processes of social exclusion. The literature of social exclusion using
neuroimaging, electrophysiological, and behavioral methods within this framework supports the involvement.
Individuals feel social pain during social exclusion. Social exclusion is known to activate brain regions similar to
those that are activated during physical pain.
Although dACC involvement in processing social exclusion has been replicated by multiple studies, social exclusion
is a complex phenomenon which inherently includes multiple other components such as expectancy violation.
One recent meta-analysis of fMRI studies related to social exclusion showed the involvement of dACC in processing
information related to social exclusion (Rotge et al., 2015), whereas another meta-analysis failed to show an
association between social exclusion and dACC (Cacioppo et al., 2013). These contrary fndings suggest that neural
correlates of social exclusion might be complex (Cacioppo et al., 2013), and need further investigation focusing on
the duration and temporal dynamics of social exclusion.
It is possible that individuals repeatedly process each exclusionary cue, and additive and complex intrapersonal
processes determine the fnal emotional response (e.g., social pain). Thus, social exclusion is an uncertain and
complex circumstance in which the excluded individual interprets the situation and source of threat (i.e., the
excluder) in dramatically diferent ways over time.
Future research would beneft from investigating temporal change during social exclusion for a better
understanding of psychological and neural correlates during social exclusion.
4. Describe the rile if sicial mioitiriog system io reactios ti sicial exclusiio (Kawamiti, et
al., 2015)?
Once people are excluded by others, they activate an outer monitoring system, called the “social monitoring
system (SMS)”. According to the conceptualization of the SMS, this system enhances perceptive and cognitive
responses to social cues and social information (e.g. facial expression and vocal tone). SMS is considered an
adaptive system that attunes excluded people to information that will help them navigate the social environment
more successfully. Supporting this supposition, prior studies have revealed that social exclusion causes increased
, attention and perception in response to social information. Prior studies have shown that brain regions related to
mentalizing (= ability to extract and understand others’ thoughts and beliefs) and mirror neuron networks –
dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, and precentral gyrus – and ERP components related to
attention and facial encoding – P1 and N170 – might be involved in the SMS.
5. What are sime examples if self-recivery pricesses io reactio ti sicial exclusiio
(Kawamiti, et al., 2015)?
Excluded people seem to be able to recover from the aversive impact of social exclusion without any direct
interaction with others (e.g. prosocial or antisocial behavior toward others). A prior study found that after 45 min
delay, socially excluded participants recovered their primary needs, including the sense of self-esteem, belonging,
control, and meaningful existence. This fnding implies that people have a self-recovery system that can efectively
bufer against the aversive infuences of social exclusion. One possible mechanism of this system is that excluded
people use an inner representation of social connection (e.g. memories of their family, mental images of favorite
characters from novels). According to the belonging regulation model, people use indirect strategies to regain a
sense of social connection when they feel unconnected. Supporting this notion, previous studies have implied that
any entity with which an individual can feel a social connection – a god, comfort food, or a favorite television
character – could diminish the aversive impacts of social exclusion. In addition, excluded individuals set in motion
an automatic emotion regulation process in which positive emotions become highly accessible, which relates to
positive mental health. Thus, excluded individuals seem to deal fexibly with their mental representations and social
environment to regulate and regain the feeling of social connection.
6. Wheo ciosideriog uorequited live, explaio the emitioal reactios frim the perspectve if
the wiuld-be-liver, aod frim the perspectve if the rejectir?
COLLEGE
The sufering and the pain is mutual in unrequited love. The love not, but the pain is. Interviews and reports on this
topic show that would-be lover and rejector both show negative emotions. Diferent emotions, but intensities of
emotions are comparable. The would-be-lover is falling upward. He/she is dealing with a blow to the relational value
and self-esteem. The rejector (is rejecting as not perceiving the person possessing desirable characteristics) is
dealing with guilt. Is also dealing with awkwardness, often you don’t know how to go on or express yourself in these
types of situations. The guilt is not rational because it’s not something you did on purpose/conscious but still can be
powerful, uneasy situation.
7. Describe hiw perceived relatioal value cao ciotribute ti ioe’s experieoce if uorequited
live? (io ither wirds, why di yiuog peiple are mire likely ti experieoce uorequited live)
COLLEGE
Young people are not as experienced as older people. They don’t know their relational value that well. They might
overestimate their relational value and therefore their love might be not reciprocated. Why is it that mostly young
people end up falling non-reciprocally falling in love? Young people are too optimistic. They fall in love with ideal.
You need to gather experiences to get an idea of what types of relationships are suitable and what type of
individuals would reciprocate our afection. Important to acknowledge that young people experience non-reciprocal
afection more.
8. What is istracism? What are the twi maio ways hiw peiple deal with beiog istracized, aod
what the ciosequeoces if the bith are?
BOEK
Ostracism = people are given the “cold shoulder” and ignored by those around them specifc form of
rejection that often occurs even in close relationships. Initial reactions to such treats: confused, unhappy disarray.
What happens next seems to depend on which of a person’s needs are in the most peril. When belongingness is
threatened, people who are being ostracized may work hard to regain partners’ regard, being compliant, especially
when they think the relationship and their relational value can be repaired. But they may also start looking for new,
less punishing partners. After experience with exclusion, people are often especially eager to make new, kinder
friends. More antagonistic reactions when ostracism seems illegitimate and unjust and threatens people’s feelings
of control or self-worth. When ostracized people get angry, they dismiss the opinions of those who are ignoring
them as unfounded, unfair, and dim-witted (=dom), and they become more surly and aggressive (even toward
innocent bystanders) than cowed and compliant.
COLLEGE