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.

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 very little was known about their antecedents and consequences, and about the processes involved when they occurred.
Understanding how people relate to each other, why they choose to exclude others, and how and why individuals and groups respond as they do to acts of rejection and exclusion has never been of greater importance than today. Acts of exclusion have been linked to depression, alienation, suicide, and mass killings. Marginalization leads people to seek stronger bonds with fringe elements, thus creating more opportunities for anti-social behaviors.
The main objective of this book is to explore the powerful consequences of being socially outcast at the neurophysiological, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral levels. The contributors offer integrative theories that encapsulate the experience of ostracism, exclusion, and rejection. Several chapters explore the role of individual differences in how people respond to exclusion, and the role of social exclusion in triggering adaptive, pro-social or dysfunctional, anti-social behaviors is discussed.
The book is written in a readable yet scholarly style, and researchers, practitioners, and students at both the undergraduate and graduate level should find it an engaging overview of the field. It can be used as a core textbook in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses dealing with social exclusion, and should be of particular interest to practitioners and researchers in applied areas such as clinical, counseling, health, and organizational psychology where the real-life antecedents and consequences of social exclusion are of vital interest.

What is the nature of the 'self', how do everyday experiences shape it, and how does it influence our thinking, judgements and behaviors? Such questions constitute enduring puzzles in psychology, and are also of critical practical importance for applied domains such as clinical, counselling, educational and organizational psychology.
In this book a select group of eminent international researchers survey the most recent advances in research of the self. In particular, they discuss the influence of cognitive and intra-psychic processes (Part 1), interpersonal and relational variables (Part 2), and inter-group phenomena on the self (Part 3).
The volume offers a highly integrated and comprehensive coverage, and is suitable as a reference work to students, researchers, and practitioners in the social and behavioral sciences.

This book provides an up-to-date integration of some of the most recent developments in social psychological research on social conflict and aggression, one of the most perennial and puzzling topics in all of psychology. It offers an informative, scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in research on the nature, antecedents, management, and consequences of interpersonal and intergroup conflict and aggression. The chapters share a broad integrative orientation, and argue that human conflict is best understood through the careful analysis of the cognitive, affective, and motivational processes of those involved in conflict situations, supplemented by a broadly-based understanding of the evolutionary, biological, as well as the social and cultural contexts within which social conflict occurs.

Social influence processes play a key role in human behavior. Arguably our extraordinary evolutionary success has much to do with our subtle and highly developed ability to interact with and influence each other. In this volume, leading international researchers review and integrate contemporary theory and research on the many ways people influence each other, considering both explicit, direct, and implicit, indirect influence strategies. Three sections examine fundamental processes and theory in social influence research, the role of cognitive processes and strategies in social influence phenomena, and the operation of social influence mechanisms in group settings. By applying the latest research to a wide range of interpersonal phenomena, this volume greatly advances our understanding of social influence mechanisms in strategic social interaction, and should be of interest to all students, researchers and practitioners interested in the dynamics of everyday interpersonal behavior.

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Social influence processes play a key role in human behaviour. Arguably our extraordinary evolutionary success has much to do with our subtle and highly developed ability to interact with and influence each other. In this volume, leading international researchers review and integrate contemporary theory and research on the many ways people influence each other, considering both explicit, direct and implicit, indirect influence strategies. Three sections examine fundamental processes and theory in social influence research, the role of cognitive processes and strategies in social influence phenomena, and the operation of social influence mechanisms in group settings. By applying the latest research to a wide range of interpersonal phenomena, this volume greatly advances our understanding of social influence mechanisms in strategic social interaction, and will be valuable to all students, researchers and practitioners interested in the dynamics of everyday interpersonal behaviour.

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Purposive, goal-directed behavior is one of the defining characteristics human beings. This volume surveys the most recent theories and research on the psychological mechanisms involved in the planning and execution of motivated social behavior. The contributors are all leading international researchers, and their chapters discuss such exciting topics as how goals influence thinking and behavior, how affect and social motivation interact, how unconscious motivation operates, and the relationship between habits and intentions as sources of social action. The applications of contemporary research on motivation to practical questions in clinical, organizational, educational and counseling psychology receive special attention. The book is written in a readable yet scholarly style. The chapters take a highly comprehensive and integrative approach, and the book should be of interest to students, practitioners and researchers interested in the psychology of motivation, and should also be suitable as an advanced textbook of this field.

Effective social interaction requires sophisticated mental and motivational strategies. The Social Mind reviews and integrates recent psychological research on the relationship between people's thoughts and motives--their "social mind"--and their interpersonal strategies. The research shows that success in personal relationships, group behavior and strategic interaction are all significantly influenced by how individuals interpret and explain the social world around them. The implications of this research for personal adjustment, organizational effectiveness and clinical, counseling, and health psychology are also explored.

Essays by leading international researchers on the psychology of social judgments discuss the role of evolutionary, neuropsychological and developmental influences on social judgments, in addition to the role of high-level reasoning processes. The delicate interplay between conscious, rational and unconscious automatic mechanisms is emphasized in determining judgmental outcomes. The implications of recent advances in understanding everyday social judgments in people's personal and working lives are stressed.

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, 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.

The objective of this book, which was originally published in 2003, is to provide an informative, scholarly yet readable overview of advances on judgmental research, and to offer a closer integration between implicit, subconscious, and explicit conscious judgmental mechanisms. The chapters draw on key research on social cognition, evolutionary psychology, neuropsychology, and personality dynamics to achieve this objective. The contributions offer important insights into the way everyday judgmental processes operate and are organized into three sections, dealing with fundamental influences on judgmental processes, the role of cognitive and intra-psychic mechanisms in social judgments and the role of social and interpersonal variables in judgments. The book is written in a readable yet scholarly style, and researchers, practitioners, and students both at the undergraduate and at the graduate level should find it an engaging overview of the field.

Purposive, goal-directed behaviour is one of the defining characteristics of human beings. This volume surveys theories and research on the psychological mechanisms involved in the planning and execution of motivated social behaviour. The contributors are all leading international researchers, and their chapters discuss such exciting topics as how goals influence thinking and behaviour, how affect and social motivation interact, how unconscious motivation operates, and the relationship between habits and intentions as sources of social action. The applications of contemporary research on motivation to practical questions in clinical, organisational, educational and counselling psychology receive special attention. The book is written in a readable yet scholarly style. The chapters take a highly comprehensive and integrative approach, and the book should be of interest to students, practitioners and researchers interested in the psychology of motivation, and should also be suitable as an advanced textbook of this field.

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.