Abstract
This study focused on the causes of ostracism and explored the relationship between altruistic personality traits and ostracism. Using a combination of questionnaire surveys and laboratory experiments, results showed that: individuals with lower altruism were more vulnerable to be ostracized than those with higher altruism (Study 1 and Study 2). The relationship between altruism and ostracism was partially mediated by social responsibility (Study 3). When facing a low-altruistic target, the source would infer that the social responsibility level of this target was also low, thereby leading the ostracism intention to the target. Empathy did not moderate the relationship between altruism and ostracism. On the one hand, empathy did not moderate the direct effect of altruism on ostracism (Study 2); on the other hand, it also did not moderate the mediating role of social responsibility (Study 3). The strengths and limitations of this research are also discussed.
Highlights
Ostracism, which refers to being excluded and ignored by others, is common and pervasive
By manipulating the altruistic level of the target through laboratory experiments, this study investigated participants’ ostracism intention toward the target with different altruism levels and tested the moderating role of participants’ trait empathy on the relationship between the two
This study further examined the mediating role of social responsibility between altruism and ostracism and the moderating role of empathy on the mediating effect of social responsibility, that is, a moderated mediation model
Summary
Ostracism, which refers to being excluded and ignored by others, is common and pervasive. It can serve a social function (Hales et al, 2016), it is painful for those who are being ostracized (Eisenberger et al, 2003). In view of the universality of ostracism and its negative effects, previous researchers mainly focused on the results of ostracism (Riva et al, 2014; Nezlek et al, 2015) and how to deal with the effects (Williams and Nida, 2011), and relatively few studies focused on the causes of ostracism. Exploring the effects of ostracism is not enough; its causes should be studied
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