Abstract
Humans have an overwhelming desire to belong to social groups and if rejected, may act ingratiatory, and conform more easily, to a new accepting group (Williams, 2007) to establish themselves as a valued group member. We investigated whether following rejection, individuals were more willing to participate in and condone varying political actions against an excluding and opposing organization on behalf of a new organization. Results showed that rejected participants were more inclined to be politically active toward the outgroup, and this effect was magnified in those high in rejection sensitivity. Effects were mediated by thwarted inclusionary needs, suggesting that actions directed toward an outgroup may be driven by pro-social belongingness needs rather than outgroup aggression.
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