Abstract
Rejection can convey that one is seen as inferior and not worth bothering with. Is it possible for people to feel vicariously rejected in this sense and have reactions that are similar to those following personal rejection, such as feeling humiliated, powerless, and angry? A study on personal rejection was followed by two main studies on vicarious group-based rejection. It was found that merely observing rejection of ingroup members can trigger feelings of humiliation that are equally intense as those experienced in response to personal rejection. Moreover, given that the rejection is explicit, vicariously experienced feelings of humiliation can be accompanied by powerlessness and anger. Potentially, this combination of emotions could be an important source of offensive action against rejecters.
Highlights
Humiliation is often believed to be a driving force behind social conflicts
Study 1 offers a useful starting point to move from examining the link between personal rejection and humiliation to examining that between vicarious group-based rejection and humiliation, which was the central focus of the present research
That humiliation does not necessarily lead to inertia can be gleaned from the fact that factor analysis revealed the combination of humiliation, powerlessness, and anger as a separate construct that was distinct from happiness as well as from shame and fear
Summary
Humiliation is often believed to be a driving force behind social conflicts. Scholars have stressed the role that humiliation plays in, for instance, international politics [1], intractable conflicts [2], genocide [3] psychosocial maladies [4], and high school shootings [5]. The experience of humiliation is typically described as a strong emotional reaction to being ostracized, i.e. to being rejected in the sense of being made to feel small or worthless [6,7]. Baumeister, Wotman and Stillwell [9] argued that rejection by a potential romantic partner conveys a symbolic message that one is perceived to lack sufficient desirable qualities to be a worthy partner, and induces humiliation. Research on emotional and attitudinal responses toward social rejection mostly focuses on situations in which one is personally rejected
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