Interpersonal rejection ranks among the most potent and distressing events that people experience. Romantic rejection, ostracism, stigmatization, job termination, and other kinds of rejects have the power to compromise the quality of people's lives. As a result, people are highly motivated to avoid social rejection, and indeed, much of human behavior appears to be designed to avoid such experiences. Yet, despite the widespread effects of real, anticipated and even imagined rejections, psychologists have devoted only passing attention to the topic, and the research on rejection has been scattered throughout a number of psychological subspecialtie including social, clinical, developmental, and personality psychology. This volume brigns together contributors whose work is on the cutting edge of rejection research, providing a readable overview of recent advances in the field. In doing so, it not only provides a look at the current state of the area, but also helps to establish the topic of rejection as an identifiable area for future research.

Interpersonal rejection ranks among the most potent and distressing events that people experience. Romantic rejection, ostracism, stigmatization, job termination, and other kinds of rejections have the power to compromise the quality of people's lives. As a result, people are highly motivated to avoid social rejection, and, indeed, much of human behavior appears to be designed to avoid such experiences. Yet, despite the widespread effects of real, anticipated, and even imagined rejections, psychologists have devoted only passing attention to the topic, and the research on rejection has been scattered throughout a number of psychological subspecialties (e.g., social, clinical, developmental, personality). In the past few years, however, we have seen a surge of interest in the effects of interpersonal rejection on behavior and emotion. The goal of this book is to pull together the contributions of several scholars whose work is on the cutting edge of rejection research, providing a scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in the area. In doing so, it not only provides a look at the current state of the area but also helps to establish the topic of rejection as an identifiable area for future research. Topics covered in the book include: ostracism, unrequited love, betrayal, stigmatization, rejection sensitivity, rejection and self-esteem, peer rejection in childhood, emotional responses to rejection, and personality moderators of reactions to rejection.

Interpersonal rejection ranks among the most potent and distressing events that people experience. Romantic rejection, ostracism, stigmatization, job termination, and other kinds of rejections have the power to compromise the quality of people's lives. As a result, people are highly motivated to avoid social rejection, and, indeed, much of human behavior appears to be designed to avoid such experiences. Yet, despite the widespread effects of real, anticipated, and even imagined rejections, psychologists have devoted only passing attention to the topic, and the research on rejection has been scattered throughout a number of psychological subspecialties (e.g., social, clinical, developmental, personality). In the past few years, however, we have seen a surge of interest in the effects of interpersonal rejection on behavior and emotion. The goal of this book is to pull together the contributions of several scholars whose work is on the cutting edge of rejection research, providing a scholarly yet readable overview of recent advances in the area. In doing so, it not only provides a look at the current state of the area but also helps to establish the topic of rejection as an identifiable area for future research. Topics covered in the book include: ostracism, unrequited love, betrayal, stigmatization, rejection sensitivity, rejection and self-esteem, peer rejection in childhood, emotional responses to rejection, and personality moderators of reactions to rejection.

Interpersonal Acceptance and Rejection: Social, Emotional, and Educational Contexts draws on research to offer a global perspective on issues of fundamental importance to family functioning, childhood development, and adult intimate relationships, as well as to policy and practice for children, adolescents, couples, and families at risk. It draws on the perspectives of major social science disciplines such as clinical and educational psychology, anthropology, psychology, special education, and sociology, thus ensuring topics are discussed within broad theoretical frameworks. The authors cover a wide spectrum of questions and topics in relation to perceived acceptance and rejection by significant others. Chapters are set in the context of worldwide trends in the area of interpersonal acceptance-rejection. They considerably advance our knowledge of interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory and practice by tackling issues in major life contexts such as family, education, intimate relationships, and clinical-therapeutic practice. The book presents these important issues within the context of up-to-date research on interpersonal relationships that helps strengthen family and couple relationships and enhance the quality of attachment relationships in families. As such, it constitutes a useful reference source for academic researchers, clinicians, teachers, special educators, school counsellors, psychologists, and service agencies. Contributors to this edited book come from many parts of the world, including the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East.

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.

Presenting state-of-the-art research from leading investigators, this volume examines the processes by which people understand their interpersonal experiences. Provided are fresh perspectives on how individuals glean social knowledge from past relationships and apply it in the here and now. Also explored are the effects of biases and expectancies about significant others on relationship satisfaction and personal well-being. Broad in scope, the book integrates findings from experimental social psychology with insights from developmental, personality, and clinical psychology. Throughout, chapters strike an appropriate balance between theory and method, offering an understanding of the core issues involved as well as the tools needed to study them.

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.