Ostracism is a form of social punishment. It appears because of prejudice, racial or sexual discrimination, beliefs or personal values, however, we may also experience ostracism and social exclusion in the professional sphere or in our romantic relationships.
We believe that any rejection experienced in one of these social dimensions can have serious consequences for those who suffer from it.
- The term ostracism comes from the Greek ostrakon.
- A practice that condemns by voting the citizens who would pose a threat to the community.
- Today it is a phenomenon that is given by a tácito consensus.
- Which can appear in a more or less subtle way.
- Openly and explicitly.
Human beings have a great need to belong and identify with a group, affiliation with other people brings us many psychological benefits and strengthens our collective and individual identity.
Human beings have a social character and the need for belonging has an evolutionary and survival origin, in this sense, ostracism and social exclusion are threats of belonging, and endangering it would trigger processes whose study reveals many surprising information.
The concept of ego in psychology has been the subject of numerous studies, in the wide range of meanings discussed, two of Leary and Tangney’s proposals are the ones that seem most related to social belonging:
From reflections on ourselves and our experiences (self-awareness), we can regulate and adjust our behavior in the desired direction (self-regulation), a process that facilitates our approach to the person we want to be.
When we feel rejected or victims of ostracism and social exclusion, looking inward and reflecting on ourselves (self-awareness) becomes extremely unpleasant that we try to avoid, without these reflections self-regulation is not possible. All of this implies a significant gap between the ego and the ideal ego.
The effects and consequences of ostracism and social exclusion on the individual who suffers it are multiple and probably each deserves an individualized article, affects us physically and psychologically.
In 2009, the University of California discovered the link between social rejection and physical pain: the OPRM1 gene. We already knew that social exclusion triggered certain areas of the brain linked to stress. In addition, however, recent studies have shown that ostracism also activates areas associated with physical pain, particularly the posterior dorsal insula. These findings are thought to help explain the cause of certain diseases such as fibromyalgia.
In addition to the negative consequences on physical health, social exclusion leads the victim to decrease prosocial behavior that prevents him from feeling empathy, decreasing cognitive abilities and intellectual performance, especially complex cognitive tasks that require attention and conscious control. an individual’s emotional behavior and levels of aggression.
For years, theories that have tried to explain the relationship between violence and social exclusion have suggested that people with low intellectual levels have difficulty adapting to social life, this lack of adaptation would increase their level of aggression, which would soon lead them to violence. This would be one of the paths to social exclusion.
Today we know that the process is quite different, Baumeister and Leary’s studies have shown that altering self-regulation, due to ostracism and social exclusion, is one of the factors that provoke violent behavior, not the cultural level of the population. Individual.
People with a strong need for belonging tend to develop antisocial behaviors after feeling/rejecting; if they see it as an unjust act, they can develop restorative responses that prevent social contact; on the other hand, prosocial behaviors and an interest in creating new bonds can also increase.
People with a more independent self-concept prioritize their individual goals over groups, the social rejection suffered by these types of people can lead to an increase in their creativity.
When a person is a victim of rejection, it is important to recover the process of self-awareness and reflection on experiences and attitudes and, thus, create a good opportunity for self-regulation of behavior that helps to balance relationships.