The Pain of Social Rejection

The Pain of Social Rejection
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The Pain of Social Rejection
1 While social rejection is common and few people turn violent as a result, studying social rejection is critical because humans have an essential need to belong and the pain of exclusion or rejection is no different from pain endured after physical injury (Weir, 2012). Studying social rejection will facilitate an understanding of the painful fact of life that many psychologists have ignored for years. Since social rejection can influence individuals’ cognition, emotions, and physical health, studying social rejection will lead to better ways of treating and managing those ostracized.
2 Some studies have found out that the need to belong is evolutionary. Another possible explanation for why humans have developed this need is that rejection is painful and social rejection can activate several of the same regions of the brain that regulate physical pain (Weir, 2012). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have shown that the anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate regions of the brain are activated in both ostracized individuals and those with physical pain.
3 Using Cyberball experiment in manipulating social exclusion raises important ethical concerns because participants are subjected to rejection and heart break through exclusion, which has similar consequences as those experienced in physical injury. According to DeWall, Eisenberger, and team, social rejection pains like physical pain and could be treated in a similar manner as physical pain. In addressing this ethical issue, social psychologists should deal with these concerns by having the subjects agree to experiment procedures before commencement. Participants can sign consent letters as an ethical requirement for experiments involving human subjects.
4 Social and physical pain feel similar because the pain of rejection makes individuals to lack quality sleep as they feel excluded. This lack of sufficient ...