Situated Ostracism: A new model explaining purposeful ostracism decisions in social contexts

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Selma Rudert
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 459665867

Research on ostracism has mostly focused on how individuals react to being ostracized due to unclear reasons (the target perspective) and has investigated ostracism as a phenomenon isolated from situational influences. In contrast, the reasons as to why individuals decide to ostracize others (the source perspective) and when individuals decide to engage in ostracism compared to other behavioral alternatives are still a largely unexplored frontier for empirical research. To explain how those purposeful ostracism decisions occur, I have developed the Situated Ostracism Model (SOM). Within the SOM, purposeful ostracism decisions are conceptualized as a function of perceived target behavior and context-specific moderators. The main objective of the proposed Emmy Noether research group is to empirically investigate the predictions of the SOM and in the process refine the model further. In particular, I aim (a) to shed light on the different situations and context factors that result in purposeful decisions to ostracize another person, (b) to investigate when individuals engage in ostracism compared to behavioral alternatives, and (c) to understand how ostracism that is due to different reasons eventually affects reactions of the targets in return. Methodologically, the suggested project combines experimental and survey research, while focusing on actual behavior. By doing so, the research group contributes to current theorizing and practices in ostracism research in particular and to research on social interactions in general.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups