Social Rejection's Effect on the Motivation to Approach Others

Abstract

As humans, we naturally have a desire to gain social acceptance. Because of this innate desire for acceptance, many of our actions are focused on reaching that goal (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; MacDonald & Leary, 2005). Inevitably, sometimes we instead experience social rejection—a perceived reduction of social acceptance, group inclusion, or sense of belonging. Does social rejection lead individuals to want to connect more, or does it lead them to avoid social interaction? The present study focuses on whether social rejection motivates individuals to approach others. Participants completed two tasks— Cyberball and an approach avoidance task (AAT). The results of the study suggest that excluded participants were not significantly faster to approach faces following rejection, although responses trended in that direction.