It is argued that when cultural values provide a rationale for ostracism, this can eliminate ostracism distress

Can cultural values eliminate ostracism distress? Erez Yaakobi. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Volume 80, January 2021, Pages 231-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2020.10.014

Abstract: Ostracism has negative psychological and behavioral outcomes, thus making it crucial to better understand how these effects can be mitigated. Two experiments tested whether cultural values can moderate immediate as well as delayed reactions to ostracism in two populations with very different values concerning interactions with the opposite sex. The Ultra-Orthodox population in Israel constitutes a specific subculture whose values differ considerably from those of secular Jews in Israel. In particular, Ultra-Orthodox Jews adhere to strict separation between genders, which is enforced by Ultra-Orthodox men. It was hypothesized that being ostracized by the opposite gender on a computer game would be less distressing in particular for Ultra-Orthodox men than for secular men and women who cultural values have no such prohibition. In both experiments, Jewish secular and Ultra-Orthodox men and women played Cyberball, a virtual ball-toss game against two ostensible players (half same gender, half opposite, but all with their in-groups). The findings showed that whereas secular men and women were more distressed when ostracized by a member of the opposite sex, Ultra-Orthodox males reported lower distress on both the needs satisfaction and mood measures after they were ostracized by ostensible Ultra-Orthodox female players than when receiving fewer ball tosses from ostensible Ultra-Orthodox male players. It is argued that when cultural values provide a rationale for ostracism, this can eliminate ostracism distress. The discussion centers on ways cultural and other embedded values can mitigate the negative outcomes of ostracism.

Keywords: OstracismCultureSocial exclusionValuesReligious observance

General discussion

These two experiments explored whether cultural values moderate ostracism effects on needs satisfaction and mood immediately after participants were ostracized on the Cyberball game as well as after a short delay in a culture where gender ostracism is intrinsic. The findings support these hypotheses. Specifically, when Ultra-Orthodox Jewish males were ostracized by ostensible Ultra-Orthodox Jewish females, they reported significantly lower distress than when ostracized by ostensible Ultra-Orthodox male players. On the mood measure, these cultural values not only alleviated the ostracism effects but eliminated ostracism distress altogether in the reflective stage. Thus, robustly embedded cultural values appear to influence even immediate responses that require fewer cognitive efforts to process this experience. The results also provide empirical evidence that may help account for one of the mechanisms that may mitigate distress after being ostracized by showing that cultural worldview can mediate ostracism distress when this cultural worldview is not threatened, and that cultural values provide a “reasonable explanation” for being ostracized.

Future research should examine whether other mechanisms can eliminate ostracism distress by exploring other strongly embedded factors. Fiske and Yamamoto (2005) as well as Pfundmair, Graupmann, Frey, and Aydin (2015) showed that members of collectivistic cultures tend to focus on belonging securely and trusting more narrowly (primarily in-group members; Yamagishi, 1988) and hence may exhibit more cautiousness in their responses when ostracized by out-group members. The findings also respond to the call by Uskul and Over (2017) to examine whether socially interdependent individuals might be more negatively affected when ostracism comes from in-group members or close others that matter to them. It is thus important to explore whether being ostracized within a group contradicts or is consistent with the cultural values and inherited worldviews of this group. The current experiments showed that ostracism was mitigated when the group's cultural values considers gendered ostracism to be "normal". The current research also provides insights into the way cultures vary along multiple dimensions, since responses to ostracism are likely to be influenced by different social factors including social norms and values (Gelfand, 2012).

These findings have practical implications as well. If the target of an ostracism experience comes from a culture where social distance is a value or is valued in some defined circumstances, reminders of this value could shield victims from its negative emotional effects or lessen them. The results also provide a better understanding of how to allocate limited resources to people who are being ostracized by better identifying, at least initially, who will be more prone to be affected by an ostracism experience. If someone is ostracized, interventions could make clear that there could be reasons such as cultural values that may have nothing to do with the ostracizer's attitude towards the ostracized. Facilitating the value of participation and collaboration plays an important role in augmenting one's wellbeing since values have significant effects on ostracism distress. Thus, making cultural values more salient in one's mind may serve as an intervention mechanism for buffering ostracism distress.

The current research also has limitations that deserve mention. It implemented an experimental design that restricts the generalizability of the findings. Future work should test the moderation model on a broader range of populations. Future experiments could also explore whether the desire to adhere to cultural values is heightened as a function of ostracism and use instruments beyond self-report measures to test the effects of ostracism and the moderation model. Furthermore, future research should replicate this study in other cultures with similar values in terms of strict gender rules. It could be argued that the response of Ultra-Orthodox males when playing Cyberball against Ultra-Orthodox women was related to the incongruity of the situation for them. However, this possible reaction was taken into consideration prior to conducting the experiment. All participants were told that the other "players" were sitting in different rooms on campus and that the "computer" chooses the people taking part in each game. The research assistant was specifically instructed to present the choice of the "other players" as a random assignment by the computer. This also eliminated alternative explanations for the results. In addition, these studies used a repeated-measure design where participants completed questionnaires twice (immediate and delayed responses). This was done to better capture when moderation would occur. However, potential order effects may have occurred. Thus, future studies should also use a between-subject research design to reexamine these effects. Finally, other differences that may also moderate this mediation effect should be explored since they are embedded in the ways individuals perceive social connections.