Insufficient Justification for Exclusion Prompts Compensatory Behavior

This experiment examined participants' compensatory behavior toward an excluded stranger. Participants engaged in a four-person social introductions task and rank-ordered each other member of the group; the lowest ranked person was excluded from a subsequent game. Using a 2 × 2 design, particip...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of social psychology 2015-09, Vol.155 (5), p.527-534
Main Authors: Van Tongeren, Daryl R., Root Luna, Lindsey M., VanOyen Witvliet, Charlotte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Behavioral psychology
compensatory behavior
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Motivation
Resistance (Psychology)
responsibility
restitution
Social Behavior
Social control
Social Isolation
Social psychology
sources of exclusion
Young Adult
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Summary:This experiment examined participants' compensatory behavior toward an excluded stranger. Participants engaged in a four-person social introductions task and rank-ordered each other member of the group; the lowest ranked person was excluded from a subsequent game. Using a 2 × 2 design, participants were randomly assigned to a justification condition (insufficient vs. sufficient) and to an exclusion responsibility condition (responsible for exclusion vs. exclusion by random selection). Results revealed that after limited introductions (i.e., insufficient justification for one's ranking decision), being responsible for the exclusion prompted compensatory behavior toward the excluded stranger. However, after extended introductions (i.e., sufficient justification of one's ranking decision), participants did not compensate the excluded person. These results suggest that insufficient justification for exclusion may lead to compensatory behavior, when one is responsible for the exclusion.
ISSN:0022-4545
1940-1183
DOI:10.1080/00224545.2015.1060936