Group and personal rejection are similarly linked to extreme intergroup attitudes

Abstract

Perceived marginalization of social groups has been identified as one of the main drivers of violent extremism across countries. However, most psychological research has focused on interpersonal rather than intergroup processes to understand the link between social exclusion and aggression. We developed a new paradigm, RateME, which dissociates the effects of group rejection and personal rejection, two types of social exclusion that involve negative attention. We compared the psychological effects of group rejection with those of personal rejection using RateME as well as ostracism using Cyberball in a sample of more than 1200 UK residents. Experiencing group rejection, personal rejection, and ostracism was independently associated with increased psychological distress and state hostility, regardless of participants' degree of identification with the group. Exclusion of either type also indirectly increased group supremacist attitudes by undermining psychological needs and indirectly increased extreme intergroup attitudes by increasing state hostility. Our work reveals similar detrimental psychological effects of group-level and personal-level exclusion, highlighting group rejection as a risk factor for mental health with potential implications for violent extremism.